My Husband's Barbie

If any of you remember my previous stories about my husband, you may remember that he thinks that dolls should be left in boxes.  Of course, I'm the opposite.  One day (years ago), my husband came home from the flea market with a gift "for me".

He told me that he would only give her to me, though, if I would promise to keep her in the box.  I told him that I couldn't make that promise.  I told him that once he gives me a gift, it's mine to do whatever I want.  He told me fine, he would keep it for himself.  I told him that was fine with me.  So here she is, my husband's one and only Barbie doll.

Girls Explore Bessie Coleman

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Girls Explore Bessie Coleman doll.  Here she is in her box.

She comes with a biography and a pilot log.  Her box was slightly damaged, but the doll is in good shape.

And here she is out of the box.  Her arms and legs are made of soft vinyl and they bend slightly.  Her body is stuffed.

Here's a close-up.  Oh my.  I'm going to have to repaint her lips one of these days.

Here she is hanging out with Harriet Tubman, another Girls Explore doll that I purchased some years ago.  Both Bessie and Harriet are on sale on Amazon.com for $19.99 right now.

So I recently watched the movie In Time, where no one ages past the age of 25.  There was one scene where a man introduces his wife, his daughter, and his mother-in-law, and they all look the same age.  It would be like that in my dolls' world if I made families with most of them.  Well the kids all have parents, but the adults tend to not have parents (Alan and Midge are lucky) because they would look about the same age as their parents.  So I like to buy more mature looking dolls when I can.  And I've decided that Bessie is going to get redressed, and she will get to take photographs and be involved in some of the stories.  Harriet might join in one day, also.  Right now she's back in her box.

Here's Bessie redressed.  She will not stay in this outfit (Happy Family Grandma needs her clothes back).

So which one of my dolls do you think should get Bessie as a mother?  Does she resemble anyone in particular to you?

****Edited to add more photos****

So here are a few more photos to show Bessie's body and her poseability.  Here she is standing with her arms bent.  Her arms will move up and down to the front and back.  They will not stay posed out to the side.

She can sit down.

Here she's seated on the floor, with her arms out as far as I could get them, and the floor holding them in place.

Could You Lend Jinx A Hand?

Jinx has been content to spend the past few years in her "leather" outfit with boots and gloves.  Unfortunately, her outfit has begun to deteriorate.  It started with one little crack, and then in a short period of time there were cracks all over.  So I've decided to put this outfit away and only let her wear it for special occasions.

That means that Jinx needs some actual hands, since these gloves will not look good with most outfits.  Luckily, my Triad Hispanic Alpha was more than willing to lend Jinx a hand (or 2).  These are the Alpha's spare hands.

LOL!!!

This is the funniest doll-related post on a message board that I have seen in a while.  I laughed 'til I cried.  Why is it that none of you alerted me to the existence of this figure before it sold out???  Click the link below.

I just got a MIB HT Michael Jackson Thriller figure for $43.60 with free shipping.

Opal is Graduating

They grow up so fast!  Well, they don't all grow up, but Opal has grown up and it is time for her to graduate from High School.

It seems like just yesterday that she entered high school.

She gained quite a bit of weight during her Freshman and Sophomore years.

She worked hard to take off the pounds, and by her Senior year a great womanly figure emerged.

She has changed a lot on the inside also over the years.  In her early years in High School, she hung out mostly with the same group of girls (Raven, Nakia, and Brandy).  She was perceived as being somewhat of a snob, but she was mostly just shy.

 She eventually gained confidence and found her voice, and learned that she could communicate and relate to just about anyone.  She had a natural way of getting people to feel comfortable enough to open up to her. She knew early on what she wanted to do in her career, and she felt that working at the radio station was a step in the right direction.  She was hired as an office assistant and worked after school.  One of the DJ's allowed her to go on the air one day, taking a few calls from kids and offering advice.  That's when things really took off.  The local kids began to call in asking for Opal, and she was given her own 1 hour segment which aired after school during the week.  One of the producers had some connections, and before long Opal had her own local talk show on cable access television.  She even had a celebrity on her show.  She is the youngest person in Roxville's history to have her own talk show.

