Trouble finding Blondie (41 page)

“You are a master manipulator.”

“You already said that...”

“You do favors, go out of your way, do things for people. And then you make them feel obligated, like they owe you. You go from zero to hero.”

“That’s enough,” Andre spoke in a very authoritative voice, taking a step forward.

“No. Let her get it out. Let her talk,” Simona said calmly. “Please continue. Here is your chance to get it all out.”

Margaret got scared a little but had a huge audience. It was finally her moment, and she took it. “People seem to worship you like you are some greatness, like you are Mother Teresa, like you are better than all of us. How about your fallouts with people that are not in your life anymore? How about that? The ones that had enough of your manipulations?! The ones that you can’t buy? Nobody talks about how you go from hero to zero!”

“Zero to hero, and hero to zero? How the fuck do you go from a hovering helicopter to a miserable, attacking bitch?”

“Jada! Please. Let her talk. Sorry, Margaret, please continue,” Simona made an inviting hand gesture.

“But what is mind boggling to me the most is how you manipulated all these men and got their love. First you were sucking Philippe dry, and now it’s Andre’s turn. It must be so easy to be spending their money. The strangest thing is that no one talks about their blindness to it all. They are still goo goo gaga over you, even giving you credit for all of it. Both of them! How the hell do you manage to do that? You either have magic powers, some spell, or you have a golden pussy!”

The collective sigh was like a loud aaaahmm, with many covering their open mouths. The room stood still.

“Get out of this house!” It was the deepest unknown voice that nobody identified.

Simona walked around the table and stood in front of Margaret like a protective shield. She raised her hand. The gesture was demanding attention.

“No. With all due respect to you, Josef, this is my house. It was addressed to me, and I believe I do have the right to respond.”

Simona made sure the children were not in the room, but she saw Arye with his eyes on fire like a young warrior. The other men didn’t look any more pleasant. Simona knew that whatever she was going to say had to be something powerful and convincing.

She turned around to face Margaret. She looked more like a cornered animal than an attacker, perhaps because of all the eyes and energy in the room she was receiving at this point.

“Margaret. My son is in this room. He should never be present when someone is talking about his mother and pussy in the same sentence. You need to take that one back.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“You offended two men that I love, and you owe them an apology. It doesn’t have to be tonight, not even in person. You can do it in writing, but you will need to apologize. As far as the rest of it goes, I don’t have to justify my life to you or anyone else. I have never done it, and I’m not going to start tonight. You and everyone else are entitled to their beliefs and opinions. All I’m going to say is that I created my life on my own. I don’t need Philippe or Andre for financial reasons. I need them for love and care.
 

“But...”

“No, Margaret. I let you talk. Now it is your turn to listen. You are like a wounded animal that is crying for help. I will give you love if you can receive it, but I will hold you responsible for the energy you bring to me and the people I love. This is my home. I will always welcome you with open arms if you’re coming in peace with love and kindness. If you’re coming with your negative energy and hate, I don’t want you in my house. Do you understand?”

“Hmm...”

“Sorry, Margaret, but you have to articulate your answer to me. Are you coming with an open heart, bringing positive energy to me and the people in my home? Yes or no?”

Margaret was confused and thrown off, not expecting that at all.

“Yes,” she finally said reluctantly.

“Alright then. Let us eat.”

Simona grabbed Margaret under her arm and walked her out to the patio. She continued walking onto the lawn, down to the fruit trees, leaving a completely stunned audience behind.

“Listen, do you need a moment alone to gather yourself?”
“Why are you nice to me?”

“Because you need love. And when you get enough, when you become secure about yourself, you won’t have the need to envy, attack, or take anyone down.”

“I hate you though.”

“Hate is like handcuffs. Suffocation. Misery. But not to me. To yourself.”

“I don’t get you.”

“That’s alright. Maybe just trust me on this one thing. Focus on the good. Start with what you already have. Gratitude is the way to go to have more.”

“More of what?”

“Anything you desire. Friends, success, happiness, money, things. You have to earn those things, but not with the mindset of expecting back or instant gratification.”

“You don’t speak my language. I don’t understand…”

“Maybe not now. But let me start by what I always say about you. You have a good heart, you are a loyal friend, you are a giving person; those are all amazing qualities. Focus on the good, and bring more of that to the people around you.”

“Who are you?”

“I’m just someone who believes in the goodness in people, tries to learn something new every day, tries to compliment more than criticize, and better herself all the time. Be kinder, do things for strangers who can never give it back, but hopefully will pass it on.”

“I was so sure…”

“About my zero to hero? Haha. I think you gave me too much credit there. I was never your hero. I kept my distance because I didn’t like your energy.

“Should I leave?”

“No, unless you are planing on harming someone.”

“Everyone hates me.”

“We all do things that we wish to take back. I always tell my boys it’s not about the fuck up. It’s about how you go about fixing it. It’s open seating tonight. Where would you like to sit?”

“Next to you. Please.”

“Very well, take your time. I’ll go check on the rest of the clan.”

Simona grabbed Margaret’s shoulders, gave her an encouraging smile, and walked back to the house.

24

"BUILD YOUR TRIBE WITH PEOPLE WITH THE SAME VIBE."

“EXCUSE ME, WHO is the husband of this witch?” Philippe was overwhelmed with injustice, wrong doing, and a helpless feeling.

“I am,” Anton came out of the circle.

“I’m sorry, Anton. With all due respect, you need to put a leash on your wife in public.”

