Chapter 2
Vicki Varsa
“Vicki, are you ready?” Bridget asked as she walked into my Hollywood apartment.
“If I say no, does that mean I can skip out on this ridiculous trip?” I said loudly from my bedroom. A few seconds later, she walked in.
"No, we are going, and that is that. Now hurry up and finish packing because I want to get on the road before rush hour traffic,” she said. Her brown hair was in a ponytail, and she was wearing jeans, boots, a T-shirt, and a casual blazer.
“What am I gonna do without Internet access and being on my cell?” I said.
“It is only two days, and it is the weekend; you will survive. This is exactly why you need this. You need some time away from work. You work every weekend even though you are not supposed to,” she said.
“I am an agent. That is what I do. I am always working,” I said.
“Yes, as I can see. You haven't changed out of your Prada high heels and business suit. You are not going like that,” she said walking into my closet.
“I just got home. Give me a break. I need ten more minutes,” I said as I brushed my long blonde hair into a bun on top of my head. I pulled off my earrings and wiped the makeup off my face. Bridget threw jeans and a T-shirt on the bed.
“This will be good for you, I promise,” she said.
“It better be for the amount of money we are paying. I can't believe how expensive it is to go to a yoga retreat in the desert,” I said.
“It is not just yoga. That is just part of it. It is an all-female retreat. There is meditation, moonlit hiking, swimming under the stars, and clean eating. It is awesome. I went last year, and it made me feel completely refreshed,” she said.
“All right, all right, I don't need to hear the entire brochure. You got me to go. That in itself is a big achievement,” I said as I pulled off my heels and stockings. I pulled on the jeans, T-shirt, boots, and a cardigan. I pushed the last remaining items into my weekender bag.
Bridget Thomas was a very strong and pushy woman. It was why we got along so well. I was also very bossy. I had met her a year ago on a film set. She was a smart aerospace engineer and was on the film as a consultant. I was on the film because I represented one of the movie stars in a small role. We clicked instantly and had been friends ever since.
I loved my job. I was very good at my job. Some people called me a ball buster; I took it as a compliment. I wanted people to fear me. That was how I got things done; fear made quite an impression. But because of this, I was a very strong person. Bridget was right; I was always working. I was the person that had a laptop on my lap in bed and then fell asleep with it still on. I didn't have time for a romance, but I made good money, and the thrill of making contracts and agreements with big studios was exciting for me. It was a high-pressure job with lots of money on the line, but I lived for it. But sometimes I could forget to step away from it and do something for myself. Bridget had noticed.
“If you keep going the way you do, you are going to give yourself an early heart attack, or worse: lots of wrinkles,” she said leaning against the wall.
I laughed at her comment. “Well, we can't have that, now can we?” I said.
“No, we cannot. This will be fun and relaxing,” she said.
“All right, I am ready. Let's get out of here before rush hour traps us in the city until nightfall,” I said grabbing my bag off the bed and heading to the living room.
“Do you have your fridge stocked? We need bottled water for the road,” she said.
“Yes, help yourself,” I said as a grabbed a small tote bag from a drawer and handed it to her. She opened the refrigerator and put in some sparkling mineral water and snacks. I went around my home locking up. It was a nice penthouse apartment in Beverly Hills. It was overpriced but very close to work.
“Okay, let's get a move on,” she said grabbing her bag of goodies.
A few minutes later we were in the car and headed out of the city. It was a good three-hour drive to the California desert.
We drove down a dusty road until we arrived at the dirt parking lot outside a modern-looking glass facility.
“This is it,” Bridget said.
“I have to say, it is a lot better looking than I expected,” I said as I opened the door and got out of the car to get my bags out of the trunk.
“I told you that you would like it,” she said.
“Welcome to the High Desert Retreat,” a spunky a little redhead bounced over to us. “My name is Nancy. I am the coordinator here. What are your names?”
“I am Bridget Thomas. This is my second time here, and I brought my friend along: Vicki Varsa.” Bridget said.
“Welcome, welcome. You are not the first to return and bring a friend along. It is quite the repeat action here,” she said with all the energy you could imagine.
“What about people leaving halfway through? Is that a repeat action?” I mumbled under my breath. Bridget elbowed me.
"Here is the room number; you will be roommates, and here are two keys. Get yourself settled in and meet in the common room at seven for meditation followed by a moonlit hike. Until then, feel free to wander around. There are light snacks and pH water in the common room,” she said with a very big smile. “Oh, and remember my name: Nancy Perez. Let me know if you need anything.”
She hopped away from us. I looked at Bridget and rolled my eyes. Bridget laughed.
