Natural Beauty (16 page)

“Delia,
the car’s running and I’m not leaving without you so
— ”
Donna Lee stopped short when she entered the penthouse apartment and saw the
situation.

“Gina,
this is Delia’s sister Donna,” Jason offered after an awkward silence.

Donna
Lee stared at Jason with a glare that could’ve melted his face. “I’ve known you
for over four annoying years. You know
good
and well
my name is Donna Lee. Call me Donna again and I’ll kick you in the nuts.”

Jason
rolled his eyes and sighed. It was hard to tell with him whether he really
forgot how much Donna Lee hated to be called Donna or whether he was just so
disinterested in anything that didn’t concern himself that it didn’t strike him
as necessary to remember.

“Sister?
How can they be sisters? Delia’s
black and she’s Chinese,” Gina said with a perplexed look on her face.

Donna
Lee crossed her arms and stepped toward the giant of a redhead. “First of all,
I’m Korean not Chinese, you flat-chested, bird-brained, bitch. Second of all,
what the hell are you doing in my sister’s house?”

Gina
took a step back clearly intimidated by the petite Donna Lee. Jason stepped
between them and said, “Donna Lee, watch your language. I won’t tolerate you
disrespecting my guests in my own home.”

“Well,
here’s an idea Jason,” Donna Lee said with sarcastic sweetness. “How about I
not tolerate you disrespecting my sister anymore?”

“What
goes on in this house is none of your business. We can solve our own problems.”

The
way Jason looked at both Gina and Delia when he said “we” made Donna Lee take a
step back and survey the situation again. “What do you mean ‘we’?” she asked
with fierce skepticism. A tense silence fell over the room. Delia continued to
stare blankly at the coffee table. Jason turned aside and rubbed the back of
his neck. Gina chewed on her thumbnail and tried to blend into the background.
“Would someone please tell me what’s going on here?”

 
“I’m moving in, so technically, this is my
home too,” Gina volunteered with tentative confidence as she looked to Jason
for support. He continued to avoid eye contact with anyone.

Donna
Lee looked from Gina to Jason and back several times. “Why you son of a
— ”
Donna Lee lunged for Jason and got a good punch in
before he grabbed her wrists and restrained her. “How dare you? Are you out of
your God damn mind?”

“It’s
not like
that
 
—
” Jason protested as he easily picked up the petite Donna Lee and tossed her
into
 
a chair.

“The
hell it
ain’t
. Delia, get your stuff, we’re leaving.”

Delia
didn’t move. She couldn’t move. She focused on her 3 inch Jimmy
Choo’s
in order to keep from thinking about the insanity of
the situation and passing out. She had about fifty pairs of heels in her overstocked
closet. Jason still didn’t think that was enough. He loved to see her in heels.
Especially these particular heels.
He thought they
made her look ridiculously sexy. It was odd how her life was completely falling
apart in front of her but all she could think about was shoes. She giggled to
herself. She must have been losing her mind.

“Dee,
what are you laughing at? Get your stuff. We are out,” Donna Lee said.

A
smile spread across Delia’s face as another thought entered her mind. It had to
do with what her sister said about Jason’s nuts earlier.

Slowly
she got to her feet as her smile spread wider and her giggle grew louder.
Everyone in the room stared at her probably thinking she was having a nervous
breakdown. After several moments, Delia finally stopped laughing. Then with all
her might, she kicked her husband in the balls.

Delia’s
life spiraled into an abyss of oblivion. Jason had left her with no marriage,
no money, and no identity. Yes, no money. There was a prenuptial agreement,
which she had signed against Donna Lee’s adamant opinion.
Worse
than the lack of money was the lack of identity.
After marrying Jason,
she felt like she belonged to someone for the first time in her life. She had a
name that she had chosen, not one that had been given to her. So, now, once
again she felt trapped inside nothingness and she didn’t know how to crawl out
and find herself.

Immediately
after the break-up, Delia moved in with Donna Lee and her two roommates,
Shannon and Sharon. She didn’t leave the couch for weeks as she wallowed in her
failures. The longer she moped the more she failed. She lost her job as a
research analyst for the National Science Institute. The only thing she
succeeded in was annoying and imposing upon her sister and her two roommates.

“Delia,
I love you, but this has got to end,” Donna Lee said one evening as she came
home from work.

Trying
to block out the forthcoming nagging session, Delia rolled over on the couch
and placed a pillow over her head.

“I
was so proud of you when you kicked Jason in the nuts. I really thought you
were
gonna
spring back from this, but apparently not.
You’ve got to get yourself together. Jason was a no good creep. He’s not worth
all this. You’ve
gotta
get over him.”

She
didn’t reply. Her sister just didn’t understand. She had never been married. In
fact, Delia couldn’t think of a single relationship Donna Lee had ever had that
lasted longer than two months.