Opal got accepted to all 3 colleges that she applied to, and she selected a nearby university with a great journalism program.  Her goal is to have her own nationally syndicated talk show.  Going to college nearby will allow her to keep her local talk show, but she still feels like college will be a world away from her friends and from her boyfriend.

She has been dating Tre for a year, and now their relationship is at a crossroads.  Opal is going away to college in the fall, and Tre will still be in high school.  Sometimes she wishes that she had not fallen in love with a younger guy, but she is happy to have had Tre in her life.  No matter what happens, he will always be her first love.

She is wondering what she should do now.  She loves him, and she does not want to let him go.  At the same time, she is anxious to move on in her life, and she wants to open herself up to new experiences.  And they say that long-distance relationships don't work.  Could she and Tre really make it work?  Or will he go back to his old girlfriend Kiyoni Brown as soon as she's out of town?  If they are going to break up, should they do it now, or spend one last summer together?  There are so many conflicting thoughts, feelings, and emotions swirling around all at once.  Opal feels joyful to move on in her life, but devastated to leave the ones that she loves behind.

Mass Blogger Interview Answers

Here are my answers to Ms. Leo's Mass Blogger Interview questions.

When did you start collecting dolls?
It depends on how many dolls make up a collection.  :)  I had dolls as a child and loved them, but unfortunately none of my childhood dolls made it into adulthood with me.  I had a rough brother, nephew, and niece who pretty much destroyed most of my dolls, and my mother would sometimes donate my old toys to the Children's Medical Center.  I bought my first doll as an adult in 1989 when I was 19 years old.  That doll remained on my shelf alone until around 1994.  After 1996, I really started to have a little bit of a collection.  In 1998, I started ordering dolls on the internet.  In 2005, I started ordering on eBay, and that's when things really took off.

What was your first purchase as a collector?
My first doll purchase as an adult was Fun-To-Dress Barbie 1988.  I bought her at a local TG&Y store while shopping for picture frames.  It was a few years before she even had clothes to wear, so I didn't even know if her name was accurate for a while (and it was).  A couple of years ago, she got a new(er) body.

My next purchase as an adult was Menelik from Olmec Toys.

After that, I purchased 1996 Holiday Season Barbie (Special Edition).

She has a different hairstyle these days and she is redressed for most of the year, but she still dons her original attire around the holidays.

And then of course I had to get a male friend for her, but I purchased another Barbie at that time also.  So I had to go back and get another Ken.  And then I saw an articulated Barbie that I had to have.  So I had to get her a male doll with some articulation, and I made my first action figure purchase on Amazon.com.  And I just kept going and going and going.

How many dolls do you own?
Today I counted just so that I could more accurately answer this question.  I have 277 dolls give or take (more like give, because I may have missed some of my smaller dolls).

What is your favorite doll and why?
My favorite doll is probably High and Mighty Darius Reid.

I don't even have any photos that truly do him justice.  He's just a good looking doll with great clothing and accessories, and he has articulation!

I watched him and bid for him unsuccessfully for over a year on eBay auctions before I finally won him.  By that time, I had become a little eBay savvy and I had decided to wait until the last few seconds of the auction to place my bid.  So I did, and I was thrilled to win!  I looked at the bidding history and saw that I had won by 2 cents!  Another bidder had entered a bid in the last few seconds also, and my max bid was only 2 cents higher than theirs.  I was thrilled to finally have this doll at a price that I was willing to pay, and I was even more thrilled when he arrived at my home in perfect condition (brand new in his shipper, never removed from box).  I kept him put away for a while and did not remove him from his box, but that didn't last long.

What doll or dolls are not your favorites and why?
I'm not crazy about reborn dolls because some of them make me shudder when I look at them.  They look so life-like, and yet they have no life >>shudder<<.  I'm not crazy about most big-headed dolls, but I do have a few in my collection.  I'm not really a fan of dolls that are easily breakable (I had enough broken dolls in my childhood to last me a lifetime).

