Chocolate Reality (18 page)

After a few hours of being treated like royalty, amongst the scrubbing and pounding massages, I began to actually feel like a princess. All this pampering can get to your head. Imagine sitting in a comfortable chair, getting a pedicure while you are sipping sparkling apple juice and having a plate of fruit and chocolate right at your fingertips. The only downfall is when you are receiving a manicure and you can’t reach the delicious chocolate. Being pampered is a treat every woman should receive at least once in her life.

At exactly noon Heather and Tracey came into The Pampering Palace to escort me on a shopping trip. Going on a shopping trip with these two ladies is the experience of a lifetime. Tracey just lets herself go and experience the moment with no children involved, and Heather just loves to shop.

After an exhausting two hours of trying on suits and dresses and mismatched outfits just for the fun of it, I managed to walk out of the store with not only a dress that we could all agree on, but a new pair of shoes and stockings to match. I have to admit that it is very seldom that I indulge and buy an honest to goodness dress. But this one just caught my eye and said ‘pick me, pick me’. Now how could I resist that?

When I walked out of the changing room wearing this particular dress, both Heather and Tracey just gasped. I spun around in front of the mirrors and I loved what I saw. An exotic black dress that had embroidered island colored flowers flowing on the hem. The skirt of this dress swirled around my legs as I spun around. It had a scooped neckline that included a scarf in the same exotic colors that were on the skirt. The sleeves were ¾ length with a small cuff at each end. I felt beautiful in this dress.

As I spun around in the dress I had the desire to live out my dream at least for one night. Why not pretend that I am single and free, that this night is just for me. How much harm would that be?

After walking out of the store with my purchases, we decided to stop at Starbucks for a Vanilla Bean Latte. This is an extra special treat, and no counting calories are allowed – that was declared the moment we all walked into the coffee shop.

We had just enough time to enjoy our Latte’s before I needed to be back at The Pampering Palace for the rest of my beauty treatment. The very thing that I was dreading this morning has become a treat that I am memorizing for future references. The three of us decided this was a gift that we would give to each other every year. We would create our own special chick day where we treat ourselves like princesses.

With the guarantee that Heather and Tracey would run over to the church to make sure everything was coming along as planned and then come back to not only report but to pick me up and help me get dressed, the two ladies left while I sank into the plush white chair and allowed the magic to transform me into a princess.

After two hours of fussing over my makeup and my hair I was declared ready. I was not allowed to look in the mirror the whole time. I know I received a new hair cut, and some new colors were applied to my face that I never thought I would wear, but as for the over all look, I had no idea what the effect was until I could hear the gasps of Heather and Tracey as they walked back into The Pampering Palace.

“Oh my gosh Wynne – where have you been hiding?” was Heather’s response to me

Tracey was just as flabbergasted.

“Wow – you look, wow. Your date will have no clue what hit him.” she professed to me.

“Are you sure?” I asked them, still a bit hesitant.

“You look amazing. Don’t you see what the right hair cut and colors can do for you?” Heather asked me amazed that I was still unsure as to how I looked.

“I haven’t been allowed to look in a mirror since they began.” I confessed.

“Then we had better hurry up and get you dressed so you can see the stunning beauty you are in the mirror,” she told me. Tracey came over to me, handed me my coat while Heather pushed me out the door.

I was able to catch little glimpses of myself by the reflection in the windows, but I didn’t see the whole effect until I had my new dress on. WOW. I almost didn’t recognize myself. My haircut was in a layered bob just below my chin, my eyes seemed accentuated and the colors used on my face were so natural yet bold. I’ve never been a big fan of a lot of makeup – a little mascara here, some eyeliner there and of course some lipstick for color, but that’s about it. But I have to admit that I am amazed at the transformation, perhaps a little more effort on my part wouldn’t hurt now and then.

I stepped out of my room and walked down the hallway. Standing before me were Heather and Tracey. The looks on their face said enough.

“WOW Wynne. Stunning. Your date tonight won’t know what hit him.” Tracey exclaimed.

“Promise me something, girl?” began Heather. “Promise me that you will just soak in everything tonight and run in the moment?”

I smiled. That was easy.

“I promise.” I said to her. Right now, anything could happen to me and I would run with it. If Brad Pitt were to enter the church tonight and ask me on a date, I would definitely run with it.

I glanced down at my watch and realize that it is after five. I had originally planned on being at the church by now to help with all the last minute preparations.

“All right girlies.” I said. “The coach awaits.” I called to them as I bundled up in my winter coat and prepared to leave.

Thank goodness the weather decided to cooperate. Even though its wintertime, it was fairly mild out tonight, despite all the snow that we received this past week. Most of the snowfall had melted away, you can see the sagging snowmen in the front yard drooping, and some are barely even standing anymore. No need to shovel the walkway, in fact, you could probably go for a stroll with a warm sweater, scarf and mittens tonight if you felt so inclined.

Heather had Christmas music playing in her vehicle. With all the Christmas lights sparkling from the trees and homes, you could definitely feel the spirit of Christmas. As the girls dropped me off at the church and then pulled away to get themselves ready for tonight, I decided to slowly walk up the walkway to the church. With the warm breeze blowing, snow on the ground; you could almost feel the magic in the air. I found myself whistling “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” and feeling at peace within in my heart. I couldn’t stop myself from silently praising God for all His goodness in my life. I spread out my arms and did a little twirl on the sidewalk. With all the beauty surrounding me, I almost felt like God had created this night with me in mind.

“Thank you Father,” I whispered, “for this wonderful blessing.

