| Lauralee got dressed, ate the egg and cheese puffs that Lola made, and excused herself. She went to her drawer, and took out a key that was taped to the bottom of it. The tape looked worn and yellowed as she removed it and took the key. She stared at it for a moment, wanting to put the key back in spot where it remained for 7 years. She stood firm, grasping the key with both hands and left her bedroom. “Lola, I have to go an appointment downtown. I’m not going to bring my cell, so if anyone calls take a message.” Lola wiped her hands with a dishtowel. “Will do Miss Deverson. I’ll take care of everything.” Lauralee went downstairs to the garage, where she started her Jaguar and drove out of the building. She drove to the storage facility, parked her Jag in front of the storage garage and stepped out. She stopped in front of Locker 27, took the key from her drawer out of her jean pocket and took a deep breath. She went to the orange door, put the key in the lock and turned it. With a click, Lauralee lifted the door open. She searched for the switch, found it, and flipped it. The place was still in tact, with boxes neatly piled on the shelves, though had collected their fair share of dust. She walked into the locker further; searching for the box she wanted and found it. She removed it from the shelf, put it on the floor, and sat on the floor Indian style. She lightly dragged her fingers over the writing: Elegance - 2002. With another deep breath, she opened the box and looked inside. Overlooking it, she began to pull out the many papers, pictures, and plaques from the deep box. She wanted to find THE picture. Finally, as she took out the rest of the box and found the bottom, she gasped. She took out the wooden frame as tears glistened in her eyes and ran her hands over the dusty glass. The four of them, looking so happy as they had won their last Grammy as a group. They had held on to those four Grammys as if they were the most precious things in the world. She thought back to that night, remembering the exhilaration they felt as they won the awards for their album “Victory.” They had won Record of the Year, Best Group, Best R & B Album, and Album of the Year. She remembered the headlines in the paper the next day: Grammys have an Elegant Twist. People thought they were the underdog that night, and it shocked a lot of people that they had won the most out of everyone. She didn’t know what to think until she saw the tear splash onto the glass. She hugged the picture, rocking back and forth, letting the pain wash over her like a tidal wave. She wiped her tears and picked up another picture, this time not even looking at it, but rather quickly put it in her bag along with the picture of Elegance and headed out of the storage room. ~*~ Lauralee headed back to the apartment, where Lola was cleaning the kitchen. “Oh Miss Deverson, that must have been some appointment,” Lola said. “Yeah it was. Any messages?” “Yes.” Lola took out a pad from her apron. “Mark called yet again, as well as Mr. Davis. He called just wanted to see how you were doing.” “OK, thanks Lola. Listen, why don’t you take an early day? I have no plans anyway.” “Are you sure?” “Definitely. I’ll just find something in the fridge for dinner. You go on home.” “OK,” Lola went to get her bag. “You can leave the dishes in the sink to soak, and…” “Lola, I’m a big girl, I can wash dishes,” Lauralee had to practically push her out of the door. “Say hi to Jose and the boys for me.” “Will do. See you tomorrow,” Lola waved as she got on the elevator. Lauralee waited as she left then fixed herself some leftovers, took the bottle of wine, and went into the TV room to catch some shows. She flipped to Access Hollywood, where sure enough, she was on the screen. “News tonight on R&B queen Lauralee Deverson. Sources say that her and her actor boyfriend Mark Vincent are getting close to marriage. As you know, Lauralee’s latest album Been There has sold over 8 million copies since the release last year, and she and Vincent have been going out for 3 years. Lauralee stated that she was going to take a break at the end of her world tour, before she starts work on her fourth LP. Looks like she may be planning a wedding in the meantime. This would be her second…” Lauralee, with disgust, turned off the television. Where did they get this stuff anyway? Like she always knew, everyone thought that they knew her, however no one had a clue. She finished her meal in silence, as her eyes kept glancing at her bag. She finally couldn’t take it anymore and seized her bag, slowly taking out the other picture. She was so torn to look at it, between trepidation and longing. The longing had won. She closed her eyes when she took out the picture, still fighting that longing. It consumed her again and she managed to open her eyes. She had a huge grin on her face as she was being dipped, with the flash of light on her left hand. He was looking at her in his