Hooker to Housewife (32 page)

Chantal thought back to how her mother read the Bible every morning at the breakfast table. Up until the very end, Mrs. Morgan continued to try and instill morals into her willful daughter. She would bribe Chantal to go to church every Sunday by promising her a new outfit or buying her something that she knew they couldn't afford. But one day that was no longer enough for Chantal and she ended that abruptly. Mrs. Morgan knocked on Chantal's bedroom door and she was just lying in bed staring at the wall. First her mother thought she wasn't feeling well until Chantal said, “Why should I waste my time and best clothes to go to a place where I'll never meet my husband. Plus people that go to church are the biggest sinners anyway.” With that, Chantal put the covers over her face and waited for her mother to close the door. From that day on Chantal went into full-blown rebellion.

Chantal had made it clear to her parents that her sole goal in life was to marry a rich powerful man who would spoil her like the star she was supposed to be. She was tired of seeing her parents struggle all their lives barely making ends meet. It seemed like yesterday that she was sitting on the school bus admiring a picture of a very wealthy mogul whose face was splashed across the front cover of a magazine with the headline
KING OF NEW YORK
. That photo and inside story was her motivation to leave the hood behind and seek the jet-set life she craved.

The road Chantal traveled to get here definitely wasn't an easy one. When she arrived in New York with the $7,000 she stole from her mother, she soon realized that would only get her so far. After renting a hole in the wall room on a weekly basis she immediately started hitting the club scene in the heart of the city. One night while seductively gyrating in the middle of the dance floor she caught the eye of a well-known video music director. He promised that if she listened to his advice he would make her a music video queen. Even then Chantal thought prancing around in videos was beneath her, but she knew it would get her within touching distance of all the music bigwigs. In her mind she felt that was all she
needed; once the music industry honchos got an eyeful of her, one of them was bound to put a huge rock on her finger. The next day she called the director and he kept his word. Now seven years later she was about to marry the most powerful man in the music industry. Who said that dreams never come true?

“Chantal, I can't believe today is the big day! Girl, I'm about to start crying like I'm getting married,” Shari said under sniffles, bringing Chantal out of her deep thoughts of the past.

“Shari, this has to be the happiest day of my life. All my dreams are about to come true. If someone would have told me ten years ago that I would be getting married at a church on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills I would've burst out laughing, but look at me. Today that is exactly what is about to happen. I have my best friend by my side, my beautiful little girl, and the man I love. My parents might have thought I was a major screwup but I've made them proud. I've landed the biggest catch of them all.”

“Yeah, you have.” Shari nodded in agreement. Both women looked around at the thousands of flowers and the beautifully decorated church. It was of the caliber to make even Star Jones second-guess her wedding planner. “Listen, Cinderella, it's time for us to get you dressed and ready for the momentous occasion. In a couple of hours this church will be filled to capacity and it will be your moment to shine.”

 

Kenny entered Andre's house close to ten o'clock in the morning still replaying his late-night rendezvous with two buxom twins. Although they wanted to keep the party going, and so did he, Kenny was determined to be at his best friend's side for his wedding day. Right when he was about to skip up the stairs and take a quick shower he was startled when he saw what looked like two bodies wrapped around each other in the living room. As he walked closer, trying to focus on the image, he felt arousal at the outline of a woman's glistening body peeking from the blanket.
He still couldn't see her face but soon realized that the well-defined man's body was no other than Andre's. Kenny couldn't help but say out loud, “That's my man. You decided to get some before taking the plunge.” Kenny's thunderous mouth instantly woke up Andre and he saw that Tyler was still sleep.

“Man, keep it down!” Andre demanded, while making sure the blanket covered Tyler's naked body, and he grabbed his boxer shorts.

