by Magan Vernon
“Oh, Blainey, stop complaining! We only have a few more stops, then we’ll get lunch,” Beth said, tossing her scarf over her shoulder.
“If you say so,” Blaine said with a groan.
I followed Beth into the next store without even looking what it was. It wasn’t until I saw the sparkling carpet and the glass cases that I realized she led us into Tiffany’s. Probably not the best place to bring my boyfriend with commitment issues.
“Um, Beth, why are we in here?” I asked.
“To look at jewelry for Mom, duh,” she said.
An older woman with very high cheek bones and way too much blush approached us. “Hello, welcome to Tiffany’s. How can I help you today?”
“Yes, I’m looking for a gift for my mom. Something simple like a necklace or bracelet. Nothing too fancy, and keep it right around one-thousand,” Beth said, rattling it off as if it was as simple as her drive-thru order.
The woman nodded. “Very good. I can show you some of our Elsa Peretti pieces if you would follow me.”
“Sounds great,” Beth said, leaving us standing there with all of her bags.
“Well, I guess we could look around,” I said, glancing at Blaine.
“Yeah, I guess, though I don’t have that much to spend on a bracelet for your mom,” he said under his breath.
“No one said that you had to...”
“Hello, how can I help you today? Shopping for anything special?” A younger looking man in a three piece suit and blonde ponytail approached us.
“Oh, no, we’re just waiting for my sister and browsing,” I replied.
The man raised a very thin eyebrow. “Are you sure you two aren’t interested in checking out the engagement rings?”
My face heated up to a million degrees, and my mouth dried up, leaving me unable to respond.
“No, sir. Not at this point,” Blaine said, much too fast for my liking.
“Are you sure? Even if you aren’t interested in purchasing today, I can give you some information on our financing plans. You can pay monthly with a very low interest rate,” The man said, pushing further.
Blaine nodded. “I do appreciate that sir, but we’re not interested.”
The man sighed. “Very well then.” He quickly turned, spotted another couple by the charms and approached them.
“Are all jewelry store people this pushy?” Blaine whispered.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. I didn’t think he was pushy.”
“You didn’t? The guy was practically begging for me to put a ring on your finger. He doesn’t know me from Adam. For all he knows, we could be brother and sister.”
I wrinkled my nose and gently shoved him. “Ew, that’s gross to even think about.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what people think of me up here. For all I know, they could think I’m some inbred hick.”
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? No one thinks that. You’re being ridiculous.”
“You say that now, but wait until we’re at your friend’s party tonight. You might not have noticed at the wedding, but no one was too pleased about me being there.”
I didn’t want to fight with him in the middle of Tiffany’s, but he was pushing every single one of my buttons. “That was because you didn’t show up to get on the plane with me and barely saved your ass by coming at the end of the day,” I said through gritted teeth.
“Baby...” He turned to face me. “I thought we were over that.”
I crossed my arms over my chest as I turned toward him. “Yeah, and I thought you were over whatever this whole insecurity thing you had. I love you. You know that. I don’t care where you’re from, how much money you have, or any of that. I just love you.” I poked him in the chest. “You big ol’ hick, you.”
He smiled, shaking his head as he laughed. “And I love you, you blonde Yankee.”
Blaine leaned in as if he was going to kiss me, but then quickly snapped his head back when my sister’s voice bellowed through the store. “And mom’s gift is done!”
I turned to see my sister waddling toward us with a small blue bag in her hand. “Ready for lunch?”
***
It was a tradition that we had lunch at The Walnut Room after Christmas shopping. Of course, The Walnut Room had changed from Marshall Field’s to Macy’s, but it still held the same grand appeal.
As soon as we walked into the store, Blaine’s eyes never left the ceiling. I could still remember the first time I saw the Tiffany ceiling with the colorful, iridescent glass. I literally thought we were in the middle of some sort of fairytale castle instead of The Loop.
Beth laughed as we got on the escalator. “Blaine is such a tourist, and it’s so cute.”
“Nothing wrong with being a tourist,” I said, trying to keep the snark out of my tone.
Beth shook her head. “I didn’t say there was. Don’t be so touchy. No one is trying to attack either one of you, geez. I should order you both a cocktail just so you’ll lighten up.”
“I don’t think my fake ID is going to work in a place like this.” I laughed.
“Definitely not,” Beth replied.
We took the escalator up to the Walnut Room, named for its gorgeous walnut paneling. Not like the cheesy kind that stays around 1970’s basements, but the kind that looks like it belongs in a castle. The room was centered around the grand forty-five-foot-tree that you could see from every table in the restaurant.
It was a good thing that we had a reservation, because the place was packed, and Mom was already positioned at a table with a great view of the tree.
“Libby, Beth, Blaine! Glad to see that shopping didn’t wear you guys out too much.” Mom stood up and gave each of us a hug before sitting back down. “I’m sorry. Work is crazy. Some people don’t stop their bickering over divorce just because it’s a holiday! In fact, I think it’s even worse this time of year.”
“Well, that’s a really uplifting thought,” Beth said, taking her seat next to Mom.
Mom shrugged and opened the menu. “It could be worse. I could be like your father and discuss the things he finds in his patient’s mouths.”
