The Black Orchid

By Wanda Clark

Anita is a young widow, who is trying to find herself in a world where she is navigating without her true love. She finds herself entangled in situations that could compromise her morals and beliefs. Life is one big adventure after the other. She's being visited by her deceased husband, tormented by an angry ex-mother-in-law and different trials

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sternway Books
• Release date: Nov 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798987252512

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Copyright Page

Copyright © 2022 Wanda Clark

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher.

Sternway Books—Marshall, TX

Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9872525-0-5

eBook ISBN: 979-8-9872525-1-2

Title: The Black Orchid

Author: Wanda Clark

Digital distribution | 2022

Paperback | 2022

This is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real.

Dedication

To James, my loving, supportive, and very patient husband! Without you, this book would not have been possible! You my dear husband have been a constant source of energy, and support. You believed in me when I sometimes doubted myself, you were always quietly letting me know you approved, and you had my back. Much love and gratitude to you.

One

It was a normal fall day. The skies were clear with barely any clouds in the vast expanse of the heavens. Looking out of the large, bay windows, they were one of many focal points of this beautiful, older home; Anita slowly sipped and enjoyed her first cup of coffee. As she gazed with awe and admiration at the beauty of her surroundings, she counted herself blessed.

The estate she purchased, after the passing of her husband, was in an older section of town. There was a creek that ran at the back of the property, mature oaks, pecan, sweet gum, and various other trees adorned the five acres she called home. It was a lovely setting to raise a family, although she never got the opportunity to have children. She had married the love of her life, her soul mate, unfortunately he died prematurely.

Looking out at the trio of huge, trees that uniformly graced her front yard, she noticed little grey squirrels scurrying from tree to tree. They flittered about rapidly as if they were playing tag. Nature was always busy, although to the natural eye, everything appeared calm and sedate. While upon closer inspection, there’s never a dull moment!

Taking that last sip of coffee and relishing the view outside before pulling the sash on her comfy pink robe a bit tighter. Deciding today would be the day to go to the rescue shelter for a dog. She had wanted a dog previously, but her schedule just wouldn’t allow it. Being a freelance photographer assumed most of her time, she had given up her corporate job five years earlier to pursue her hobby. Anita loved taking pictures of almost anything, although nature was more fulfilling than photographing people.

She had spent fifteen years in corporate law, while the pay was gratifying, the stress wasn’t. Year after year of being part of the Anders & Bagley Law firm, she realized she would never make junior partner, let alone partner. She watched yearly as younger males advanced up the ladder. She was always overlooked, as she was told she was valuable in the position she held, which was a glorified gather of information. Her job was to research older cases, plunder through tons of legal briefs. Although she had three assistants at her disposal, the work was tedious, and she was under paid. Her male counterparts pulled in roughly three hundred thousand yearly, while she cleared 100k. Realizing she would never advance, after years of dedication, she chose to leave the firm. She received a substantial severance package; it allowed her a comfortable financial nest egg. Going into early retirement, she chose a hobby which became profitable. She always enjoyed photography and art.

It was amazing how freeing it felt to move at one’s own pace! Early retirement had afforded her many luxuries. She made her own schedules did everything at her own pace. She was afforded the pleasure of calling her own shots!

Driving to the shelter she noticed how much better she felt since leaving the rat race behind her. She took time to notice things, like how the large oak trees intertwined overhead as she drove down one of the side roads. Beautiful, live oak trees adorned this street making a lovely overhead canopy. It was the simple things that now bought her joy! Being late October, the foliage was amazingly beautiful. Fall was showing out, with all of her robust colors! Brilliant red, orange, yellow and burnt orange-colored leaves were hanging boldly on trees. A brisk wind was causing many to fall briskly to the ground, they appeared to be dancing and swirling happily. Anita smiled as she took it all in, thinking to herself that she felt as free and light as those leaves.

Pulling up to the rescue shelter, a daunting sign depicted dogs with big, sorrowful looking eyes peering at you. She was thinking what a capture, a happier sign would have been better. Walking up to the double, glass doors, she felt a bit nervous, wondering if she was truly ready for a pet. Once inside, a friendly young woman asked her how she could help her.

