by Tamie Dearen
“She didn’t… uhmm… well, not really…”
“You!” He pinned her with a glare. “You will cease and desist. I don’t want a wife. I don’t need a wife. You said it yourself. After fifty years alone, no one would be able to live with me.”
At these words Anne, who’d been cowering, stood up and punched him in the chest with her finger. “I never said that. I didn’t say that at all. I was saying I had done everything alone for fifteen years, so it would be hard to find someone.”
He stepped back a few paces at her wrath. She continued, punctuating her words with pokes to his chest, forcing him backwards.
“But you—you have everything you need to attract someone really great. You’re smart and rich and famous and handsome. You’re sweet and generous, and you have a great body. There’re probably a million women who want you. Any girl would be lucky to have you, and you won’t even try.”
He backed into a chair and sat down. Anne turned away from him and crossed her arms, breathing heavily.
“You yelled at me.”
“I did not!” she said over her shoulder.
“You used a yelling tone of voice.” He let out a little snicker.
Anne swirled around, determined to stay angry. “And that won’t work.”
“What won’t work?”
“You can’t make me laugh so I’ll forget I’m mad. It won’t work.”
“It might work.”
“It won’t.”
“So I should give up?”
“Yes.”
“Throw in the towel? Cry uncle? Call it a day? Give up the ghost?”
“Stop it.” She stifled a smile. “I’m mad at you.”
“Are you fightin’ mad? Madder than a wet hen? Do you have a bee in your bonnet? Are you so mad you could spit? Are you mad as a hatter?”
“Yes, I’m mad as a hatter—you’re making me crazy.”
“What exactly are you mad about?”
“I’m mad because… because you… I don’t remember anymore. But that doesn’t change anything. I’m still mad.” She put her hands on her hips and gave him her best ‘you’re in trouble with mom’ look.
But Gherring grinned. “How can you be mad at me? I’m sweet and generous. And what was that last thing you said… something about my body?”
He stood up and walked closer to her, invading her personal space. Her heart thudded so hard she could hear it in her ears.
She backed away, giving up the fight to keep a straight face. “Okay stop right there. Let’s make a deal. I won’t be mad anymore, and you promise never to bring up that last thing I said.”
He smirked. “But maybe we should discuss it first—”
“No please. Let’s forget it. Please?”
“How could I say ‘no’ when you look at me with those big brown eyes? I promise not to bring it up again.”
Anne let out a slow breath, relieved. Why did she say such stupid things around him? He had promised not to tease her about it, but he hadn’t promised to forget.
With a temporary truce in place, they once again joined forces to attack the PowerPoint presentation. Gherring had retrieved all the information he felt was relevant, and Anne was busy setting up the slides and the accompanying notes. “Who’s going to do Jeff’s part of the presentation? You or Jared? Or will you bring someone else from that department?”
“I’ll probably do it. Jared's pretty green. I was really bringing him to give him some experience.”
“I haven’t cancelled the other hotel room yet. Should I do that now?”
“No, just keep it for now. I haven’t made up my mind.” He stretched and glanced at his watch. “You should head home. Your girls will be in soon.”
“That’s okay. I can stay until five or even five thirty. I left a key with Rayna, so the girls can let themselves in the apartment. And we don’t really have a time deadline tonight.”
Reaching into his pocket, he retrieved a small brown envelope. “Actually your play starts at seven.”
She opened the envelope and pulled out three tickets to Beauty and the Beast. “What… When did you… I can’t take these. Thank you, thanks anyway.” She tried to hand them back.
“Don’t be ridiculous. Why can’t you take them?”
“I don’t know. It just seemed like the right thing to say. Isn’t there something improper about taking tickets from your boss?”
“Of course not. I give extras to my employees all the time. It’s called a perk.”
“A perk? Are you sure?” She asked, hopping up and down on her toes.
“Of course. It’s not a big deal.” He gazed at the ceiling.