What is the biggest challenge about collecting dolls?
I don't have enough space to display them all the way that I want to.

How do you display or store your dolls?
Several of my dolls are posed and displayed on shelves in my home.  I need to buy a curio or some sort of display case (maybe if I'd quit buying dolls, I could buy a curio).  I have a few dolls at work on my desk.  Most of my dolls are currently stored in an armoire in my bedroom.

Here are some photos from back in the day of some of my dolls on shelves.

Have you ever been to a doll show?
No, but I would love to go.

When you travel, do you look for dolls?
Always.  I have dolls from the majority of places that I've visited as an adult.

What is your latest purchase?
A Ken clothing pack.

What doll is on your wish list now?
Back to Brooklyn Remi.

And a bunch of expensive Hot Toys figures.

What do you wish you didn’t purchase?
Hmmmm, I pretty much like all of my dolls to some extent.  I did purchase an Afro Samurai figure (bloody version) for my husband that I'm not fond of.  But he likes it, so I don't even regret this purchase.

What is your favorite doll related item?
I have a white couch that pops up in my photos time and time again.

How often do you photo your dolls and what doll is the most photographed 
and/or photogenic?
I try to take photos of my dolls as soon as I receive them, and I take photos of my older dolls sporadically.  I've probably photographed my Calista doll more frequently than any other.

Do you talk to other collectors in person or just on the web?
Just on the web.

If you had the chance to speak to Mattel or other toy makers, what 
would you say?
Someone please make some articulated chubby dolls (all ages, male and female).

What doll do you wish would be reissued? 
The Boy Scout dolls (Bob Scout, Dave Cub Scout, and their friends).

What two dolls would you combine and how would you want them 
combined? (Muff style question)
I would combine my Booty Babe statue with a Triad Alpha.  I would love to have a doll with the body, looks, and hair of the Booty Babe with the articulation of the Triad Alpha.

 

If there is something I didn't ask that you would like to say, you can put 
that in too.
Do you have any dolls with a face that only a mother could love?  Yes, Dragon Jennifer.

Which doll looks the most like you?  I don't know.  My husband says it's the Booty Babe, but my mother-in-law recently said it's Dasia.  I guess I look more like Dasia with Booty Babe's hair.

Are there any upcoming doll releases that you are looking forward to?  Yes, Enterbay and Dragon are both releasing Men in Black 3 Will Smith figures.  Decisions, decisions!

Where do we go from here?

Darius slammed the limo door shut, and he and Adele stood there in stunned silence.  Finally, Adele spoke.  "This is APPALLING!" she said.  Darius bit his bottom lip and began pacing back and forth beside the limo.  Adele watched him with the same stunned expression on her face.  Palmer stumbled out of the limo a short time later, his shirt untucked in the back.  He assisted Zalika as she emerged from the limo.  Adele noted that the bow on the front of her dress was slightly off-center now.  

Adele shook her head and turned towards Darius and said "Well, you said that you liked the fact that she is spontaneous, HOW DO YOU LIKE HER SPONTANEITY NOW?"  Darius saw that this already awkward situation was about to potentially spiral out of control, so he hoped that he would be able to calm Adele down and quickly.  Calmly, he said "Adele..." but she cut him off.  "Of course YOU may call it being spontaneous, but I call it being a SLU..."  Before she could fully get the word out, Palmer turned to her and said sharply "You need to watch your mouth!"  Darius jerked as if he had been struck and said to Palmer "Don't speak to her that way!" and Palmer stepped towards Darius and said "Then you'd better tell her to shut her mouth!"

In the next moment, Darius and Palmer were standing toe to toe shouting at one another.  Darius towered over Palmer, but Palmer was not the least bit intimidated and did not back down.  As Adele watched Palmer puffing out his chest while yelling at Darius, she thought wow, is this the same guy that sat there flaccidly when Darius called me pretentious?

