Chapter 9 Giselle
Giselle
Giselle shifted in the car and tried to get comfortable. They’d been sitting in traffic for the past forty-five minutes on
their way to San Diego. “This is ridiculous,” she muttered.
Shawn slanted her a quick glance. “Had you taken the day off like we talked about weeks ago, we would’ve been there by now.
I just hope we make it in time for the shower at six.”
He had talked her into staying an extra day, and they wouldn’t be returning until Monday. She didn’t see the point of wasting
two days of her leave time when she barely tolerated the woman. In her estimation, this was just another demonstration of
Kamryn trying to flaunt her money.
“Who does that anyway? It’s just not traditional.”
Tariq and Kamryn had decided to have the family shower as part of the weekend wedding festivities instead of having it weeks before like most normal people.
She knew it had to have been Kamryn’s idea, acting like people had all this money to spend at a resort for the weekend.
And of course they’d be expected to give not one but two gifts.
“Then there’s the rehearsal dinner tonight, and she said something about some kind of a bachelorette party or whatever. ”
“It’s their wedding, so they’re free to do what they want. Why are you complaining so much? I think it’s pretty cool that they had the guts to do it the way they wanted despite
everybody else’s opinion. I’m actually looking forward to getting away for the entire weekend. After the ceremony and dinner
on Saturday, we’ll have all of Sunday and part of Monday, and we haven’t done anything since our own wedding and honeymoon.
I’m looking forward to us spending some quiet time together.”
“We can’t just take off all the time,” Giselle said with a wave of her hand. She didn’t earn a lot of vacation and sick hours
in her position, and she preferred saving her time for things she wanted to do.
“I didn’t say all the time. We can do some weekend getaways that don’t require us taking time off from our jobs, and maybe
one or two longer vacations during the year. Are you saying you don’t want us to go on vacations?”
“No. I want to go. I just don’t want us to end up overextending ourselves financially.” The young girl who had to worry about
whether her family would still have enough money at the end of the month—most times they didn’t—still lived inside Giselle.
She found it hard to break free from those old habits, always waiting for the next shoe to drop, even though they could afford
everything Shawn mentioned.
Shawn reached for her hand. “Baby, you know I don’t believe in doing that, so relax.”
Taking a deep breath, she pushed down the old fears and gave his hand a squeeze. “You’re right. I’m going to try to enjoy
myself.”
They made it to the resort fifteen minutes before the first event was scheduled to begin.
Shawn had sent a text to Tariq letting him know that they’d join the family as soon as they checked in and dropped off their bags.
The sixth-floor room with its shiny tiled floor looked like something straight out of a magazine.
Her gaze went straight to the king-size bed sprinkled with rose petals, then to the large Jacuzzi tub and separate seating area.
The hotel had left a bottle of champagne in a bucket on the table.
She walked over to the sliding glass door and peeked out at the balcony.
Two chairs sat on either side of a small bistro table, providing a perfect view of the ocean.
“Read this,” Shawn said, handing her a card. “Tariq and Kamryn left the champagne and roses.”
Giselle took the card and read:
Thank you for being part of our celebration. We didn’t want to have all the fun, so we thought you two would enjoy a little
romance too.
Tariq & Kam
“That was nice of them. We should probably get going.”
They went back down to the first floor and followed the directions given by one of the staff to the room where the shower
and dinner would be held.
“Hey, you made it!” Kamryn rushed over and hugged first Shawn, then Giselle. “Did you guys get caught in traffic?”
“Yep,” Shawn answered. “Because somebody wouldn’t take the day off.” He slanted an amused glance at Giselle.
Giselle rolled her eyes. “Everybody doesn’t have a million hours of leave time.”
Kamryn waved her off. “I completely understand. I’m just glad you’re here.
” She hooked her arm in Giselle’s and led her over to a table with an assortment of appetizers, with Shawn trailing.
“After sitting in that traffic, I know you’re probably hungry, so help yourself.
Drinks are over there.” She pointed to a bar set up a few steps away.
“Thanks.”
She leaned closer to them. “Along with the champagne and roses, I left you two a little something in the bathroom to enjoy.
You can thank me later.” Kamryn tossed them a bold wink and strutted off to answer some woman who’d called her.
