Blessed & Broken

Chapter 18

As Luke and I walked down the sidewalk, I noticed a limo parked in the driveway where a chauffeur stood holding the car door open. “A limo?”, I questioned. Luke smirked. “Of course.”

I looked back to the house before getting into the car. I could see my mom and Gemma both looking out at me through the widow. Maybe I had made a mistake by doing this, but for the first time in a long time, I felt normal. The car ride there was filled with small talk between Luke and I.

We arrived at the venue where the gala was being held. There were spot lights that danced and shined their glow to the sky. A red carpet was rolled out along the sidewalk that pointed the way to the festivities. A line of limos and blacked out SUV’s were waiting to let out their passengers.

As we waited our turn in line, I asked Luke what the gala was for. He had told me that it was a charity event for a Cancer organization and that he was one of the sponsors. 

When it was our turn to be let out, the chauffer opened our door, leading the way for Luke and I to get out. I slid my way across the seat and took hold of Luke’s extended hand. He gently guided me out of the limo and had me intertwine my arm with his. As we walked into the ballroom, my eyes were gifted by the sights of magnificent pale flowers that overflowed vases in the center of the tables. White sheer linens draped all around the lavish room. Candlelight set the calm, mystique ambiance. I had never before seen anything quite like it.

Luke introduced me to a lot of people that night. Many of which he had done business with in the past. People with lots of money. I felt completely out of place, however Luke stayed by my side the entire night. That brought some calmness to my nerves.

I didn’t talk much during our meal. There was so much conversation going on about business, that I didn’t understand a word of it. Business was a foreign language to me, so I just smiled and nodded. 

After dinner, some people got out on the dance floor, while others conjugated in groups and spoke of the rich life. Trips to Italy and yachting were some of the talk that my ears caught.

I excused myself and headed to the restroom to freshen up. While in the bathroom, I stood in front of the mirror and checked to see how my make-up was holding up. I took a good long look at my reflection. “This is so bizarre”, I thought to myself. Me, at a gala, in a gown worth thousands of dollars. As if that wasn’t enough, I was here with my ex-boyfriend from high school. Life had just gone from hard to strange.

When I left the restroom, I went to find Luke. There was a group of individuals clustered around in chit chat. I excused myself around a few people so that I could pass by.

“Miss. Stone?”, I heard a voice call my name in a curt manner. I turned to look. “Mrs. Mackey”, I replied with a forced smile. “What the hell was she doing here?”, I asked myself in dread. She was the last person I ever wanted to see. She clutched on to a gentleman's arm next to her and turned him to face me. “Darling, this is Miss. Stone. Cole’s Kindergarten teacher I was telling you about.”

The well-dressed man turned to look at me. “Miss. Stone, it’s so nice to meet you. Cole has said so many great things about you. I’m Lance Mackey.” I protracted my hand to shake his. “It’s so nice to meet you. Cole is such a wonderful boy. You should be very proud”, I said.

I glanced at Brooke, who seemed to have a scowl on her face. I took it that she wasn’t thrilled with her husband for not sharing the same feelings about me that she had. Someone began to get Mr. Mackey’s attention. “Would you please excuse me”, he said as he turned back around. “Of course,”, I answered back with a smile.

Brooke kept her eye on me. “It’s so nice to see that the high school girls are donating their prom dresses to the Goodwill”, she said, looking me up and down. I ran my hand over the silky material, smoothing it over. “It was actually made for me, by a woman named Coral”, I informed her.

Brooke c****d her head to the side, questioning my remark. “Coral, as in Coral Lark?”, she asked. Her face became all twisted. “Do you know how much her gowns cost? Probably more that you make in a year”, she stated.

I wasn’t going to be bullied by this woman any longer. I stood tall and looked her in the eyes. “It was a gift”, I announced. She began to cackle in disbelief. “A gift? From whom? Your fairy God Mother?”

I felt an arm slide around my waist and pull me in close. “From me.” Luke had heard the conversation and came to my rescue. Brooke was obviously caught off guard.

“Mr. DeVil”, she said with her mouth slightly hanging open. “Mrs. Mackey”, he said and nodded. She was practically left speechless but unfortunately not totally unable to talk. 

“So, the two of you know each other?”, she questioned. Luke lifted and eyebrow and said, “As a matter of fact, yes. Miss. Stone and I were high school sweethearts.” It’s funny because I don’t remember it that way, but I went along with it just to shut this woman up.

“I see”, she said and then hung her head as if she were a dog being shamed. “Now, if you would excuse us. I owe this beautiful lady a dance.”, Luke stated. “Yes, of course”, Brooke gracefully agreed.

Luke bent his arm and I looped mine with it and we headed to where the others were dancing. I let out a deep sigh of relief and said, “Oh, thank you for saving me back there.” He moved his arm around my waist and took my hand. We began to glide on the dance floor. It felt as if everyone were staring at us.

“I see you met Mrs. Mackey”, he observed. I gave a small giggle and said, “Yes. I was her son’s teacher last year. That was until she moved him from my class into a different one. She thought I was too young and inexperienced to teach him.”

“Yeah, she’s a pill that one”, he said with a discerning tone. “She tried hitting on me at a golf outing a while back. Her ole man wasn’t even five feet away.” He made a face of disgust. “I wouldn’t touch that thing with a ten-foot pole.” I chuckled. “But her husband makes a s**t ton of money, which is good for business”, he commented. I sympathetically smiled at Luke because I wouldn’t want to deal with these people on a daily basis.