“You know, if you keep rolling your eyes like that, they might get stuck up there.” A giggle escaped, and then suddenly she hugged him, almost knocking him off balance.
“Thank you, really. Th-thank you s-so much. I…” She swiped at a tear. “N-now I’m s-sorry I used a yelling tone of voice.”
“You’re welcome. This is actually a much more thorough thank you than I usually get.” His tone was teasing, but he seemed quite proud of himself.
“Well, no one ever accused me of being normal.”
“And I won’t be the first one to do it, either. You guys want to ride together to the gym tomorrow?”
“Yes, sure.” Then her eyes grew wide. “Ohmygosh! I’m so excited. The girls are gonna flip. Beauty and the Beast—woo hoo!”
“I hope you have a great time.”
Anne gathered up her things and rushed out, stopping by the door. “And you… You need to have an open mind tonight. Okay?”
Gherring raised a single eyebrow. “Sure. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Chapter Nine - Emily and Charlie
Leaving early, Anne decided she had time to stop by the wood shop. She opened the door to find Mr. Hamilton carving at his worktable. “Hey Mr. Hamilton.”
“Hello, Anne.”
“I’m on my way home. My girls are coming in town today. I wanted to bring them by the shop, but I wasn’t sure when you would be around this weekend.”
“Hon, I will be here the whole weekend. You can come by any time. If the door’s locked, just ring the buzzer. I’d love to meet your girls.”
“Have you heard from Gram, I mean, Mrs. Gherring?”
He smiled. “Yes, she came by today.”
“I think I got her in trouble with her grandson. He figured out we were plotting to find him a wife.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry about Mrs. Gherring. Steven Gherring is no match for that woman. No one is.”
“Yes, you’re probably right. I haven’t known her for long, but she seems to get her way.”
“So, I’ll see you sometime this weekend.”
“Sure thing. See you soon.”
Anne beat her girls to the apartment by twenty minutes, just enough time to change clothes and pick up the apartment. She ran downstairs to surprise the girls who thought they would beat her home. She was pacing in the lobby when the taxi pulled up outside. Anne ran outside as the girls spilled out of the car with lots of hugs and laughing. Chaos ensued as bags were hauled from the car and Emily had to go back and pay the taxi driver. Antonio came out to meet them and help with luggage.
Once inside the lobby, Rayna joined the crew.
Anne started the introductions. “This is Emily, this is Charlie, and this is Rayna and this is Antonio.”
“Antonio looks just like you described him,” said Charlie.
Emily piped in, “I understand my mom has been interfering in your lives. Sorry about that. We just can’t control her.”
Rayna said, “No it’s okay. I was clueless before your mom came.”
“Yes, Rayna didn’t even know I was alive before Anne started working on her,” said Antonio.
“Mom, why are you home early? I thought you had a lot of work to do on that PowerPoint for Switzerland.”
Anne looked like she was about to burst. “We’ve got tickets to see Beauty and the Beas
t tonight. Mr. Gherring got them for us.”
All three girls started jumping around, while Rayna and Antonio chuckled.
“Something tells me you’re a little excited about this,” said Rayna.
Anne explained, “We weren’t planning to see anything really popular. We were just going to see what we could get on the cheap tomorrow. But all three of us were dying to see Beauty. Mr. Gherring surprised me with the tickets and let me off early.”
“Hmmm,” said Charlie teasingly. “That was suspiciously nice of him. What did you do for him?”
Everyone laughed but Anne, who felt her cheeks heating. “Charlie—stop it. You’re going to make Rayna and Antonio think bad things about me.”
“Oh Mom,” chuckled Emily. “You still haven’t learned to take a joke.”
“I can’t believe how much you guys look alike—all three of you,” said Rayna. “Your hair is different, but your faces…”
“Yes, you obviously inherited your beauty from your mom,” said Antonio. “I was trying to get her to go out with me when she got here. That’s why she hooked me up with Rayna. She was trying to get rid of me.” He winked at Anne.
