“Hey, the kids are arriving. You ready?” Hank asked as he appeared in the doorway. Dalton nodded his head then took a deep breath, feeling that emptiness in the pit of his stomach. Maybe there was some woman out there that could accept him for his faults, his shitty personality and the damn scar that made him so somber inside.
* * * *
What a crazy and emotional week, Millie thought as she smoothed her hands down the silk dress she wore, being sure to straighten it on her hips. She looked into the mirror and could suddenly see all the imperfections of her body and the flaws that Stewart had pointed out to her in a fit of rage while attempting to hide his infidelity. Could she call it that? Infidelity, when they weren’t even married? She exhaled then tilted her head to the side and adjusted her large breasts. She may be a good ten pounds overweight and have a little “pouch” in front from sitting at the damn computer all day, but at least she had her breasts. The “twins” were one asset she was surely going to use tonight to piss off Stewart.
She felt her inner confidence shine, then the tightness of the dress, the way that little bit of extra skin rolled over the material under her arms, seemed to outshine the twins.
“Son of a bitch! I am so sick and tired of men,” she stated out loud to the mirror. Even as she cupped her breasts and lifted, that bit of extra fat pushed out. She couldn’t show up to the event looking and feeling like a fat pig. She had worked hard to raise money for the women’s shelter and she had saved a lot of money and put in the extra hours at the office, despite the constant rumors that people were going to be laid off after the event. Would Stewart stoop so low and talk with Mr. Arthur, her boss? Shit!
She turned a little to the right and then a little to the left. She was jiggly, as Stewart had informed her. But hey, she had been working hard, sitting for hours, and unable to attend any workout classes that kept her firmer. She could worry about exercising and losing weight tomorrow. Tonight, she wanted Stewart and his other asshole buddies to see what they would be missing. She’d never been any smaller than a size twelve. She didn’t do single digits. She chuckled at her own thoughts then reapplied some lip gloss before glancing in the mirror one last time.
Millie had splurged on the salon and spa treatment to look her best for the gala. She had her hair done and placed in an updo to not hide the open back to her dress. Her ass was too big, too. She should have a beeper attached for when she backed up.
She felt her spirits disintegrate. All of Stewart’s nasty insults were not so easily forgotten. He had scorned her, made her feel unworthy of his high class, his perfect physique. She couldn’t spend three hours a day at the gym. Her exercise experience consisted of six months of self-defense training that she slowly fell out of the routine of going to. Even at the dojo she felt inferior despite her ability to do all the moves. Stewart had even put down her black belt status and forbid her to attend more classes. She was weeks away from achieving the belt and he destroyed that. Perhaps he was afraid that she would use the moves on him? Maybe she should have. But those classes were expensive and her job was too demanding to attend the routine classes she wanted to. She wasn’t born into money. But she had dignity and it had been her work and efforts to establish the shelter. She would attend the event and be done seeing that jerk Stewart ever again.
She took a deep breath and headed out of her apartment. It took three hard pulls as she simultaneously twisted the knob and turned the key in order to lock her front door. Everyone living in the building had similar problems. It was part of living in the city. It didn’t matter that this complex was considered really nice, almost upscale. She released a shaky breath and headed downstairs to the waiting taxi below.
* * * *
Just as she entered the cab and gave the address, her cell phone began to ring. The tune “Cowboy Casanova” by Carrie Underwood began and Millie smiled as she answered her cell phone and the taxi took her to the event.
“Hi, Stacy. What’s going on?” Millie asked, thrilled that one of her best friends was calling her.
“Oh, Anna and I are hanging out and just wanted to wish you luck tonight. We’re so proud of you and the money you raised for the battered women’s shelter. It’s such a good cause.”
“Thank you so much. It’s been a bit crazy and was a lot of work but well worth it.”
“So is Stewart with you? Are you wearing that fancy black gown you texted a picture of?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m wearing it. It’s a bit tight, though. I think I should have waited until last week to shop for it,” Millie stated, thinking that in her state of upset being dumped by Stewart she shouldn’t have indulged in that gallon of ice cream and potato chips. Shit, I let another man fuck up my head.
“You sound funny. Is everything okay?” Stacy asked.
Of course Stacy and Anna could always tell when something was wrong. She felt the tears reach her eyes then swallowed hard.
“Stewart dumped me,” she whispered then sniffled.
“What? Why? What the hell happened?” Stacy asked, sounding shocked and upset. She was such a great friend.
“Well, let’s just say a very thin and sexy blonde model.”
“Oh, shit! Are you okay? When did this happen?”
“A couple of weeks ago.”
“A couple of weeks ago and you’re just telling us now?” Stacy asked, sounding angry.
“I was just trying to get through it, Stacy. I’ve had so much on my plate with trying to raise the money for the shelter and working to save up enough to start my own business. Then, of course, Stewart does this to me. I just don’t seem to have luck with men.”
“Aww, Millie, don’t feel that way. Sometimes you have to go through a few frogs before you can find the prince.”
“What?”
Stacy chuckled and so did Anna. Millie could hear Anna in the background. Suddenly, Anna was telling Stacy to give her the phone.
“Stacy? Hey, it’s Anna. Listen, you should think about visiting us, or perhaps coming out here for good. The town is growing in leaps and bounds. It would be great to see you. You could probably sell your handmade jewelry in the boutique in town. Plus Stacy, Lena, and I have been working on the new shelter and grounds. You should see the place. Construction is going excellent. We already have five women living out here. Word is traveling fast.”
Millie took a deep breath. She wasn’t feeling like herself at all. She felt depressed, unsure what direction her life was going in, and she just wanted to get through tonight.