The Beginning of Us (275 page)

I give her a questioning look as she unwraps the bubble wrap from around one of them. Why would a pair of heels need to be wrapped in bubble wrap? I stare at the black high heel she holds up, speechless. There is no way these are them. Without saying anything, I pull out my cell phone and dial Holly’s number.

“Hello?”

“Holly, what did these heels look like?” I say, panicking.

She laughs. “You don’t think they’re sexy as hell?”

“Sexy?” I ask, astonished. “Try dangerous.”

“She loved them. They’re hot as hell, and I think they are on sale.”

“They could be used a weapon, to kill me.”

“Then you better be good,” she laughs as she hangs up.

I place my phone in my pocket and look up at the lady who is smiling, trying to hide her amusement. She scans the bar code and puts the heel back in the box but not before wrapping it back up. “That will be two hundred and thirty five dollars.”

I pull out my wallet and hand her three one hundred dollar bills. She places the box in a sack and hands them to me, and I walk out of the mall to my car and place them in my trunk. I want them as far away from me as possible.

I’m worried about Angel. I haven’t talked to her once today. I’ve texted her twice since I’ve been off work, but she still hasn’t responded. I hope she’s home. She hasn’t said anything about working tonight. She always tells me when she has to work. What if she already has plans?

I pull in to the garage and grab the takeout, flowers and chocolates before getting out of the car. I walk into the kitchen and notice that everything looks the same as it did this morning. I place the vase that came with the flowers under the sink faucet, filling it with water and grab the bottle of wine with two glasses. I head back to the bedroom, trying to carry everything in two hands.

Angel is lying in bed. Has she been there all day? I place everything on the long dresser, then walk over to her.

I kneel down by her as I speak softly, “Angel.” She opens her eyes; they look red and swollen. “Are you okay, baby?”

She nods her head. “Yeah.” She gives a small smile. “How was your day? Was it a good one?”

I smile as I shake my head. I can tell she has been crying, but she wants to know if
I
had a good day. “It is now. Are you hungry?”

“Yeah.” She sits up.

“Well, you’re in luck. I brought Chinese home.” I walk over to grab the sack as I hear her gasp.

I turn around, thinking something is wrong. “What?”

“Did you get me flowers?”

“Yes. Why? Do you hate flowers?”

“No, I love flowers.” She smiles.

I smile.
Good.

I pour us each a glass of wine, then sit down on the bed next to her and open up the Chinese bag. “What’s your favorite? I got several different things.”

“I love sweet and sour chicken and fried rice.”

“That’s my favorite too.”

She places her hand on my arm. “Thanks, baby, for bringing home dinner and for the flowers. It really means a lot to me.”

Home.

“You’re welcome, Angel.” I hand her some food as we lean back against the headboard and eat our dinner. I want to ask her how her day was, but I know it wasn’t good. I want to ask her if she even got out of bed today, but I know she didn’t.

I just want her to relax tonight.

Samantha

“Happy birthday.”

I feel Slade’s breath on my neck, and I turn around to face him. The smile drops off his face. I know I have a blank look on my face, but it’s better than crying, right?

He reaches up, running his knuckles against my cheek. He sighs, and it makes me feel bad. It should be a happy birthday. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but with him. I give him a small smile.

“It is now,” I whisper. He smiles and sits up, pushing the covers off of him. “Where are you going?”

He doesn’t answer as he walks out of the room. I sit up and stretch my body. I didn’t sleep very well, and spent most of the night tossing and turning.

Slade walks in with his right arm stretched out to the side, holding a square box wrapped in silver wrapping paper. My brows scrunch together. “You shouldn’t have bought me anything.”

“Well, I did. And yes, it’s Christmas wrapping paper. Sorry, it was all I had.” He laughs as he places the box on the bed, then takes a few steps back.

“Are you okay?” It looks like he’s scared of the box. “Is there a lizard or a snake that’s going to pop out when I open it?” I look at the box, then to him.

“I wish.” He runs a hand through his hair. I giggle as I watch him eye the box like it is a bomb about to explode. I reach over and pick it up.

“I love the wrapping job,” I laugh. It’s like he just rolled the box and then taped the paper on the ends. He remains quiet and away from the bed as I tear the paper off. Once the paper is gone, and I see the box, I look up at him in astonishment. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “How did you know about these?”

“Holly called me, told me you wanted them.” He shrugs. “So, I went and got them.” He looks at me and smiles.

I squeal like a school girl, then rip the lid off of the box and tear through the bubble wrap like a kid on Christmas morning. They are the hottest pair of heels I have ever seen. They are six inch black high heels with a round toe. The round toe is covered in black leather with silver spikes that vary in length and sizes. Running up the back of the heel are little spikes that are all short in length.

I look up at him and my smile is so wide that my cheeks hurt. “Thank you. I love them!”

His face and shoulders fall. “Those are really the ones you wanted?”

I nod my head excitedly.

“I was hoping it was a mistake,” he whines like a little boy, making me smile even more.

“Why?” I laugh.