Zalika forced her way in between the two men, saying "Hey, hey!  Ok, that's enough.  Calm down."  The men reluctantly stopped arguing and took a few steps back.  Zalika said "Ok.  We should just go.  We should just get out of here.  We can still make it to the reception."  Adele rolled her eyes and said "Oh come on!  You can not honestly think that we are going to the reception now?  Let's just end this nightmare!"  Zalika said "Well, that's up to you.  These are your friends.  We can just go home."  Adele declared "I am not stepping foot in that limo!  I will make other arrangements to get home."  Adele began fumbling around in her purse for her cell phone.  Darius said "You know that we're too far from home for you to simply take a cab."  Adele snapped "Of course I know that!  I'll catch a plane.  I'll do something."  Darius said "It is very unlikely that you will be able to catch a plane on such short notice.  You'll end up staying all night here.  I don't want you heading out on your own.  I'd worry about you."  "Then why don't you come with me?" Adele asked.  Darius replied "Because I paid for this limo!"  Adele just shook her head at him.  She wasn't going to have this same argument twice in one day.

Darius said "If anyone should make alternate arrangements, it should be these two." as he gestured towards Zalika and Palmer.  Zalika said "Wait a minute, you bring us all the way here, treat us to a day of arguing and bickering, and now you want to leave us stranded here?  We don't even know anyone here!  No way!  I'm going home in that limo."  Palmer nodded in agreement and said "I did not come here prepared to make other arrangements to get home, and I will not be left stranded here."

Darius walked away and Adele followed.  Darius stopped a short distance away and began biting his bottom lip and pacing again, while Adele watched.  Finally, Adele said "Well this is really a mess."  Darius replied "You really have a knack for stating the obvious."  Just then, they saw Zalika approaching.  Zalika said to Adele "Pardon me MISS, do you mind if I speak to Darius for a moment...alone?"  Adele responded "Actually, I do mind."  Zalika had run out of patience with Adele and had taken a deep breath and opened her mouth wide and was about to give Adele a piece of her mind, when Darius said "It's okay.  Adele, give us a few minutes."  Adele hesitated, then walked away.

As Adele walked away, she saw Palmer making his way towards her.  For a split second, she thought about running, but of course that would be out of the question with the shoes that she was wearing.  She stopped and said to him "Just walk away Palmer!"  Palmer kept coming and said "I just want to talk to you."  Adele said "I don't want to talk to you.  Just leave me alone!"  Palmer said "I just need a few minutes." and Adele promptly replied "No!"  Palmer showed no signs that he was leaving, much to Adele's frustration.  He said "Just give me 5 minutes."  Adele let out a big sigh and said "You have 1 minute."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the parking lot, Zalika stood awkwardly in front of Darius.  She said "Sooooo, I guess that a second date is out of the question for us, huh?"  They both laughed.  Zalika acknowledged that it was a terrible joke.  She then apologized to Darius for the scene at the limo, but tried to explain things from her perspective.  When Darius had asked her to the wedding, he said that they would be going with a friend of his and her date.  He did not say that it was his ex, who he clearly still had feelings for.  She had put up with bickering and fighting and Adele's rude behavior towards her all day, and tried to make the best of it.  Palmer was the only thing that kept this from being a perfectly miserable day for her.  The two of them had found each other, and the timing wasn't perfect, but Zalika did not regret it.  She reminded Darius how he and Adele had gone off alone for a lengthy period of time.  She told him that taking all of that into consideration, she knew that he knew that it was wrong of him to even contemplate leaving without her and Palmer.

Darius acknowledged that he had not put his best foot forward that day, and that he regretted that he had lost his cool a couple of times.  He told Zalika that prior to the scene at the limo, he had made up his mind that he was going to apologize to her for how the day had turned out.  Zalika asked "But not now?"  Darius said "Noooo, I won't be apologizing now."  Darius said that as he was walking from the church to the limo, he was thinking of ways to make it up to Zalika.  "Of course, that's out of the question now." he said, and Zalika replied "Of course."  Zalika told him that she didn't care about that, and that she just wanted to get through the rest of the evening as peacefully as possible.  Darius said that he was willing for them all to ride home together, but that Adele had to agree to come as well, because he wasn't willing to leave her there alone, and he was not willing to stay there with her either.  Zalika shook her head and said "There's no way that she will agree to ride with all of us."  Darius said "I'll have to try to convince her."

