Chapter 9
As the alarm went off the next morning, I jumped out of bed and dressed for work. I peeked into Mara’s room before leaving. There she was, all curled up in a little ball, sound asleep. She and Daniel planned to go to New York University today so she could get enrolled in classes for the upcoming semester. They’d both be going to NYU. Daniel would swing by and pick her up in the mornings, but she’d probably have to take a cab home most afternoons. As I was about to go out the door, I noticed that Mara’s new easel, canvases, and paints had somehow taken up residence in our dining room. I smiled, thinking how much I loved seeing her paintings come alive as she worked away on them. I envied her talent and creativity, but knew that writing music and playing the piano were my forte. And, with any luck at all, Mara’s brother, Blake, would become a friend and fellow pianist.
Thomas had his head in the computer when I slipped in the back door and walked out into the store. “Good morning, Thomas. Hope you had a nice Christmas with your family.”
“Good morning, Anna Louise.”
He didn’t look up, but when I stepped into his office, I could see the moisture in his eyes. “Oh, Thomas. This had to be a hard Christmas without Mr. Cutler.” I gave him a little hug.
“The hardest. He’d played Santa Claus to my children ever since they were young, but this year there was no Santa Claus. Everyone was sad, but we made it through as a family.”
“I’m so sorry. I don’t want to add to your sadness, but I’d like you to see what Mara gave me for Christmas. Would it be okay if I set it on the desk by the phone?”
Thomas looked at the black and white portrait of Mr. Cutler and me in front of a baby grand piano and began to smile as his dad smiled back at him. “Mara does amazing work. I love the smiles. Of course, you can place it by the phone.”
“Thank you. Mr. Cutler’s smile always made my day better.”
“Mine too,” Thomas said.
As I set the portrait down next to the phone, the front door opened and in walked Chase. My heart started to flutter. I hadn’t realized how much I missed him since we’d moved out of the Blue Sky Apartments. “Chase. It’s good to see you. How are you? Did you have a nice Christmas? Can I help you?” Oh no, I’d bombarded him with questions.
“It’s good to see you, too. I’m doing well. Had a nice Christmas. I was on call Christmas Day. And, yes, you can help me.” He laughed as he strolled toward me.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Reporter Man?” By now Thomas had come out of his office to see what all the chatter was about. I don’t think he’d ever heard me ramble on like that before.
“Chase. Good to see you again,” Thomas said. “Hearing Anna Louise babble on like that had me concerned.”
“Good to see you, too, Thomas. I think she’ll be okay now that she’s stopped rambling. How are you doing these days?”
“Better,” Thomas replied. “I saw the article you did on Pop and me in the New York Times. My wife cut out the story, along with photos of the bombings, and added them to the family scrapbook. Great piece of journalism.”
“Thank you. I know Anna Louise thought the world of Mr. Cutler and now she’s lucky enough to have his son as her boss.”
“My dad and Anna Louise were quite a pair,” Thomas replied with a slight smile. “Well, I’ll let you two young people talk. I have a piano to tune that’s quite a distance from here. Will you be okay while I’m gone, Anna Louise?”
“I’ll be fine. I’ll text Daniel if I need anything. Have a good trip. Talk to you when you get back.”
“See you later.” He grabbed his leather bag and waved as he went out the back door.
“What awesome people you work for, Anna Louise. The newspaper isn’t quite as friendly as the Emporium.”
“Understandable. Your job is probably a lot more stressful than mine.”
“Probably. But what I came in for was to ask if you’d like to spend New Year’s Eve with me at the New York Times party? Just to warn you. It’s a big shindig. All formal-like. What do you think?”
“Sounds nice to me.” Chase looked as handsome as always in his reporter duds, but for some reason, butterflies were flying around in my stomach today.
“You wouldn’t mind hanging out with a bunch of people you don’t know on New Year’s Eve?”
“Not if you don’t mind my hanging on tight to your arm most of the night,” I replied as I smiled into those translucent green eyes of his.
“Don’t mind at all. Are we on for the big party, then?”
“We’re on. Is there anything else I can do for you today?”
“Nope. I’ll be by your place around eight o’clock on New Year’s Eve.”
