A Very Merry Manhattan Christmas

by A Very Merry Manhattan Christmas (retail) (epub)

  Jamie!

  A thousand emotions flooded through her as she took him in, from his expensive haircut, to his piercing grey eyes, to his tanned skin to his…

  Wheelchair?

  But before she could even begin to process what she was seeing, she was falling forwards, her high-heeled sandals caught up in her gown. There was a loud ripping sound at the same time as her forehead met the floor. Her head bounced off the plush carpet that had been rolled out to create a walkway for the bridal party and her front teeth closed hard on her tongue.

  The music stopped.

  A silence fell over the room.

  Then there was a collective intake of breath from the guests, released with as much horror as a bloodcurdling scream, as they stood to peer at the bridesmaid who’d fallen as she walked along the aisle.

  Lucie lay there for a moment, too stunned to move. She could taste blood and her tongue was stinging. Strong hands suddenly landed on her shoulders and pulled her upright, eliciting another gasp from the crowd.

  Lucie realized that her front was very, very cold. And very, very exposed.

  Then Dale was wrapping his jacket around her and covering her with his own body, as he ushered her out of a side door.

  ***

  “Here. Drink this.” A waitress handed Lucie a tumbler. She sniffed it and shivered. “Brandy for the shock,” the young woman explained.

  “I think the wedding guests were probably more shocked than you were, Lucie.” Dale tried to smile, to lighten the mood. He rubbed her back, the material of the fluffy robe that a receptionist had quickly found for her, soft under his fingers.

  A stylist fluttered near them, trying to repair Lucie’s bridesmaid gown. Dale had been admiring her as she moved along the aisle, marvelling at how beautiful she was and at how she glowed in the gorgeous silk dress that caressed her curves like a second skin. Then she’d spotted Jamie. Her face had fallen as she’d taken in the fact that he was in a wheelchair and that he was watching her too. She’d stumbled as her shoes got caught up in her dress and as she’d fallen, the thin straps had torn. When Dale had helped her up, the dress had fallen to her waist, giving everyone in the room an eyeful of her flesh-coloured petal-shaped nipple covers. Dale was mortified for her. Furious that people were looking at her. And he’d covered her up as quickly as he could, knocking over his chair and stepping on a few toes in his haste to reach her.

  “Here you are. All done. The hem is fine, it was just the straps that took the brunt of your fall.”

  “I guess I stuffed up royally that time, eh?” Lucie shook her head, her cheeks scarlet. “Why is it always me, Dale? In the schoolyard, it was always me the ball hit when a game of football was going on. It was always me who dropped the test tubes in science or got the copy of Macbeth with the crusty old boogers in. The universe must hate me.” The brandy was loosening her tongue. Dale had heard these things before, but only when Lucie’d been joking around. Now she seemed genuinely upset about them.

  “Don’t worry about it, lovely!” The chief stylist said as he passed. “Those lot in there have seen far more shocking things than your titty-boos. Once the reception gets under way, and they’re all on their second bottle of Krug, they’ll all forget about it anyway.”

  “I doubt it, but thanks.” Lucie drained her brandy. “So what do we do now?”

  “Well, it’s up to you, whether you want to go into the reception or not.”

  “I can’t believe I missed the ceremony.”

  “You can always watch the video,” Dale suggested.

  “The video?” Her eyes widened. “My boobs will be on the wedding video!” She buried her head in her hands. “It’ll appear on the video camera TV shows with all the other wedding mishaps. Oh my god, Dale! I’ll never live this down.”

  He shook his head. “I’ll have a word with Harry later. They’ll edit it out. I’ll sort it, I promise.” The thought of Lucie’s fall, as well as her being indecently exposed on TV for millions to watch, made a fire burn low in his gut and his fists clenched automatically. He was never going to let that happen.

  “You will?”

  “Of course. Now, Luce… Do you want to talk about it?”

  “What?” Her blue eyes widened.

  “About why you fell.” He took her hands.

  She hung her head and a strand of hair fell over her forehead. He brushed it gently behind her ear. “I didn’t know that Jamie was in a wheelchair.”