“Who is that?” Kenny asked, trying to get a better view of the sleeping woman. Andre grabbed Kenny's arm and led him into his study. Andre didn't say another word until they reached the destination and he closed the door behind them. “Man, you still didn't answer my question. Who is that fine piece of ass lying on your living room floor?” Andre gave Kenny an intense glare that sent chills down his spine. “Did I say something wrong?” Kenny said, feeling uncomfortable with the look Andre was giving him.

“That woman you're talking about is my future wife.”

“What? I know the pussy might have been good but damn, man. Your future wife is waiting for you at the church.” Andre wanted to punch Kenny in his mouth because he felt as if he was disrespecting Tyler in some way, but then he also knew that Kenny thought the woman in his living room was just some random chick.

“Listen, Kenny, that woman in the living room is Tyler.”

“Tyler Blake, the movie star? Stop playing, man.” Kenny made a gesture as if he was about to leave the study and go back to the living room to drool over the sleeping starlet.

“Where the fuck do you think you're going?” Andre asked, stunned by Kenny's actions.

“I have to go see for myself. There is no way that Tyler Blake is lying on your living room floor butt-ass naked.” Andre grabbed Kenny's arm with serious intent.

“Man, if you don't stop saying her name in the same sentence
as some disrespectable shit we gon have a problem. No, my fault, you're going to have a problem,” he warned.

“My bad—I didn't realize. I'm just so amped right now. I know you said you dated her but I must have never told you that I have a crush on her.” Andre rolled his eyes and started shaking his head, not believing that his childhood best friend was acting like a straight-up groupie right now.

“I more than dated her, Kenny. If you get your head out your ass you'll remember that just last night I told you I had asked her to marry me.”

“Yeah, you did tell me that. I guess I have selective amnesia. Now I can't even fantasize about her no more. So what now, you guys are back together? When did all this happen?”

“It's a long complicated story, but the point is we're in love and we're getting married.”

“What about Chantal? You know I'm not a big fan of hers but man she is going to be devastated.”

“I know, and Melanie she's going to take it really hard. But I have the chance to be with the woman I truly love. This is the rest of my life we're talking about.” Andre sat on top of his cherry wood desk and stared at the picture of him with Chantal and Melanie. They did look picture-perfect but his heart wasn't there; it belonged to Tyler. Deep down inside, Andre believed in the future he could make Melanie understand that she would always be his angel but things just didn't work out between her parents.

“I totally understand. I didn't think you should've gotten engaged to Chantal in the first place. The timing is just so bad. You actually are going to leave that girl at the altar?”

“I'm so torn right now, Kenny, but I do know I won't be marrying Chantal today or any other day. I need to ask you to do me a favor and step up to the plate.”

“Hell no! Don't even ask me to do what I know you're about to
say.” Kenny had his hands up in defensive mode, waving them, saying, “No.”

“Don't make me beg, but I will. Kenny there is no way I can go to that church and confront Chantal. It would hurt her more coming from me. All her friends and family will see me leave and wonder what happened. All the paparazzi that are surrounding the church, it will turn into a circus out there. Please, man, do this for me. I'm going to write a letter that will be here waiting for her when she returns.”

“Where are you going?”

“Tyler was supposed to leave for the island of Mustique this morning. I'm going to go with her and we'll take a later flight. By the time Chantal gets here, we'll be gone. My letter will fully explain everything. She and Shari can take the trip to Fiji, and hopefully by the time they return, Chantal won't be so angry.”

“Andre, I don't know, this is the same chick that slit her wrists trying to win you back. She may wig out on me and beat me with her shoe or something.”

“Kenny, stop playing,” Andre said, annoyed by his comment.

“I'm not playing. Something ain't quite right with that chick.”

“Listen, go to the church and ask to speak to Chantal in private. Tell her that I sent you because it would hurt too bad to see the disappointment on her face but that I'm not ready to get married. Let her know that I have explained everything in a letter that I left on the nightstand in the bedroom. If she asks where I am, tell her that I got on a flight this morning and would call her later to see how she is doing. But no matter how angry she gets or even if she curses you out, Kenny, do not be cruel to her.” Kenny stood in the middle of the study, speechless. He was the same defense attorney who cut prosecution witnesses to shreds on the witness stand, but to have to break the heart of a would-be blushing bride was more than he could stomach.

