A private religious retreat? Yea, right.
Gabrielle Solis, was a woman who was often misjudged. People would always take her for granted. They thought that because she was previously a fashion model, and not an astrophysics major, she could easily be fooled.
Sister Mary Bernard was the biggest pain Gabrielle had ever encountered since her second modeling shoot, and those men that kept groping her ass, and they were annoying as hell.
Ever since Sister Mary Bernard had come into their lives, Gabrielle could feel Carlos slipping away from her more and more each day. As if muttering her name in his sleep wasn't enough.
Sister Mary was pretty, Gabrielle would give her that; but Gabrielle was prettier. Nuns were supposed to be chaste, weren't they? One advantage Gabrielle had over her, at least.
Carlos had told her that the church retreat group, led by Sister Mary, was going to take a day trip to the Garden of Reflection, which was owned by A Baby's Breath.
Gabrielle acted like she was okay with the whole retreat, but on the inside she felt like running Sister Mary over with her car. But she couldn't, at least not yet. She wanted to see the look on both Carlos and Sister Mary's faces when she caught them in the act.
Gabrielle had followed the retreat bus in her shiny red convertible. She peered at the various homeless people running around, gaping at her. Whether it was her, or the car they were gaping at she didn't care.
She didn't want to settle with any of these lowlife's. If any of them so much as sneezed near her, they would get it.
She watched as the bus pulled up to the Garden entrance, and the group spilled out of the bus. Three woman stood at the entrance, greeting the guests as they came in. She saw Sister Mary Bernard exit last, Carlos right next to her.
Gabby sunk down in her seat, and lowered her glasses to peer at them.
"Retreat Day, my ass…" she muttered.
She watched as the group entered the garden, and the bus pulled away. Gabrielle sighed, before pulling to the side of the street. She slammed her door shut, and then put up the top.
She didn't care that it was near a religious site, she didn't trust any of these people. Nuns may have took a vow of poverty, but that would never stop their wandering and longing gazes.
She approached the people at the maze with a tight smile.
"Hello. I'm Gabrielle Solis," she said.
The one woman held a hand up to her. "Excuse m, Gabrielle…do you have an appointment?" she asked.
"Oh! I'm here with the group that just came on the bus. My husband is with them, he was the one in the black stripped shirt?" she asked.
The two woman gave her a hesitant look.
"He's with Sister Mary Bernard and the retreat group…" Gabrielle stated, unwillingly.
"Oh? Why didn't you say so?" the woman asked. Gabrielle smiled, and made to walk in the garden again.
"If you are with them, why didn't you come with them?" she asked. Gabrielle sighed. She hated when people undermined her like this. She knew what excuse to use, but she hated to use it.
She wanted to use her previous miscarriage as an excuse, but for some reason she couldn't. It felt immoral, but wait…when was she ever moral?
"Look, I've been going through a really rough time here. I had a miscarriage about five or six months ago…" Gabrielle stated. After she said it, she couldn't help but feel guilty. The miscarriage really did hurt her, but she couldn't let it show. She hated being weak.
The woman's face softened. "Oh…you poor dear. Go right in…" she said, ushering Gabrielle in. Gabrielle smiled slightly. "Thanks, watch the car for me would ya?" she asked, handing each of them a five dollar bill.
The woman looked down, confused. "Yea, yea, yea. I know…vow of poverty right? I promise not to say a word…" she stated, before entering.
She looked around and saw the group all sitting down on stone benches. Gabrielle smirked, and pretended to take interest in the various flowers that were there.
Every once in awhile, she could lift her gaze to look over at Sister Mary Bernard and Carlos, who were sharing a bench with two other people. She noticed that Carlos was reading something out of a book.
Probably a bible…
Gabrielle looked around and saw various woman walking around, also taking in the sights of the flowers.
A woman with soft brown hair looked over at her, and smiled slightly. Gabrielle returned the smile, nervously, before looking over at Sister Mary and Carlos.
"Hello," a voice said.
Gabrielle turned to see the woman with soft brown hair smiling at her. "Oh, hi…" Gabrielle said, taken by surprise.
"How long?" the woman asked. Gabby raised an eyebrow. "How long? How long…what?" Gabby asked.
"How long has it been since…your…miscarriage?" she asked. Gabby gaped slightly. "Excuse me? What did you just say?" she asked. "Your miscarriage. I heard you mention it to those two woman at the gate…" the woman stated.
Gabby scoffed. "Bit of a personal question, don't ya think? How dare you listen in on other people's conversations…" she snapped.
The woman gave her an apologetic look. "But…you are in a reflection garden….its where woman can share their stories and seek comfort in one another," she said.
Gabby sighed. "Look…you seem like a nice person. But I didn't come here to hold hands and sing Kum Bi Yah…." She said, laughing slightly.
The woman maintained her serious posture, and Gabby sighed. "Sorry….six months…" she said, before looking over at Sister Mary and Carlos. Sister Mary had her hand on Carlos's shoulder.
Gabby inhaled deeply. Its just for comfort, Gabrielle. Nothing more…
"I'm so sorry," the woman said. Gabby turned back to look at her, with a small smile.
"It's been three for me, I always wanted my child to be a doctor…how about you?" she asked. "Me? Oh….hadn't really thought about it…" Gabby said, before turning back at Sister Mary and Carlos.
She watched as Sister Mary's hand began to rub Carlos's back. Gabby could feel her whole body steaming.
"Oh, well maybe we could get together and-"
"Sorry, gotta go. Gabrielle Solis is the name! Look me up in the phone book, we can have tea sometime…" Gabby said, rushing around her. "I think…" Gabby muttered.
Gabby pushed her way through some people, and approached the circle of stone benches. "Carlos!" she said, enthusiastically. Carlos looked up at her. "Gabby? What are you doing here?" he asked her.
"Oh, I just wanted to come and reflect with you guys….scootch…" she said, slapping Carlos's leg.
She took her place in-between Carlos and Sister Mary, who gave her a phony smile.
"Gabrielle, so nice to have you join us…" she said, obviously bluffing.
"Thank you. You know, I thought maybe a day in reflection would help me get over my miscarriage…" Gabby said, looking down.
She heard people mutter some kind words and empathetic thoughts. She placed her hand on Carlos's thigh and they shared a smile.
She looked at Sister Mary and moved so whisper in her ear.
"Nice try, woman. But the Model's always win…" she said.
Sister Mary smiled, before looking at Gabrielle. "You're forgetting, your in a place of God now…and he's on my side…." She said, with a creepy expression.
Gabrielle shrugged. "So tell him to send the bolts of lightening…" she stated, before turning to share a book with Carlos.
Astro-Physics didn't sound like a bad idea right now…
