When the dust cleared, the clarity and magnitude of what happened set in. Relatives and even some family began blaming me for having to borrow money from relatives for the event. $15,000 was borrowed last minute, all from different sources. We began writing post dated cheques to pay everyone back. I was never the type to take money from someone and not return it, with interest. My aggravation would keep going to my father who messed everything up, like usual. I was beginning to not really care and consume myself from his devilish ways. He was going through his own stuff dealing with his fingers and his business. I assumed my sisters were OK because I was not hearing much from them about it anymore. I think we were just getting tired of talking about it when there was nothing we could have done anyways. We just all tried to stay busy. Away from him. In our family there is not such thing as moving out when your old enough. You stay until your married, then move out. We were stuck there. As long as we kept busy, we were OK. Out father had a very bad temper. He would lose it on the stupidest things. Even to people in public. If something didn’t go his way or if he was not satisfied with a service, he would turn red and yell at the person at the counter. It wasn’t even their fault. It was the stores fault, not the poor guy at the counter. He just worked there. If we ever had to go anywhere with him, we would cringe and walk on eggshells hoping he wouldn’t lose his marbles while we were around him. It was so embarrassing. The only respect he had for people was when he wanted something for himself. If it didn’t benefit him, he wouldn’t be so nice. I thank God every day that none of us siblings turned out to be like him. We are all kind and have appreciation for people. Regardless of their race, color or demeanor. We would only not respect those that had given us a valid reason not to. With us, we would love, trust and appreciate all people. All the time. We loved them all too much that we always would get taken advantage of. People would invite themselves over for dinner all the time and we would never get invited back. They loved getting wined and dined with us and we always spoiled our company making them feel like kings and queens. They loved the treatment they got at our house. It happened very often. It got tiring always having to serve company. We had visitors almost all the time on weekends and for sure on weekdays. We were always cooking up a storm. When guests were coming, we would cook at least 7 or 8 full meals. Enough to feed at least 30 people with left overs. Mediterranean cooking is very intricate and meal preparations always take hours. Food is huge in our family. If were not cooking it were eating it and if were not eating were cooking. If we were not eating or cooking we were planning what to cook so we could eat! So hard to try to lose any weight in this family. My sister’s home, where we stayed, had an in-ground pool. It was great! A good way to get some exercise and stay cool on hot summer days. I spent some time talking to friends from the show. People I had worked with for the event and had got to know. The kept urging me on to continue having annual shows but the stress involved with this one was hard. How fun it was but how complicated things got with so many people involved. The more I thought about it, the more ideas came to mind. If the family was not involved and I could do it behind their backs, then I would continue. I had done it before with Jessica while attending high school. That seemed to work out OK. Expensive but well worth it. I would slowly start to inquire. To my surprise, the doors were opening for me everywhere. People remembered my laser shown in Calgary and it seemed like the more I asked around, the more privileged attention I received. Hotels began giving me 80% discounted rates. Some never charged at all. Restaurants would not bill me. They seemed honored to have me in their dining room. Delta hotels and some renowned hotels with Western Canada gave me celebrity rates and status. Night clubs gave me specialized seating with bodyguards. I sure was liking all the attention. I had opportunities to pick any vehicle from the dealership and drive it for as long as I wanted to. Changing it up with different sporty vehicles all the time. I could go into a 7-11 stores, our original sponsors and have free Slurpee, my absolute favorite drink, any time I wanted. So I decided to reopen my business and work from an executive office down town in a high rise building over looking the river. Almost the top floor, rent free. I began partnering up with some heavy hitters that had nothing but money to spend. They loved me. Respected and invested with me. My family new nothing. Within 6 months, I had 40 staff. All the businesses combined? 900 staff and I never needed a cent. The investors decided to use me as the boss and creator of the events. I would tell the staff what to do and what I wanted. All I had to do was show up at the event and perform then leave. Only within Canada and a little bit of the United States. I ended up being responsible for 80% of the fireworks shot off with Canada and The United States. Designing different visuals and what would be seen upon detonation. What a fun job. I was living the life. I ended up renting an executive apartment next to the office also overlooking the river. When I was tired and just wanted to rest, I couldn’t go home. My family thought I was at the conservatory teaching or learning. Which ever excuse was more viable at that time. My condo was beautiful. The elevator was my front door. I was on the third floor. It was peaceful. Beautiful. Sometimes in the evenings, I would tell my family that I had a place to sleep at the studio so I would just stay the night. I just really didn’t feel like going home. I had some wild parties and made many friends. It was nice to leave the office in the middle of the day and run over to the condo for lunch or just peace and quiet.
theangelsforgotme 