D'Andra: I Did Not Lie to Brandi

After that sweet reveal with the Redmond family and Baby Bruin, it felt like a bit of a "buzz kill" to have that conversation with Brandi Redmond…again. I thought we were past this to some extent, especially at family celebrations like anniversaries and baby reveals. I mean come on now, if you really want to hash it out with me let’s do it over a cup of coffee where we can get it all out on the table without the possibility of being interrupted by an overserved party reveler!
I understood Brandi’s need to clear the air, and I honestly wanted it cleared as well. We just keep meeting in the most inappropriate places for a tête-à-tête.

When Brandi brought up the squinty eyes thing, I did feel a bit guilty and I know I owe Brandi an apology for saying that. However, the Adderall comment is an entirely different story. I was NOT talking about Brandi when I did that podcast she referred to. I never said her name, I was not referring to her specifically, and, for the last time, I misspoke. I am sorry to anyone I hurt by my comment. I was discussing my own experiences with women in general in Dallas, and the pressure to be a certain size in this city precipitates an addiction to prescription medications that curb the appetite… plain and simple. While I can see how Brandi would take offense at what I said, since she does have a prescription to that medication, I feel like we are beating a dead horse at this point. I have apologized over and over, and that’s all I can really do.

Brandi’s comments in her interview that I was lying to her face were just off the wall. I would never lie to someone’s face. That’s why I didn’t deny that I said she had squinty eyes, because I said that. I’ve owned up to it and I am apologizing for it because I DID say that, but only that. Just because someone tells you that I said something, doesn’t always mean that’s the absolute truth. It is becoming apparent that a lot of people get things twisted in this group. Let’s not forget that little detail! I did not lie, that’s my story and I am sticking to it.

When Cary Deuber admitted that she was the person who told Brandi that I said she abuses drugs, I was floored. I couldn’t believe she did that. It hurt me a lot that she would freely pass that information along when in my mind, I never connected the dots for her. I never said those things about Brandi to Cary. However, even though I don’t agree with what Cary said to Brandi, at least she owned up to the fact that she was the one who actually put the story out there.

Since Cary and I have such a long history of friendship, I was a little taken aback that she would not have just come to me first to clarify what she heard. If I had really said that and it bothered her so much, why would she not have come to me and told me about how she felt? Better yet, why wouldn’t she just put a stop to it at that moment?

Honestly, the whole baby shower concluded with a lot of loose ends for me. And, that’s fine! It wasn’t my party, and I wasn’t the one who had the issue. But, it did make me very skeptical to go on a trip with everyone. Brandi was still upset with me, Cary obviously felt I was in the wrong as well, and I just wasn’t feeling excited about it all around. I wasn’t sure if Brandi and I would end up getting into it on the trip, or if we were just going to let the whole thing fizzle out. I was hoping for the latter. I’m a natural peacemaker and truth-teller, and I wanted to get to the bottom of this and bury it for good!

During our first dinner, I kind of felt that it was the calm before the storm. Everyone was getting along, laughing, drinking and actually having a great time… except for LeeAnne Locken… who was being oddly quiet. Kameron was a pretty good sport during Brandi and Stephanie Hollman’s shenanigans for the most part, however, I could feel the storm I was talking about creeping up as Kameron kept bringing up Brandi’s baby reveal. I have to applaud Brandi for the way she broke the tension with that kiss! That sneak attack was amazing. I saw that light moment as a way to break the ice between Brandi and me. It opened a door for me to explore how Brandi was feeling about our relationship. When I asked her if she was going to make up with me too, I was kind of hoping for a more lighthearted reaction, but I can take a little eye-roll over the firestorm that ensued between Brandi, Stephanie, and Kameron later on. I really didn’t foresee the blow up coming between these three ladies. I was blindsided by Kameron and Stephanie’s fight. I could NOT BELIEVE that Kameron brought up the secret baby shower again! We get it, Kam, you’re butt-hurt. Can we move on? And, no, I don’t take offense to being excluded. We aren’t tight friends with Brandi. Why should we expect to be privy to her secrets?

Brandi’s reaction to Kameron actually surprised me a little bit. I would have thought that the constant badgering from Kameron would have made her angry, rather than upset, but I guess alcohol combined with sleep deprivation makes for a weepy new mom. On the one hand, I can understand why Kameron was upset. She felt left out when she realized that she was not clued into the fact that it was a baby shower, and then she felt foolish for being so excited for Stephanie’s "surrogate" when it was really Brandi’s adoption.

But, honestly, I don’t get why it really mattered that Stephanie wanted to keep the surprise going for Brandi and her family, and it’s really no one else’s business why they chose to do it secretly! And, it’s not like Kameron was the only one of us who didn’t know about Bruin, LeeAnne and I didn’t know either, and it seems that Cary only found out a couple of days beforehand. I think Kameron just felt that it was a bizarre thing to keep a secret for so long, and doesn’t like to be left out of the loop.

After Stephanie told Kameron not to bash Brandi for adopting a baby, that’s when it really heated up. I believe Stephanie meant to say not to bash Brandi for adopting in secret (because, again, none of our business) but that is just not how it came out. Being in the room with Kameron after that went down was crazy. She was boiling mad at what she thought Stephanie was insinuating, and I really thought she might march in and kick her out right then and there.

But, I think Kameron wanted to be mad at that point because no one was seeing her side. Yes, those of us who didn’t know about the baby felt left out, but she did invite us to the shower, and we were all on this trip together! I just think that some people need to be vindicated in order to move on from a disagreement. I guess we will see next week if Kameron is one of them. I tried to console Kameron and comfort her the best I could, but by that time it was late and we were all tired and things were getting more confusing by the hour. I think by that time we were all hearing different things in the conversation. Needless to say, Kameron should take a tip from the old saying, “Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater!” Don’t downplay this happy occasion because it wasn’t planned the way you would have liked. Move on and focus on what is really important right now --  that is the fact that we are all here together to enjoy a fun weekend and girlfriend time together. I thought this was a PJ party?

Maybe Cary is right. Maybe Kam just needs a good beaver liquor…???