He points a finger at them while his eyes bulge out looking at me. “Look at those! The next fight we get into, I can just see you kicking me in the balls. Or you could throw them at my head.” He says it with the upmost serious face I have ever seen, and I burst out laughing at him. I can’t help it. I fall back on the bed laughing so hard that tears falls down my cheeks. He gets on the bed and straddles me. He still has that serious look on his face.

“I could wear them only during sex.”
There’s no way I will only wear them during sex.

I don’t think he could look any more scared, but I was wrong as his face pales a bit. “You could stab me in the leg or the ass.”

“Great sex leaves marks.” I wiggle my eyebrows.

He grabs my arms and holds them down by my head. “Well, I guess I could tie each ankle to a bed post. Yeah,” he nods his head. “That way you can wear them and they won’t kill me.” He smiles. “I like them already.”

“Chicken,” I whisper as his face comes down to mine.

He smiles then his lips are on mine, kissing me hard.

“Thank you baby, I love them,” I say as he pulls away.

“Happy birthday, Angel.” He places the box on the floor, then digs around in his night stand. He finds what he’s looking for and places the condom beside me on the bed as he settles his face between my legs, once again showing me I am going to have one hell of a good birthday.

*****

After Slade leaves for work, I find myself standing in his kitchen with my phone in one hand and a check in the other. I look on the kitchen counter and see the flowers Slade got me, and they make me smile. He made my day when he brought me flowers. I had never been given flowers by any man except my dad. It warms my heart.

I look back down at my phone and take a deep breath, pressing send. I need to get this over with. I feel a pain in my chest when the answer machine picks up. Even after all this time, I still have hope that she will answer.

“Hey, Mom. I hope everything is going well. I miss you. If you get time, I would like to hear from you. Hope you have a good week. I love you.”

I hang up, and stare at the counter. I don’t know why I continue to call her on my birthday. Maybe it’s that every year on this day, I hope she will take pity on me and answer. I don’t know why I’m still depressed about it. You would think I would be used to it by now.

My phone rings, and for a second my heart beats faster, thinking it’s my mom returning my call, but I see it’s Vivian and smile.

“Hello, Vivian,” I greet her as I walk out of the kitchen to go get dressed for the day.

“Good morning, honey,” she says cheerfully. “Happy birthday!” She is always in a great mood. It’s infectious.

“Thank you.” I open a drawer to get my underwear. I was so surprised when Slade made room for my stuff. He continues to treat me great.

“So, I wanted to have a girl’s day. I want to take you and Holly to the spa, then come back to the house so we can all get ready together for your dinner tonight. I mean, if you want to. It’s your day.”

“That sounds like a fantastic idea, Vivian. Thank you.” I walk in the closet and pull out my dress that I bought to wear tonight, along with the matching purse and heels.

“Awesome. You girls want to meet over here at, say, twelve?”

“That will be perfect.”

“Okay, see you then.”

After she hangs up, I sit on the bed and take a deep breath. I still hold the check in my hand that I need to put in the mailbox. I can’t help but wonder if this is how the rest of my life will be. Will I never talk to my mother again? Ever?

I have to quit thinking about it. I’m no longer alone. I have a great boyfriend who always makes me feel special and wanted, and I have some great friends who want to spend the day with me.

I stand up. Today is
my
day. I’m going to have fun,
and probably end up drunk!
, while hanging out with the ones I love. The ones who actually want to spend time with me.

I get dressed and grab the check along with my purse, then start to walk out the front door.

“Crap!”

I run right in to Holly as I’m walking out the door.

“Sorry,” she laughs. “Where were you going in such a hurry?”

“I was on my way out to the mailbox.”

“Well, Vivian called me and said you were happy about our girl’s day. I figured I’d just come get you. That way, you and Slade won’t have two vehicles at his parents’ tonight.” She walks inside the house.

“Good idea, but what are you doing? Let’s go.”

She puts her hands on her hips. “Where’s your dress? Purse? Heels? We’re not going to come back here. After the spa, we’re going to get ready at The Long’s house. We’ll drink wine and visit until the guys show up.”

“Crap.” I shake my head. “Sorry, I’m not thinking very clearly today.”

She gives me a sad look. I know she thinks it has to do with my mother, and honestly, it does. I walk back towards the bedroom.

“Don’t forget your makeup!” she yells to me from the hallway while I’m in the bedroom.

Geez, I would have forgotten that.
I stop what I’m doing and close my eyes.
Come on, Sam, you’ve got to get it together.
I release a breath and open my eyes with a clear vision. For the first time in four years, I find myself smiling again on my birthday.

*****

The day has been amazing. I have never felt so pampered in all my life. My skin is as soft as a baby from my head to my toes, and I feel like I’m practically glowing with the beautiful spray tan Holly talked me into. I prefer to lie out in the sun, or lay in a tanning bed so that I don’t look orange, but there is nothing orange about me right now. It looks like I’ve been out in the tropic sun for hours. Perfect. My nails and toes are painted a soft pretty pink color to match my dress, and my hair has been professionally washed, dried and curled in huge curls just how I like it. They even gave it a bit more lift at the crown than I usually do. It looks amazing.