I lifted my hands in front of me. “I think I’ll pass on both topics.”
Luckily, Mom stopped talking about divorce or teeth just as a waiter came by with four mugs of hot cocoa, placing them in front of each of us. “Here are your drinks, and I’ll give you a moment to look over the menu.”
I clapped like a little girl. “Yeah! Our traditional souvenir hot cocoas!”
“What?” Blaine asked, staring at the cup.
“Every year we come here for lunch and hot cocoa and take these souvenir mugs home. I think I have at least eighteen of them now,” I replied.
“And now Blaine gets to partake in the family tradition. I just hope these girls haven’t run you too ragged with shopping,” Mom said before taking a sip of her cocoa.
He laughed. “No, ma’am. I have two older sisters, so I’m used to all of this. I’m just glad they haven’t tried to put make-up on me or anything of that sort.”
“Yet!” Beth laughed.
Blaine’s eyes roamed over the menu after we’d all already set ours down. I leaned over and whispered. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah...it’s nothing...”
I raised an eyebrow. “No. There’s obviously something wrong.” I tried to keep my voice low.
He smiled, blowing out a silent laugh through his nose. “It’s stupid.”
“I’ll be the judge of that. Just tell me!”
He shook his head. “Okay. The food is all just kind of girly.”
Mom and Beth laughed.
“Wow, I never really thought about that when we decided on this place. I guess we could get our check and go someplace a little manlier,” Mom said.
“No, it’s fine. It never hurts to try something new.” Blaine squeezed my hand under the table, and I knew he wasn’t just talking about the food. Maybe things were looking up after our fight at Tiffany’s.
I just hoped his good mood would continue for Kristi’s party.
Chapter 20
Every year on the night before Christmas Eve, my sorority big sister had a party.
Okay, well, she started having it when she was a freshman in high school and now continued it her first year out of college.
This was my second of Kristi’s Christmas-Eve-Eve parties (as she called it). The first was when I was a freshman, and it was at her parents’ house. I’d gone with my then boyfriend, Beau, who got wasted within the first hour, and I had to drive him back to his parents,’ while he fought me the whole way.
Kristi had moved out of her parents’ house when she got married in August and into a one-bedroom apartment in the city. That definitely wasn’t big enough for her annual Christmas-Eve-Eve bash, so she rented the penthouse suite in one of the hotels downtown. It had to cost a small fortune, and I wondered if her parents paid for it, since she was in her first year at a company and her husband, Gabe, was a gym teacher.
It was one of the nicer hotels on Michigan Avenue, and luckily it wasn’t too far of a walk in the frigid cold air. Dad had tried to get Blaine to borrow one of his winter coats, but Blaine refused. I didn’t know if it was pride or what, but instead he decided to freeze in his usual jacket.
It was literally a five minute walk down Wabash, but I was still afraid I wouldn’t be able to feel my legs by the end of it. My red cocktail dress, with a low back and black tights, seemed to be the perfect outfit for the party, but while I froze, even in my wool coat, it seemed like a much better idea to have worn jeans and a sweater.
“How much longer?” Blaine asked through chattering teeth.
“We’re here!” I announced, throwing my arms up in the air as we stood in front of the grand building.
“Yes!” Blaine put his arms around my waist, lifting me off the ground and spinning me in a circle.
I shrieked as passers by stared at the weird people twirling in front of the building. But Blaine quickly put me down, then took my hand. “Let’s get inside before I freeze something off.”
Once we entered the lobby, Blaine unzipped his coat and shook the snow out of his hair. It was still a spiky, blond mess that looked like he just rolled out of bed, but I liked it. It was uniquely him and definitely went with his killer blue eyes.
While I went for a dress and tights, Blaine had a lot harder time picking out what to wear. I swore he was like a girl figuring out what to wear and worrying what people thought of him. I finally got him to settle on a blue sweater and dark jeans. He packed his suit for Christmas Eve at church, but I insisted that he didn’t need to wear it for the party. There definitely wouldn’t be any guys in suits.
And, I hoped most of them would still be clothed by the time we got to the penthouse.
I took his hand and led him pass the stairwell where a man in a dark blue suit played the piano. We walked up to the large front desk, where there surprisingly wasn’t a line.
“How may I help you?” the man behind the desk asked.
“Yes, I’m here for the Munoz party in the Conrad Hilton suite,” I said as if it was something I just rattled off every day.
The man nodded and typed into the computer. “Yes, and your name?”
“Elizabeth Gentry and Blaine Crabtree.”
He nodded again and pulled two plastic cards from underneath the desk, swiping them against a machine. “Okay, Ms. Gentry, Mr. Crabtree. You two are all set. Have a lovely evening.” He gave us a fake smile that said he definitely didn’t care how our evening went.
“Thanks. You too, sir,” I said and pulled Blaine along to the elevator.
There wasn’t anyone waiting at one of the twenty doors, so we were able to get in right away. As soon as the doors opened, I swiped the card to get into the penthouse, then pressed the ‘Close Door button’ and the elevator started.
Blaine leaned against the wall and let out a deep breath. “Damn, this may be the nicest place I’ve ever been in. Well, second to your parents’ place.”
