Southern Belles 4 Blissmas (3 page)

She called the first one in the list. No
answer. Not even a machine. She checked Google again and found that
they closed at 2am. Dang it!

Calling the next one, it rang and rang. After
what seemed like way too many rings, they finally answered. "Hello?
Happy Cab Services. How may I help you?"

"Hi, this is Martha Vargas and I need a ride
to the airport. I'm outside at 355 Westend Drive - " but before she
could finish, the dispatcher stopped her mid-sentence and said,
"Sorry, ma'am, but we just closed. I'm just switching off the
lights to go home."

"How can you be closed? You just answered the
phone with
how may I help you
.?"

"Yes, Ma'am, that's how we always answer the
phone. I'm real sorry but we are closed."

"Please, sir. Can't you come and pick me up?
I have to get to the airport, it's an emergency…please?" He sounded
sympathetic, but said, "I'm so sorry ma'am, I'm just dispatch, I
don't even have a car or I would go get you myself. I really wish I
could help you out. Have you tried Skyport?"

"No," she shivered, the rain had turned to
sleet and it felt like little knives on her face. She wondered if
she was making a big mistake. "Ar - are they open?"

"They should be…they run 24/7 from the
airport. Just might be real expensive at this hour and in this
weather. The number is - "

"Oh, I have it right here." She hung up, her
fingers cold from the rain as she furiously dialed the number to
Skyport Cab Company. The phone was answered within a few seconds by
a young man. She started again, "Hi, this is Martha Vargas and I
need a cab immediately at 355 Westend Drive, can you help me?" She
was practically in tears.

"Vargas? Westend Drive? Are you related to
Nick Vargas?" came the voice from the phone.

"No, uhm, why?" Shit! Did he know Nick?

"Just asking, hold on a sec…let me check
where my drivers are." She waited, she didn't want to have to ring
the doorbell to her own house to go back in, but she thought she
might have to. She sure didn't want to be out here on the porch
when Ellie drove up at 7 am. "Ma'am, I don't have any drivers in
your area right now. The only guy I have left who is even remotely
near your place is about 10 miles away."

"But…but, I need a cab here immediately. I
need to get to the airport. Can he come? Quickly?" She begged. This
was starting to piss her off.

"Ma'am, we're here to help, I'll send the
driver as soon as he's free. Is everything okay? You sound
distressed. Is Mr. Vargas okay?"

"Yes, he's fine, how long till I get a
cab?"

"Looks like about a half hour, give or take,
this sleet is really blowing right now. These roads will be ice by
morning."

"Please sir," she begged. "I don't have a
half hour. I need to go now. I am begging you, please have someone
come get me now. Please. I will pay whatever you want. Please?"

"Okay, I will come get you myself, Uhm...one
passenger or two?"

"One and I'll be waiting at the gate, no need
to come in."

"And this is cash, right?" said the
dispatcher.

"Yes, cash."

"I'll be there in ten." She heard the sound
of the phone being slammed down and Marti exhaled a sigh of relief.
Pulling her coat around her tight and flipping up the hood, she
trudged through the rain and sleet, stomping through mud to the
front gate. Normally, this was a beautiful breezy walk; tonight it
was treacherous in the freezing rain.

As promised, the cab driver arrived, gave her
a friendly smile, and threw her wet bag onto the back seat. She
climbed in next to him, her coat was wet, her favorite boots muddy
and she didn't know if the drops on her face were from her tears or
the frozen rain. One last look at the mansion, then the taxi drove
off towards the airport.

"So, how do you know Nick?" she asked the
young driver.

"You really don't know?" looking at her,
dumbfounded.

"No," she looked at him, quizzically. "Should
I?" She rubbed her hands together in front of the heater.

The driver laughed. "He's my boss. He owns
Skyport Cab Company." Looking at her in disbelief, "You really
didn't know that?"

"No, actually, I didn't." She took a deep
breath and slowly exhaled. "There are a lot of things about my
husband I don't know." She turned to look at him, "And son, if you
want to keep your job, you’d better never tell him you picked me up
tonight."