“Thanks for the invitation, Chase. See you New Year’s Eve.”
“See ya, Anna Louise.”
A few minutes after Chase walked out of the store, Mara and Daniel strolled in. Both of them with super-giddy grins on their faces.
“So why are you two gracing me with your presence this morning, and what’s behind those huge smiles I’m gazing at?” I couldn’t help but laugh. They looked like two young teenagers who’d just gotten away with something they shouldn’t have.
“Us?” they echoed together.
“Yes, both of you. Mara, you first.”
“Well, you’ll be delighted to hear that I’m now enrolled at New York University. My credits from Chicago will transfer into the liberal arts program here at NYU. But the most amazing thing happened while we were standing in line waiting to talk to the counselor. Notice my empty tote bag.”
“I do now, but what’s that got to do with those giddy looks on your faces?”
“It means I sold two of my paintings while we were just standing there in line at the college. I talked a couple of rich girls into buying them. Actually, they started it. Wanted to know what I had in my cute, bright-green tote bag with the shiny butterflies on it.”
“Congratulations. But I think you could sell a dead mouse to a lady on a chair. Not only are you a great artist, but one heck of an entrepreneur.” I glanced over at Daniel who had his arm around Mara’s shoulder and was pulling her close. My eyebrows went up at that sight. “So, Daniel, what do you think about my friend Mara?”
“Where do you want me to begin? She’s beautiful, smart, talented, gifted, and great fun to be with. Is that enough for starters?”
“Enough already, or she’ll get a big head.”
I was glad to see Thomas had a smile on his face when he came in the back door a little later, carrying his brown bag. “Hi, everyone. Good to see you, Mara. I could use you this afternoon, Daniel. Need you to deliver a couple of baby grands around the city.”
I followed his eyes as he noticed Daniel’s arm around Mara.
“Sure, Dad. I’ll just run Mara back to her place and come right back.”
“Hi, Thomas,” Mara said. “Guess what? I enrolled at NYU this morning and sold two paintings while we waited in line.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Mara’s a born saleswoman and she likes money,” I added before she could say anything.
“If you ever need a job, come see me.” Thomas winked at Mara, chuckling all the way into his office.
~ ~ ~
High above the streets of New York in the Grand Ballroom of the Plaza Hotel where I was spending New Year’s Eve with my friend and former neighbor, Chase Monroe, I listened to the music in the background as I stared out into the moonlit night, holding a crystal glass of sparkling water with a lime wedge. I smiled over at Chase, who was enjoying a glass of champagne, as he too looked out into the celestial night sky. Soon, millions of electrifying fireworks would fill the midnight sky over New York and all around the world with breathtaking colors, ushering in another New Year.
Earlier, when Chase and I had first arrived to join the party, the ballroom seemed to have already been in motion for some time. Holding on to Chase’s arm for dear life, I’d walked in beside him wearing the same shimmering, one-shoulder, white gown and sparkling jewelry I’d worn to Blake Holbrook’s Carnegie Hall concert, with the exception of the bright-pink orchid Chase had slipped over my wrist. Chase, with his New York-styled black hair, dark evening clothes, white shirt, and bow tie, appeared to be the most valiant man in the room. I actually felt safe being with him.
Then, as we made our way through the New York Times crowd toward the refreshment table, or should I say tables, Chase smiled over at me and took my hand in his, leading the way. Several tables stood adorned with foods one could eat with their fingers, while others held the most glittering array of crystal glasses I’d ever seen, along with champagne on ice, wine fountains flowing in various colors, and numerous bottles of what had to be very expensive bottles of liquor. They had to be expensive because they didn’t look anything like the cheap bottles my mother threw in the recycle bin for my father to take out to the curb each week.
A light tap on my bare shoulder brought me back to the ballroom. “Not sure what has you looking so forlorn, but would you like to dance, Miss Anna Louise?”
Hearing Chase’s deep voice, I turned and smiled. “I’d love to, Mr. Monroe.”
“I’ll take your glass and set it right over here next to mine while we dance.” Chase placed our glasses on one of the tables, then took my hand as we stepped out onto the dance floor. He pulled me close as we danced slowly to the music. “You look beautiful tonight, Anna Louise.”
