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Naomi stared at the ring, then looked at Gina, then again at the ring, her mouth gaping. Realisation registering on her face, Naomi picked up the ring and ran around the corner, leaving the locker wide open with her handbag still inside. Gina grabbed the bag and closed the locker, rushing around the corner to witness this monumental moment.
Ben removed his hands from his pockets as he saw Naomi, and held out his arms, lifting her up in the air (which was no mean feat!). They kissed, and he lowered her down, taking hold of her left hand. In that moment, Naomi morphed into a gentle woman, vulnerable yet protected inBen’s presence. Sliding the ring on her finger, he said, ‘So, will you?’
‘What do you think? Of course, I will!’
Gina stood there smiling, along with a few other people who happened to see the movie-worthy proposal, and hope filled her heart. Hope, that one day, she might have what Ben and Naomi had, that she would fall in love like that too when the time was right. But for now, she was simply ready to fall in love with her life.
THIRTY-FIVE
Life Makeover Principle #12:
Life is supposed to be FUN! Do what brings you joy, and let joy be the basis of every day of your life.
Life: a culmination of joys and struggles, wins and losses, sadness and happiness, with a bit of fun thrown in here and there. Some people had more struggle than joy, others had more wins than losses, but what united everyone was the desire to keep going; to keep moving forward to a better life. Along the way, people would celebrate their wins, their joy, and their happiness. Celebrations punctuated the events of people’s lives, like a big exclamation mark, saying: ‘Hey! Look what we’ve achieved! Look what we have to celebrate!’, and tonight was one of those exclamation marks.
Gina walked with her head held high into the private function room at The Rooftop Restaurant. ‘Hi, Liz.’
‘Gina, lovely to see you.’ Liz pecked her cheek and gave her a warm hug. ‘How are you?’
‘Not too – actually, I’m fantastic.’ It felt nice to finally say it, and mean it.
‘That’s great to hear! You look fantastic too.’ Liz’s gaze ran over Gina’s new look; her shoulder length hair had been cut into a sculptured bob with caramel highlights, tapering into neat splices around her jaw line. Instead of her usual black, navy, or brown attire, she accentuated her figure in an earthy-red shift dress.
‘Gina!’ Cara and Miranda called out in unison as they entered, walking over with arms outstretched. The rest of the group filtered through the door, and Miranda handed Liz the enormous bunch of flowers she was carrying.
‘These are for you, Liz. A token of our appreciation and gratitude for everything you’ve taught us, and for helping us create a better life.’
As the women clapped, Liz accepted the arrangement of stargazer lilies and irises, a gorgeous explosion of pink, purple, and white. ‘It’s been my pleasure. Thankyoufor being part of this club, and helping me further my own dreams.’ A tear slipped from her eye as she placed the flowers on the side table. ‘I’m going to miss seeing you all each month.’
‘When does the new club start?’ Miranda asked.
‘Next week. Two clubs, I decided to continue with, so there’ll be one meeting for me to facilitate each fortnight. And all going well, I should be ready to train other coaches towards the end of the year.’
‘Well, the newbies will be in for a treat!’ Miranda smiled.
Gina wondered if any of them would be in a similarsituation to what she’d been in a year ago. Would anyone else quit their job and leave their husband?
‘By the way, the room looks amazing, Liz,’ said Cara. ‘Did you or the staff decorate it?’ Streamers and fairy lights adorned the walls, and multicoloured helium-filled balloons hovered at the ceiling.
‘The staff did the tables of course, and arranged the fairy lights, but I did the rest.’
‘You’ve done well,’ said Miranda. ‘We could have used your expertise at the New Year’s Eve ball.’
‘Maybe I should give up life coaching and go into full time event decorating!’
Miranda laughed. ‘Don’t you dare. The world needs people like you, so keep doing what you’re doing.’
Liz smiled a thank you, and Gina smiled too as she observed the friendly chatter between the women as they all took their seats at the table. Plates of appetisers appeared, and wine glasses were filled. The women shared a feast of chilli prawns, lemon mussels, curry puffs, vegetable patties, honey chicken kebabs, and bruschetta. As they enjoyed the food, Liz asked everyone to share their achievements.
Gina leaned forward in her chair. ‘Thanks everyone, for the card you sent me after my loss, it meant a lot,’ she said. ‘Last time I was here with you all, I was pregnant and preparing for life as a mother, but now things have changed dramatically.’ Gina rested her hands and elbows in a straight line on the table. ‘After the miscarriage...’ her voice shook and she took a deep breath to steady it. ‘Although it was a terrible thing to have happened... I think, somehow, I needed to go through that to realise what I truly wanted, and what was holding me back.’
The women sat still, their food halted in mid-air in anticipation of Gina’s revelation.
‘Not long before Christmas, I left my husband. I know it was the right thing to do. I probably should have done it ages ago, but it’s done now, and there’s no going back.’ She exhaled slowly and her eyes dropped closed for a moment. Cara placed a supportive hand on her arm, and the women relaxed back into their chairs. ‘So, I’m now a single woman.’ A fresh smile emerged on her lips. ‘I’m living on my own in a new apartment, and gearing up for a new beginning. Oh, and I didn’t just leave my husband, I left my job too!’ Much to the shock of her boss, Mark, the words, ‘Bloody hell’ leaving the mouth of his stunned face. ‘I cashed in one of my investment accounts, giving me enough to live on for the next six to nine months, and come July, I’ll be a qualified personal trainer.’ Gina’s smile stretched wide as everyone clapped.
‘So, you got accepted into the course?’ asked Miranda.
‘I did. I start in two weeks.’
