by Jean Joachim
“Now they’re going to tell you what they did with your money and why they need you to cough up more,” Anne whispered.
After the speech and dessert, Caroline prepared to make a quiet departure when the band started their rendition of “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.” It was a favorite song of hers so she sang along softly, knowing the lyrics by heart.
The man at the next table stood and sauntered in Caroline’s direction. “Would you care to dance?” he asked, captivating her with his smile.
She stood up, smiling warmly at him and placed her hand in his.
“This song is a favorite of mine. I’d love to dance,” she replied.
“Mine, too,” he said.
She sized him up as he led her away from the table. He looked pretty normal, about five foot ten, with brown hair and warm brown eyes. She wondered how he’d gotten the small, rather intriguing scar on his forehead. He pulled her a little too close , and moved her effortlessly around the dance floor. His shoulders were broad, his hands warm and dry and he smelled faintly of expensive aftershave. She relaxed , swaying with him to the beat of the music.
“I’m Case Evers,” he said.
“Caroline Davis,” she replied.
“New here?”
She nodded, wondering why an attractive man like him was alone
“I thought so. I’d have remembered you.” He laughed, tightening his arm around her waist.
She rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes. The strength of his body, the familiarity of the music and the soft lights created romantic sensations in her. Surrounded by expensive dresses and tuxedoes and steeped in a luxurious atmosphere Caroline was lifted above the mundane and into the fantasy world of the rich if only for one night.
The music stopped. Scattered applause sounded as the band started up again, this time playing “Unchained Melody.” Case drew Caroline into his arms again and swept her up and away.
“I don’t intend to let you go,” he whispered. “You’re mine for tonight.”
“Don’t I have some say in this?”
“If I let you go, there are ten guys waiting to swoop down. I may not be brilliant but I’m not stupid,” he said with a chuckle, still holding her loosely against him even though the music had stopped for a moment.
His flirty but low-key manner attracted her to him. He wasn’t rushing her into bed so she felt safer with him than any other man she’d met there. Her gaze connected with her mother’s as Case twirled her around the dance floor. Linda gave Caroline a smile and a slight nod of approval. The band switched to a Latin beat with “Sway”. Case pulled her close again putting his hand on her hip to guide her to the marimba beat.
“Those expensive dancing lessons finally pay off,” he said with a short laugh.
They moved together, hip to hip as Caroline followed his lead. The heat from his chest seeped into hers and her body began to react to the sexy dance, she felt heat in her chest moving down her body Her fingertips on his shoulders began to tingle.
After the music stopped, Case led Caroline over to the bar.
“What are you drinking?” he asked.
“Campagne, if they have it,” she replied.
With drinks in hand he guided her to a window, far away from the other men in the room. He stood with his body between her and the crowd, effectively shielding her, while she leaned back against the wall.
“Tell me about yourself, beautiful Caroline,” he said.
“Not much to tell. I’m an artist.”
“An artist? Fabulous! Do you paint? Draw? Do charcoal?”
“All of the above.” She sipped her drink, watching him over the rim of the glass. “What about you?”
“I’m a lawyer…not with a big firm or anything. I have one partner and we do mostly non-profit work, like for the Metropolitan Ballet.”
Caroline smiled at him.
True to his word, Case danced every dance with Caroline. He told corny jokes that made her laugh and made sly comments about some of those attending the dinner, which she found amusing and witty.
Dancing dangerously close to him during the song, “Fascination”, Caroline lost track of time. When they broke and looked for a bar to get a drink, Caroline glanced around for her mother, but Linda was gone. She’d apparently left Caroline alone with this charming stranger.
“My mother took off.” Annoyed, Caroline allowed an edge to creep into her voice.
“Good. Then I can take you home,” he said, his eyes glistening at the prospect of getting her alone in the moonlight, even if only for a few minutes.
“You’re not an axe murderer, are you?”
“Not in this life,” he answered with a chuckle.
Case kept his hand on her elbow as Caroline picked up her purse and they walked out together. “Do you live far?” he asked.
“About twenty-five blocks up and then across.”
“Are you up to walking?”
She stared up at the full moon in the clear night sky. “It’s a beautiful night, so why not?”
Chapter Four
Case took her hand and they strolled up Madison Avenue together, stopping to look in the windows of the chic stores carrying outrageously expensive clothing.
“This is the cheapest way to window shop, when the stores are closed,” he observed, peering into a window filled with the chicest designer’s smallest sizes of fall jackets and pencil-thin skirts with astronomical price tags.
After ten blocks, Case pulled Caroline closer, resting his arm around her shoulders. She slipped her arm around his waist and looked up.
“Are you a werewolf? The moon is full,” she joked.
“Perhaps only the wolf part, to use an old fashioned term.” He pulled her into the darkness of a shop doorway and planted a tender kiss on her lips, keeping his hands on her waist.
Surprised, Caroline stood still and let him kiss her.
“I like to get that out of the way early in the evening. Reduces tension.” He slid his hands from her waist and took hold of her hand. Stepping back onto the sidewalk, hetugged her gently along.
