Girls Night Out (eBook)

GNO

Jennifer Segalla (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2022 | 1. Auflage
160 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
978-1-6678-2476-5 (ISBN)

Infos

Girls Night Out, gives a bird's eye view of three women's realities. Three friends, who have a strong zest for life and an equally strong pursuit for happiness. After a week, of dealing with their daily routines and a few curve balls, they decide to reward themselves with a night out. A night filled with venting, imbibing, people watching and laughing. Little did they know, all the stars were aligned, and the evening would for from ordinary to extraordinary, changing their lives forever. They are left to discover a new way of survival, what really makes them happy and how balance will become paramount.

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Girls Night Out, gives a bird's eye view of three women's realities. Three friends, who have a strong zest for life and an equally strong pursuit for happiness. After a week, of dealing with their daily routines and a few curve balls, they decide to reward themselves with a night out. A night filled with venting, imbibing, people watching and laughing. Little did they know, all the stars were aligned, and the evening would turn serendipitous, changing their lives forever. They are left to discover a new way of survival, what really makes them happy and how balance will become paramount. Every day is a new beginning. We need to stop, exhale and look at what's in front of us. Live your own reality and accept it. It's really important. Find yourself, know yourself, believe in yourself. No one else will if you don't. This is my story. Everyone has one. Each of our blessings show up differently.

Textauszug

Great Expectations

Olivia sat heavily in the chair. She makes brief eye contact with her therapist as her puffy eyes well up.

“When you’re ready please begin,” Dr. Robbins says as she places a fresh box of tissues on the end table.

Liv lets out a big exhale. “I’m exhausted.”

“Take your time, dear. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Jack is cheating on me!” Liv blurts out as she reaches for a tissue and starts balling.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, yes I’m sure!” Liv screams.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-- I am sorry to hear this. I know you’ve had your suspicions.”

Liv slides out of the chair and drifts across the room to the window. “It’s all my fault! I blame it on my fortuitous encounter. It’s a curse as much as a blessing! He leads a charmed life, that bastard!” Liv roars as she looks out and witnesses the rush hour traffic.

“He has been different lately. I don’t know who he is. Am I an enabler?” Liv sobs.

“You know that’s not true, Liv. You’re upset. You feel disrespected, taken for granted. It’s normal.”

“I’m angry. I feel betrayed! I’m not sure how to process it.” With her arms folded under her chest, Liv pivots away from the window, walks softly back to the chair and sits.

“Well Liv, let’s work on breaking it down. After all, this is our third session and I don’t have a full perspective on your marriage, and your life. I need more so I can help you find the silver lining. You’ve made some significant decisions over the past several months. Smart selfless decisions that took you on a new journey. You brought hope and positive things into the lives of the people you love and others. Don’t let it all fall to pieces. You stated last week that Jack was notorious for being a killjoy. Don’t allow that to be the case.”

“I know. I am being a mental filter. It’s difficult to be emotionally buoyant at the moment.”

“It’s normal, Liv.”

“How does one recover from this? The pain is piercing.” Liv shrieks.

“I believe we can make progress if we look at the days preceding your girl’s night out. It will give me a better understanding of how much has changed. The answers will come. Sometimes one needs to hear themselves talk about it. It will help break down bad behavior and dynamics that lead up to the current state of your life and marriage. I promise you will find the silver lining.”

Liv sits there continuing to listen quietly, taking it all in.

“You sought therapy for a reason, Liv. It may be because you feel you’ve lost control. It’s important to focus on your struggles and find healthy options on how to cope without jumping the gun and heading straight for divorce. Think about it and make some notes before our next session. Consider the things that could have been red flags, but were ignored. In the meantime, Liv, look at the glass half full, because it is.”

“Ok, I will,” Liv responds softly, feeling numb, she grabs her coat and exits the building. The bitter cold morning air hits her in the face as she flags a taxi and heads to her office.

An hour later, Liv sits at a lease signing in her plush upper west side conference room, perpetually clicking her pen as she observes her clients. A couple in their mid-thirties are reviewing lease documents she neatly placed in front of them. Liv starts daydreaming. She reflects back to three decades ago to her youthful mind, and how it convinced her money was the answer to everything.

Olivia Grey Sardi didn’t have a charmed childhood with oodles of money, but she did have a curious mind. She observed everything, especially people who had money. At sixteen, her beat up Buick Skylark puttered down smoothly paved roads, to the homes of the uber-wealthy, where she observed the magnificence of it all. Sprawling houses with hedges perfectly pruned like a piece of a puzzle. The artfully designed landscape and the iron gates created the illusion of privacy. It was magazine worthy and left Liv to wonder what magical place stood beyond them.

