“Now, I like that.” Janae raised her glass next to Cree’s. “What about you, Vanessa? Are you gonna join our club, let Cree and I help you get better, and do the same for us?”
Without hesitation, she raised her glass and clinked it to theirs. Vanessa might not know these ladies well, but she couldn’t ignore that she felt more alive in their presence than she had in the last few years of her marriage. Andthatwas more than good enough.
“Absolutely.”
Chapter 1
“You can’t lie here forever, Vanessa. Eventually,you’ll have to get out of this bed.”
Vanessa Jared groaned at her inability to cope with her new normal. Well, it wasn’t exactly new, because two years had passed since her divorce was final. She took a deep breath, trying to force herself to believe the words she’d just spoken aloud.
Vanessa raised her head from the pillow and braced herself on one elbow to try to pull herself into a sitting position. “If I can get up, everything will be fine.” She managed to get her other elbow into position but couldn’t find the strength to lock it. Before she knew it, she was falling back against her pillow, looking up at the ceiling again.
She took a few moments to center herself. She had to do this. The big day was here, and she had a million things to do. Lying on her ass wasn’t going to get a single one of those tasks completed. Regardless of how much she was panicking inside, she had to get it together and plan this divas’ night.
She was just about to give this sitting up thing another try when her phone rang. She reached in the direction of her nightstand and patted the surface until her fingers connected with the phone. “Hello.”
“Hey, diva!” Vanessa pulled the phone away from her ear as the loud duet of voices blared in unison across the line.
“It is”—Vanessa glanced at her bedside table to note the time—“seven in the damn morning. Why are y’all heifers so damn happy this doggone early?”
Cree’s bubbly giggle filled the line. “Janae, I told you she wouldn’t be up yet. You owe me five dollars.”
“Dammit, Vanessa.” Janae’s sharp tone made Vanessa smile. “You know I hate it when Cree is right.”
Vanessa laughed, her body shaking as each warm wave of amusement spread from the inside out. She pressed the speaker icon on the screen of her phone and laid it on her nightstand while she rearranged her pillows and finally made it into a sitting position against the headboard.
“It serves you right for calling me so early. Can’t a girl get her beauty sleep without you two interrupting her?”
Janae clucked her tongue. “Chile, you ain’t ever lied about that. Looking as good as we do over forty takes work, water, and rest. Lots of it.”
“Usually I’d agree,” Cree added. “But since we’re supposed to be painting the town red tonight, I thought we should call you and make sure you didn’t need help getting things together. You sure you’re okay?”
If Cree had asked that question five minutes before, the answer would’ve been an unequivocal no. She wouldn’t have admitted it. No, she would’ve swallowed her unhappiness and smiled, because telling her friends she still had no clue what to do with her life two years after her divorce wasn’t really something Vanessa wanted to even imagine.
She’d spent the first six months after the divorce trapped in a prison of her own making with no real connection to the outside world except Cree, Janae, and her therapist. Six months after that, she’d gotten the hair in her head that she might want to start herown accounting firm, so she’d taken on a few continuing education courses to refresh her skills. But when it came time to actually set up the firm, she’d backed away and retreated into her empty home. Her therapist had assured her this was normal, but back then, it had just felt like failure.
This last year, wanderlust had set in, and she’d traveled to as many exotic locations as her travel agent could book for her. That had worked for a while, keeping the heavy sadness that threatened to swallow her at bay. This sadness wasn’t to do with Karl and his abuse. Nearly three years in therapy had shown her Karl was to blame, not her. But her inability to figure out what she wanted out of life beyond being a rich divorcée plagued her day in and day out.
Afraid she’d unintentionally flag her friends’ concern, she cleared her throat before speaking again. “All the plans for the Savvy, Sexy, and Single Club’s second anniversary are underway. All you two have to do is show up. Your car should arrive by six thirty this evening. You should be in New York by eight.”
“All right, Ms. Thang,” Janae hollered. “Since it seems like you’ve got everything for tonight handled, how are you gonna spend your day?”
Vanessa chuckled to herself, swinging her legs to the side of the bed as she thought about a response. Before she’d heard the excitement in her girlfriends’ voices, she’d planned to mope. Today was one of those days when curling up in a ball under the covers felt like bliss when the alternative was to see your friends living their best lives being blessed and unbothered with purpose.
This was especially true because she still couldn’t seem to find her direction. However, after a few minutes in the presence of these women, even if it was over the phone, she was reminded that there was life still out there for her to live. She just had to keep looking for it until she found what worked for her.
That morsel of advice had come from her therapist. She’d commended Vanessa on doing the work of healing and being so dedicatedto her recovery since she’d filed for divorce three years ago. Now, she kept reminding Vanessa to give herself grace as she entered a new phase of possibility in her life.
“I’m gonna do what any diva does when she’s going to be in the presence of remarkable beauty. Spend my day getting pampered and airbrushed to perfection.”
“Heeeeyyyy!”
“Get it, girl!”
They all laughed a few moments longer before ending the call. Standing on her own two feet now, Vanessa stretched and allowed the contagious charm and general good moods of her friends to infuse her with the energy she needed to pull her spirit out of the dismal valley it had wallowed in for way too long.
No sense in holding on to despair when food, fun, and shenanigans with her girls awaited her. And as far as she was concerned, misery wasn’t on the itinerary tonight. It was time for her to stop living in the past. If only for the few hours she’d spend with her friends, she would focus on the present. “I declare today a divorce-free day. The only thing you get to entertain is the good time that awaits you and your ladies.”