*****

Marti looked in the mirror, dabbing at the
tear-stained makeup on her face with a tissue. Looking into her
turtle eyes, swollen from all the tears shed on the plane, she
thought to herself, what the fuck just happened?

This morning she and Nick were lying on her
favorite, fluffy sofa watching old movies together and now she was
alone, in the bathroom, at Atlanta International Airport. She
fluffed her hair and ran some lip gloss across her lips. No sense
in fixing herself up now, she knew she was dirty and needed a
shower. That would be the first thing to do when she got home. Her
home. Annie's home.

Getting out of the house at 2am was the easy
part. Getting a cab to the mansion at that hour turned out to be a
pain in the ass. And the fact that her very own husband owns the
cab company? And she didn't even know? Ironic. There were a lot of
things about Nick she didn't know. She wasn't even sure what he
really did for work. She knew he owned Vargas, she knew he had some
other companies around the world, but she had no idea what he did.
Except talk to Ellie in meetings all day. She barely knew anything
about him, except that he was a filthy rich Hispanic sex god who
got a little irritated when she left her clothes on the bathroom
floor, or took too long to shower, and he answers every problem
they have with a kiss and a fuck.
Does this shit even
matter?

Although she honestly didn't want to leave
under these fugitive-like conditions and it broke her heart to go,
she knew he would have never let her go under any other
circumstances and she had to get away. Living with Nick was tearing
her apart. Their marriage had barely passed the four month mark and
she was suffocating, losing herself and she hated the person she
was becoming.

Marti was no socialite and when she met Nick,
she didn't think he was either. He sure didn't seem to be into the
fame and fortune, but it's not like they even knew each
other...maybe their marriage was all a mistake. Being the CEO to
one of the Top Ten Companies in the USA had certainly changed him.
Or maybe he was always like that and when they were on the road
trip and in Vegas he was just having a little fun. And Ellie The
Bitch wasn't helping. She treated Marti like a disease, something
to shun and stay away from.

Apparently they didn't teach manners and
respect at Stanford U., if they did, Ellie didn't sign up for those
classes.

Things were a lot different now than when
Marti left Mountain View last summer. Her long red hair had been
professionally styled by some famous stylist. Her cut off shorts
and a tank top had been replaced with a brand new Burberry coat and
Jimmy Choo boots, which were now all wet and muddy.

Her Wal-Mart bag was now a Louis Vuitton.
Nick had insisted she go out and buy new fancy, designer clothes
and accessories. It was fun and exciting to shop in the city and
not have to worry about money or how she was going to pay the rent.
The dilemma?
She wasn't sure she was that girl. And the
hired help doing everything for her and having a car drive her
everywhere made her feel helpless, useless. What a life. Hopeless,
useless and if Ellie got her way, worthless.

When Marti was a little girl, she dreamed of
marrying a rich man, riding off into the sunset with her Prince
Charming. Having maids and chauffeurs. ‘Home, James’, she mused.
Now, it drove her fucking insane. "Be careful what you wish for,"
her mama used to say. And unfortunately this time...mama was
right.

She grabbed her bag and went to the car
rental kiosk. Thank God she still had her debit and credit cards.
Nick wouldn't even notice the charge, if he did, he wouldn't care.
He was very generous with his fortune and Marti could spend
whatever she needed. Not that she would. She was very frugal,
sometimes to the point they argued.

Now, Ellie...she'll notice it. She'll
probably call the credit card agencies once they realized she is
gone. But Marti didn't care, she was suffocating and she needed
time to breathe.

Sitting in the rental car, a brand new, black
Escalade, she adjusted the seat, put on her seat belt and looked at
the reflection in the rear view mirror.

"What the fuck is wrong with you? Martha
Odell Vargas, why are you running again? Girl, you just can't keep
running when things don't go your way. Pull your head out your
fuckin' ass. You're grown, dammit, act like it."

God, she sounded just like her mama,
again.

The GPS display said it was about a three
hour trip to the ranch, she adjusted her seat and wiped the tears
from her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she blew herself a kiss in the
mirror and pulled onto the highway. She reached over and set the
cruise control.

I've got this.