"Come on. Let's take our bags to the room and get some food. I am very hungry,” she said.
“Yes, so am I. I am so hungry for pH water. Yum,” I said sarcastically. Bridget laughed again. I couldn't help but to poke fun at the situation. It would be the only way that I would get through this.
After we were done checking in to our room, we went to the common room to get snacks. I was surprised at all of the women that were already using the meditation room. Others were stretching in their yoga gear. Everyone was committed. I had no choice but to be present because I did not get any service on my cell this far out into the desert. There was no Internet either. Maybe Bridget was onto something. I was already feeling more relaxed.
“I could use a cheeseburger right now,” a woman with red hair and green eyes said rummaging through the snack items.
“Yes, that would be delicious. It’s been a long day already,” I said smiling at her.
“And they expect us to go for a hike fueled by this grass? I’m not a horse, and I’m a doctor, I should know,” she joked.
“Oh good, a doctor. In case I pass out on the hike. My name is Vicki,” I said.
“I’m Emma Garrett,” she said.
“Grab a tray; I’m going to find us a seat,” Bridget said peaking over my shoulder interrupting my conversation.
“Okay, sounds good,” I said. Then I looked back at my cheeseburger-loving friend and said, “She’s way more excited about all of this. She made me come here,” I laughed and playfully rolled my eyes.
“Oh, gotcha. Okay, well I’ll keep my eyes open for you on the hike in case you need CPR or something,” Emma laughed and walked away.
Bridget and I sat at a table and ate our vegetables like good girls and drank some very expensive pH water. We hung out for an hour waiting for our food to digest and randomly meeting other women. It was interesting, and I had to say that I wasn't thinking about my clients at all. This was like networking, and I was good at that.
“So tell me, Emma, what type of medicine do you do?” I said later when she joined me. Bridget was walking around networking and talking to new people. I was doing the same. Everyone was in this area waiting for the meditation session to start.
“I am a research medical doctor. So I don't work on patients in the hospital like a regular doctor. I work in a lab,” she said.
“Wow, you are really smart,” I said.
She laughed. “I guess so. I enjoy my work very much. It does take a lot of my time though. I have absolutely no social life whatsoever. Work is my life,” she said.
“I know what you mean. I am the same with my work,” I said.
“What do you do again?” she asked.
“I am a Hollywood agent,” I said.
“Oh, that sounds like a lot of pressure. But I always thought that Hollywood agents had great social lives. Don't you get to go to movie premieres and network with beautiful actors and directors and stuff like that?” she said.
“Yes, sometimes. But most of the job is working late nights and putting out fires. And there are a lot of fires all of the time,” I said.
“Well it is better than being in the lab, I am sure; probably way more glamorous but sounds like the same amount of time spent working, which is all day and into the night. No time for anything else,” she said.
“Yes, exactly. I have no social life to speak of, or I should say personal life. I haven't had a boyfriend in almost two years,” I said.
“Yes, I am going on three years. My last boyfriend cheated on me, so I wasn't in a hurry to find anyone new. I guess that's why I buried myself in my work,” she said.
“Ouch. That is awful. I can understand not wanting to open up to another man after that,” I said.
“Yes, that is why I am here,” she said.
“Oh, honey, you aren't going to find a man here. Didn't anyone tell you it is an all woman's retreat?” I said.
“No, not that,” she laughed. “I mean I am here to sort of find myself again. Learn to trust and all that crap,” she said rolling her eyes.
"Oh, yes, that is a good point,” I said. “Well, there is no other place to find yourself like the desert. That's what it's there for,” I said.
“Yes, so that's my story. What about you? You said your friend made you come?” she asked.
“Yes, because I am glued to my cell and my laptop all the time. Basically, she made me come because I never take a weekend off. So I have a lot to learn about myself as well. Finding my true self, you know?” I said. “I never thought I would say something so silly,” I laughed.
“No, it is not silly. It is honest,” she said.
“It is almost tim; should we get going?” Bridget said coming over to me.
“Yeah, sounds good. Bridget, this is Emma; she is a medical research doctor with no personal life, like me,” I said.
“Good to meet you, Emma. You sound like you have a lot in common with Vicki here. Should we get going into the meditation room?”
“Yes, let's go,” I said.
Then it was time for the actual workshop to begin.
“The nighttime hike is my favorite part,” Bridget said as we walked to the meditation room for the seven o'clock meeting.
“Really?” I asked surprised by this information.
