The Stage is Set in Kingston...Part Two

The first official day of vacation had gotten off to a great start. The ladies had all slept to a moderately late hour, and breakfasted together in the parlor room of their suite. They had dined sufficiently on a meal consisting of vegetable and egg quiche, crisp bacon, hot buttery croissants served with apricot preserves, freshly squeezed orange juice and some of the most delicious coffee they had ever drank. Feeling extremely full and satisfied, they lounged around for a while just mulling over the events of their trip so far.

Claudette had planned out a wonderful travel itinerary for them which she now distributed in hard copy to each of them. Of course they had discussed in general what they would be doing, but now that they were here, it was time to take a look at the schedule. Future outings were planned for The Bob Marley Museum, Hope Botanical Gardens and The National Gallery of Jamaica. First item for today was shopping in the marketplace, followed by afternoon tea, and then back to the house for massages and facials. That would definitely relax them and put them in the mood for what lay ahead later that night. They would be having dinner at a landmark restaurant, hosted by a friend of Alexis who lived in Kingston, and then on to dance the night away at a trendy club called “Santana's”.

Keenan DeJohn was a tall, distinguished and articulate gentleman who looked to be of indeterminate age ( but she guessed him to be in his middle to late sixties) whom Alexis had met several years before on her first trip to Kingston. At that time she had been traveling with another friend and a male companion. She had been introduced to Keenan, and they had kept up a friendly communication via email several times a year, but it was enough to maintain an acquaintance close enough that he had come to see her on his last visit to the states two years ago. His open invitation to be his guest at his elegant eatery when she and her friends came down had been sincere and so had his insistence that he comp their meals.

He was seating them as a private party in his secluded VIP room located off from the main dining room. He would join them for before dinner drinks and then leave them to their dinner. To finish off the evening he had arranged a personal escort to take them to Santana's club, and to see that they had every comfort they needed and that everything he did for them was top shelf. It was no secret; he had designs on Alexis. She was aware of it, and he wanted to do everything possible to make sure she and her friends had a fantastic vacation.

And so the day passed in luxurious splendor for the four friends. They laughed, sipped on exotic tasting drinks, and reveled in the beauty of their surroundings, and in the simplicity of being in the company of each other. It wouldn't be normal if they didn't take a few moments to reflect on their lives for just a few moments. And in doing so, they agreed that in the mainstream of life, they had it pretty darn good. They were blessed and blessed indeed.

The time came for them to dress for the evening. It was such a happy time to be getting all dressed up in gorgeous dresses, wearing beautiful summer heels, smelling divine and looking absolutely fabulous!Alexis had spoken to Keenan earlier and he had told her to give their driver Delray Major the night off because he was sending his own driver over to pick them up at seven to deliver them to his restaurant. Later on after closing, he would drive to meet them at the club.

It was exactly six fifty-seven when the doorbell rang. Bonnie went to answer and she met the man who was to be their escort for the night. He bowed low to her as he spoke with a perfect accent” Good evening madame! I am Dante, driver for Mr. DeJohn at your service for the evening. Are you and your friends ready?” Just then, Helena, Claudette and Alexis gathered at the door. More introductions were made, the destination confirmed and off they went into the warm and sultry evening. The air was thick and laden with the perfume of the variety of orchids and lilies that bloomed in the gardens.

They all experienced a heightened sense of well being and felt as if they did indeed have the world in the palm of their hands. There was absolutely no way they could know that this would be a night to remember, but not for the usual reasons. There was no way they could know that trouble waited for them around the corner.

The Secret's Out...

 Mature women live with peer pressure, that brings on insecurities and major cases of "wanna be's". I'm Alexis Martin, and I write this blog. I am privy to a lot of information about what's really going on behind closed doors in the houses of my friends because they tell me. And I'm telling you (not because I'm a gossip or anything, right?) Well, I never really cared for Helena. Sure we have been friends for a number of years but truth be told, I have never actually bonded with her. I can count on one hand the times we have been alone together. It seems as if we always have one of our friends with us because let's face it...we need a buffer zone.

