by Jeny Stone
CHAPTER TWELVE
Hannah stationed with three other small business owners sat on the outskirts of the stage. The hard cold metal fold out chairs spoke volumes as to their place in the scheme of the dinner. No one expected them to donate or educate, just entertain. She regretted accepting the invitation to speak at the formal dinner designed to raise money to fund new businesses.
Well, Garret had a previous commitment tonight anyway and wouldn’t be at her cottage until tomorrow morning. She recognized several of her clients. Not being dressed in her normal business attire made her uncomfortable. Her privacy was invaded by her misconception she might make a difference in some one’s life. If entertainment was what they wanted, then entertainment was what they would receive. She knew to appeal directly to the wealthy side of the room, to loosen their purse strings. Without their money the other side of the room wouldn’t get grants to start a business.
She recognized the potential contributors from the recipients without the seating chart that was supposed to be mixed. The left side of the room had a king’s ransom in diamonds hanging from the necks, wrists and protruding from the fingers of designer dressed women. The right side of the room wore off the rack gowns and rented tuxedoes. She entertained herself with predicting which side of the room the next group would be seated.
She was three for three with her predictions when the usher entered with the next group, holding their invitation in his hand. Her heart fluttered threatening to stop all together when her eyes rested on Garret. Tall, dark and handsomely dressed in a tuxedo he broke her heart into slivers of pain from fifty feet away. His mother and father led the way. Garret followed with a tall blonde-haired woman on his arm. So, she was what he meant by previous commitment.
Her stomach knotted, pushing a sick feeling into her throat. The panic of her heart’s piercing pain, teetering on causing a waterfall of tears, left her searching desperately for an escape route. Trapped she trembled uncontrollably.
She always knew this day loomed in her future. Why now and here, stuck on stage in front of his family and many of her clients. She had to keep her dignity since she just lost her heart when it shattered into a million pieces. Her sweaty palms slipped off the edge of the metal chair she tried to clutch.
Closing her eyes, she fought to control her pain. The older she became the easier it should be to tuck the heartbreak into her secret place. She hoped she had enough room to store the magnitude of pain crushing against her will to live. Anger crept into the disastrous equation of heartbreak plus public location. She knew this night would not bode well for either of them. Whatever they had together was over, done, finished. He had promised to tell her when it was over. She stupidly trusted him. Well, the lying bastard might regret that oversight before this night was over.
She heard her name announced as the next speaker. Hannah took a deep breath. She silently prayed she didn’t end up in a fetal position, bawling her eyes out in the middle of the stage. With a smile pasted on her quivering lips, she walked to the podium carrying her cue cards in her trembling hand. Every desolate filled step reverberated to the top of her head. Acutely aware of the satin fabric of her gown caressing, clinging, accentuating every curvature and movement of her body, she felt as exposed as Louise’s image in the portrait. Garret’s whore stood center stage bravely facing his friends, family, and her replacement.
After listening to the same old introduction he heard at every other fund raiser, Garret was bored letting his mind drift. His obligations took too much of his time. If he weren’t stuck here, he would have already arrived at Hannah’s cottage. She had some other plans tonight anyway. He hadn’t bothered to ask what or where, just when she would be home. The thought of wasting time at some antique show bored him more than this event.
He could have sworn he heard her name. He glanced at the stage. His Hannah appeared from the side of the stage. The too clinging white satin dress touched the top of her four inch heels. The lights reflected off the shiny fabric of her gown as she shimmered to the center of the stage. Her beauty radiated from the stage quieting the room. The sensual sway of her hips reminded him what he was missing tonight. If his mother hadn’t volunteered him to escort Loraine, he could have followed Hannah home after the speeches.
His mother leaned in front of him to speak to Loraine. “Isn’t she just adorable? I recommended her as a speaker. I heard her speak at another function and she has such passion for her work, I knew she would be perfect for this fund raiser.”
He glared at his mother wondering why she hadn’t mentioned Hannah was a speaker before now. Why would she, since he kept Hannah a secret.
Hannah cleared her throat blinking back tears. She focused on the hopeful faces of the recipient side of the room. She cleared her throat again searching for her voice.
“I am the owner of Aged Treasures, an internet based company. I am here to talk to you about how to choose your business. Let your brain guide you through profitability, overhead, advertising and competitive pricing. Then choose the business from your heart. You need to love what is taking you away from family and friends. Believe me; starting a new business will leave little time for anything else. Don’t let that deter you from fulfilling your dream. Know going in, your dream comes with a price. You must be willing to make the commitment to work hard. With passion and drive you will succeed. Just remember when your business takes off and you find yourself divorced, or still single and friendless, so what. You’ll be able to buy some of them back or just buy new ones. But, you will still love the job you created for yourself.”
Damn, she had everyone’s attention. The wealthy patrons laughed at her joke about buying friends. Her voice cracked when she first started her speech. Now, she had found her flow. She used her hands in that cute way she did when she was excited. The low hum of private conversation had stopped. Hannah made eye contact throughout the room with an obvious avoidance to his general vicinity. His heart raced as he realized she must have seen him with Loraine. With her on the stage, he wasn’t able to explain the situation. Hannah’s face, as beautiful as ever, wore the professional mask she used to hide her emotions. His fist resting on the table clenched tightly. She wasn’t masking anger. The blue flame that shown in her eyes was doused with tears she blinked to contain.