  “Why would you? You haven’t had any contact with him since you split up, have you?”

  She shook her head.

  “We didn’t notice last night because he was sat at the table… behind the Christmas tree.”

  “How is he… in a wheelchair?”

  “I don’t know. I only saw him when I took my seat, and by then it was too late to come and find you to warn you. I just hoped you wouldn’t see him until later but they placed him right next to the aisle.”

  “It’s so strange. All this time I’ve been thinking of him as some sort of monster, demonizing him, I guess…” She bit her lip.

  “Demonizing him? Monster?” He knew Jamie had hurt her, broken her heart she’d said, but demon meant evil, horrendous, cruel. Was there more to what had gone wrong between Lucie and Jamie than she’d told him?

  Lucie shook her head. “Not now,” she said. “It’s too busy here.”

  “Later then?”

  “Yes. Later.” The colour drained from her face. There was something bad that she hadn’t told him. Something he hadn’t known all these years, and that cut him deep. They told each other everything. Or so he’d thought.

  “I’ll get changed then we can go and get some food. In spite of everything, I’m actually quite hungry.” She squeezed his shoulder as she got up. “And thank you for saving me once again.”

  “Anytime.”

  Dale watched as Lucie walked away. He was beginning to worry that he didn’t know her as well as he’d thought, and he didn’t like it at all.

  Chapter 14

  The wedding reception was well underway when Dale and Lucie entered the Grand Ballroom. As they walked in, there was a temporary lull in conversation, as all eyes turned her way, but people were obviously enjoying themselves too much to waste time on the bridesmaid who’d flashed them, and their attention was soon elsewhere.

  Dale guided her to their table, and she was thankful again that he was there. She probably would have travelled out for the wedding anyway, even if he’d said he couldn’t make it, but then she’d be going through all this alone. Even after all that happened the past few days, Dale hadn’t abandoned her; he still had her back and she was indebted to him for it.

  Petra and Harry entered the room to applause not long afterwards, evidently having finished with the formal wedding photographs.

  The food was delicious, and as the champagne flowed and the string quartet played love songs, Lucie began to relax. She chatted to Dale and to the people at their table, most of whom she knew vaguely as friends of Harry or relatives of Petra. She tried not to look around the room in case she saw Jamie again. If she couldn’t see him, she could pretend he wasn’t there. Almost. And every time she experienced a flutter of anxiety, Dale seemed to know; he’d place his hand over hers, on the small of her back, or he’d offer his familiar cheeky wink.

  The speeches were loud and rowdy. Harry’s best man made a particularly crude one about their teenage years and how experienced Harry was with both sexes – something that Petra didn’t flinch over but that had steam coming out of Joanna’s ears. Then Tania, as maid of honour, made a brief toast to Harry and Petra, but her comment about wishing them all the happiness in the world seemed somewhat disingenuous to Lucie. Tania’s body language gave her away – she didn’t look at Petra at all, just at Harry, then when she went to kiss them both, it was a quick air kiss for the bride and a lingering kiss on Harry’s cheek as she slid her hand over his chest. Lucie wasn’t certain that anyone else even noticed, but she did. The way t
hat Tania allowed her hand to linger on Harry as she kissed him, then moved it lower, made Lucie want to shout at her to stop. There was something wrong, and she felt sure that it had more to do with alcohol induced high jinx of the upper classes.

  The plates were cleared away, then the cake arrived, wheeled in on a wide trolley covered with a cream and gold cloth. It was enormous. There were five square tiers with scalloped white buttercream. On the top tier stood a bride and groom, arm in arm. Gold and cream fondant roses cascaded down the front, intertwined with silver ivy. The theme continued on the cake stand, with rose petals and ivy scattered around. The waitress who’d brought the cake in raised her hands to request silence. “This cake has many layers inside, including dark chocolate mousse, vanilla mousse and cherry mousse. Many congratulations to the bride and groom! Enjoy!”