As I stepped through the door of the church, I gasped. The site before me was that of an indoor winter palace. The ladies did such an amazing job.

The moment you walk into the church you feel like you have been transported to a winter getaway. A Christmas tree stands alone in the corner sparkling with lights and cranberries gracing the tree. There is a small table with candles glowing and a beautifully decorated book for guests to sign and write precious words of wisdom for the couple to treasure for years to come.

A little bench beside the tree for women to sit and exchange their boots for shoes if they desire, and one of the youth of the church is standing beside the coat rack offering to hang coats for those just walking in. The lights have been turned down low so the only glow is from the Christmas lights on the ceiling as well as the tree, and the dozen candles that are blazing throughout the room.

To reach the downstairs you walked down a winding staircase. Normally the walls of the staircase are decorated with posters for Children’s Church and various mission projects that the Sunday classes have taken on. Tonight though, these posters have been taken down and replaced with various printed frames portraying elegance and delicacy. One picture is of a snowflake; the other is of an outdoor winter scene. There is a large picture in the middle with white embossed paper and a gold ribbon as the only source of decoration on that frame.

Winding its way down the stairs are even more soft white Christmas lights. When you reach downstairs, currently the door is closed, obstructing the view of the inside. Before the closed door is another Christmas tree that is decorated this time with white lights and gold ribbon. Simple, yet elegant in appearance.

When I opened the door the signs of busyness excited me. Various ladies from the church were they’re creating the final touches to the décor in the room. When I mentioned that I wanted elegant, that is exactly what I received. I stopped just inside the door and took a good look around the room. My mom was holding court over in the far corner. From what I can see, she is the one in charge here – good job Mom. I give her a quick wave and then the thumbs up sign, all the while she continues to stare at me.

All around the room are round tables that will each seat between six to eight people. They are in a circular design with a main round table in the middle. All the tables, but the middle one, are dressed in black and gold. There is a black tablecloth draping each table with a shorter gold cloth on top of this. Each place setting has a black charger plate with a white and gold rimmed plate above that. For centerpieces there are various candle displays on each table. The middle table is the accenting table.

Stacey loves pink and somehow wanted this color incorporated into the design. Since Stacey and Jude will be sitting at the middle table, the underlining skirt is a deep rose color with a shorter gold color cloth on top of that. Their charger plates are gold with white plates rimmed with a bold black strip. For the centerpiece of their table there is a vase that has been filled with water and pink sparkles. Floating candles are inside the vase and arranged around the vase are pink colored votives. Just perfect.

As you walk into the room, beside the door is another Christmas tree. This one is decorated with white sparkling lights and white and pink ribbon and strings. Christmas lights are strung on the ceiling as well as thick tube like lights outline the room on the floor. Soft instrumental music is being played in the background. The ladies are adding the final touches to each table, and I can see ladies in the kitchen arranging various dishes of desserts. There is a long table against one wall that is decorated in pink and gold. I’m assuming this will be the table for the desserts and punch. Beside the tree is a table in the same colors with wrapped gifts already on top.

As I stand there Judy and Pastor Joy from the Latte Ladies come up to me to give me hugs. They look like they are on their way out.

“Wynne, you look amazing. A fairytale princess come true” gushes Pastor Joy to me while admiring my dress.

“Being pampered suits you. You’re beautiful” admired Judy.

“Thanks. I had so much fun, thank you so much for doing this for me.” I thanked them as I gave each lady a hug.

“This place looks fantastic.” I told them.

“You have your mother to thank for that. She made sure that all your ideas were workable and that we could all help to create this dream.” Pastor Joy informed me.

“Now we have to be off and get ready ourselves. Have fun, and we’ll see you soon.” Judy told me as they continued to walk out the door.

After they left, I walked over to my mom and gave her a hug.

“Thank you so much Mom. This is perfect.” I told her. I’m still amazed at how it all came together.

“This is an important night Wynne, I just wanted to make it perfect for you.” Mom replied as she hugged me back. I could see tears in her eyes.

“You look so beautiful.” Mom cried as she gazed at me.

“Why is it so shocking to everyone?” I asked her. The reaction of everyone so far is leaving me with a weird feeling. Do I normally not look good; so that when I do dress up, the change is so startling that everyone notices?

My mom reaches up and pats my cheeks.

“Honey, your whole focus has been on your business and your home that you have forgotten to focus on yourself. So yes, the change in you tonight is so evident that everyone will notice. Don’t be ashamed, just reach out and grab onto life the way God wants you to.”

I smiled at her and knew that I had a twinkle in my eyes.

“I plan to Mom, I plan to.” I said to her.

“Good” she replied. “Now go and grab an apron and help out in the kitchen. Make sure it’s a full apron though; I don’t want you to get your dress dirty. If you had listened to me in the first place, this wouldn’t even be an issue.” she said to me as she tried to scoot me towards the kitchen.

“Mom, if I had listened to you, then I would still be at home getting ready while you were here directing. Nope. It’s time for you to go home now and get ready. Dad promised me he would come tonight.” I said to her as I took the clipboard that she was holding from her hand and walked her to the door.

With only an hour left before everyone would begin to arrive, I made a quick sweep of the list my mom created to see what else needed to be done. Noticing that everything had been checked off, I decided to go into the kitchen to see how I could help there. The moment I walked into the kitchen Joan was there with an apron to put on. I just laughed and told her all mothers think alike.

“No honey – this is a woman thing, not a mother thing. What woman in her right mind would want to get all messy after she has just spent a day of pampering and looks absolutely gorgeous?” she asked me with a southern twang to her voice.

I laughed at her and began to work on a tray of goodies.