“I’m hoping I still look that good when I’m Mom’s age.” Charlie turned to her mom. “Not that you’re old or anything—”
“Too late—you already called me old. But we’ll see tomorrow who’s old when I out-climb you at the gym.”
Charlie rolled her eyes. “Mom, I hate to tell you, but you aren’t going to out-climb me.”
“You guys should go get ready if you’re going to a seven o’clock play. It’s five fifteen already,” said Antonio.
Anne headed up the elevator with the girls and their luggage. The girls exclaimed over the cute apartment and the view from the window. Charlie walked around looking at the photographs.
“Mom, you have seven pictures of Emily and only six of me.”
“You can just give me a new framed picture for Christmas to even it out.”
“I think the pictures are fine just the way they are. You shouldn’t change a thing,” Emily declared, surveying the pictures for herself. “Hey, you turned one of mine backwards.”
“I was just making it fair.”
After downing some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, the girls got dressed for the play. “Should we dress up?” asked Charlie.
“I’ve been told you’ll see all kinds of clothes at the play—the whole gamut, from jeans to cocktail dresses. I say wear something nice and warm, but not a dress. We’ll take the subway, so we’ll do some walking.”
“Are you sure you know where to go? Which subway to take?” asked Emily.
“None of us can navigate worth a flip, so I vote we just leave early and plan on getting lost,” laughed Charlie.
“My plan exactly,” Anne agreed.
“I, however, planned ahead,” said Emily. “I already downloaded a subway app for my phone.”
“Ha!” said Charlie. “You’ll probably get us more lost with the app, than without it.”
They found the theater easily, stopping strangers to ask for directions and only making one wrong turn. Beauty and the Beast did not disappoint.
“Didn’t you just love the costumes?” asked Anne.
“I liked the teacup,” said Emily.
“I liked the carpet,” said Charlie.
Anne said, “I liked the part where the beast changed into the prince.”
“I don’t know,” said Emily. “I really liked the beast better.”
Charlie quipped, “Of course you would say you liked the beast. You just have to be different.”
“No, Emily may be right,” argued Anne. “After a while, when you really got to know him and found out how sweet he was, he just got more and more good-looking, even before he turned into a prince.”
Emily piped in, “I think it’s because the beast was so big and strong and masculine. Then the prince just sort of looked wimpy.”
“It doesn’t matter. Did you see the playbill picture of the prince? He was hot!” said Charlie.
“Actually,” said Emily, “I can’t believe we’re arguing about this. It isn’t real. We’re arguing over who was better looking—a make-believe prince or a man in a beast costume.”
“I think people were staring at us,” said Anne.
“When?” asked Emily.
“Oh, probably when all three of us were sobbing,” said Charlie.
“Really,” chuckled Emily. “Which time?”
That comment got all three of them laughing, so they took a minute to catch their breaths.
“Okay, where to next?” asked Anne.
“You’re the New Yorker. You tell us where to go.”
“We should go to Times Square, and then I’ll take y’all up to that bar at the top of the Marriot where Henri took me after the gala.”
“Okay, but we have to sit at a different table,” said Charlie. “I can’t sit at the table where some guy kissed my mom.”
“Be nice or I’ll tell you all the gory details,” said Anne.
“Ewww! Yuck! Please, no details,” laughed Emily.
A quick cab ride to Times Square and the girls were standing in the middle of the intersection, surrounded by throngs of people, huge digital images, and light shows.
“It’s so much cooler than on TV,” said Charlie.
“It’s almost a sensory overload,” said Emily. “I think I’ll like it better from above than when we’re in the middle of it.”
“Still, we need to get our picture.” Charlie pulled out her phone and flagged down a friendly bystander to take a snapshot of the three girls together in Times Square. Charlie immediately posted it on the web, and they started walking toward the Marriot. As they approached the hotel, Anne noticed several limousines lined up.
“Oh, I bet we might see someone famous if we wait a minute.”
