- Ella -
he ballroom ceiling was covered in real pine branches, the smell of which mixed perfectly with the scent of freshly roasted chestnuts on every table. Enormous, lavishly decorated presents added color around the room, dwarfing the party guests in a way that created the whimsical feeling I was hoping for.
I spent all afternoon making the final arrangements and doing the fitting for the evenings catering staff. The bar men were easy enough with their nutcracker costumes. Only one of them didn’t fit in his so we had to get a Santa Costume at the last minute, but he was absolutely delighted with it.
The sugar plum fairies were a bit more fickle. I had to beg them not to sample their outfits, and everyone wanted a piece of the gingerbread dress. Meanwhile, no one wanted to be the eggnog shot girl because she had to stand still for the whole night, but eventually they all got settled and understood where I wanted them to remain for the majority of the evening.
For a while, I was worried I wouldn’t get everything done in time, especially when the florists showed up while I was trying to figure out how to angle the snow machine so it wouldn’t assault people as they arrived. They needed to know where I wanted five thousand dollars’ worth of poinsettias and their trucks were blocking the fire lane.
At that point I was feeling really panicked, and it was time for me to start getting ready. Of course, that’s the moment when the reindeer turned up. Fortunately, my directions for their keepers were very clear. The reindeer were to stand outside the hotel on the entry way stairs for the first hour and a half until after all the guests had arrived. Then they were free to go.
When I finally had a chance to sneak away and get dressed, I was relieved that Will had set aside a hotel room for me to use. It would’ve been tricky getting ready in my Mom’s cramped apartment and traveling across town in my party dress. Regrettably, he didn’t tell me in person so I hadn’t had an opportunity to thank him. Instead, there was just a card on my desk earlier in the week saying that he was looking forward to the party and that I was welcome to use one of the hotel’s rooms to prepare for the evening.
Once I was inside, I took a deep breath which felt like my first of the entire day. Then I turned towards the garment bag that was hanging on the closet door and unzipped it. The dress was redder and sparklier than I even remembered. I took off my work clothes and slipped into it, pulling each side over my shoulders one at a time. Then I wiggled my breasts into place just so and walked over to the mirror.
I didn’t even recognize myself. I looked like I was ready to go to the Oscars. I spun around and looked over my shoulder. The dress scooped down all the way to my lower back. I swallowed. It was one thing to spin around in it with Jackie cheering me on, but now that I was looking at myself in it, I was unsure of whether I could pull it off.
Not that I had a choice. It wasn’t like I had a Plan B. I slipped my feet in my shiny black heels which made me feel a little less ridiculous. Then I turned and looked at my back again. Even though it was the only skin showing, it still seemed so revealing. I knew other people would be wearing more outrageous outfits, but I felt so… exposed.
I considered letting my hair down to cover some of my back, but Jackie made me promise to not even think of doing that. She said my hair had to be up for the full effect. I wished I could just see what it would look like down, but there were so many pins keeping my updo in place my hair would probably be way too kinky if I took it down anyway. That is, if the party wasn’t over by the time I located all the pins.
I turned the light on over the desk and grabbed my makeup bag. My face was pretty much party ready as it was. I could never really pull off anything like a smoky eye. Still, I figured a fresh powdering would do me good, and after a few extra coats of mascara, I felt less overwhelmed by the dress.
When there was nothing more I could do to boost my confidence, and I was sick of practicing ways to greet Will at the party, I went down to make sure everything that actually could be perfect was.
And I couldn’t have been happier with the result. More importantly, everyone else seemed to love it from the moment they walked in. The few people who knew I was behind the planning came up and congratulated me on an enchanting evening. I was bursting with so much pride that the dress felt totally appropriate. I don’t think I’d ever been more gratified by anything in my life. The only hiccup was when the gingerbread girl proved more popular than I’d anticipated and her legs started to show through her edible gingerbread skirt, but a quick call to the kitchen saved us both.
Overall, everything was even better than I had dreamed it would be, and I spent most of the evening by the bar where I could enjoy the party from the perimeter and watch Will laugh, joke, and dance with his staff.
Towards the end of the night, I lost sight of him and began scanning the room like a lifeguard.
Then I heard a voice behind me. “You’ve outdone yourself.”
I turned over my shoulder and was greeted by his smiling face. “You think so?”
“And not just with the dress,” he said, stepping up to me. “The party’s all right, too.”