“Right,” she replied, laughing, her eyes glowing with a hint of desire.
“You’re something in the moonlight,” he murmured, an appreciative glance sweeping up her body, “especially in that dress.”
Together they walked along the nearly empty sidewalk. Only cars moving up Madison Avenue broke the stillness of the night. Caroline turned to regard Case, unable to forget his kiss, she ran her tongue over her lower lip, tasting him there, and slowed her pace.
“Don’t do…what you’re doing,” he said.
“What?” She asked as she cocked an eyebrow at him.
“With your tongue…I’m only human and if you do that again…I don’t know, I might have to marry you.”
She burst out laughing and he pulled her into an embrace, seizing the opportunity to kiss her again, more deeply. She melted against him.
“It might take a long time to get you home at this pace,” he said, “a very long time.”
“Ask me if I care,” she said, staring into his eyes.
****
Case took her hand again and they walked along in silence for a while. "Do you work at a regular day job or does art pay the bills," he asked.
"It doesn’t. I’m looking for a teaching job. Does non-profit law pay your bills?"
"Barely. Don't confuse me with rich, successful lawyer types."
"You're a poor lawyer…a new breed?" she said, laughing.
"Not poor exactly, but far from rich."
They walked across 59th Street, stopping to pet one of the horses hitched to an open-air carriage.
"There's a nice path through the park that parallels Central Park West. I think it's safe, even at this hour. Want to take a chance?"
"Sure, let's live dangerously."
At Columbus Circle, Case tugged on her hand and led her into the park, which was dark and shadowy as the leaves rustled in the light summ
er breeze, playing peek-a-boo with the moonlight. She looked at Case's profile. His strong jaw and longer nose gave him a decidedly masculine look. He drew her closer. She turned at the sound of several horse-drawn carriages clip-clopping on the street winding through the park. Couples made out in some of the passing carriages. In others, families looked out on the park.
Case pulled her into the shadow of a tree and kissed her again. She felt uncomfortable as his kiss grew more urgent. He angled his mouth over hers to deepen the kiss, his arms vice-like around her. She tried to move away but he tightened his grip. A feeling of panic rose in her throat. A mistake, coming into the park at night alone with...with...a man I don't know!
Her heart pounded in her ears, sweat broke out on her forehead and she couldn’t catch her breath as his hand moved up over her breast. She shoved against him with all her might. He let go and stepped back, with a look surprise on his face.
"What? What's wrong?"
"What's wrong? You were attacking me!"
"Attacking? Is that what you call it when a man attempts to make love to a chick who comes into the park at night with him? Why do you think I brought you here? For a stroll?"
She nodded, tears stinging the backs of her eyes.
He laughed.
"You’re a bit old to be so naive. How old are you?"
"Old enough to know better …I hardly know you," she said, regret in her voice.
"That's right. You came here willingly. Thought you wanted to make love. Guess I was wrong. I'm sorry," he said, stepping closer to Caroline.
She lurched back instinctively, feeling a tremble of fear and raised her hand.
"Aw, come on. I'm not going to rape you. This is ridiculous."
She moved closer to him, he took her hand.
"Let's get you home, little girl," he said.
She walked next to him, stiffly at first, reluctantly allowing him to take her hand in his. He held onto firmly but safely. Her breathing slowed down and her pulse resumed it normal pace.
"Do you often make love in the park after a charity function?"
"Not unless I get lucky. And you were giving me all the right signals."
"I liked you..."
"Liked, past tense?"
"After someone won't let me go…" she said, easing her hand from his.
"Ooh. Sarcastic and immature. What a combination!"
"Hey!"
"Okay, okay. Sorry. That was pretty nasty. You're a beautiful woman, can't blame a guy for being mad...getting ‘no’..."
She stared at him.
"…when he thought he already had 'yes', eh?"
"I suppose I should apologize for being naïve but I'm not. I took you at your word about a nice stroll through the park in the moonlight."
"Well...maybe. I said I was sorry."
"Yeah, sorry I'm not going to sleep with you."
"That...and sorry I upset you. Now I've ruined my chances, haven't I?"
"You could say that."
"Crap. Do I still get a kiss goodnight?"
"We'll see."
They walked up through the park in silence. Caroline felt foolish being so naive and annoyed at him for being so...insistent. When they got to her door, she could see the light was still on in her apartment. She turned to say goodnight.
Case took her in his arms and gave her a gentle kiss. She let him, then moved away.
"Any chance I can see you again?"
"Why would you want to date such a...a...child?"
"Maybe because she's the most beautiful child I've ever seen."
She laughed. "Trust issues, Case. I have trust issues with you."
"Okay. Give me your number and I promise to take you somewhere with lots of people...so you'll feel safe."
She wavered. He was nice looking and fun up until the park. "Okay, one more chance."
He kissed her hand and wrote down her number in a small notebook he took from his breast pocket. She went inside.
"No, Ma, I'm not engaged to a rich man yet," she called out as she entered the apartment. Not raped by one, either, thank God.