Zalika and Darius walked back to the limo, and Darius thought of things that he might say to Adele to smooth things over enough to where they could all have a somewhat peaceful journey home.  First, he would remind Adele of their discussion in the church office, and tell her that it would be rather hypocritical to remain upset with Palmer and Zalika, when she was trying to get back with him just moments before. Adele and Palmer were already standing outside of the limo as Darius and Zalika approached.  Adele said "So, are we ready to go home?"  Darius and Zalika looked at each other with shock, and Darius responded "Yes, let's go."  He wanted to ask Adele what had changed her mind, but thought it would be best to save that discussion for another day.  As Darius and Adele entered the limo, Zalika quietly asked Palmer "How in the world did you change her mind?"  Palmer said "I'm a politician, so I know a thing or two about negotiating." and he winked at Zalika.

Adele was relieved to be on the road home, but was extremely annoyed at the constant chatter from Zalika and Palmer.  They were blathering away like old friends, and giggling like giddy school children.  She wished so much that she had brought her earphones.  She tried turning up the music inside the limo, but they only talked louder.  Darius just sat there silently, staring into the distance as if none of this bothered him.  Adele came to realize why Zalika and Palmer got along so well, because they really did have a lot in common.  They communicated effortlessly.  They would probably go on to have a great relationship.

Suddenly, Adele threw her head back and let out a loud belly laugh.  It was so loud and sudden that she startled the other passengers.  The driver even rolled down the tinted glass partition between them and gazed at Adele in the rear-view mirror for a moment.  Tears welled up in Adele's eyes and Darius thought that she would pull out her handkerchief at any moment, but she didn't.  Adele gasped for air and tried to speak "It's just so funny..." she said before she was overtaken by laughter again.  

By this point tears were streaming down her cheeks, and Darius watched in amazement.  "Here we are at the end of our relationship, we've come here to celebrate our friends taking their relationship to the next level, and we get to witness the birth of this new relationship..." Adele laughed some more.  Darius watched as make-up stained teardrops hung precariously from Adele's chin.  At any moment, they are going to drop onto her dress, and she will not be happy, or so he thought.  The tears fell and Adele kept laughing.  She said "I mean it really is ironic, don't you think?"  Zalika turned to Palmer and sang under her breath in her best Alanis Morissette impression "It's like raaaaaaiiiinnnn on your wedding day..."  Palmer stifled his laughter and nudged Zalika.  Adele said to Zalika and Palmer "If the two of you end up getting married, then you should make me and Darius your maid of honor and best man, because you wouldn't even be together if it wasn't for us!"

Adele kept going on and on about relationships and their stages, and the laughter kept coming and so did the tears.  At this point, Darius had difficulty in determining whether she was laughing or crying (maybe a bit of both).  He had never known her to display her emotions this way.  He looked at her with her tear-streaked face, and he thought that she looked beautiful.  He reached for her hand, held it and squeezed it for a moment, and then let go.  They gazed at each other and smiled.  Adele laid her wet face on Darius' shoulder, and her make-up stained his tailor-made suit.

Adele let out a huge sigh and said "Let's go to the reception."

Raise Your Glass

As Adele and Darius were having their discussion in the church office, Palmer and Zalika were having a discussion of their own.  They chatted about the long drive to Morristown, about the wedding, about Adele and Darius, and about themselves.  The conversation between them flowed very naturally, and they made each other laugh.  They felt comfortable together and enjoyed each other's company.  

