chapter 19/Diamonds
Friday is here, the night of the charity ball. I take my antidepressants first thing in the morning, hoping I don't have a full panic attack tonight.
I have trouble focusing on work. I have started to freak out, all of my things were moved to Philip's house or put into storage. My first tattoo removal treatment was successful. I had gotten my ring size for Philip. And we only had our two-week anniversary yesterday. Everything was going so fast. Enjoy the relationship. Don't think about it so much, I told myself.
I left work two hours early to get to the hair salon with Negan's permission.
Entering the salon, I felt a little out of place. Even the name Vanstone sounded fancy and expensive.
The inside was just as fancy, with everything looking brand new and so much pink everywhere.
"Andrea Blake? I'm your stylist for today, Jessie," a young blonde woman greeted me as soon as I walked in.
"It's actually Andrea Harrison," I said, not ready for a new last name yet.
"Okay, Andrea, I have you down for the full package. We'll start with the facial and go from there," she said kindly.
Jessie started with a facial, then waxed my lips and eyebrows, after that came a spray tan, and lastly she started highlighting my hair. She even gave me a diet Pepsi to drink. I was able to relax finally and look forward to my first charity ball.
"I am giving you baby lights around the face," Jessie said, keeping me updated on my makeover. After the highlights, she trimmed, blow-dried, and curled my hair.
I don't think I had ever seen my hair so blonde; I observed in the mirror. She painted my nails and toenails white to match my dress; finally, she started working on my makeup. When she was done, I looked into the mirror.
I looked like a Barbie doll.
"I don't even look like me," I said, shocked.
"You look perfect," she says, knowing I was unsure.
Philip comes to the salon himself to pick me up in his Mercedes. "She looks great, Jessie," he says after paying her in cash. I didn't know anyone carried that much cash. He takes my hand, leading me to the car.
"I don't recognize myself," I admitted to him as he opened the car door. He turned on the music, and I heard Foo Fighters' "Everlong" playing.
"You look like a doctor's wife, Andrea. You are going to have to dress up for events on occasions. I think we should have this song played at our wedding," he says, bringing up our unofficial engagement again.
"When is the wedding date?" I said, wondering if he had started planning our wedding already.
"Well, the Plaza is booked till November but Graceland Chapel has an opening in May or June. So I am thinking June 2 in Memphis," he said, looking over at me.
"So in three months," I said, turning up the radio and hearing "Black" by Pearl Jam playing. Philip loves listening to Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Kiss, Foo Fighters, and Metallica. I could probably make him a playlist; I think realizing how well I already knew him.
"Yes, that will give my mom enough time to plan everything. She's not happy that I won't wait till November, but you love Elvis anyway. And it looks like the perfect size venue for what we wanted. We don't need a big New York wedding." He says, pulling up to the mansion again.
"Yes. And I don't want a huge wedding. One hundred people at the most." I said everything feeling unsurreal. If my sister was still alive, there's no way I'd be getting married so quickly. But I feel so safe with him and I don't want to be alone.
"I can't wait till November. Even June seems too far away. You are mine. And I want to make it official," he says, opening the car door for me. He walks me into the house, he goes upstairs to change.
I reach into my purse, looking at my phone. I see my old roommate Michonne has texted me. I should respond, but after I told her about Philip, she was harsh. Telling me to break up with him. I know, normally a relationship moving this fast would be strange. With Philip though it felt right.
I turned off the phone and walked upstairs to put on my white dress. It was like a wedding dress, I thought.
Sliding on the dress, Philip comes over to zip the back of it. He gets a black gift box from the dresser, opens the box to show a beautiful diamond necklace and earrings.
"May I?" he said, opening the back of the necklace ready to put it on.
"Yes," I said, looking at the large necklace that reminded me of what Marilyn Monroe wore in the movie "Gentle Prefer Blondes."
"Diamonds are a girl's best friend, right? I hope this necklace will remind you of my love and everything I am willing to give you. Once we are married, you won't have to work anymore unless you want to. With me, you will have an amazing life. Only the best for my wife," he whispers, kissing my neck.
I feel like he is going to propose in this moment. He doesn't and I am not sure if I should be disappointed or not. We get into his car, and he drives us to the charity event that is at the Four Seasons. He looks so handsome in his expensive black suit, and everyone stares at us as we enter the room.
The ballroom looks beautiful, decorated with red roses and white Christmas lights hanging all over the room.
Negan and his wife walked over to us.
"Andrea, you look great," Negan said. I looked over at his wife. She has on this gold dress, that fits her perfectly. She is also wearing a lot of diamonds. She looks like she has money.
"Thank you," I said politely.
"You really do. I didn't even recognize you. Whoever did your hair and makeup did great. I told Philip you two would be a great match. And I was right," Lucillie said, proud of herself.
"We're actually planning our wedding," Philip brags.
"Congratulations. I better get an invitation," Negan says, smiling, before they walk off to chat with other people from the office.
We drink wine, eat some finger foods that are on trays everywhere, and he finally asks me to dance. Lover by Taylor Swift is playing, he holds me so close and we are moving so slow.
"I love you, Philip John Blake. This is definitely our first dance song at the wedding," I said, remembering listening to it together in the hot tub.
"I am sure I can work that out. Are you going to want to name our baby Taylor too?" he asked, laughing.
"Definitely on the list of possibilities, but I am actually loving Elizabeth. We could call her Eliza or Beth. I haven't really decided. I haven't even thought of a boy name."
"I think Eliza is a beautiful name," he says, holding me close. The song is over, and I decided to get a piece of chocolate cake. Philip goes to seat down with Negan and Martinez.
In this moment, everything feels perfect, but I look up to see a familiar pair of brown eyes looking into mine.
Shane is here in his police uniform. He looks at me; he knows I am here with someone.
"Andrea, I guess the nerd in the suit is the doctor boyfriend?"
"The one with dark hair, who is seated at the end," I admitted.
"Don't marry him," Shane said, touching my arm, which caused my skin to burn.
"That's really none of your business," I said, seeing Philip walking over towards us.
Suddenly, a young African girl in a police uniform shows up beside Shane. She is staring at Philip.
"Andrea is he giving you any problems?" Philip interrupts.
"No, he's just an old friend from high school. We were just catching up." I lied.
"I was only saying hi." Shane said.
"We're here to do security for the event," the female officer said, standing in front of him.
"Andrea, this is my adoptive sister Sasha Williams," Philip said, introducing me.
"Nice to meet you, Andrea. Come on, Shane. We have to get back to work," Sasha says, taking Shane's hand and leading him away.
Philip takes me into his arms, saying nothing about what has happened. Another slow song starts playing, and we dance closer than before.
We decided to leave early. Once we were back home, Philip unzipped my dress and carried me to bed. He started kissing my neck and moved lower.
"Promise me you are all mine," he whispers.
"I am yours," I promised.
I close my eyes, as he makes love to me. His body moves carefully in mine, he is always in control.
Inside the bedroom and out, I think.
Once he finishes, he holds me close. I can tell he was jealous that I was talking to Shane but at least he wasn't acting like a jerk about it. Sometimes Philip was a little too perfect, like he was too good to be true.