by Tamie Dearen
She opened the envelope and pulled out three tickets to Parsimonious, the Proper Wizard. “This is the newest show on Broadway! They’re amazing, but… 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.
“I can’t believe it! Thank you so much! Now I’m really 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.
“No one ever accused me of being normal.”
How am I going to keep from falling for him when he’s so nice? It’s easier when he’s grouchy.
“And I won’t be the first one to do it, either. You guys want to ride together to the gym tomorrow?”
“Yes, sure.” She felt like dancing. But knowing her, she’d fall flat on her bottom. “I’m so excited. The girls are gonna flip. Parsimonious—woo hoo!”
“I hope you have a great time.”
She gathered up her things and rushed out, stopping by the door. “And you… you need to have an open mind tonight. Okay?”
“I’m going to nod my head, and you can pretend that means I’m taking your sage advice.”
“If you were my kid, I’d call you a smart aleck.”
He got his signature grouchy look, but it didn’t stop Anne from wishing she could repeat that impromptu hug.
Great… even the grouchy thing isn’t working anymore.
“I’m not your kid, and I don’t want to be,” he mumbled.
It’s a good thing, too. I’d be a freak if I were having these thoughts about my son.
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 Parsimonious and the Proper Wizard 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 Parsimonious. 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. Parsimonious did not disappoint.
“Didn’t you just love the costumes?” asked Anne.
“I liked the wooden puppet,” said Charlie. “I don’t know how they made his legs look like that.”
Anne said, “I liked the part where they flew above the audience.”
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“I don’t know,” said Emily. “I really liked the troll the best.”
Charlie quipped, “Of course you would say you’d say that. You have to be different.”
“No, Emily may be right,” argued Anne. “After a while, when you really got to know the troll, you found out how sweet he was. He just got more and more good-looking, even before he magically transformed to a knight.”
Emily piped in, “I think it’s because the troll was so big and strong and masculine. Once he transformed, he looked kind of wimpy.”
“It doesn’t matter. Did you see the playbill picture of the knight? 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 knight or a man in a troll costume.”
“I think people were staring at us,” said Anne.
“When?” asked Emily.
“Probably in the scene where 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.
“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.
“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 heartbeats. 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 them 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.”
“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?”
“Your dad didn’t drink much. But when he did, he always ordered scotch.”
“Three scotches please,” Charlie told the waitress.
When the drinks arrived, Anne proposed a toast. “To our memories of Dad and the new memories we make together!”
They all took a sip together.
“Yuk!” yelled Charlie. “Ugh! That burns!”
“That was awful. I’m glad I didn’t take a big sip,” Emily said.
“I just spit it back into the glass,” said Anne. Then all three dissolved into giggles. “People are staring—they probably think we’re drunk.”
“In this family, who needs alcohol to act embarrassing?” asked Emily.
The girls opted for a quick breakfast in the apartment, not being motivated enough to rise early for a restaurant breakfast before their climb. Gherring was waiting in the lobby when they went down shortly after nine. He was dressed in jeans with a leather jacket, and he carried an athletic bag. Similarly, the girls had brought climbing clothes along—even Emily, who swore she wouldn’t climb.
“Mr. Gherring, I’d like you to meet my girls. This is—”
“Wait, let me guess. You must be Charlie and you must be Emily. Am I right?”
“How did you know that?” asked Charlie. “Did Mom show you pictures?”
“No I didn’t,” Anne answered for him. “How did you know? Charlie doesn’t have a hat on or anything. Both of you have your hair in ponytails. Emily isn’t carrying a book. Did you forget your book?”
“No, it’s in the bag.”
“How did you know which was which?” asked Anne.
“My secr
et.” Gherring smiled, looking much like a Cheshire cat, but gave no answer. He led them outside to the waiting limo.
“Wow! We get to ride in a limousine—cool!” said Charlie.
They climbed in and settled on the far side, chattering with excitement. Anne took the spot between them, leaving Gherring alone on the opposite side.
“I could get used to this.” Charlie leaned back against the soft leather seat.
“Mom, do you get to do this all the time?” asked Emily.
“Yes, probably ten times now, but I still get excited,” she answered.
Charlie said to Gherring, “Mom always taught us money wasn’t important, but it sure is fun.”
“Thank you for the tickets last night. It was amazing, and you were very generous,” said Emily.
“Yeah,” said Charlie. “We loved it. And we spent all our money to get here, so we weren’t going to any cool plays.”
“Charlie,” scolded Anne. “We don’t talk about how much money we have.”
“Why not? It’s not like I told him how much is in our bank account.”
“Quite right,” cut in Gherring. “I think your honesty is charming. I’m glad to have given you a fun evening.”
“How did you know which of the girls was which?” Anne asked.
“Easy—you described them a bit, and I made an educated guess. Emily, carries herself like a dancer. And Charlie, looks like she’d drive a Maserati really fast if she got the chance.”
“I thought maybe you were a Facebook stalker,” said Emily.
“Highly possible.” Gherring winked. “If I had a Facebook account.”
When they arrived at the climbing gym, Spencer was watching his friend rappelling down from the top of the wall. As they walked in, he came to greet them.
“Hey I’m Spencer.” Towering over the girls at almost six foot four, he was wiry and athletic in build.
His friend came running over when he disconnected, pushing his straight dark hair off his forehead. “Hey I’m Mark.” Anne judged him to be just under six feet tall.