  As Petra and Harry cut the cake and posed for more photographs, gold champagne was served; something that Lucie had not seen before. The woman to her left told her that it was infused with 24 carat gold flakes and rumoured to help the drinker live a long and prosperous life. As it fizzed in her crystal glass, Lucie thought it resembled a golden snowstorm.

  “You think they’re trying to tell us how rich they are?” Dale asked as he peered into his glass. “All this gold everywhere… from the trees to the glasses to the cake to the champagne. I’ve never seen so much gold. Can you imagine what my mother would say?”

  Lucie smiled. Glenda would probably comment on such extravagance, but secretly enjoy the luxury. She suddenly wished that Dale’s mother and father were here too. It would be nice to see them enjoying the good food and wine, to speak to them in the familiar comfortable way that she could.

  Was that a pang of homesickness for Dale’s parents?

  Imagine how he must be feeling!

  “Have you spoken to your mum today?”

  He nodded. “Only for five minutes, though, when you were having your hair done. It was chaos back there… the boys were screaming as they got more and more wound up. My father was offering everyone eggnog or sherry, loudly, as he’d clearly been indulging in it already. Mum did say that Ieaun’s boyfriend had arrived, though, and that he seemed very nice. So that’s got to be a good thing.”

  “Do you wish you were there now? Tonight?”

  He shook his head. “I’m having a good time, Luce. Mostly. Besides, someone has to look after you!”

  She nudged him and laughed. “For that, I’m going to make you dance with me.”

  “I’ll need a few more of these before I shake my booty.” He raised an eyebrow at her.

  The cake was served and Lucie ate her way through the different layers. The sponge was light; the mousse mouthwateringly fluffy. It made a perfect partner to the champagne, and she had to remind herself to take her time; she could already feel the warm buzz of two glasses and she wanted to keep a clear head. She didn’t fancy falling again and giving the guests another chance to capture her boobs on camera.

  When everyone had finished, the plates were cleared again, then the lights dimmed and Harry and Petra made their way to the dance floor at the centre of the room. A full band had replaced the string quartet on the stage and a woman clad in a figure-hugging black gown and stiletto heels picked up the microphone. As Harry took Petra into his arms, the singer began to croon, her sequins sparkling under the lights…

  At last…

  After a few moments, other guests took to the floor. Lucie watched them, mesmerized by their slow movements, at how they moved in time with their partners as if joined by invisible string.

  A hand on her arm made her jump.

  It was Dale. Stood at her side. Asking her to dance.

  She took his hand and walked to the dance floor.

  They paused for a moment, gazing into each other’s eyes and she wondered what he was thinking, what he was feeling. After last night, he had every right to be hurt, angry, confused. She’d not yet had the chance to explain. She opened her mouth to speak, but he shook his head. “Let’s just have tonight. Everything else can wait for tomorrow.”

  He took her right hand in his, placed his left hand on her back and pulled her closer. Then they moved together, in time, their knowledge of each other so perfect that they didn’t need to think. The song changed once, twice, three times… Their breath became one, their warmth melded them together and when Dale finally stood still and tilted her chin up so he could meet her eyes, it took Lucie a few seconds to emerge from the spell she’d been under.

  “I have an idea.”

  “You don’t want to dance anymore?” It was hard to keep the disappointment out of her tone.

  “We will… later. Come with me.”

  He released her then led her over to one of the tables at the edge of the room. He untied a large red heart balloon from the flower display.

  “What are you doing? You can’t do that!” Lucie giggled and glanced around, worried someone would catch them.

  “Of course I can.”

  He stuffed the balloon under his suit jacket. “Now no one can see it anyway!”

  “No, but you look really fat. Like Santa Claus.”

  “Ho ho ho! Come on, Miss Quigley, there’s something we need to do.”

  He led her through the hotel to the lobby then out through the front doors. A gust of ice-cold air hit them as they descended the steps’ red carpet and Lucie shivered in her thin dress. Dale noticed. He removed his jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders, then pulled it together at the front.

  “It’s a bit slippery, so be careful.”

  Lucie took his hand as they walked to the edge of the pavement and giggled at the sharpness of the Manhattan night air. “It’s freezing out here! I could lose my toes.” She wiggled them in her sandals to stop the snow sticking.