 I have even told other people that I can't stand her. I don't like having such strong feelings of dislike toward anyone but I'm currently in therapy now trying to work through my emotional distress about a lot of crap, that includes Helena.
Helena's vanity has gotten her into some serious trouble. She is constantly trying to "one-up" everyone around her. Earlier this year, Helena was elected President of her Condo Board. That thrilled her to no end and immediately she went shopping for a new wardrobe of "Power Clothes" and began a one woman campaign to change everything that she didn't like about the neighbors and the building. Little did she know what lay in wait for her.

It was a setup from the beginning. Several neighbors and most of the Board Members did not care for Helena and Clayton. We will disclose exactly what straw broke the camel's back later, but for now just know that they both had on more than one occasion ignored the rules. Neither one of them were social with the neighbors and their grandchildren were discouraged from playing with any of the other kids in the building in the designated play area. Hence, the aversion toward them. They neighbors met covertly on several occasions to get strategic on how to publicly humiliate her. And since it was time to elect a new board President anyway, they agreed this was the ideal situation to launch their attack.  They all knew that neither Helena or Clayton would be the wiser because of the unanimous election simply because both of them had such inflated egos and a sense of entitlement they would be perfect prey.

Vindictiveness carries a big stick! When they staged a perfectly timed and coup against her after a mere six weeks on her throne, she was of course, devastated, and the neighbors were elated at her humiliation. For days Helena would not come around her friends. She tried unsuccessfully to keep this information quiet but hey let's face it...juicy stuff like this cannot be contained. Besides, I don't think she knew that one of the condo board members is distantly related to Claudette and he relayed the story to her and Claudette (who can't keep anything to herself) told me.  She knew I would want to celebrate.

Poor Helena. She is so very conceited and totally clueless that in her mind she rationalized that this was all about her looks.  The women are jealous and the men desirous of her. When she had completely convinced herself of this, she began to feel better and to return to the outside world, but vowing to herself a remake into an even more devastatingly beautiful woman. And so as not to alert her family by using pills or powders or meal shakes, she decided the easiest way to lose weight (those pesky 6 pounds she imagined were bulging on her hips) was to simply throw up after she ate. That way she could continue to behave as she always did (sometimes eating like a lumberjack) and no one would know. Now you all know, this is not the end of the story.

Stay Tuned!!! More to come!!

Mother to Grandmother...And Still a Woman

What every mother enjoys as she raises her family is the fact that she is needed. Needed and valued and family life just cannot function in it's fullest fullness without Mother. We start off involved in our children's lives with the unmatched joys of infancy; diaper changes, bottle washing, sleepless nights, you know the whole drill. These life events are permanently etched in every part of our brain, and they make up cherished memories and the memories multiply as each child reaches a milestone in their life. Before we know it, we were standing at the bus stop sending them off to elementary school and the next day we are in the audience at their high school graduation. Fast forward to college years, marriages, and births of the grandchildren and viola! you get to do it all over again. Here is the difference this time around...you are usually not the one in charge and your role is to mentor (parents first; remember the new parents who used to be your very own little kid?) and later on in life to the second generation child.

Now I know that the "so-called traditional role" of Grandmother has morphed into full-time substitute Mother in some families where Grandma is the only Mother some children have ever known. That is nothing new. And one major reason why we should not define "traditional" slots for us to fit in. The real grandmother role has been up front and center for ages. Some of us live in, some of us have the grands as members of our own household or we commute to babysit. Either way the scenarios change depending on the family dynamic and we provide whatever they need from us. That's what we are all about.

But, there is a flip side. Aside from being loving and nurtuing to the grandchildren and providing intricate support systems and functioning as cheerleaders for our own sons and daughters guess what? We exist as a separate entity. We are intelligent, intellectual, sensual, interesting, and independent of our families. We can balance our checkbooks, change the air filters in our homes, engage in enlightening conversation and hold our own in a political debate. In other words we are REAL. Romance, intrigue and love exists in our lives. These are some of the topics I will be discussing in my posts. Follow me and let's see what this is all about.