_______

Chantal stood in the mirror, admiring what a vision of perfection she was. She had never seen a more gorgeous bride. With her full spread in
InStyle
magazine she would be the envy of all grown women and little girls everywhere. Chantal's chic chignon hair-style and super-sized diamond earrings perfectly complemented her white strapless gown that clasped every curve in her hourglass figure. Chantal's stylist came over and made the final touches to her makeup and it was show time.

“Chantal, are you ready?” Shari asked, as she grabbed her best friend's delicate hand.

“Definitely,” Chantal said with pure confidence.

“Before we go out there and you face all those people I want to tell you something. Chantal, I truly love you. You're the sister I never had. To see you standing here looking like a princess is unbelievable. We've been through so much together and I know you truly love Andre and that you're going to make him a wonderful wife. We joke a lot about landing that one sponsor who will change our life forever, but I know you and I know your heart. Andre is the only man that you've ever given your heart to and one day he'll realize just how lucky he is to have a gem like you.” The two women held each other in a deep embrace, not noticing that Kenny was standing in the entrance of the door.

“Excuse me, I'm sorry to interrupt but can I speak to Chantal alone for a minute?”

“What's up, Kenny? Don't tell me that Andre is running late. Everyone is waiting for us.”

“Can I speak to you alone, Chantal?” he repeated, not cracking a smile. Shari could sense that something was wrong but remained unruffled for Chantal.

“Whatever you have to tell me you can say it in front of Shari. She's family.”

“I'd much rather tell you in private.”

“Chantal, it's not a problem, I'll be right outside,” Shari said, making her way to the door.

“No, you stay right here, Shari. I want you to hear what Kenny has to say.” Kenny glanced at Shari and then back at Chantal. He so wanted to get the whole thing over with that he wasn't about to go back and forth about if Shari was staying or not. Plus, he figured she would need her girlfriend to console her after the news he was about to break.

“I'm going to come right out with it, Chantal: Andre won't be showing up here today. He can't go through with the wedding,” Kenny stated matter-of-factly.

“There must be some mistake. You never liked me, Kenny, and now you're trying to ruin my wedding day. But this isn't funny. There are hundreds of people waiting for me to walk down the aisle. Andre would never leave me standing at the altar.” The shivering of Chantal's lips and the twitching of what seemed to be her entire face made Shari and Kenny stand there frozen.

“Chantal, calm down. Andre sent me because he didn't want to see the pain in your face when he broke your heart. He explained everything in a letter that is waiting at home for you.”

“A letter, a fucking letter! This isn't happening to me! Andre loves me, he really does. We belong together. No one will ever love Andre the way that I do. He has to marry me. What will I tell Melanie?” Chantal was now sitting on the floor, rocking back and forth. Shari ran to her side and laid her head on Chantal's shoulder, trying to carry some of her pain. At that moment Kenny had not only broken Chantal's heart but Shari's, too.

“Chantal, I'm so sorry,” Kenny said sincerely.

“Where is he, Kenny? Tell me where Andre is.”

“He took a flight out early this morning. He said he would call you later to make sure you're all right.” Before Kenny could say another word, Chantal scurried past him with vengeance in her eyes.

 

As T-Roc drove down Sunset Boulevard he got the call he'd been waiting for. “Hello. Tell me something good.”

“How about I tell you something great,” his most trusted informant replied.

“That's even better.”

“Meet me at our usual spot in an hour.”

“What for? You can't tell me over the phone?”

“The skeleton we hoped to drag out of the closet on your enemy Andre turned out to be a full-fledged grave. This information is so explosive I have to see the expression on your face when I reveal all.”

“Say no more. I'm on the way.” T-Roc made a U-turn in the middle of the street, smiling at the thought of finally bringing Andre down once and for all.