Carla’s Prince

“Says the person who treats me like her child. I mean, my overprotective mother does not even check up on me half as much as you do and somehow, you did not notice that I traveled out of state? And for three days too.”

Carla looked at her and shrugged.

“I don’t know…a lot has been going on.”

“And there it is,” Brenda said. “I knew there was something bothering you.”

Carla looked at her and bit her lip. She was trying to find the right words but she just could not. She could feel herself choking up and tears welling up her eyes. She was trying to fight back those tears as best as she could but there was no controlling her emotions.

“Oh, honey,” Brenda said as she got closer to Carla and threw her arms around her shoulders. “What’s going on? What happened?”

“I fell for him, Brenda. I fell for the wrong man.”

“Fell for who? Cristoff?” she asked as she held a sobbing Carla. “That’s not so bad. I mean, I already knew as much and there was no way he could ever be wrong.”

“No, he has someone else. I saw it on the tabloids…a model.”

“Whoa.” Brenda pulled away from her and looked at her. “What do you mean he has someone else?”

“I Googled him,” Carla said as she wiped off her tears.

“You know you shouldn’t have done that. I mean, he is a public figure, Carla.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Carla asked.

“I mean that when you go looking for sh*t where a famous person is involved, then you will definitely find it.”

Carla rolled her eyes and reached for her phone.

“Does this look like sh*t I was trying to dig up?” she asked, typing furiously. “Or is it more like a sh*t storm that blew up right in my face?”

Brenda took the phone from Carla and her eyes grew wide.

“What the fu*k…Stephanie Tempest?” she muttered as she scrolled through the photos. “The woman he is with is Stephanie fu*king Tempest?” She shook her head. “No way, there must be some mistake.”

“Why? Do you know her?” Carla asked.

“Yes and no. I mean, I know of her. She is a model…or should I say that she is trying to model?” Brenda shrugged. “She is just some woman trying to make it in the fashion world using her family name. That’s all I know.”

“Family name? What don’t I know about her?” Carla asked.

“She comes from one of the few noble families in Europe…not so well known but they still have influence but I highly doubt she is with Cristoff.”

Carla shook her head.

“And why not?’ she asked. “She is a woman, isn’t she? And a hot one at that.”

“Oh please, any man would be blind, deaf, and probably a zombie to entertain someone like Stephanie Tempest. The woman is a cu*t!”

Carla shook her head.

“Are you speaking from experience here?”

“No, but everyone in the fashion world knows who she is.”

Brenda put the phone down and looked at Carla.

“When was this?” she asked. “I thought Stephanie was in Europe.”

“He was in London the other day,” Carla said. “He reached out before I saw the pictures, wrote me an email telling me that he loves me only for me to see that sh*t just literally minutes later.”

“He has a royal robe and a crown on in this picture. Was this a formal event?” Brenda asked and Carla shrugged.

“I don’t know…all I know was that he reached out and sent me a long email telling me that he wanted me to give him a chance.”

“Well, he wouldn’t have sent that knowing that he was hanging with his ex or whatever she is to him.”

Carla reached for a piece of her greasy chicken and bit into it.

“I think you are just looking for excuses, Carla.”

“What the hell do you mean excuses?” Carla asked in a muffled voice.

“I don’t think Stephanie is a factor.”

Carla raised an eyebrow at Brenda.

“Well, she is to me.”

Brenda was not convinced.

“What are you talking about?”

“Have you seen the legs on that Stephanie woman?” Carla asked. “I mean, she is everything I am not. Tall beautiful, sexy, white…”

“Apart from the white, you have literally just described yourself,” Brenda said. “You are so much more beautiful and sexier than she would ever be.”

“Well, she is from his world. She knows the ins and outs of the European royal class while I know sh*t.” Carla took another bite. “They deserve each other.”

“I am not going to be party to this pity party.” Brenda tossed the phone aside. “What you need is a girls’ night to get your mind off everything.”

Carla exhaled loudly and shook her head.

“I am in no mood to party, Brenda. I don’t think I can handle the night scene tonight or any other night soon.”

“We don’t have to go out to have a good time. We could just stay in and open a few bottles of wine, maybe watch a chick flick…just have a good old good time right within the confines of this apartment,” Brenda said but Carla was still shaking her head. “Well, deal with it, sweetie, because I am not taking no for an answer. Tomorrow night, it’s me, you, and a whole lot of wine.”

Carla knew that she could not win that argument. She was fighting a losing battle if she went on arguing and she was just too tired to talk about anything. She took another bite of her chicken.

“Fine, tomorrow night then,” she murmured.

“Great! I will make sure I give Pete a heads up so he doesn’t walk in on our pajama party and ruin everything.”

“Pajama party? Really?” Carla asked. “We are not twelve, you know.”

“I am pulling out all the stops to make sure you stop being this downer you have been lately. So, if the party calls for pajamas and pillow fights, then that is what we are going to do.”

“Next you are going to say that if the mood is right, we can also get naked and make out,” Carla said as she reached for another piece of chicken.

“Well, I have not done that in a while but I am sure if we add tequila to the mix, it can be done,” Brenda said with a look on her face that made Carla realize she was not joking.

“That settles it. No tequila,” Carla said sternly.

“Fine. We will be all sorts of suburban bliss in here with chardonnay and pinot. It’s not as much fun but it will do.”

Carla forced out a smile and shook her head.

“So, it’s a date. Tomorrow night is all about you and I and a whole lot of wine.”

“Yeah, no Cristoff or Stephanie,” Carla muttered.

“No, definitely no Stephanie,” Brenda said as she reached for a piece of chicken. “But we are going to have to talk about you and all this junk you have been having.”

“It’s not too much…”Carla started.

“I have seen KFC and Big Mac wraps in the trash for weeks,” Brenda interjected. “You might be going at the junk a little harder lately but I know it did not start the other day. Maybe I should bring you with me for hot yoga.”

Carla sighed.

“Hot yoga is also among the things I do not need or want to talk about in this time,” she said and Brenda nodded.

“Yes, my queen.”