I glared at him.
He held his hands up and pushed off the wall with his back. “Hey, just making an observation.”
I sighed. “Yeah, I guess it’s a little bit nicer than a party at Jackson’s place.”
“Naw. You think this is better than sitting in some broken lawn chairs around a fire while the guys see who can burp the ABC’s?” He laughed.
“Nothing is classier than that!”
The elevator doors opened as we were still laughing. Blaine shook his head and held his arm out for me. “Shall we?”
“We shall.” I looped my arm through his and stepped out of the elevator.
There was no way that we could miss the party with the loud techno beats that were coming from the open door to the suite. Normally I would have knocked, but we just walked into the room where the party was in full swing.
I thought my parents’ new condo was big, but the living room must have stretched almost the whole length of the building with floor-to-ceiling windows that looked over Lake Michigan and the glittering city below. Even with around fifty people milling around the room, either on couches or leaning against the wall with champagne glasses in their hands, it felt like it was almost empty. They could have put a few hundred more in the room.
“Libby! My southern belle is here!” A mock accented voice carried through the room.
Kristi placed her glass on the marble fireplace mantle and ran as fast as her stilettos could carry her.
“Hey, Kristi!” I beamed and held my arms out as she collapsed into my chest.
After embracing me for far too long in a hug, she stepped back, smoothing out her black lace dress. “And Blaine showed up! Yeah Blaine!” She put her fist in the air.
Okay, Kristi may or may not have been blitzed.
“Yeah, Kristi.” Blaine put his fist in the air, but definitely did not have the same amount of enthusiasm as she did.
“Gabe is at the bar, mixing drinks. And some other sisters are around and hopefully not banging in the bed that I’m supposed to sleep in tonight.” She cackled.
“Bar this way?” Blaine asked, pointing the opposite direction of the fireplace.
“Yup! Right over there! My honey is the one with the fro. Tell him you’re Blainey Waney!” Kristi yelled after him.
Blaine just waved in response as he disappeared in the crowd.
“Is he okay on his own? Should I go with him?” I asked.
Kristi waved a hand absently. “Please. Where is he going to go?”
I shrugged. “I guess.”
She swatted my arm. “So, tell me! How are things down south? Are you still loving it?”
“Yeah. Just finished a semester at St. Joseph and still working at the shop. Just kind of taking things day by day.”
Kristi knew I was in the hospital. I didn’t want to talk about it, but she got it out of me in a Facebook messenger convo. Despite the girl being drunk at the moment, she actually was a pretty good friend, and I knew she wouldn’t bring it up, especially not at a party.
“Awesome. As long as you’re happy, then I’m happy.”
“What about you? How are things up north? Married life?” I asked.
“You know, it’s fine.” She furrowed her brow as if she was deep in thought. “This is the first time I’ve drank since my wedding. I leave every morning before Gabe gets up, so I can drive an hour out to the suburbs. By the time I get home after my commute, it’s six o’clock, so I cook dinner. By the time we eat and clean up, I’m in my pajamas, and we’re both in bed, playing on our phones, until we pass out at nine and do it again the next day. It’s not exactly the glamorous life I was hoping for.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Seriously? What about the weekends?”
She huffed. “We still have a damn internal alarm clock, so we’re up at the same time, but too exhausted from the week to do anything. Usually, we end up ordering in and watching TV.”
“Wow.” I didn’t know what else to say. Th
is was the couple that was out every weekend, and, somehow, Kristi still managed to have stellar grades. I wasn’t expecting them not to continue on with that lifestyle, but I guess everyone grows up.
“But enough about my boring life!” She grabbed my wrist. “You must have something exciting to tell me about Louisiana!”
“Well, I guess my cousin making her debut is kind of exciting. I’m her sponsor, even though I’ve never done the whole cotillion thing.”
“Oh, is that like that southern ball thing where girls come of age, get introduced, and all that jazz?” Kristi widened her eyes.
“Yeah, I guess you could call it that. It’s why we’re leaving the day after Christmas, so we can get back for it.”
“That’s awesome, Libby. I’m so happy that you’re finally finding something that makes you happy. Finally finding your place.” She touched my wrist. Kristi may have been drunk, and we may have been at a party in which we weren’t talking about anything overly emotional, but there was something about that moment that made me feel closer to her than I had in months.
“Hey, Kristi! Come here! We need a photo!” Someone yelled from behind her.
“I’ll be right there!” She yelled, then looked at me, squeezing my wrist. “I’ll talk to you later, okay?”
I nodded. “Sounds, great. I’m going to hit the bathroom.”
She pointed the way she was going “Down that hallway, second door!”
“Got it!”
I followed the direction of her finger. I should have gone and found Blaine, but I needed a little bit of time by myself. Usually it would be the time that I would find myself throwing up dinner, so I could drink, but not tonight.
I’d calculated all my calories in the app recommended by my nutritionist. I knew I could still drink, but I didn’t know if I wanted to hinder things. Maybe I didn’t need to be drunk to enjoy a party. Maybe I could just try and hit up a place to get hot cocoa with Blaine on the way home instead.