After a walk to the back, walking past numerous crates of cats, it was a bit overwhelming. Cute little tabby’s, calicos, long haired, even a hairless cat, meowed and peered out as if they were each saying, pick me. Finally, they reached the canine area. Small dogs, medium sized and large ones barked excessively! Each walking back and forth looking intently at them, with big, sorrowful eyes. Suddenly, she saw the cutest, little, long-haired dog. He was in the corner of his crate, balled up looking out uninterested in what was happening. His blonde coat looked oily and scraggly; he had big black eyes that looked like coals. His nose was shimmering with wetness, as he twitched it and gently put his head down and began to lick his paws. The worker stated he had been picked up a day or two earlier. He was skittish and slightly shy, but he was as cute as could be.

After the paperwork was done, Anita left with her bundle of furry joy. Initially, he was timid just looking around checking out his new surroundings. Walking, sniffing, and inspecting everything, finally finding a spot in a corner of the room. He circled a few times and then laid on the rug and watched Anita.

Here boy, stated Anita as she softly clapped her hands together. He raised his head, cocking it to the side as he looked at her.

So, it’s gonna be like that, huh? He continued to look at her quizzically. She went to the fridge, came back with a cheese stick. She unrolled the wrapper, broke off a piece for him, he slowly sniffed and gobbled it down. Wagging his tail, he perked up and looked to her for more. As the day wore on, he slowly warmed up to her, enjoying the head rubs and gently body massages. By the end of the day, night found him sitting happily in her lap.

Days swiftly turned into weeks, weeks turned into a month and like magic it was mid-November. Thanksgiving was two weeks away and Anita pondered on what to do for the holiday. Christmas was already scheduled, a trip to her sister Nora’s house. Nora and her husband were two amazing people, with three beautiful daughters. They lived two hours away in the city, on the outskirts. It was always exciting to gather with family, the children were well behaved and truly joyous to be around. Nora was eight years older than Anita, and overly protective. They shared a wonderful childhood growing up, Nora was the antagonizing older sister, yet loving and supportive. Their parents were both educators, their mom taught on the elementary level and their dad was a professor at the local college. During summer breaks, the family enjoyed trips out of state. Their dad usually took jobs at small community colleges were there was a need for adjunct professors. That normally meant in another state, allowing the much-needed income to continually flow. While their mother normally stayed home with the girls, their summers were never boring.

As Anita pondered on what her Thanksgiving would look like, her phone rang.

Hi, Nita how’s it going? inquired the caller.

Good, she replied.

I was just thinking of you and said to myself, ‘let me give this girl a call.’ I hope you’re free for the holiday. Me and two other ladies were planning a girl’s trip for Thanksgiving. Are you interested?

Wow, this is short notice, but I was wondering what I wanted to do, replied Anita.

Well, wonder no more! We’ve booked the cabins for four days! Wednesday night through Sunday morning, we all needed a much-deserved vacay. Does that sound like something you’re interested in?

Yes, yes it does! As a matter of fact, I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Thanks, Bev. I’m glad you thought of me. Let me send you some money to cover my part, replied Anita.

Noooo, everything is already paid for, consider this my gift to you.

I’m speechless, thanks so much. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone. Uh, one problem, I have a puppy, stated Anita.

No problem, bring him/her with you. You have a crate, right?

Yes.

No worries, we’ll spoil it too. Bev stated with a chuckle.

After the call ended, Anita smiled to herself and stated, Look at God. She and Beverly Watkins had been friends since childhood, although they didn’t live close to each other, they kept in touch. Bev always popped up when Anita was at her lowest. She was like a ray of welcome sunshine, beaming through on a dreary day.

The days rolled by quickly and finally the week of Thanksgiving was happening. Anita baked a few sweet potato pies and a lemon pound cake to add to the festive gathering. Bev always bragged on Anita’s sweet potato pies! Although she wasn’t a professional baker, she knew her way around the kitchen. She thought that was the least she could do, being as she was receiving an all-expense paid trip! The other ladies were also friends of Anita’s. Kangi Moore was a friend from her college days and Althea Barkly was a legal assistant from when she worked at Anders & Bagley law firm. They all clicked together, no envy or jealousies, just good friends.

Once at the cabin, they greeted each other with screams, hugs, and kisses. Anita was the last to arrive, she had driven further. She and Pibbs had grown quite fond of each other. He had almost been named Dibbs, cause she had first dibs on him, but changed her mind. He looked like a tan and blonde puff, just shaggy and cute.