“Mom, you probably wouldn’t even recognize someone famous if they came out. You’re so clueless. You didn’t even recognize Steven Gherring when you interviewed with him,” said Emily.
“But I have y’all here for that.” Anne argued. “Let’s just wait a bit.”
“Okay,” said Charlie. “I’ll keep my phone out and snap a picture if we see someone good.”
Two couples came out of the hotel. Charlie swore one of the women looked familiar, but the couples turned and walked past them toward Times Square.
Emily said, “See, they’re nobody. Let’s go inside,” said Emily.
“Fine,” said Anne. “You’re no fun.”
They walked into the lobby, grateful to be warmer.
“I’m going to the restroom.” Charlie grabbed Emily’s arm. “You have to come with me.”
“But I don’t need to go—”
“I can’t go by myself.”
She pulled her sister along beside her. Anne stood leaning against a pillar in the lobby while waiting for the girls. Suddenly, she saw a familiar form at the top of the large padded staircase. It was Steven Gherring. And he was with Sharon Landry.
Anne slipped behind the pillar to hide herself, hoping no one could hear her thundering heart beats. There was one lone reporter at the lobby entrance who snapped a picture of the couple as they descended. Gherring was magnificent in his tux. Sharon looked stunning in a long black evening dress with fish-scale sequins. When she moved, the dress looked shiny and molten. She clung to Gherring’s arm as they conversed, his head bent toward hers. At the bottom, Gherring took her coat and helped her put it on before they exited the lobby. Anne couldn’t take her eyes off the two of them. At the door, Gherring stopped for a moment and looked over his shoulder in her direction. She slipped behind the pillar, and held her breath. When she peeked around again, they were outside. She felt slightly sick when she saw him put his arm around Sharon as they walked to the waiting limo.
What on earth was wrong with her? Why didn’t she just speak to Gherring? But she knew the answer. She didn’t want Steven Gherring to see the two of the
m side by side, to be able to compare them. She could never compete with a woman like Sharon Landry. Hadn’t she known that? Hadn’t she handpicked Sharon to be a perfect match for Steven? She found herself hoping Sharon had some unseen flaw. Maybe she had bad breath. Maybe her knees creaked like the stepsister in the Cinderella movie. No, Steven deserved to be happy. Anne needed to stop being selfish and hope Sharon would be just the right woman for Steven.
“Hey Mom,” said Charlie. “Did you see anybody while we were gone?”
“You look kind of white, Mom. Are you okay?” asked Emily.
“I’m fine. I think I’m a little dehydrated. Let’s go on up to the top. No one important is coming down the stairs.”
When they entered the top floor bar, the girls were thrilled with the view.
“Oh Mom,” said Emily. “This is a romantic spot. I can see why you let Henri kiss you here.”
“It wasn’t just the ambiance—he said some pretty sweet things. I think my ego needed a little pampering.”
“What did he say?” Emily asked.
“I don’t remember exactly, but it had to do with me believing in him and him deciding to open up his heart again. He’s been hurt before.”
“Awww,” said Charlie. “And you’ve always been a sucker for anybody who’s been hurt. You’re such a bleeding heart.”
“And what about you?” asked Anne. “I seem to remember a certain girl crying over a lizard you found with most of his tail broken off.”
“Well, how was I supposed to know it would grow back?” Charlie pouted. The waitress approached the table.
“What should we get to drink?” asked Charlie.
Emily asked, “Hey Mom, since we never got to go here with Dad, why don’t we drink something he would have ordered?”
“Well, your dad didn’t drink much. But when he did, he always ordered scotch.”
“Three scotches please,” Charlie told the waitress.
“The waitress asked, “With water, on the rocks, or neat?”
The three looked at each other and shrugged.
“Neat,” said Charlie. “I don’t know what that means, but it sounds ‘neat.’”
When the drinks arrived, Anne proposed a toast. “To our memories of Dad and the new memories we make together!”