I laughed. “I’m delighted that you think so.”
“I wasn’t expecting the reindeer.”
“Good.”
Suddenly, a body shoved between us at the bar. “A whiskey sour, please,” Emily said before turning her glassy eyes towards me. “Ella!” She threw her hands in the air. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”
I laughed at her enthusiastic lie.
Will raised his eyebrows behind her.
She smacked him in the chest without turning around. “First of all,” she slurred, pointing a boney finger in the air. “Will did a good thing picking you. This is one hell of a party.”
“Thank you, Emily. That means a lot coming fro-”
“Second of all, thank you so much for the thoughtful gift.”
“Do you think that’s something you can use?”
“Are you kidding? That was so kind of you.” She touched me on the shoulder and leaned against the bar. “You didn’t have to do that.”
“You deserve it, Emily,” I said, suddenly noticing how much fake snow was in her hair. “I never could’ve pulled this off without you.”
“Well I can’t argue with that,” she said.
The bartender put a whiskey sour down.
“What’s that?” Emily asked.
“A whiskey sour,” the nutcracker said.
“That’s not what I ordered.” She looked at it with disgust. “I ordered a mimosa.”
“Apologies, Ma’am.” The bartender reached for her drink.
“I can take that off your hands,” I said, sliding the short glass towards me.
The bartender nodded.
Despite the ballroom being a visual feast, Will still had his eyes on me.
A moment later, Emily had her fingers wrapped around her Mimosa and was looking back and forth between me and Will with what seemed like suspicion. “See you kids around.”
As soon as she was gone, I took a sip of the whiskey sour. “Oh my god I’ve never seen her like that.”
“She only drinks during religious festivals.”
“What?”
“You know. Christmas. Easter. All Souls’ Day.”
“Seriously?”
“You could write a book on that woman’s quirks.”
“So I’m beginning to understand.”
He stepped so close to me my chest tightened. “You got her a Christmas present, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“Nice touch. You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know. I wanted to.”
“What did you get her?”
“A spa day at Cleo’s.”
“Wow.”
I felt one side of my mouth curl up. “I thought it might be good for both of us.”
He smiled. “Did you get me something?”
I rested an elbow on the bar. “I suppose I could’ve, but what do you get a guy who has everything?”
“Mmm.” He took a sip of my drink. “How about a dance?”
“I don’t have anything prepared,” I joked.
“Choreography won’t be necessary.”
I drained the rest of the whiskey sour until my face puckered. “Okay.”
He extended a hand and I took it. Then he led me onto the dance floor with such purpose I knew I was in for a treat. Finally, he spun around to face me and pulled me towards him until there was no space for anything besides our breath between us. I put one hand on his shoulder and he dropped his free hand to my hip.
For the first time in my life, I knew what Cinderella must have felt like.
“I want to congratulate you again on the party,” he said. “You should be really proud of yourself.”
“Thanks. I’m really pleased with how it turned out.”
He looked into my eyes.
“And I was under budget, too.”
He smiled and shook his head. “You’re unbelievable, Ella.”
I felt his fingertips touch lightly against my lower back, but I couldn’t tell whether it was intentional or not so I said nothing and just tried not to faint.
“I couldn’t help but notice you didn’t bring a guest tonight,” he said, leading me around the floor.
I furrowed my brow. “Who should I have brought?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Someone you wanted to catch under the mistletoe?”
I pursed my lips and reminded myself to breathe, but he was so close I could only take shallow breaths.
“Isn’t there anyone you want this Christmas?”
I couldn’t answer him. My throat was closing up and the truth was inappropriate. “You didn’t bring a guest either. Isn’t there anyone you want this Christmas?”
“There is actually,” he said, leaning in to whisper in my ear. “But I knew she would be here tonight.” He pulled me closer and I closed my eyes. I could feel the shape of him, the strength of him all around me. I’d never felt more safe or scared.
When I opened my eyes again, I was facing the door. I watched as the last few guests left and the cleaning crew arrived, dragging vacuums and garbage bags.
“Looks like the parties over,” I said softly. But I wished the night would never end. I just wanted to dance with Will like that forever. I was happy there- out of my comfort zone- but not in too deep.
“Why don’t we go up to one of the suites for a nightcap,” he suggested. “We can make one more toast to your success.”
My head was saying no, but my body was saying yes. I leaned back and looked up into his handsome face. “One drink,” I said.
“Anything you want,” he answered.