“I thought you were starved, Darlita,” Arykah joked. “Aren't you gonna eat?”
Darlita waved her hand at her plate of food to dismiss it. “Uh-uh. I ain't hungry no more. You can wrap my plate to go.” Darlita's focus was on her stilettos. At that moment food was the furthest thing from her mind.
“Wrap my plate too, Lady Arykah,” Chelsea added.
“Your pastor made all of this food. No one wants to eat?” Arykah asked them knowing they could care less about Lance's labor in the kitchen at this moment.
The reaction the women gave when they saw their stilettos was exactly what Arykah had expected. She planned it that way. She had plenty of saran wrap and Styrofoam food containers for the ladies to take their food home with them. Once they had seen their shoes, Arykah knew that Gladys, Monique, Chelsea, and Darlita weren't going to eat a thing.
“We'll thank the bishop at church tomorrow,” Monique said. She was the first to stand in her new heels. Arykah had given her a pair of scarlet red, 100 percent silk, six-inch heel platform stilettos that allowed Monique's toes to peep through the front. “Sexy, sexy, sexy,” Monique said as she sashayed around the dining-room table.
“I'm afraid to stand up,” Darlita said. On her feet were royal-blue leather stilettos with a five-and-half-inch heel. She had never worn a shoe that high.
Arykah went to Darlita and pulled her up from her chair. “It's like riding a bike for the first time. Take a few steps forward and you'll get the hang of it.”
Darlita slowly put one foot ahead of the other while holding on to Arykah's hands.
After she took her tenth step, Arykah released Darlita's hands. “You got it. Keep going.”
Darlita's legs were wobbly, but the more steps she took, the more confident she became. It wasn't long before she was strutting to the kitchen and back to the dining room on her own. “I love them, Lady Arykah.”
“I'm glad you do, Darlita. When I saw those on the Web site, they had your name all over them.”
“I love this color, Lady Arykah,” Chelsea said as she modeled burgundy, six-inch heels covered in black lace.
Arykah looked at Chelsea's shoes. “Now
those
, Chelsea, are saying something. Black lace over any color makes a bold statement.”
“And the statement that I want them to make,” Chelsea said, “is âHusband, come and get me.'”
The ladies laughed at her comment.
“Well, I think that if you wear those to the grocery store, you just might meet your husband in the freezer section,” Arykah smiled.
“Just make sure to stop by the frozen dinner aisle. That's where all of the single men shop,” Darlita added. “Trust me, I know.”
“Well, Lady Arykah, I think you just unleashed the cat in me.” Gladys modeled six-inch leopard print platform heels. The stilettos made her feel tall. They were the highest heels she had ever worn in her life, but she sashayed in them like a professional.
Arykah got a big kick out of watching her guests enjoy their gifts. “Is everyone happy?”
“Happy? Honey, we're ecstatic!” Chelsea answered for them all.
Arykah pulled her chair from beneath the dining-room table, opened her own box of Christian Louboutins, and showed the ladies her exclusive pair. They oohed and aahed over Arykah's shoes as they did when they saw the stiletto cookies. Arykah slipped into her Pigalili's and said, “Let's dance.”
Darlita became nervous.
“Dance?”
She had just learned to take baby steps in her new stilettos. Dancing in them was out of the question.
“Yeah, let's dance. I'm ready,” Chelsea stated.
“Come on, girls. Follow me.” Arykah led the ladies into the great room. The forty-by-forty-foot space was enormous. The gas fireplace provided warmth, and the two oversized chocolate-colored leather sectionals gave the room a cozy feel.
“What in the world is that?” Gladys asked. “Is that a bear?” She stood next to one of the sectionals gawking at a bearskin rug on the floor in the center of the room.
“It sure is,” Arykah confirmed. “It's a grizzly. I had it shipped here from Canada. It was hunted in the Canadian Rockies.”
The grizzly bear rug spanned seven feet long and three feet wide. It was dark brown, and the long guard hairs were soft to the touch and had a light blond tip. The head was massive and round with a concave face. The thick black claws were three inches long.
“That is beautiful, Lady Arykah,” Darlita said. She saw the bear's teeth and fangs. “But it looks ferocious.”
Arykah chuckled. “I'm sure it was when it was alive and weighed over seven hundred pounds. This rug is one of those purchases that I made when I saw one like it on the HGTV Channel. I also had to purchase a wildlife permit so that it could be legally bought and shipped here.”
“Lady Arykah, please forgive me if what I'm about to ask you is out of order, but I just have to know.”
Arykah knew what Chelsea's question would be even before she asked it. She wouldn't have been the first guest to ask, and Arykah knew Chelsea wouldn't be the last.
The grizzly bear rug was a showpiece. When guests entered the Howell's great room, the sight of the grizzly bear always stopped them in their tracks.
“I paid $4,800 for it, Chelsea.”
Chelsea shook her head from side to side. Not to imply that Arykah may have overspent on the bear rug, but Chelsea thought that Arykah was living the life. A great life. Chelsea wondered how it felt to be in the financial position to purchase anything you want. To have the husband of your dreams and the home of your dreams is what every woman prayed for. To Chelsea, Arykah was definitely blessed beyond measure. Chelsea could see her cup running over. It wasn't that Chelsea was jealous of Arykah's life; she actually admired her first lady. And being in Arykah's presence and seeing how real and down-to-earth she was caused Chelsea to gain a new respect for Arykah. “Go head on, Lady Arykah. Live life to the fullest. I really admire you.”
That comment touched Arykah deeply. Folks always ask her the price of the grizzly bear rug. In the past when Arykah revealed the cost of the rug, noses would turn up, frowns would appear, and heads would shake. Oftentimes Arykah would pause when she was asked how much she had spent on an item. Whether it be her clothes, car, hairdo, or furniture, she really didn't care to share how much money was spent.