“Thank you. You appear more like Armani tonight than Calvin Klein, but they both look astonishing on you. Debonair is the word I’d use.” I laughed with a twinkle in my eyes.
Chase bowed, and then pulled me even closer. “I’m so glad you moved into the Blue Sky Apartments when I was living there. It was awful until you got there.” He frowned, wrinkling his brow.
“I thought the Blue Sky was awful, too, until I met you that first day. I couldn’t believe anyone in New York would help me clean up a mess like that, but you did.”
“Never could resist a damsel in distress.” Chase chuckled. “I’d been there just long enough to know what kind of place it was and that you were new to New York and needed help.”
“Other than Mara, you’re the best friend I’ve ever had. Thank you for bringing me here tonight. You work with some very nice people, but they do seem to have an edge to them.”
“That comes from always being under the gun to make one deadline or another.” He paused. “I suppose I’m starting to act like that, too.”
“Maybe a little,” I teased, putting both arms around his neck causing us to dance cheek to cheek.
“I could dance with you all night, Miss Piano Girl.” Just then the music stopped and the band took a break.
I stood there laughing as he gathered up our glasses, handing the sparkling water to me.
“I’m hungry. Let’s find our way over to the food.” Chase took a drink of his champagne, then asked if I’d like to try a sip or two of champagne on New Year’s Eve. Afraid I might become my mother, I declined. “Does that mean you don’t think you’d like champagne?”
“No, Chase. I’m sorry, it means my mother is an alcoholic and I’m afraid of becoming like her. She treated me horribly when she was drunk and I never, ever want to hurt anyone like she did me. I hope you understand.”
“Believe me when I say I understand. For me, my father was the angry, abusive alcoholic. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but I have a slight limp in my right leg. One day, when I was about ten years old, I came home from school and my drunk father was standing in the doorway and wouldn’t let me in the house. As I tried to get around him, he tripped me and I fell backward on my leg, breaking it. Mom took me to the Emergency Room where they put my leg in a cast, but the break didn’t heal exactly right, so I’ve had a slight limp ever since.
“Oh, Chase, how horrible for you at such a young age.” Tears welled up in my eyes as images of what had happened between Chase and his father appeared before my eyes. “You’re such a caring and thoughtful person, it’s hard for me to believe you’ve been treated as badly as I have been.”
“I vowed that day I’d never let him keep me from living my life the way I wanted to. I don’t drink often and I don’t drink a lot, but I do let myself have one once in a while. Don’t let your mom keep you from living your own life. You’re a gifted pianist and the music you write is heartfelt, so don’t let what she did to you stop you from becoming all that you can be. You’re an amazing woman, Anna Louise.”
“Thank you, Chase,” I said, filled with emotion, as he lifted my face to his, kissing me softly. “You’re amazing, too, Chase Monroe. Because of my relationship with my mother and sister, I’ve never asked you this before, but do you have any brothers or sisters?”
“One older sister, Hannah, who is very pregnant at this moment. I also have a younger brother, Michael, who plays baseball and is a senior in high school, and a younger sister, Lily, who’s in her first year of high school and wants to become a cheerleader. How about you, Anna Louise?”
“I have and older sister, Charlotte, who’s a newlywed, and a younger brother, Grant, who is the athlete in the family. He’s great at football and basketball, but soccer is his favorite sport. I hope he receives a college scholarship to play soccer one day. By the way, do you have a middle name, Mr. Monroe?”
“Elliott. After the old man. Ironic, huh?”
“I like it. Chase Elliott Monroe. I can see it listed among the great Pulitzer Prize writers already.”
“I think we’d better go get something to eat before our heads swell up like balloons.”
We ate, drank, mingled, and danced for hours, then held each other close as the clock struck midnight, filling the room with confetti and balloons.
Chase kissed me and held me close. “Happy New Year, Anna Louise! I have a feeling it’s going to be a good one.”
“Me too. Happy New Year, Chase Elliott!”
The confetti rained down on us as I grabbed two balloons for good luck. Chase picked me up and twirled me around, then set me down and kissed me once again.
“Come on, pretty lady, let’s get out of here. Your place or mine?”
“I think SoHo is calling our names,” I exclaimed as Chase took my hand in his.