“You
know what your problem is? You’ve let Jason define you for so long you can’t see
yourself without him. You think because your biological parents didn’t want you
that no one could ever want you. One charismatic grin from that trouser troll
and he had you thinking that you were the most beautiful you had ever been.
Well, you know what, Delia? You are beautiful.
With or
without him.”

Delia
kept her head under the pillow to hide the tears that had developed from the
all too true words of her adoptive sister. Deep down she knew Donna Lee was
right.
 
She knew she couldn’t carry on
sleeping on a couch and dwelling on her pathetic life.
 
She had to find a way to get on with her
life.

The
next day, she made progress.
 
She
actually got off the couch for longer than twenty minutes and managed to put on
an outfit that didn’t closely resemble pajamas. As a way to say thank you to
her current landlords, she took a few minutes to straighten up the apartment.
For the first time she realized what a mess she’d been living in. Her sister
and her roommates were complete pigs. They still lived as college students even
though they had graduated three years ago. With pizza boxes stacked next to the
door and home furnishings made of empty milk crates, Delia knew she definitely
had to get out of that apartment as soon as possible. But the thought of
finding her own place, a new job, and jumping back into the rigmarole of paying
bills and just, well, living overwhelmed her.

Delia
returned to the comfort and security of the couch. While massaging the bra
strap indentations in her shoulder with one hand, she reached for the remote
with the other. She really hated her huge breasts and longed for the day when
she could afford to have the implants removed.

After
clicking on the television, Delia searched for a show that didn’t feature a man
or a woman or love in any way, shape or form. She channel surfed for nearly an
hour then settled on a program that showed the physics of roller coasters.
Besides realizing that she was a complete nerd for enjoying something like
that, she also realized that she had never been on a vacation. Even though it
would probably drain the last of her savings, she felt it was something she
needed to do.

With
a newfound resolve and excitement for having a goal, Delia opened her laptop
and started making plans.

“A cruise?”
Donna Lee said, nodding.
 
“I
gotta
say, that
sounds like a great idea. I’m so proud of you.” She gave Delia a big hug before
opening the refrigerator and shaking her head in disappointment at the meager
provisions.
 
“Oh, and it’ll give us an
excuse to go clothes shopping,” she said excitedly while reaching for a carton
of leftover Chinese food.

She
stuck her hand in and pulled out something that probably used to be broccoli.
After sniffing it, she shrugged, tossed it in her mouth and said, “We
gotta
get you some sexy clothes. You dress like you’re
fifty, not twenty-five.”

“Well,
actually, that’s perfect for this cruise.”

***

The
Golden Swan Cruise line was exactly what Delia wanted and needed. Considering
that 90% of its passengers were over 70, she knew she wouldn’t have to worry
about men hitting on her. She could finally clear her head, relax, and try to
find the good in herself.

The
cruise started out perfectly except for a few of the feisty old men that would
try to put the moves on her every once in a while. Delia always graciously
declined their advances. The attention should have raised her self-esteem but
it didn’t.
 
As far as she could tell, she
was the only one on the boat with all her natural teeth. Of course they hit on
her.

The
only thing that bothered her was an alarmingly attractive young man she’d
noticed when she boarded the boat. He was the only other passenger that seemed
to be in his twenties as well. His short dark hair and penetrating blue eyes
captivated her even from a distance.

After
three days on the boat, she’d seen him a total of eleven times. She didn’t know
why she was counting. It just turned into a fun little game in her head. She
would pick a spot on the boat and see how long it took before he passed by.
Then she would sit back and study him. Delia told herself there was no harm in
looking.

Tonight
she found him in the ship’s nightclub. But then again, he was there every night
so really she found him without looking. Stealing an innocent glance, she
noticed he was wearing a black fedora tipped to the side along with a precision
pressed shirt and a skinny tie. She wondered why he always looked like he’d
just stepped out of a revival of Guys and Dolls. Delia shook her head and
returned her attention to her drink. She was becoming obsessed with a random
stranger. Yet, he did not seem equally enthralled with her. Instead, he was
completely captivated by a woman that had to be twice his age. He was obviously
some sort of gigolo.

***

Chase
Donovan stacked his beer bottle caps into a mini tower on the bar. When they
toppled over, he started again.

“Another beer?”
 
Jim the bartender asked.

Chase
counted the caps. He’d already had six, but he wasn’t drunk. He never got
drunk. His alarmingly high tolerance for alcohol was sometimes very annoying. He
wished he was drunk.
 
Maybe then he could
tolerate Felicia flirting with every man in this stupid gaudy nightclub.

“Nah,
I think I’ll settle up and get out of here.” Chase stood and stretched.

“You sure?
Looks like Felicia’s having a
great time. I’m not sure she’s ready to go yet.”

Chase
glanced at the dance floor and saw Felicia gyrating with not one, but two
men.
 