“Yes, I ended up still single and pretty much friendless. I made several life altering mistakes trusting the wrong people. Mistakes are inevitable and should be viewed as a learning experience. As soon as you discover your mistake make it a part of your past. The past can’t be changed so the only direction left to travel is forward. Arm yourself with the knowledge of your mistake and open your heart to find your dream. A closed heart or mind will never find happiness or fulfill a dream. I think of my career choice as opening my heart to the preservation of memories that deserve to be remembered. Progress follows wrecking balls and bulldozers. Buildings are destroyed to pave the way for more efficient and space saving skyscrapers. It is a necessity of our growing population. However, how can we appreciate where were going if we have nothing left of where we have been. The small wooden church with a tall steeple that refused to sell out sets a beautiful comparison of our past positioned in front of the skyscraper of our future. I love history, so I chose antiques. Every antique tells a unique story. In our past, times were hard and people worked from sunlight to sundown just to put food on the table. It was a time when creating something beautiful meant you put your blood and sweat into the process. People took pride in their work and it shows in the artisanship we still see today. If you want your business to be successful you can learn from our forefathers and put forth the same effort.”
Her words raced around his mind. It was as if she was speaking about their relationship using terms like life altering mistakes, trusting the wrong people, a closed heart. Why in the hell had she felt the necessity to mention being single? Why had she worn that dress? She should be here with him. His mother’s hand on his arm broke into his thoughts. He realized
he had been pounding his fist on the table. She glared at him leaning over to speak to Lorraine.
“I plan on introducing her to some bachelors here tonight. I have already talked to some of them. I think she was in an abusive relationship. One day she had bruises on her arm. She deserves someone better than that.”
“Robert Lindale is single again. He lavishes his women with gifts.”
“Would one of you like to change seats with me?” Garret barked.
His mother’s interruption of Hannah speech was annoying enough but the subject of their conversation heated his blood. First, he had to stop his mother’s matchmaking. There wasn’t a man in the room he would trust around her. They were vipers ready to entice, capture, devour, and then discard anything they wanted. He had been just like them before Hannah. His mother’s mention of the bruises he put on Hannah’s arms twisted a twinge of guilt. She had deserved someone better and he had become that person. She couldn’t possibly know how much he changed since he had evaded sharing his past.
The only picture of him she could see was him with another woman. She couldn’t know the woman was married to his friend. He looked at the stage in time to see Hannah step from behind the podium. She held out the shawl as she gracefully twirled around the stage. Her movements painted a picture of an angel and the shawl her wings.
Once on the stage Hannah found solace in the faces of the hopeful recipients. She was here to inspire their dreams and that was exactly what she would do. Garret Presley with her replacement by his side wouldn’t have the satisfaction of witnessing the pain he caused. She saw the lustful stares from men in the sea of strange faces. Her modesty cringed until she glanced at the rage on the face of the man that threw her love in the trash with the rest of the garbage. The inconsiderate ass wouldn’t see the damage he forever marked on her soul. Hell no, she would show him what he would miss laying in the bed of another woman. She knew from experience he was visually stimulated. For the first time since she took the stage she glared directly into Garret’s furious eyes. With an air of newfound confidence she smiled vindictively, oh yes definitely vindictively, teleporting her message of “visualize this you fucking prick“. She returned her full undivided attention to the crowd.
“This hand knotted ribbon shawl originated in Italy. It is over a hundred years old. Someone loved it enough to preserve it, just so I could wear it tonight.”
Heart piercing flaming blue daggers blasted out of her glare. The weight of her pain was suffocating him. Her fury tried to protect but couldn’t conceal the sadness of the lost little girl he had only seen one other time. Unintentionally, he had again hurt her breaking his promise. The bruises he caused this time may never heal. His stomach’s contents rose to his throat. The crowd laughed as she tossed the shawl onto the podium. The gown plastered to her ass flowed wider below her thighs. She grasped the material in her hands and twirled again. She gracefully twirled in place releasing her hold on the dress and raising her arms to toss her hair. Spinning in the middle of the stage she formed the picture of an ice skater performing the move to perfection, arched back, arms pointed at the sky and all. The bottom of the gown made a large circle before settling back to cling to her legs.
Her modeling of the dress was sensual and extremely disturbing. Without his hand on her bare back, she shouldn’t have worn that dress in public. Urgency in his gut told him he had to make her understand the circumstances before his hand was barred from ever touching her. The scarf-like piece of satin that some designer considered the top of a gown barely covered her breast. The crowd’s low murmurs of appreciation pounded in his head. Some mother-fuckers in the crowd actually clapped and hooted.