Chapter Five
Alex Davis’ work sold in galleries, providing the money for upkeep on the summer cabin. But his work found its most loving audience in the country. People in Pine Grove, though they couldn’t afford City prices, scooped up all the work Alex chose to sell there. They loved his simple landscapes of their pastures and willow trees in spring or old barns, needing a paint job. He painted creeks swollen to capacity after a rain and wildlife, especially deer and eagles. Alex’s brand of realism crossed with a hint of impressionism captured the beauty of the countryside. When Caroline was five, Alex presented her with her first box of serious colored pencils. She took a small sketchpad and joined her father on weekend jaunts to paint or draw beautiful scenery.
At first, Linda didn’t suspect her daughter’s love for her father was an outgrowth of the artistic talent she shared with him. It wasn’t long before Alex hung “Sunny’s” work up in their cottage alongside his. The little girl and her father became inseparable.
Those weekends together reminded Linda why she loved Alex so much, why she married him, instead of one of the wealthier boys at college. The small family laughed and cooked together, enjoyed being part of the community and then separating themselves for their own quiet times. It was idyllic; they were happy.
****
“This is it. The last one, Ma,” Caroline said, drying herself after a shower.
“Okay, okay. The last one. But you’ve got to go to this one, I paid for it already. Besides, it’s for the Art Coalition in SoHo. Very trendy. And it’s all about art,” Linda said, grinning her most persuasive grin.
“The last one, you hear me, Ma? Last!” Caroline said, moving into her room and slamming the door.
“Please God, make him be here,” Linda said, her hands in prayer position her eyes supplicating to a deity in the sky.
An hour later, a sullen Caroline came out of her room wearing the gold sheath her mother had made for her. She wore her long hair in an upswept style in the front, with the bulk of it cascading down her back. She donned the pearls that were a gift from her father’s mother, a pearl ring and bracelet. Her make-up was perfection. Linda knew her daughter was attractive, but had never seen her look quite so stunning. She gasped.
“Why didn’t I use gold before? You look fantastic…you take my breath away,” Linda said.
Caroline chuckled and freshened her coral lipstick in the mirror on the wall in the front hall before taking her matching stole and opening the door.
“Come on, let’s get this over with,” Caroline said.
****
Heavy rain on and off for three days saturated the countryside and by the time Alex boarded the bus for Pine Grove, some roads and streets were closed due to flooding. Water surged over the highway, obscuring the bus driver’s view, limiting his ability to judge how deep the water was when he hit a puddle going too fast. The bus skidded and slid sideways, rolled over and over, sliding down an embankment into a deep pond. The accident killed eight people, including Alex Davis.
When the news arrived at Pine Grove, something inside Linda died with him. A portion of her heart sealed over, never to be touched by another man. Caroline was hysterical for days, waking up every morning and forgetting at first he wasn’t coming back. When she remembered, the revelation only renewed her grief. She was only ten years old and her beloved father was gone.
The serious struggles for money began when Alex died. He left no life insurance, having no expectation of death so young. Linda worked as hard as she could while Caroline went to school, but they watched every dime, stretching every dollar to make it do for two. The stress of being only one step ahead of poverty further hardened Linda. Second-hand clothes, scholarship to college, all the pressures of living for two on a small salary became Linda’s preoccupation. Without her beloved Alex, she changed. Fun and frolicking were snuffed out as she determined to find a better life
for her daughter.
****
The two women hailed a taxi and were soon speeding across town through Central Park on 79th Street, heading for the Hotel Pierre on Fifth Avenue. Their posh ballrooms were often the settings for these elaborate fund-raisers. Caroline found she enjoyed being in this gorgeous building where the ladies rooms were fancier and larger than some New York apartments. She stopped in to tuck away a stray strand of hair before heading to the Grand Ballroom, one of her favorites. She smiled before she entered for what she already decided would be her last time.
The soft lighting highlighted Caroline’s beautiful face, delicate nose and sensuous lips. Several men turned to look at her as she entered slowly, getting her bearings. Shyness always set in at first, until she had her first drink in her hand. Before she even took a sip, she felt stronger, more confident. This being the last one of these events, a sense of relief flooded her body, making her more comfortable, giving her a bravado she didn’t normally feel.
“Caroline!”
She turned toward the familiar voice to watch Case walking toward her. He looked as handsome as ever in a dark suit, white shirt and gold tie.
“You looking smashing tonight. Where have you been hiding that dress?”
“Didn’t know you were still interested in art, Case.”
“Art attracts many beautiful women. I’m feeling lucky tonight,” he confided.
“Then perhaps you’d better move away from me.”
“My luck hasn’t changed with you, has it?” he asked, a sad look on his face.
She laughed at his puppy-dog expression. “Good try….”
He smiled and shrugged. “Can’t help trying, especially when you look the way you do tonight.”
“Corny but sweet, Case,” Caroline said, moving away from him and approaching the tables, elegantly dressed in fine table linens, crystal and silver.
As she looked around for her table, ignoring her mother who was waving to her, a tall man stepped up next to her.
“Looking for a table?” he asked, his bluish gray eyes friendly.