When many of the other guests began to leave the church, Palmer became a little concerned.  He asked Zalika if Adele and Darius had told her where they would be.  Zalika shook her head "no".  Palmer asked if they had told Zalika how long they would be, and Zalika shook her head "no" again.  Palmer then asked Zalika what exactly Adele had said.  Zalika straightened up and became very rigid, raised her head and looked down her nose at Palmer, and said in her best Adele imitation "MISS, I need to speak with Darius.  Right now.  ALONE."  Palmer laughed and said "That was a pretty good imitation."  Zalika shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

Later, Palmer suggested that maybe Darius and Adele had gone back to the limo.  Zalika and Palmer walked outside but did not see the limo.  Palmer said that he thought that the driver had parked just down the street, and the couple walked the short distance and found the limo.  "Let's just wait for them here." Zalika suggested.  "Ok" Palmer said as he reached for the fully stocked bar.  During the drive to Morristown, Zalika had suggested that they all have a drink before the wedding, and Adele and Darius had both balked at the idea.  Zalika had later apologized to Darius, thinking that perhaps her suggestion had been inappropriate since they were on their way to a church.  "Oh no, it's not THAT", Darius had said.  "I didn't want to be in a moving vehicle with open containers, when there was a chance that some of it could spill on my clothes.  I'm sure Adele felt the same way."

Palmer found some champagne in the limo's bar and grabbed a couple of glasses.  He opened the bottle and poured them both a glass.  Then he proposed a toast:  "To Rod and Danielle - I don't know them but they seem nice.  I wish them much happiness."  Zalika raised her glass and said "To Rod and Danielle!" and they drank.  Zalika said "I propose a toast to Darius and Adele - may they both someday love another person as much as they love themselves.  And their clothes.  And their shoes.  And their money.  And..." they both began to laugh.  Palmer raised his glass and said "To Darius and Adele!" and they drank.  They continued on in this way for quite some time.  The more time passed, the sillier the toasts became, and the more they laughed.

They were still laughing about Palmer's last toast when Zalika said "To Laverne and Shirley - schlemiel schlemazel!"  They both cracked up laughing even more.  Palmer said "To Laverne and Shirley!" and they drank while trying not to choke on their drinks between their laughter.  Palmer raised his glass again and said "Ok, I've got a good one.  To...  US."  Zalika was taken by surprise.  She had expected to hear something silly that would make her laugh.  She wondered if Palmer was just joking, but by the look on his face, she could see that he was sincere.  She smiled broadly and raised her glass and said "To us."  And they drank.  And then their champagne glasses fell to the floor as they leaned forward and kissed passionately.

Was it the champagne that had lowered their inhibitions?  Were they moving too fast?  In that moment, they did not care.  All they knew was that being together in that way was far more intoxicating than the champagne.  As they began to undress each other, they gave no thought to where they were.  They just wanted to be together right then.  They both felt that this moment was like a dream.

If it was a dream, then they were suddenly rudely awakened when the limo door flung open and they saw Darius and Adele standing there.  Adele let out an audible gasp, and they all froze for a moment with startled expressions on their faces.  Palmer grabbed his jacket and covered Zalika as she shrieked "Close the door!!!"

Heart to Heart

As Adele listened to the words that Rod and Danielle spoke to one another during their wedding ceremony, she was impressed with how open and honest they were about their feelings, and in front of all of those people! Again, she thought about her relationship with Darius and wondered if it would have made a difference if she had been more open with him about her feelings.  What was it that he'd said to her in the limo - something about her caring more about outward appearances than what was really going on between them?  Well, it wasn't true.  She cared a lot about what was going on between them.  It's funny, she thought, how she could speak her mind on any subject, and she was known for being somewhat opinionated, but when it came to matters of the heart, she was quite guarded.  If she were to speak to Darius about how she still cared about him, she would feel extremely vulnerable, and that was a feeling that made her uncomfortable.  She was seen as such as strong woman, and she wanted that reputation to remain intact.  And that's when it struck her like a ton of bricks that Darius had a point.  During their relationship, she had been too worried about her reputation to show her vulnerability to her partner, the one person who was supposed to know her and love her, the good and the bad.  As she watched Rod and Danielle walk down the aisle together as man and wife, she made up her mind that she would let her guard down and talk with Darius.