“I found this gown I’m wearing in a chest I purchased at a swap meet. It proves things discarded as trash can be cherished by someone with the heart to see the beauty in truly loving something for what it is. Being the owner of a business has its rewards. Luckily, it was a perfect fit, after a few alterations. It is from the nineteen twenties, the age of the flappers. A time when satin and silk with long flowing lines and wide skirts were all the rage. It represents a time when women, released from the bonds of corsets, could dress with a freedom to express their sexuality. Flappers dressed boyishly and bobbed their hair to compete with men on equal terms. Their flamboyant transformation allowed for the creation of clothing like this gown. Women that remained true to their femininity rejected the boyish aspect but accepted the flamboyance. Backless gowns, plunging necklines, and hip hugging wide skirts opened a new era in women’s fashion. This era marks the time in history when women openly joined the party men had enjoyed for years. Wives, sisters, mothers, proved, they too, could dance the night away and as you can see by this gown, they did it with style.”
Lorraine leaned forward to speak to his mother. “She has the grace of a ballerina. You may not have to introduce her to anyone. Look at all these men plotting how to win her over.”
Garret tore his eyes from Hannah and scanned the room for the predators in the group. He knew them all. Lorraine had pegged the room’s reaction. Garret looked at Lorraine, the woman he blamed for damaging his heart. He looked at Hannah on the stage. For the first time he saw them both in a completely new light. His heart wasn’t damaged, it never was. Now, it was crammed packed with love to the point of spilling over and had been for some time. He loved Hannah. Every breath he inhaled filled with her. Every beat of his heart pumped her through his blood stream. She malignantly infected his soul. Without her, his life would be meaningless. The epiphany struck him with an electrifying jolt. His muscles tensed. His heart slammed against his chest. His breath filled his lungs refusing to leave. His eyes pointed his gaze on the woman he loved.
“My Turquoise jewelry was crafted in New Mexico by the Pueblo Indian tribe and dates back to the seventeen hundreds. Everything I am wearing has a history. Someone’s memory embedded in its creation. Well, except for my shoes. They are Giuseppe Zanotti from Saks Fifth Avenue, which I can afford due to the success of my business.”
Hannah finished her speech receiving a round of applause and numerous cat whistles. She returned to her seat with a partition blocking her from his watchful eye. He had to tell her, make her understand how much she meant to him.
The last speaker finished. The room buzzed with the voices of guests finally able to meet and greet friends and business contacts. Garret stood to stretch his aching muscles scanning the room for Hannah.
“Garret, would you please tell Hannah I would like to see her? I wouldn’t want her to slip passed me and I’m not sure she knows I’m here.”
Garret located Hannah on the edge of the stage, partially concealed by a partition. Garret made his way through the crowd with Hannah as his main objective. After being stopped several times for the casual politeness of “nice to see you” and “how have you been” he was near Hannah. She was locked in a conversation with one of the other speakers. After she handed him a business card they turned to leave the stage. She raised her gown to walk down the stairs. The prick held her elbow to assist her decent.
Garret watched Hannah from the corner of his eye with the center of his attention on the wolf ready to pounce on his newest prey. Robert Lindale lurked nearby with his eyes on Hannah. The other speaker walked away. Robert rushed in before Garret could disengage from a business acquaintance that rambled on about trivial bullshit. Robert held out his hands. Hannah took his hands in hers before their elbows bent and he kissed her on the cheek.
“I was shocked to see you here. I thought you didn’t make personal appearances?” Robert released one of her hands and twirled her around with the other. “I love the dress and your performance. Damn girl, you had the whole room panting. Then, you are gorgeous in anything. ”
Garret had instinctively followed the scent of the hunt, leaving the business acquaintance in mid-sentence. He placed his hand on Hannah’s bare back just as she finished her twirl. He felt her stiffen as he slapped his hand on top of Robert’s extended handshake. Eye t
o eye, the two males asserted their prowess.
Robert made the first move, confident with his familiarity with Hannah. “Stay away from Garret Presley. He loves them and leaves them with no love involved.”
Hannah forced a smile, ignoring the heart crushing pain in the truth of his words. “You mean he’s just like you. I‘ve known that for quite some time.”
“My mother would like a word with you.” Garret excluded Robert from the conversation, directly addressing Hannah. She nodded in response, avoiding eye contact.
Hannah’s spine straightened as she mustered her dignity. Messenger boy wouldn’t be standing here now if not for his mother’s request. He would be with her replacement laughing as he pointed out his whore. Hannah was the woman in the hand-me-down dress that he had lowered himself to fuck. Hannah knew she allowed this to happen and it was time to live with the consequences. The fire of her mistake burned hot. She had business that needed addressing. She trudged forward holding her tears in check.
“It’s a good thing I ran into you. You are one week away from missing a Louis the sixteenth secretaire in fairly good condition. It is the perfect dimensions for the wall by your staircase. So why did you change your email and phone number this time?”
Robert smiled widely, after hearing about the piece of furniture. “We’ll catch up when I see the secretaire. Does it have the mirror?”
Garret fumed even after he realized their relationship was business related. The fiery knot in his gut smoldered after hearing she had been in his townhouse. Quiet patience would provide knowledge; she might not be willing to share under the current circumstances. After three months of indifference toward her business, the oversight on his part was starkly evident. He had to get her alone to explain.