by Hicks, I. M.
As soon as my daughter was born I hired a personal trainer to help me tone again, I didn’t gain much weight but my stomach needed some help. Luckily now three months later I was back to what I was before I got pregnant and in Victor’s opinion my booty looked even better.
My new assistant Isabel was fantastic, Jerry hired her before he left for New York back in December to take over the new Alex Larsen & Co. office. She had the same work ethic as Jerry, she was young, she was eager to learn and we got along famously.
“Ms. Larsen, Mr. Larsen on the line”
“Thank you”
“Nathan!” I said.
“Sis, I know you said I had to be your date tomorrow, but I met someone about a month ago I’d like you to meet, can I bring her?”
“I’m sure it will be ok, I have to ask Victor but he will have my head if I call him right now, he’s having an issue with the wedding planner and her choice of flower arrangements, so can I call you later?”
“Of course sis”
“what’s her name?’
“Allisa, she’s an officer and she was recently transferred from Ottawa and she knows nobody around here, and she loves fashion, knows all about you, so naturally when I told her I was your little brother she agreed to date me”
I laughed “You know what, just bring her, I’m sure it will be more than ok” I began.
“But you still need to be my date and dance with me at least once” I said.
“I have no problem having two beautiful ladies as my dates, just like old times” he joked.
“Alright, I’ve got to go get pretty and pick up my dress. I will see you tomorrow, Phillip will pick you up at 1:15, then my house, then the hall”
“Ok have fun”
We hung up and I left for the weekend.
The wedding was a massive affair. I couldn’t believe the amount of people that attended. Many from the industry, models, celebrities, photographers and socialites.
The venue was spectacular, decorated with mostly black and white drapery and exquisite linens, white calla lilies arrangements everywhere, and both grooms wore custom tailored tuxes. Victor handkerchief was white and Carlo’s was red.
Nathan’s girlfriend Allisa and I got along well immediately and surprisingly knew a lot about me through the gossip columns and fashion magazines. She seemed to be smitten by Nathan, and I knew she was good for him as she took no nonsense from him.
“There you are” said Victor as he was making his rounds.
I stood up to give him a tight hug and congratulate him. “This is beautiful Vic, you did a great job” I said about the venue.
“Yeah well, my wedding planner turned out to be a bit of a ditz, so naturally I had to take over, but it all worked out in the end” he said smiling wide.
“I can’t believe your guest list, this is like the Toronto Film Festival and fashion week all rolled into one”
Victor looked around, his face with concern then looked at me and smiled.
“Yeah sorry for not showing you the guest list, I just wanted to keep some level of surprise” he said raising his eyebrows mischievously.
“You look fabulous by the way, who would have guessed you had a baby three months ago with that ass and those tits in that red dress” he added.
“Took some work…too much for a mom you think?” I asked him showing him the plunging back of my dress.
“Oh hell no, you give a whole new meaning to MILF”
“Jesus Victor!”
He laughed “Our first dance is coming up in a few minutes baby girl, talk later” he said giving me a hug.
“Save a dance for me” I said.
“You bet” he winked and left.
Their first dance song was “It had to be you” by Harry Connick Jr. The second was a flash mob dancing to “Born this Way” by Lady Gaga. And like Victor, Carlos was a very good dancer who could most certainly keep up with him.
I was sitting at the table by myself watching Nathan and Allisa dance when I heard a chair being moved beside me.
“Can I join you?” asked the male voice.
I turned around to find Marc sitting beside me wearing a perfectly tailored black Armani suit, with gold cufflinks that matched his golden hair and a red tie that matched my dress exactly. My heart stopped and my stomach fluttered when I rested my eyes on his.
“Of course” I said smiling.
“Victor invited me” he said his voice a little shaky.
“I figured” then I realized why Victor was so damn secretive about the guest list. He was getting an earful from me later.
“You look beautiful Alex”
“Looking good yourself Marc, nice suit” I said and looked away toward the dance floor. Feelings were flooding back fast.
I heard him sigh. “I have to explain what happened Alex”
“No need to explain Marc, and I’m sorry about the pictures, I hope you two worked things out.” I was still not able to look at him.
“Robert followed me to the hotel that day. He approached me in the lobby and threatened to hurt my kids and Pam if I didn’t break it off with you, I had no choice. You don’t know how much it hurt me to see the pain in your eyes.”
I looked at him and I knew he was telling me the truth.
“Then I saw you outside that fucking restaurant. When you said you and Rob were moving to London, it nearly killed me” he continued.
Suddenly it was hard to breathe.
“I filed for divorce the following week, before Pam received those pictures. That week when you were in Cairo after I saw you, I realized I couldn’t be with her anymore, and I lied to you, things just got worse not better. It was her, it was us, not the lack of money. Our relationship died long before you came along.”
“I’m sorry to hear that” I lied. He smiled, he knew I wasn’t sorry.
“So you divorced him finally” he remarked.
“Yes” I began “What else did Victor tell you?” knowing the two of them had obviously spoken.
“Just that something happened in Cairo, but he said that I should talk to you”
He doesn’t know. I kept the news of my pregnancy under the radar because of Rob and his threats. When she was born, I realized there was no need to announce it publically. The last thing I wanted to do was answer the obvious questions and bring up the reasons why Rob and I split.
I nodded and looked the other way “He knew about us, the entire time it was happening” I began “When he found out I was pregnant, he became a monster and used it to his advantage to beat me down.”
“Pregnant? But…I thought you couldn’t” he whispered.
I laughed “So did I, but as it turns out, that was a lie too.”
“You didn’t lose it, did you?”
I turned to look at him again “She was born April 15th”
He smiled “Congratulations”
“What does she look like, do you have a photo?”
“Not with me, but she’s beautiful”
“What’s her name?”
“I named her Abigail” I spoke softly.
He looked down and adjusted his the cuff of his jacket, then looked up at me and leaned closer.
“I never stopped loving you Alex and I called Victor when I heard he was getting married to congratulate him but truth was I wanted to know about you. So when he told me you and Robert were divorced I begged him to invite me so I could try to work things out with you and tell you truth as to why I left you.” He began “I haven’t been in the same room with you for over a year and I couldn’t stay away anymore. I never got over you Alex, but the question is, did you?”
I swallowed. “I tried but…”
“But?”
I sighed “Every time I look at her… I see you Marc”
He blinked a couple of times. Leaned back a bit and curved his lips into a warm smile.
“I named her Abigail Larsen-Collins” I whispered.
Suddenly the dance music switched and the DJ starte
d playing “All I want is you” by U2. He leaned forward again much closer than before and kissed my shoulder.
“Can I please have this dance” He whispered offering me his hand out to me and I accept it.
We moved to the dance floor and I put my hands on the back of his neck, he held me tightly around my waist pulling me close to him, and I could feel his heart beating through his sternum.
“I’ve missed you, I miss your smell, your voice, everything” he whispered in my ear.
I closed my eyes and rested my head on his chest.
“I promise I won’t ever hurt you again Alex, please give me another chance.” He whispered.
We danced for a little longer while his words echoed in my head.
Then I lifted my head and looked into his eyes.
“Do you want to meet your daughter Marc?” I asked.
He caressed my cheek and smiled “More than anything” he whispered looking into my eyes and kissed me madly.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ingrid is a fashion designer and founder of her own uniform company. Currently resides is Ontario, Canada with her family and is currently working on her next book.