  “We won’t be long. It’s just that I thought… it’s been such a busy day and I thought you might want to do something… something for your mum tonight. You know?” He stared deep into her eyes and Lucie knew that he was worrying that he’d done the wrong thing.

  “It’s a lovely idea, Dale. Really. That’s what the balloon is for?”

  He nodded. “You can release it for her. Let her know you’re thinking of her even though you’re in New York. I didn’t want to bring it all back, Luce, I just didn’t want you waking up tomorrow and worrying that you hadn’t done anything to mark the anniversary. I know that normally we take flowers to the grave. But this is something, right?”

  She slipped her hand from his and placed it against his cheek. His skin was cool, his jaw strong to the touch. “It’s perfect, Dale.”

  He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to stand in front of him. He was shivering against her. “You need your jacket back.”

  “It’s fine. I’ve got you to keep me warm.”

  She held the balloon out.

  “Merry Christmas, Mum. Wherever you are…” Her throat tightened, as it always did whenever she tried to speak to her mother. It was a combination of grief, confusion and anger. She knew that. But she would do this now. Dale had been so thoughtful, and he was right. It was twenty years since her mother had gone. She needed to do something.

  Something to finally set her heart free.

  “I hope you’re happy and that you have found peace.”

  She pressed a kiss to the shiny surface of the heart then gently released it. It sailed up into the sky, towards the tiny stars that twinkled high above the city; the city that thrummed with excitement, love, sadness, anger and pain. But most importantly, with life.

  Lucie was alive. She felt it more than ever. Dale held her for a few minutes as they watched, until the balloon disappeared, swallowed by the Manhattan night, then she turned in his arms.

  “You’re a special guy, Dale.”

  “You’re a special lady. But we’ll freeze if we stay out here any longer. I think I have frostbite in my toes already.”

  Lucie nodded. “You should try wearing sandals. Let’s get back inside and warm up.”
<
br />   As they headed back into the wedding reception, Lucie rubbed her hands together to try to warm them. She was so focused on doing this that she didn’t initially notice the silence in the room.

  All the guests were staring at the doorway next to the stage, as if waiting for something.

  Then there was a long, piercing scream.

  “What was that?” Lucie grabbed Dale’s arm.

  Harry came flying through the door, closely followed by Petra. She was screaming and pounding on Harry’s back. Pursuing him. Her hair was now a bird’s nest, her mascara was running down her cheeks and one of her false eyelashes clung to her upper lip like a wonky moustache.

  Harry turned and held his arms out, trying to fend off Petra’s blows, but she was clearly hysterical.

  Why isn’t anyone doing anything?

  To their side, off in the shadows, Lucie spotted Tania. She was sporting a sly grin on her flawless, aristocratic face.

  Joanna and Jackson stood nearby, apparently engaged in their own argument, and Harry’s parents had retreated to stand with their family, as if involvement in this display was too far beneath them.

  “I have to go to her,” Lucie said to Dale, not wanting to leave him but knowing she had to help.

  “Of course.”

  Lucie rushed over to Petra and when she said her name, approaching cautiously to avoid being punched, her distraught friend flung herself into her arms and sobbed with the fervor of the brokenhearted.

  ***

  Lucie ushered Petra out of the Grand Ballroom, through a corridor and into a smaller room along the corridor. It seemed to be some sort of parlour, with two small sofas and a fireplace. From nearby she could hear the sounds of a busy kitchen, which must have been where the wedding banquet was prepared.

  “Here.” Lucie helped her trembling friend to sit then scanned the room, hoping there would be some water, but she couldn’t see anything. “Are you thirsty?”

  Petra nodded.

  “Stay here and I’ll get something to drink. I’ll be back quickly.”

  Lucie pulled the door behind her then hurried back to the reception. She located a waitress and requested water, then looked around for Dale but she couldn’t see him. She didn’t want to go looking for him because she needed to get back to Petra as soon as possible. The waitress returned with the water. Lucie glanced at Harry as she left the room, and was horrified to see him leaving through a different door with Tania in his wake.