After the ceremony, many of the guests remained inside the church chatting with one another while the wedding party took photos.  Darius and his date were chatting when they were approached by an old acquaintance of Darius'.  "Oh wow!" said Darius, "Man, how many years has it been?"  He turned to his date "This is an old friend of mine, Ken.  Ken this is... my date."  Darius' date shot Darius an irritated look, and turned to Ken and shook his hand and introduced herself properly.  After a few moments, Ken moved on to speak to other guests.  Darius' date turned to him and said "You forgot my name."  Darius said "No, no I didn't, your name is..." she interrupted him "In that moment when you were introducing me, you forgot my name."  Darius apologized, stating that with all of the excitement of the day, he had simply had a momentary memory lapse.  At that moment, they saw Adele approaching.  Adele said to Darius' date "Excuse me Miss, do you mind if I speak with Darius for a moment?  Alone."  Darius' date let out an exasperated sigh and walked away.  She wandered through the church and met many of the guests, who were very friendly and welcoming.  She saw Palmer standing alone and walked over to speak with him.  He smiled as she approached and said "Hey, Zalika!  How did you enjoy the ceremony?"  She smiled and said "You remember my name."  Palmer said "Of course I do."  They smiled at each other and began chatting away in a very friendly manner.

Meanwhile, Darius and Adele had found and empty office where they could be alone to talk.  Once inside, Darius leaned against a desk and Adele stood near the door, staring at him.  Darius glanced at his watch and looked back at Adele, who was still staring and trying to find the right words to say.

Darius:  You wanted to speak with me?
Adele:  I saw you looking at me, in the church, during the ceremony.
Darius:  Adele, what's this about?
Adele:  I... I was thinking about you during the ceremony.  About us, really.  And I saw you looking at me, and I wondered if you were thinking about me, too.
Darius:  Actually, I was.
Adele:  You were?  Of course.  Well, I was thinking about some of the things that you said to me in the limo.  And I'm not saying that you were right, but I can see how you came to certain conclusions about me.
Darius:  What are you saying?
Adele:  I'm saying that I could have done better.  In our relationship, when it came to expressing my feelings about you, I could have done better.  I know that I certainly didn't do a good job of expressing those feelings if you honestly think that I didn't care about you, because I did... I do care about you.
Darius:  I know that you care.  No one argues like we do unless they care.
Adele:  So what I am saying to you is that I can do better.  We can do better.  I can focus more on what's really going on between us, and you can stop being such a pain in the butt...

They both laughed.

Adele:  We can do better.  We can resolve whatever issues that we had, and we can be better than we were.
Darius:  Wow.  I'm really shocked to hear this coming from you.  Yes, I was thinking about you, about us, during the ceremony, and I thought about mistakes that we've both made.  And watching Rod and Danielle up there - you know loving each other just seems to come so easily and so naturally for them.  With us, it was a struggle.  The truth is, I want what they have.  I want true love, and someone who brings out the best in me.  As much as I care about you Adele, I think that we bring out the worst in each other.  If today is any indication, then we certainly do.  We need to just move forward from here.  We've both met nice people, and who knows what might happen.

Adele felt humiliated, and then enraged.  She wanted to lash out a Darius once again.  She wanted to hurt him more than he'd just hurt her.  But she didn't.  She took it all in, and she told herself that she would just take her time and process the things that he was telling her.

Darius:  I think that you deserve to have someone who you can easily express yourself to and who loves you unconditionally.
Adele:  Ok.

Adele reached for the door but Darius quickly stepped in front of it and blocked her departure.

Darius:  I think that we should talk.
Adele:  I don't think that there's really anything left to say.
Darius:  Don't just shut me out now.  That's what you always used to do when things didn't go your way.  You would just shut down and shut me out.  You say that you can do better, so show me.

Adele felt a wave of emotion and turned away from Darius.  She didn't want him to see.  She quickly contained herself, and turned back around and agreed to talk.  They had the most open and honest conversation that they'd ever had.  They came away feeling that even though they would not be a couple, they could at least be friends.