 The song went on and Luke and I were caught in the moment. “Thank you so much for everything tonight”, I said as we swayed to the music. “The dress is absolutely gorgeous and you really went out of your way to make me feel special. I’m very grateful for that.”

Luke’s eyes deepened. “I had to make sure that you had the right attire to match your beauty.” I could feel my cheeks blush as my gaze lowered. He lifted my chin with his fingertip so that my eyes met his. “Kalia, you are one of the most beautiful women I have ever known, and I took you for granted.”

It amazed me that this once, self-centered, narcissist, bruit of an asshat that I dated back in high school, had turned into a handsome, charming, debonair, businessman. A man who also sponsors charity events I might add. All of it changing in just a few short years. 

I wasn’t ready for what I felt was going to happen next. By the grace of God, the band stopped, and it was time for us to be seated for the guest speaker who was about to talk.

A thin woman, the age of twenty-eight, with pale skin stood at the microphone. Her name was Daisy St. Clair and she was a cancer survivor. Not only had this brave woman survived breast cancer, but she survived ovarian cancer as well.

She spoke of her journey with this horrific disease. She said that she was diagnosed with breast cancer at the young age of nineteen. She spent a great deal of time on chemo and other cancer fighting medicines. She was given the news on her twenty first birthday that she was in remission. What a wonderful birthday present that must have been. Daisy had thought that she would be able to move on to live a normal life of a young adult.

However, six months later, the Doctors had found that Daisy’s ovaries were riddled with cancer and how they would need to be removed. She was so completely heartbroken because not only was she going to have to fight for her life yet again, but the possibility of her having children of her own were going to be taken away.

There was one part of Daisy’s speech that really captivated me. She went on to say, “It was in the midst of my second cancer diagnosis that something so powerful spoke to me. It was as if a message were being sent to me but I couldn’t see the messenger.” 

“It was then when I realized that the chemo, the medicine, and the doctors could only take me so far. I needed to be the rest of the power to get rid of what was slowly trying to take my life.”

“I realized I needed to change my thoughts. I was so tired of feeling hopeless and always saying, ‘Why me?’ These thoughts weren’t helping me any by feeling them. This wasn’t getting rid of this horrific disease. I needed to speak good health into my life. I needed to make myself feel happiness, because only I had the control to do so. Honestly, what did I have to lose?”

Everyone sat in complete stillness listening to this young woman’s story. “I could feel my life slowly begin to change as I started to get rid of the negative thoughts that tried to consume me. For every bad thought that tried to penetrate my head, I would replace it with a good one. I noticed a shift starting to take place. A very good shift.”

“You may be asking yourself, ‘How could you possibly think of anything positive when you have something like cancer? How can you be upbeat when you find out that you will not be able to have children of your own?’ Well, I’m here to tell you that it isn’t easy. In a sense, you have to fake it till you make it. But eventually, the good thoughts just started to come in automatically.  I learned that I was in control of me and what I allowed in my body and mind.”

“To this day, I still give thanks to that unknown messenger who gave me the tools I needed to live my life. As I stand here before you, I am proud to announce that my husband and I have a one-year-old daughter who we adopted three days after she was born. I ran my first marathon a month ago and I have now been in remission for seven years. All of this happened because I recognized that I am in control of my destiny.”

A roar of applause erupted for Daisy. I was so moved by her. She had every right to be angry at the world and yet she chose not to be. She was a true inspiration. 

I held back the tears when I totally understood when she talked about receiving a message without seeing a messenger. It made my heart miss Ian more than ever. 

“I know you are probably wondering why I brought up a very odd topic of talking good health into existence. Well, as we discovered, it is a vital implementation in fighting any disease. A positive mental state is so important in getting rid of the negative.”

“With your generous donations from tonight’s gala, St. Dypha's Medical Center will be able to build a new wing onto the existing cancer center. This new wing will go hand in hand with the other part of the treatment center, allowing for others to get the correct mental and holistic care that will greatly aid in one’s cancer journey.”

“I want to thank all of you tonight for allowing me to share my story with you. This is an extraordinary cause that you will all be supporting. On behalf of myself and all other cancer survivors, new and in remission, thank you.”

The applause broke out again and everyone stood in ovation for this brave, inspiring woman. My heart was so full. As much as I felt out of place here with these overly wealthy people, I was so grateful to them for using their abundance to help others who need it. 

The night was coming to a close. Luke and I were riding back to my home in the limo, when he reached over and took my hand. “You really do look beautiful tonight, Kalia.” The glow from the passing streetlights where entrancingly shining upon his face.

His hand was warm, and his skin was soft. It had been a long time since anyone had touched me this way. I looked over at him and said, “Thank you, Luke, for everything. You made me feel very special tonight.”

By this time, the limo had pulled into the driveway and the driver opened the door. Luke got out of the car and held his hand out for me to take. I placed my hand in his and made my way out of the long ride.

Luke held onto my hand to escort me to the front door. We turned to face each other on the front step. He brought the back of my hand to his lips and gave it a tender kiss. My heart giving an extra thump as he looked deep into my eyes. “Goodnight, Kalia.” A slight smile touched my lips. “Goodnight, Luke.”