“Yes, I know that our spunky coordinator Nancy makes it sound like something you would abhor, but it really is the best part of all of this. You will see. Because it is so dark out here, you can actually see the stars. The path is lit up by the moonlight, and you can hear the wild animals of the desert. I love it,” she said.
“Are you sure you weren't on drugs last time you were here?” I laughed.
“It was a natural high,” she said smiling.
“I feel the same way about this,” a young woman with long black hair in a braid said to me. She was stretching. She was thick and curvy with pale skin.
“Oh, did your best friend force you to come here too?” I smiled at her.
“No, my job did. I’m a lawyer and a partner at my law firm said I was going to burn out at the rate that I was going. So they signed me up for this. It’s mandatory, or I could lose my job,” she said.
“I know the pressure. I’m an agent,” I said.
“Yikes,” she said. I laughed.
“What kind of legal do you do?” I asked her. I was surprised at myself. I was really opening up to these women. I wanted to know more about them. I was starting to find them very interesting, especially because they all seemed to be like me. They were all working too hard and not making time for themselves.
“I do family law. Mostly in charge of divorces,” she said.
“Oh, I can see that that could be very stressful. You are basically watching people fight all day, couples fighting. That's a lot of drama to deal with,” I said.
“You have no idea. I work in Los Angeles, and because there's a lot of really rich people, the divorces are very ugly and very expensive,” she said.
“Yes, I understand,” I said.
“Right, you are an agent. You know.”
“Well, I could see why you are stressed out. I hope that you are able to unwind some while you were here,” I said smiling. She picked up her other leg and stretched on the bar.
“Thank you.”
“Everyone, take your positions!” the perky redhead named Nancy said coming into the room.
I nodded at Lauren. “Talk later,” I whispered to her.
I followed Bridget to a mat on the floor.
“All right, take your positions on the floor. We are going to do a thirty-minute guided meditation. Then we will do a ten-minute stretch. Each of you will be given a headlamp flashlight that looks like this, and then we will head out on our hike. Do not stray from the path. That is very important. Leave the wild alone, and it will leave you alone. It is a thirty-minute hike. Any questions?” Nancy said walking into the room.
No one asked anything. I was surprised. I figured women from the city would have a lot of questions to ask about being in the desert at night, but everyone seemed to be very excited about it.
“Excellent, let's get started,” she said as she took her position at the head of the room.
Guided meditation was easy, even relaxing. It took about ten minutes before I could clear my mind but I felt like I was finally getting into the groove.
After we stretched and grabbed a headlamp and wore it like a fashionable headband, we followed Nancy out of the facility on to the guided path.
A few minutes of walking in silence down the path, Bridget whispered to me. “Look up.”
I turned off my headlamp and looked up. I was surprised. She was right. There were so many stars in the desert sky; I had never seen anything like it. It took my breath away. They were sparkling and covered so much of the sky. I could actually see the constellations.
“Wow, it is so beautiful,” I said.
“Enjoy it,” she said. We continued walking, and as my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the night, I was impressed by the beauty of the desert. There were massive white flowers blooming on a cactus that seemed to only open at night, giving off a sweet fragrance. There were towering cactus that were as tall as trees. Large piles of boulders were the size of vehicles. I could hear the sound of an owl, and somewhere further in the distance coyotes were calling to each other. I felt good. I felt like a human again. I was a creature of the night. I was smiling.
I turned behind me to see that I could not see the facility anymore. We had been walking along the path for a long time. It was mostly silent except for some whispering every now and then between some of the women.
I didn't want to tell Bridget that she was right. I needed this. But I was really enjoying it, and I felt the tension in my back going away. I looked up into the sky again to marvel at the stars. But then something caught my attention. A satellite? No, it couldn't be. Suddenly it was coming out of the sky at a very fast rate. “Look, a meteor,” I said pointing. It was the only thing that it could be. It was in the distance and falling at such a fast rate.
“Oh, you are right. Look, it is falling nearby,” Nancy said. I smiled, proud of myself to have pointed out such a beautiful thing. But then as we were all staring at it, it stopped in the middle of the sky. It was no longer falling at a fast rate. It just hovered above the ground.
“What the hell?” I said.
“Maybe it's a plane?” one of the other women said. “Or a helicopter?”
Something told me that it was neither of those things. A plane or helicopter didn't fall at a fast rate like that and then hover. We all stood there staring at it. It didn't move. But then suddenly there was a second light that seemed to come out of the first. It's slowly moved away from the first light.
“What the hell are we looking at?” Bridget said.
"I don't know. But it looks like it is coming straight at us,” I said. Suddenly everyone began to panic, but none of us moved. How could we?