When they emerged from the office, the church was nearly deserted.  The reception would have already started by now.  Darius glanced at his watch again and was shocked by how much time had gone by.  They walked outside, and did not see their limo.  When the couples had arrived at the wedding, the driver had dropped them off near the church, but had to park a couple of blocks away.  Adele told Darius to call the driver.  Darius said that he thought that the driver had parked just down the street, and that they could walk.  "In these shoes?!" Adele asked incredulously.  Darius smiled at her, and she said "Ok, let's walk then."

If only Palmer and Zalika had not been so preoccupied.  If only they had seen Darius and Adele approaching, then a most unfortunate situation could have been avoided.

Here and Now

The couples arrived fairly early and not many of the wedding guests had arrived yet.  This gave them ample opportunity to choose seating on opposite sides of the room.

Adele immediately excused herself in order to visit the powder room.  Darius' date expressed an interest in going along with Adele, and Adele stifled an eye roll and said "Right this way."

On the way back from the powder room, guests had begun to arrive and gather in the entryway.  Adele recognized a few of them and stopped to speak with them, completely forgetting her manners.  Finally, she made the proper introductions, and ended by saying "..and this is... Darius' date."  Afterwards, Darius' date pulled Adele to the side and said "Sooooo, you really can't be bothered to learn my name?"  This time Adele did not stifle her eye roll as she responded "No, I really can not be bothered."  Darius' date stood there in stunned silence and the ladies glared at each other for a moment before re-entering the sanctuary and making their way to their seats on opposite sides of the room.

 

As Adele sat there next to her date Palmer, she re-played the events of the day in her head.  Palmer seemed really impressed and pointed out certain decorations to Adele and saying how nice everything looked.  Adele just wanted Palmer to shut up.  How could he have just sat there and said nothing when Darius called her pretentious?  She felt that she had been disrespected, and that her date did not stand up for her.  She felt that when she was in a relationship with Darius, he would've never sat idly by and let another man disrespect her.  Was Palmer just too weak to stand up to Darius?  Did he just not care?

Adele:  Why didn't you say anything when Darius called me pretentious?

Palmer:  What?

Adele:  In the limo, on the way here, remember?  Darius called me pretentious, and you just sat there.

Palmer: Well what was I supposed to say?

Adele:  I don't know!  SOMETHING!  You know what, never mind.  Forget that I said anything.

Palmer sat there quietly instead of giving Adele the real answer.  The truth is, Palmer barely knew Adele, and he knew that Darius knew her much better.  So if Darius felt that way, who was he to say otherwise?  Truthfully, he thought that Darius was probably right, and that maybe that's the reason that Adele went on and on about his suit, of all things.  He thought for a moment about giving Adele the honest answer to her question, but decided against it.  He just wanted to get through the rest of the day without any more drama.

Music was playing and the ceremony had begun, and Adele was jolted into the present and began to notice her surroundings for really the first time since being inside the church.  Everything was so beautiful!  The flowers, the tuxedos, the dresses.  There was Rod up there, looking so handsome.  He and Danielle love each other so very much, and it is evident in the smallest details of this ceremony.  And then the bride entered, looking stunningly beautiful.  But what struck Adele the most was the look on Rod's face when he saw his bride.  This is true love, she thought.  She was truly happy for them, but she could not help but to think about herself and how she would never have a day like this with Darius as she had once hoped.

As Adele watched Danielle go down the aisle, her vision suddenly became blurry.  Oh no, she thought - tears!  She quickly grabbed her handkerchief and dabbed furiously at her eyes.  She could not allow these tears to ruin her make-up.  She would not be immortalized in wedding photos with smeared mascara!  She looked up and waved her hands in front of her eyes to try to dry the tears before they actually escaped.  She managed to contain her emotions, but it was difficult.  She thought about Darius and how things had been so good for so long.  What went wrong?  Did he really feel that she was pretentious?  Probably, she thought, because she really meant it when she told him that he was full of himself.  They both had their faults, but so what.  Surely Rod and Danielle have their faults, and yet they've managed to work through them and come together to form this beautiful family.  Adele wondered if Darius was thinking about her at all and she glanced across the room at him, only to see that he was staring directly at her.  He quickly looked away when their gaze met.