She loved the finer things in life, and she didn't pinch any pennies. Arykah knew she was a blessed woman and most women didn't possess the things she had. Lance had told her that if folks were bold enough to ask how much something cost, make sure to tell the truth. And if anyone had a problem with what Arykah did with her money, in the gospel according to Lance, they need not ask. “Aw, thanks, Chelsea. And I admire you as well.”
“Mush, mush, mush,” Gladys joked. “Can we get this party started or what?”
“Let's do it.” Arykah grabbed the grizzly bear rug by its left rear paw and dragged it across the room. She then went to the stereo set that was embedded in the wall next to the fireplace and searched through her library of CDs. When she had found what she was looking for, she inserted the disc into the CD player and pressed the play button.
She looked over her shoulder and said, “Y'all better get ready to move.”
Moments later the ladies heard,
“This joint right here it makes me wannaâWhoo!”
Mary J. Blige's song “Just Fine” filled the great room.
“Feel free right now, go do what you want to do.”
Arykah was the first to dance to the fast-paced music. “Come on now, ain't no wallflowers in here.”
Monique grabbed Chelsea by her hand and escorted her to the center of the great room. The two of them joined Arykah on the floor and danced.
Mary J. Blige's song set the tone for Arykah's stiletto party. The lyrics sent a message to anyone and everyone who had a problem with the way someone lived their life. In the song, Mary J. Blige said that her life was just fine and she wasn't going to change it to please no one. She let the world know that she wasn't worried about what anyone said about her or what anyone thought about her.
When Arykah looked up she saw Gladys and Darlita dancing too. What Arykah loved about that moment was that neither of them were doing any particular dance. They were all just taking in the lyrics and moving their bodies freely.
“Just fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, ooooh,”
they all sang along with Mary J. Blige.
The song was nearing the end when the doorbell rang, through the intercom, and interrupted the ladies' flow.
Arykah looked at her wristwatch. She was having so much fun that she had lost track of time. “Our limo is here, ladies,” she announced.
“Already?” Darlita asked. She wasn't complaining. She was looking forward to going to the spa, but she was mastering the stilettos and enjoyed dancing in them.
Arykah answered the door and told the limousine driver that she and the ladies would be out momentarily. The ladies wrapped their plates of food in the Styrofoam containers that Arykah had provided for them. They left the containers of food on the center island in the kitchen. They would get their food when they returned to Arykah's home, after the spa, to get their cars.
“Remember that we're walking the red carpet into the spa, ladies. So, keep your stilettos on,” Arykah instructed.
In the front hall the ladies put their coats on and left Arykah's home. They climbed in the white Hummer limousine she hired for the evening.
“Looka here, looka here, looka here,” Chelsea said. The Hummer was long, it was white, and it looked like it stretched for half a block.
“Lady Arykah, you went all out, didn't you?” Darlita asked.
“We're gonna have to start calling you Oprah. And we're your Gayles,” Gladys commented. “Because this here is some Oprah and Gayle stuff you're doing.”
“I'm just happy that my Gayles are having a good time. I really wanted this evening to be a memorable one,” Arykah said getting comfortable on the leather seat.
“It already is,” Monique stated, looking down at her new stilettos. “That's for sure.”
The limousine pulled away from the curb, and the ladies were en route to their next destination. Darlita leaned back in the plush leather seat and extended her legs forward. “I feel like royalty.”
“We all do,” Chelsea added.
Arykah looked into the eyes of her guests. “The night is young. The best is yet to come.”
For the next forty-five minutes, the ladies made small talk during the ride to the spa.
When the limousine came to a complete stop outside of The Massage Palace, the ladies could hardly keep still in their seats.
The driver exited the Hummer and walked around to the rear passenger door and opened it for the ladies. Gladys was the first to step out on the red carpet that had been rolled out from the door of the spa to the limousine. As soon as her foot touched the carpet, she was greeted with flashes of light. Arykah had hired three professional photographers to behave like the paparazzi.
Monique followed Gladys out of the limousine and posed for the cameramen. She pointed to her feet and said, “Don't forget the shoes. Make sure to get the shoes.”
The cameras were in Darlita's face as soon as she exited the limousine. “Wow.” She was a celebrity that night, and she loved every bit of it. She gave the famous beauty pageant wave with her hand and blew kisses at the cameras.
Chelsea climbed out of the limousine and immediately went into celebrity mode. She posed and smiled, then smiled and posed.
“What's your name?” one of the cameramen asked her.
Her grin got even wider. “Chelsea.”
“Chelsea, over here,” the cameraman on her left called out to her.
Chelsea looked into the lens of his camera and laughed. She was loving the moment.
“Chelsea, who are you wearing on your feet?” the cameraman on her right asked her.
Prior to the ladies arriving at the spa, all three cameramen had been briefed by Arykah to focus on the ladies' shoes.
“Christian Louboutins, dahling,” Chelsea answered in her best Zsa Zsa Gabor voice.
Monique, Gladys, and Darlita were standing off to the side laughing at Chelsea. She was giving the paparazzi exactly what they wanted.
Arykah exited the limousine last. She immediately posed for the cameras. Arykah turned her back to one of the cameraman and lifted the bottom of her shoe. The cameraman took photos of the red sole. Arykah called Gladys, Monique, Chelsea, and Darlita over to where she was standing. She instructed all three cameramen to take many shots of the group. All five ladies worked the red carpet. No one could have convinced them that they were not the highest-paid celebrities in Chicago. They were causing a scene outside of The Massage Palace. Folks that were walking by had stopped to see who the famous ladies were.