“Point taken.”
“What the fuck just happened?” Adam was fuming next to his father Josef.

“I’m sorry, but Simona just defused a major disaster. Let’s give her some credit,” Elise said.

“I agree with Elise, I would have ripped her to shreds,” Ashley was admiring her friend and how she remained calm amid all the nasty accusations.

“I’m sorry,” Arye said, “why is everyone under the impression that my mother is living large and having men for her lifestyle?”

“Arye, it’s my choice to reveal as little or as much of my private life as I deem necessary. I will take any punches if it means to protect you, Cori, and Francois.”

Everyone turned around to see Simona walking back in with a smile as if nothing happened just five minutes earlier.

“Mom, but these people are family…”

“You just had a great display of family love, Arye. Your mom has a point.”

“Thanks, Jada. Let’s eat. It’s open seating.”

“Wait,” Jada grabbed Simona’s arm. “What I just said was for your son, but we need to talk about this shit. It’s getting under my skin.”

“After dinner...”

Simona took her seat in the middle of the table and whispered something to Arye. He looked at her in disbelief and walked over to the other side of the table to sit right next to Francois and
 
the giggling girls. Andre watched the scene, not understanding, until Margaret showed up and sat down next to Simona. He smiled at Simona and touched her hand under the table, making sure she was happy.
 

It was a pretty comical seating arrangement because the youngest and the oldest were at the opposite heads of the table with the ladies on each side. Francois had Amalie and Sofie, and Josef had his two wives: one ex, and one current.
 

Francois said grace again, being very chatty as if he knew he needed to cheer up everyone around. The atmosphere was getting looser, and people started to talk, except for Adam who stayed very reserved.
 

When Simona got up to check on the staff, Andre followed her to the back.

“Blondie, are you ok?”

“Yes, I’m alright. I didn’t take it personally. She needed to blow, and I was her built-up target.”

“Come on, everyone wants to strangle her.”

“I’m not saying it was pleasant, but she needs help, not yelling.”

“We need to talk about this set up. I’m not comfortable any more.”

“Elaborate?”

“I hate the misconception about you.”

“Oh, come on, we agreed... I have my reasons.”

“You come on. These are not people who would call the tabloids.”

“Once it’s out, it’s out. I like our life.”

“I fucking hate it, too,” Philippe barged in.

“You two got your egos smacked. Don’t be so sensitive.”

“This is not about us.”

“I happen to agree with Philippe; this is about you,”

“Well, if that’s the case, there is nothing to worry about. I have you two, and judging by Adam’s expression and Arye’s looks, actually four men to protect me.”

“Are you playing some bullshit hero?” Andre asked.

“That was good. I liked that. I’ll use it in my book…'zero to hero.’

“You are hopeless.”

“I really appreciate your concern. But I’m not the one who needs help and some empathy right now.”

“I’m sorry, but that evil has no place in your home. It’s poison,” Philippe said.

“Philippe, you are a great judge of characters. Can’t you see through her tantrums?”

“Oh, I can see that this woman needs some serious therapy to fix decades of her own shit. It would take years, discipline, and some strong will. Is she capable?”

“I’m not sure, but hurting her is not going to make her better or realize anything.”

“How about hurting you? You play the savior, the hero, but it’s going to affect you. You are going to spend hours thinking and analyzing this.”

“Well, Dr. Phil... I promise I won’t get involved, and I’m going to keep my word to hold her responsible in the future.”

“In the future? Well, don’t ever put me in the same room with her again.”

“Garden parties only then.”

Simona was laughing, and Philippe walked away pretending to be pissed off.

❖ ❖ ❖

It was a fantastic evening in the end with one of the longest daylight days of the year. It was warm, breezy, still early for the stars, but perfect timing for coffee and tea. Everyone was comfortably seated on the biggest outdoor cushy seating ever which proved to easily seat 15 adults. The mini desserts were fabulous, but when Monsieur Arnaud came out with a silver platter of pecan tarts that were baked at the chateau with Simona’s recipe, Andre jumped up like a little kid.
 

Everyone’s giggle progressed into a hysterical laughter when Andre started dancing with Monsieur Arnaud and his silver tray. The kids were happy running all over the property, and Simona couldn’t help but to have a huge feeling of satisfaction.

“Thank you all for being here. This weekend was about family and friends. I have plenty of pictures in my head that are going to make me smile for a very long time.”

“Simona, you always have these big statements. You send us quotes and sayings that make us pause in our busy lives, but you actually seem to live by them, too,” Jada said.

“Thank you, Jada. I try. I lost many relationships in my life, but now I believe Darren Maxwell who said; We rarely lose friends. We just gradually figure out who our real ones are.”

“Amen to that.”

“Well, if we are sharing ‘the’ memorable moments, then I need to make a toast. The ones that are going down in the history of this weekend are going to be your performances Simona,” David said.

“What performances? What did I miss?” Anton asked.

“Oh, yeah dude, you are the only one who missed them both,” Brian laughed.

“Both? What is he talking about?”

“I’m sorry, Anton. Brian is just teasing you,” Simona explained.

“No, dude, Brian is right. And it’s a toss-up for first place really.” David was fully instigating.

“Simona, what did I really miss?” Anton turned to Simona for help.

“Well, not sure if they are referring to my dance or my striptease,” Simona smiled.

“I missed a striptease?! And nobody said anything? Am I the only poor schmuck?”

“I didn’t see any striptease either,” Josef complained.