He rolled his eyes and sat back
down. He knew he couldn’t leave her there alone. He had to make sure she got
back to her room safely.

Jim
chuckled and placed another beer in front of Chase. “On the house,” he said.
“Why don’t you try to enjoy yourself a little more?” he added while nodding to
his left.

Chase
knew what he was nodding toward.
The pretty little
dark-skinned girl with the green eyes who sat alone at the end of the bar night
after night.
Chase had admired her beauty from afar ever since the
cruise left Florida. He’d even mentioned it to Jim but had been reluctant to
approach her. He didn’t take this cruise to pick up girls. He’d taken it for
Felicia, but did she appreciate his sacrifice? He looked at the dance floor
again and heard a resounding ‘no’ in his head.

He
took a long swig of beer, tipped his hat to the perfect angle, then made his
way over to her. He had to take a chance at some point. He was starting to see
her eyes in his sleep. And if she rejected him, that would still be less
embarrassing than what Felicia was currently doing on the dance floor.

“You’ve
been nursing that martini for twenty minutes now,” he said with uncharacteristic
boldness. It must have been the seven beers talking.

“What?
Oh, I’m not a big drinker,” she said, looking at the glass of alcohol that had
hardly been touched.
 
“I don’t even know
why I ordered this.
 
I guess I figured
since I was in a bar I might as well try to fit in.”

“If
you want to fit in here, you’re going to have to break a hip,” he said.
 
She laughed the most enchanting, delicate,
feminine, beautiful laugh he had ever heard. His pulse raced and his stomach
fluttered, but maybe it was the alcohol. Yeah, it had to be the alcohol.

Chase
smiled and searched for something else to say. Something to the effect of ‘I
think you’re gorgeous and I’d like to get to know you better.’ But that didn’t
sound right. It sounded desperate. He should have taken a few more minutes and
worked out some
pick up
lines before he came over.
Better yet, he should have texted Sammy and asked him what to say. Sammy always
had the right words. Not like Chase. Chase was usually too busy to worry about
women.
 
So now here he was trapped.
Standing in front of possibly the most beautiful woman he would ever see in his
life, smiling like an idiot, and not having a clue as to what to say.

“Your
eyes are beautiful,” he blurted. Chase reddened and looked away. That was
possibly the most juvenile line he could ever say. What was he thinking?

“Thank
you very much for the compliment, but you can go back to your date now. What
was her name? Felicia?”

“Felicia?
Date?
No, no, you’re mistaken. We’re not together …
well, we’re together, but not like that.”

“Look
you don’t have to explain it to me. But as someone that has been cheated on
many … many times, I know how it feels and I would never want to be a part of
that. I’m not here to break up relationships.”

“No,
no seriously, you’ve got it wrong. She’s my grandmother.”

The
beautiful woman furrowed her eyebrows as she looked from Chase to Felicia and
back. “She looks a bit young to be your grandmother.”

“She
looks good for her age, but I assure you, she’s my grandmother.” Chase reached into
his pocket and pulled out a picture from his wallet. The picture showed a
little boy about six years old being held by a tall blond woman who looked
remarkably like Felicia. “We’ve taken this cruise every summer since I was
eleven. It’s our chance to bond.”

“That
is the sweetest thing I have ever heard in my life.” She took the picture out
of his hand and studied it more closely. “You are so lucky to be close with
your grandmother.
 
I would love to know
my grandmother.
Or any biological family for that matter.
I’m Delia.”

“Chase,
Chase Donovan.” He shook her hand and sat down next to her.
 
“So why don’t you know your family?”

***

“You
ready to go, Son?” Felicia asked an hour later as she dried beads of sweat from
her face with a handkerchief. Delia studied the woman’s face and physique. She
approximated Chase’s age to be about 25, which meant that Felicia had to be
around 65. Delia prayed she would look that good at 65. Felicia barely had a
wrinkle and she had a light in her eyes that made her look almost juvenile. She
reminded Delia of the ethereal Heather Locklear who never seemed to age.

“Not yet, Grandma.
Why don’t you go back to the
room and I’ll meet you there?”

“What
did I tell you about calling me Grandma in public?” Felicia said in a forced
whisper. “I’m trying to pass for 50 here. No one is going to believe that if
they know I’m your grandmother.” Then she kissed the side of his head and
tousled his hair. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“Oh,
sorry, this is Delia.”

“Delia,”
Felicia repeated with a smile.
“Beautiful name for a
beautiful girl.
Make my boy happy okay? He needs a good woman to
straighten him out.” Just then, a techno version of “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”
started playing. “Oh, I love this song,” she said, clasping her hands.

With
that, she was whisked away by a crowd of fawning suitors leaving Chase smiling
after her.

***

At
three o’clock in the morning, the glittery disco ball stopped turning. Chase
and Delia looked around and noticed they were the only ones left in the nightclub.
All the retirees had long gone to bed.