Nick wasn't the only one in for a huge
surprise. Annie would be ecstatic to see her, she just knew it

*****

"Hello Annie? Hello, hello, are you here?"
Marti cracked the door open a little further. It had been a while
since she had been at Annie's Ranch.

Definitely hadn't been there after the
remodel. "Annabelle Gibbons? Hello? Hello? Anybody here?
Tommy?"

Annie came running down the stairs. "Oh My
God!! Marti! You're here, look at you! What are you doing here? Is
your hubby with you?" She ran up and gave her a great big hug.
Smiling, she took a step back. "Oh my goodness, girlfriend…look at
you. You're all dolled up like some high falutin' socialite from
the city. Dang! Being married to a gazillionaire sure looks good on
you."

Marti smiled and gave her friend another big
hug, not wanting to let go. "Oh Honey, it's so good to be home! I
missed you," It felt good to be back with her best friend. "God, I
missed you!" At that moment, she started bawling. She was cold,
wet, tired and hungry.

"Oh, honey, come here girl, what's going on?"
She hugged her again. Marti could feel the warmth of her embrace, a
friends’ much needed touch. She needed more than anything to just
know someone cared. Annie was that someone and she was good at
it.

Marti took a deep breath, her words coming in
spurts. "I left him....I can't...I can't stand
me
anymore.
So I left...in the middle...middle of the night." She sobbed, the
tears flowing down her face. "I didn't know where to go...so I came
here." She sniffled. "Is Tommy here?"

"What happened, Honey? Are you okay? Are you
still married? Is that guy nice to you? Did he hurt you?" The
questions came fast and furious. Annie was about to go ballistic if
he had hurt her friend.

Marti cried, waving her hand in the air, "Oh
Annie, no, he didn't hurt me, he's actually pretty wonderful, but
I'm so fuckin' stupid. I don't know how to be some rich bitch who
eats with the right fork and - and there are maids and butlers and
people who wash my clothes. I even have a gal who buys my fucking
clothes…" she shrieked, covering her face in her hands, the sobs
shaking her whole body.

After a moment, the tears subsided and she
reached for a tissue to blow her nose. Taking a deep breath, she
looked up at her and stroked her long dark hair. Sniffling, she
spoke. "Annie, I just wanna be normal, I don't wanna be a diva.
That's not me. "

Annie rubbed her back, trying to calm her.
"Oh honey, come here." She pulled her in close for another hug.
"Tommy's gone until tomorrow, he's out fishing with his buddies.
You want a drink or something?"

She sniffled, "Yeah, you got some
whiskey...wine? Anything?"

"Sure hon, here." She handed her more
tissues. Annie got up and went to the liquor cabinet. It was a bit
too early for drinking but with a friend in need…she poured two
short glasses of Jack and went back to the couch. "Here. This'll
calm you down. Now tell me all about it."

Marti took a swig of the hard liquor and felt
the familiar burn, she shuddered and took another one. "I don't
even know where to start. When I left here, I went to Savannah. I
was gonna grab a bus to L.A. then met this guy at the café by the
bus station, but you already know all of that. Blah, blah, blah, we
got married by accident 'cause we were too freakin' drunk to know
what the fuck we were doing and then this fuckin huge scandal pops
up 'cause I guess he had a fiancé like twenty some years ago."

She paused, took another drink, and
shuddered. "His fiancé got in a really bad car wreck a couple of
weeks before their wedding and she died. He kinda freaked out about
it and went into hiding 'cause his heart was broken."

She finished the whiskey and stood up and
walked across the room to pour another one. She turned to Annie,
"Anyway, I guess I got caught up in the middle of that, but get
this….he has an assistant, or so he calls her his assistant and I
just think they are fuck buddies. But - "

Annie sat there for a sec, frozen, then shook
her head, "Woah, hold on a sec…fuck buddies? He has someone living
over there with y'all? Are you sure, did you see them?"

"No, I've never seen them and he denies it,"
she said, swallowing the whiskey and then filled her glass again.
She walked back to Annie, "But I see the ways that bitch looks at
him. Makes me wonder what she's up to and they have an awful lot
of," she gestures her 'quote' fingers, "'meetings' in her office. I
mean, she works at our house. Who the fuck works at their bosses'
house?