The first night the ladies sat on the deck around the gas fire pit, reminiscing about the old days. Sipping champagne, nibbling on chocolate dipped strawberries, various cheeses, and fancy wafers. Smooth sounds of Luther, Grover and Kenny G played softly in the background. After hours of playing catch up, they called it a night around 2 a.m.

On Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, Bev informed everyone that breakfast was being catered and so was their dinner. Everyone told her she must have hit the jackpot; her answer was yesss! Astonished, but highly grateful, the ladies prepared to be catered to! The food and service were wonderful. The freshest, most succulent strawberries, pineapples, melons, and grapes for out of season were amazingly delicious! Quiche, Belgium waffles, crispy bacon, eggs, coffee and juice, the meal was fit for royalty! Just knowing no one had to cook or clean was worthy of much thankfulness!

Later, around 2 p.m. Bev informed them they were having dinner guests. Slightly surprised, they asked who the guests were. She stated it was a surprise and told them to dress in their best attire. Anita chose a black and white pantsuit. The pants were black and white swirl design, with a high waist that cinched to flatter the figure. The sateen jacket, with shiny satin lapels gave a fabulous after-five look. A tight white top with a plunging neckline, completed her look. She wore a single string of pearls and tiny pearl studs, giving after herself the once over in the mirror, she was ready to slay.

Promptly at five that evening, the doorbell chimed. Four well-dressed gents appeared on the other side of the door. Immediately Anita gasped! Her old childhood sweetheart was the first one she saw. He stilled looked the same, only more mature. There was Robbie Styler, Jason Willer, and Alvin Glaston, they all looked great! Johnathan Franks was Anita’s old beau. He was as tall, handsome, and charming as ever. His hair was salt, and pepper colored now, he still had a wonderful physique. He stood around six feet and looked to be around one seventy-five in weight. He flashed a smooth dimpled smile that made Anita a bit weak in the knees.

Hi guys, come on in, Bev stated as she opened the door wider.

Thank you for the invite, stated Robbie as he bent down to kiss Bev on the cheek.

I had a time wrangling these dudes up. When you called, I wasn’t sure if I could pull it off, Robbie said winking his eye as he spread his arm in the direction of the other men.

I’m thankful you did, glad each of you could make it, Bev stated with a big grin.

I wouldn’t have missed this opportunity for the world, Johnathan said. Anita, you look amazing, the years have been good to you!

The men proceeded to address the ladies, smiles, hugs, kisses abound. Kangi and Jason knew each other from college, Alvin, and Althea from the law firm. Bev and Robbie were always a couple and still going strong. Bev instructed everyone to settle in, get comfortable and enjoy. The caterers had arrived at a quarter of six, and promptly began setting up. The large wood dining table was transformed into a beautiful tablescape. Fancy white linen cloths covered it with matching linen napkins. Milk white porcelain plates sat in golden chargers, with golden flatware and crystal water goblets trimmed in gold added to the elegance. Large clear vases with a single red rosebud enhanced the setting.

The cabin accommodated eight to ten people, four bedrooms with their own private baths, plus each room had its own private deck with fireplaces. One large hot tub that was very roomy and would support up to a dozen folk. The outdoor area also had a large fire pit, surrounded by beautiful brown Adirondack chairs with burnt, orange-colored cushions. The area was scenic. A large mountain range was in the distance with a small lake completing the view.

A huge, golden roasted turkey became the centerpiece. Platters of sliced ham, baked apples, candied yams, mashed potatoes, green beans, turnip greens, collards, and mustard mixed sat prominently beside the large bowl of cornbread dressing not stuffing. Potato salad, fruit salad, ambrosia salad, pecan pies along with Anita’s sweet potato pies and lemon pound cake, sat on an extra side table. A fine dinner wine was served to compliment the meal.

After gorging themselves, everyone had after dinner drinks outside around the fire pit. The weather was nice, a gentle fifty-ish degrees, which was rare for the area at this time of year. Anita could not have planned a better way to celebrate, good friends, good food and fantastic weather.

A starlit night, with a lovely moon rising, capped off the perfect day. Although the area was a nature resort, there were signs posted to beware of occasional wild animals, there had never been any sightings reported. The cozy group decided to pack it up and head back inside before it became too late. After being fully gorged, and the effects of the alcohol sat in, some decided to hit up the gym.

Anita was probably the only one unaware