Olivia's car, which was notorious for moving slowly even when she gunned the gas pedal, gave her the stealth-like advantage of getting a glimpse through the iron gates. It projected beyond the curved driveway lined with expensive automobiles, to glass front doors with regal doorknobs, ending at the sparkly chandelier hanging in the entryway. It took her breath away. It was paradise. It was better than she could have imagined! A peephole into the lavish lifestyles of the rich. It looked pretty good and excited her! Some homes had names to match their architectural personality. They all said “MONEY”! Look what it can buy you.

It took Liv until her late twenties to change her opinion about money. By that time in her life, she heard enough stories about friends, friends of friends, and family members who had to make radical lifestyle changes. Some were spendthrifts, made poor business decisions, gambled away their inheritance or went through a so-called “War of the Roses” divorce. Liv did realize that money does, in fact, buy you freedom but if you took your eye off the ball it could be the root of all evil. A worthless necessity that stirs up greed and power.

In Olivia’s mind, there was only one thing that made the world go ‘round and that was love! L, O, V, E! Well, at least in her world! That intense feeling you have for someone or something, or that someone has for you.

The couple that sat across from Olivia seem unaffected by the negative things money could stir up. Her clients, Dara and James Vanderwood, were unusually normal. It was obvious that their adoration for one another was mutual. Olivia hadn’t seen either of them without a smile in the forty-eight hours since she met them. James smiled as he passed the pen to his beautiful naturally born Swedish wife to sign the lease to their stunning apartment on Central Park South.

Olivia wants to cherish this moment almost as much as they do! Not one thing about them disappoints her. They’re classy, educated and both from prominent families. They were blessed with a fortunate upbringing, attended private schools, Ivy league colleges and spent summers in Nantucket. They seem to have the choice to do what they want, not what they had to. Everything Olivia has ever dreamed of.

She struggled to stay in the moment. The brief thought of what she was personally facing in her marriage, nonetheless her uncharmed childhood, going to school, working three jobs, and helping her mother raise her siblings made her stir in her chair. She uncrossed her legs as she witnessed a pigeon landing on the window ledge, then she smiled as she returned her attention to her clients.

“Olivia, Dara’s mother, our guarantor, is running thirty minutes late. Traffic is impossible due to an accident. She’s coming from Connecticut,” mentioned James.

"No worries at all. It’s tough traveling into the city especially on Fridays. Plus, the holiday season is approaching,” Olivia replies.

“We’re going to take a short break and grab a coffee. Would you like anything?" James asks.

“No, but thank you. Please go ahead. There’s a great place right across the street. Let’s meet back here in thirty.”

“Perfect!” chirps James.

Olivia stands up as James helps Dara with her coat, then grabs her hand and exits through the glass door sweeping her into the elevator. Olivia closes the door and travels to the window. She stares at the pigeon until her eyes are drawn downward to the people bustling down the street. She notices James and Dara at the corner. They kiss. Olivia follows them with her eyes as they cross the street. They disappear into the coffee shop. Olivia wonders if Dara knew her future arrived the day she met James. Olivia starts to reflect back to the day her future arrived.

It’s all very vivid in her mind. The flickering headlights, car fumes, the banging sound, scent of puke and claustrophobia.

10 Months Ago…
Fifty Shades of Chaos

Olivia is passed out on the sofa. DING. Her phone goes off. She opens one eye, peeks at her phone to see the text message, then returns to dreamland.

After a while, the sound of her mother’s ringtone wakes her. As she attempts to sit up, her dense textbook slides off her thighs, and hits the floor.

“Hi Mom,” she squeaks out as she glances at her watch.

“Hi, Liv. What’s going on?”

“Can I call you back in a few minutes?”

“Of course, darling. Is everything ok? You sound weird. I heard a loud noise.”

“Nothing Mom, I’m fine. My book fell off the couch. I dozed off. I’ll call you back in five minutes when I’m in the car, bye!”

Olivia places the book on the counter, grabs her purse and heads out the door. She drives hastily to pick up her daughters at school. As she idles at the traffic light, her phone buzzes. “Hi, Nikki!”

“Hi, Mom.”

“I’m on my way. Are you with your sisters?”

“Yes Mom, we’re all together.”

“See you in a few.”

“Bye Mama.”

“Bye love.”

The revving engine of a Mustang idling nearby grabs her attention as she calls her mother.

“Hi Mom, how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling better Liv, thank you. Not sure how I got this stomach flu but I’m glad it’s over. Must have been the change in the weather. Are you picking up my beautiful granddaughters?”

“Yes, I...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 28.2.2022
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Romane / Erzählungen
• ISBN-10: 1-6678-2476-7 / 1667824767
• ISBN-13: 978-1-6678-2476-5 / 9781667824765