tuxedo, a smile as big as Texas. It was the after party to the Grammys, as that shot was in every paper in the world. She grazed the picture along his face, not knowing whether she wanted to laugh or cry. She put the picture on the coffee table and just stared at it. Those were the good days, where she didn’t have a care in the world. Nothing could stop her until… She closed her eyes, and shook the memory out of her head as she swigged the last of the wine in one gulp. ~*~ She found herself waking up on the couch, wearing the same clothes as she had worn the day before, being shaken by Lola. “Miss Deverson? Wake up,” Lola said as Lauralee stirred. “What happened?” Lauralee rubbed her eyes as she sat up, feeling the room spinning. “You must have fallen asleep.” Lola picked up the empty bottle of wine and looked at Lauralee. “Miss Deverson, I know that I am just the maid around here, but is everything alright? You have not been the same since you came back home.” “Lola, first of all, you are more than a maid. Second, I’m fine. I’m just a little tired. After all, it’s probably been the first vacation I’ve had in 5 years.” “OK, but if you ever need to talk about anything…” “I know who to come to,” Lauralee finished. “I think I’m gonna take a bubble bath.” ~*~ She spent the next few days puttering around the house, trying to keep herself busy. She spent a lot of time in her studio, mixing and playing with tracks she had in her head. She did anything and everything to avoid what had transpired a few days ago. Lola had kept a close eye on her, with Lauralee trying to explain that she had a bad night, and it wouldn’t happen again. Just to make sure, and Lauralee smiled inwardly, the liquor had mysteriously been hidden away. Today, she was going to see her mother, whom she hadn’t seen in several months. Driving her Jaguar up to the house, her mother was already out the door, with her arms wide open. “Hi sweetie!” Sandy Robbins said as she hugged her daughter. “Hi Mom,” Lauralee smiled as her mother cupped her face in her hands. They walked up the stairs and made it halfway, where her stepfather, Jerry, then greeted her. Jerry gave her a huge hug as well. Sandy walked up to the house as Jerry walked with Lauralee, his arm around her shoulders. “So where have you been stranger?” he asked as he gave Lauralee’s shoulder a squeeze. “Around.” “How’s your vacation going?” “OK, it’s weird not having somewhere to go, but I’m handling it.” They came to the door as Jerry stopped her. “Just to warn you, your mother is going to interrogate you. She’s been watching the news about you and Mark.” Lauralee sighed. “Thanks for the warning.” They stepped inside as Sandy brought in some iced tea. Sandy took a seat next to Jerry as Lauralee sat in the fluffy chair opposite them. Small talk filled the room for the next hour, with Lauralee telling stories about her European tour, gave them gifts, and hearing the family stories. “Did Dominic like his graduation present?” Lauralee asked Sandy. “Um Lau? How could you NOT love a red Mustang waiting at the house? He was shocked as all hell!” “Well, I figured a 17-year-old could use a car. I’m sure he was sick of asking Aunt Charlene for hers all the time.” “He’s never home. Charlene told me it’s turned into his second room.” Sandy smiled. Lauralee noticed a look shared between her and Jerry. Jerry then stood up and cleared his throat. “Well, I better go and check on dinner.” He turned to Sandy, gave her a kiss on the cheek, turned to Lauralee and winked as he left the room. “OK, Mom, shoot.” “What?” “Don’t fool me. What do you want to know about?” Sandy sighed. “Well, it’s about Mark…” Lauralee rolled her eyes. “Mom, please, I know you don’t like…” “Now let me finish. I just wanted to ask you about all the reports about you and him.” “Can you honestly believe those people on TV? Furthermore, if I was getting engaged, you would be the first one I would tell.” “Fine,” Sandy held her hand up. “I just wanted to confirm it. Let’s go and eat.” Later that evening, Lauralee said goodbye to her mother and proceeded to walk to her car, when she heard a whistle coming from the house. She turned around to see Jerry walking towards her. “Did I forget something?” Lauralee asked as he approached her. “No, I just wanted to ask you something.” “That is?” “You know your mother loves you very much.” “Yeah.” “And I love you like you were my own daughter.” “Uh huh.” “So I want to know what’s up?” “Nothing,” she responded quickly. Jerry cocked his head to the side. “You sure?” “Yes! God, what’s with everyone?!? I’m just fine! Can’t a woman get a break now and then?!?” She turned to see Jerry’s shocked face. “I’m sorry, it’s just that every time I’m quiet people think that something is wrong.” Jerry put his hands on her shoulders. “Just want you to know if you need to talk, you have me OK?” “OK. See you later.” Lauralee hugged Jerry and went to her car. Chapter 3 Contents Chapter 1 |