“Hmm. I can’t wait to see what she left,” Shawn said as he filled a small plate. “Sounds like we might be in for a second
honeymoon.” He placed a quick kiss on Giselle’s lips, then whispered, “Seems to me like Kamryn is going out of her way to
be nice. You should do the same, babe. This isn’t your mom or sisters, so don’t let those memories get in the way of you enjoying
yourself.”
How had he known those unpleasant times had creeped into her mind? During their rehearsal dinner, her mother had come in barking
orders at the restaurant’s waitstaff as if she owned the place. Her sisters hadn’t been any better. Both criticized the food,
complained that it wasn’t fresh, and kept sending back their plates. Yet not one of them had offered one dime to pay for anything.
Halting her trip down memory lane, Giselle smiled up at him. “You’re absolutely right. Now let me grab a plate and something
good to drink.”
“I got you. Let me go say hi to my parents first, though.”
“Good point,” she said with a laugh. No need to get on her mother-in-law’s bad side, not that Mama Yvonne would be that way.
That honor went solely to her own mother. Whenever Giselle didn’t do what her mother or sisters wanted, they’d give her the
silent treatment until she caved. So far this year she’d done a good job of saying that little word no, but the guilt that tended to follow seemed to creep into her subconscious at random times, tempting her to give in.
Because she’d grown up having it drilled into her head that one should always be there to help family no matter what, it was that much harder to stand firm.
“Hey, everybody,” Shawn said, dipping his head to kiss his mother’s cheek, then giving his father a pat on the shoulder.
A chorus of hellos sounded in the room.
Giselle repeated the greeting. The entire family had come, including Austin, who sat next to Taylor. No one seemed to be surprised
that the two had started dating. She took one of the empty seats and saw a few people she didn’t know.
After they were seated, Kamryn said, “Shawn and Giselle, these are my parents, Kenton and Charlene Brooks, and my best friend,
Theresa Sinclair.”
After another round of greetings, the lively conversations around the tables continued. Minutes later, the brothers rearranged
the chairs into a semicircle surrounding Tariq and Kamryn. The pair had done a gift card registry because of the shortened
timeline and also included an option to make a donation to either the nonprofit where Kamryn worked or Tariq’s favorite children’s
charity.
Halfway through, the hotel staff cleared away the appetizers and started setting up for the rehearsal dinner, which would
be held in the room a little later.
“Thanks, Taylor,” Tariq said, holding up a restaurant gift card.
“I saved your real gift to give to Kam later tonight. You can thank me later.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “I got your back,
big brother.”
Tariq stood and clapped. “I’m gonna have a good time tomorrow night!”
Still smiling, Kamryn said, “You know I’ll return the favor.”
Austin pumped his fist in the air. “Yes!”
The entire room erupted in laughter. Giselle couldn’t help but compare it to her own bridal shower.
Her mother had vetoed Mama Yvonne’s offer to do a family shower in addition to the typical one, citing men having no place at this type of gathering as an excuse.
But in Giselle’s mind, there hadn’t been anything typical about hers.
It had been stiff and cold and not full of laughter and fun like tonight.
Because her mother had been determined to show off to her pretentious friends, she’d spent well beyond her means, then wanted Giselle to reimburse her once the bills came rolling in.
To keep the peace, Shawn paid a portion of the cost, and her family had been begging ever since.
So lost in her bitter trip down memory lane, she didn’t realize someone was talking to her until Shawn touched her arm. “I’m sorry. What?”
“Mom was asking if you’re going to the bachelorette party later.”
“Oh.” She turned to Mama Yvonne. “I’ll probably go.”
“Okay, good. You can stop by my room, and we’ll go together.” Mama Yvonne gave Giselle the room number, and they discussed
a time before the elder woman left to get ready for the rehearsal.
Later, Giselle sat in the back of the outdoor area where the wedding would take place and had to admit it was beautiful. The
only attendants were Kamryn’s friend and Austin. It didn’t take long to run through the ceremony and for the wedding party
to receive instructions. Then the group all filed back into the room where the staff had just finished setting out the food.
More conversation and laughter floated around the room, and someone hooked up a speaker and turned on music. The R&B and jazz
playlist touched on every decade from the seventies to the present.