Disastrously Fabulous: A Novel of Loves, Betrayals and New Beginnings by D.A. Prince Read Free Book Online Page A

aside. “Crystal, that’s the second time you have given a customer vodka and orange juice instead of what they asked for.”
    An hour into service and I was demoted to waitress, and I resolved to be the best waitress ever. I could hold a tray and look great writing orders on the little notepad. I could rock the ugly green apron. But I could barely get the orders at one table right, never mind five.
    I hung onto the job just long enough to pass as a significantly below-average waitress, and to meet my second love, Tad. Everything about him was raw and real, so different from Barry.
    Tad was outspoken and bold. He danced hard and partied harder. Once again, I found myself being courted by a tall, dark and handsome someone—only this time he was around my age—better, I thought. I spent months saving to buy my first car, a Honda Accord, with no help from my parents. Eventually I traded up to a 325i BMW.
    Tad drove a BMW as well, and soon we were two BMW drivers in the throes of young love. My schedule became increasingly full as we dated, but we were both ambitious and wanted more out of life. Those were the planning years. I worked hard and dreamed of one day becoming a famous model or actress.
    The more casting calls I went to, the more jobs I managed to book. My commercial auditions worked out well, and casting agents often chose me. I tried my best to juggle those auditions while temping as a waitress, but the commute from Long Island to the City, whether by Island Rail Road or on the Southern State Highway, left me exhausted.
    I rode the highs, but Tad took up more and more of my time. I lost focus often, and instead of taking my modeling career seriously, I passed up opportunities.
    Nobody told me what a fool I was. No one shook me by the shoulders and advised me to make something of myself while I could, and warned me that money wouldn't last forever.
    My heart was never trained on an illustrious career; it was trained on the person I was in love with at the time. Tad was the man who captured my attention back then. We had a great time together. I came to love his frivolity and carefree nature.

CHAPTER 8: Tad The Dreamer
    “Save a boyfriend for a rainy day — and another, in case it doesn't rain.”
    ~ Mae West ~
    Tad and I fell in love, but it was different. I kept a lot of my heart to myself this time. I was cautious about my feelings, even though the love I felt for him was real. He was exciting in a green way—daring and reckless. We would drive at top speed in his BMW just to enjoy the danger of it all.
    Nothing was certain in Tad’s life, and I liked that. With uncertainty comes a kind of freedom from the future, one where anything could happen. Maybe I would stay with Tad, maybe not. It didn't matter. We were young, and things were happening.
    Then I was invited to participate in the Miss Jamaica American Beauty Pageant. As a model, I was used to the scene and I was always up for a new experience. Where modeling requires natural confidence, a pageant demands a ruthless attitude.
    Those girls wanted to win, and they would step on your face to do it. I heard the craziest stories in the dressing rooms while preparing for the pageant stages. One girl broke the temperature control on another’s flat iron and her hair burnt, leaving the room with a pungent, lingering odor. Another purposefully spilled a soft drink onto a competitor’s evening gown. I stayed out of it. I had my beautiful, customized faux-Versace dress, some decent make-up, and a heartwarming speech prepared. Beyond that, I shut out the twittering and bickering of the other contestants.
    Before the final stages of the competition that year, the girls expectantly banded together to complain about the 1 minute, 30 seconds speech time. “How are we supposed to show who we are in such a short amount of time?” they complained. I was relieved: without public speaking experience, a short speech suited me well.
    The night of the competition was all