by M. C. Vann
As I placed the packing supplies on the cart, Katherine walked into the room five minutes later with someone by her side. When I realized who was next to her, my mouth almost fell to the floor.
It was him. Was he the same man I saw yesterday?
“Hi everyone, I would like you to meet the owner of Pearce Hotel and Resort, Mr. Henry Pearce,” Katherine announced proudly.
As Henry scanned the room, I knew he would stop on me as soon as he spotted my face. Those captivating eyes of his cast over me for a moment, but returned within a second, widening as he locked his gaze on mine. For a moment, it felt like the world stopped spinning and there was just the two of us, just like in the movies. The only other thing I could focus on was how horrifying I must look with my messy hair and my apron scattered with dirt. His intense stare caused me to look down, and I made an effort to bow to greet him.
“Hello, everyone. How are you all today?” Henry greeted us.
My co-workers responded while I remained silent.
Henry came up to shake all our hands individually, and my heart started to race as I realized he would be shaking my hand too. Soon I felt him hover over me and I looked up at him with a small smile, concealing the anxiety growing in the pit of my stomach.
“Hi, Ally. It’s a surprise to see you here,” he spoke, lifting his right hand. “I thought I’d never see you again.”
“Hi, Henry,” I said, taking his hand in mine. The temperature difference was very noticeable. His hand was warm while mine was cold from touching the vases. “Wow, um ... I can’t believe you’re the owner of this hotel. What a coincidence, right?” I said, smiling up at him.
He reciprocated the smile, oddly alleviating the tension in my muscles. “I thought I gave you my business card when we met back in Washington.”
“Oh, yes, I believe you did. I must have misplaced it somewhere,” I quickly lied.
“That’s no problem. I can always get you another one,” he smugly said. “I’m really sorry about that day I didn’t show up as promised. I had something urgent, but I’ll make it up to you one way of another.”
“No, that’s really okay, Henry. You don’t owe me anything.”
“How are you doing?” Henry asked, changing the subject to my surprise.
“I’m doing good. How about yourself?”
“Very well,” he replied, taking a quick glance at his expensive watch. “I have a meeting in a few minutes, so I have to leave, but may I see your phone for a minute?”
“What?”
“Your phone. You do have one, right?”
“Yes.” I nervously took out my phone from my back pocket. I didn’t realize how weird it must be for me to still have a flip phone in the twenty-first century until now.
Henry took the phone out of my hands, not minding the ancient technology, and started typing something into it. A second later, he took out his iPhone from inside his dark gray blazer which started to ring.
“Now you have my number,” he said and returned my phone with a humble nod. “I have to go now. It was nice talking to you again, Ally.”
“You too, Henry.”
“I’ll see you soon,” he added with a grin.
I watched as he walked away ever so gracefully and I believe I wasn’t the only one. But what exactly did he mean by “I’ll see you soon.” My mind kicked back to reality.
After Katherine had handed me the check for payment on the rest of the order, my co-workers and I finished packing up and headed back to the floral shop. They raved about the extravagance of the hotel, but all I could think about was him.
I was still in shock after finding out he was the owner of that hotel.
When I arrived back at the apartment, Adam was sitting at the kitchen table eating. I took off my shoes and padded over to him.
“How was work, Ally?” Adam asked.
I set my purse down and fell into the chair across from him, sighing. “Very busy. We had a huge order for a conference at the Pearce Hotel today that we just received yesterday.”
“Pearce Hotel, huh?”
“We were lucky enough to meet the owner too. You will never guess who it is.”
“Who?” Adam said, giving me an interesting look with a stuffed mouth.
“Do you remember Henry? The guy I met at the Tulip Festival in Sunny Valley?”
Adam furrowed his brows as he thought back. “No kidding! Henry? He’s the owner of Pearce Hotel!”
“Yeah. Crazy, right?”
“And?”
“And what?”
“You know, what happened?”
“Nothing much,” I said, rising from my chair. I opened the fridge and grabbed the gallon of orange juice. “We just chatted for a little bit, but then he had a meeting.”
“So, are you going to see him again?” he asked, much more curious than I had hoped. I poured the juice into a glass and drank a sip. “After he stood you up by not showing up that day you two were supposed to meet up?”
Adam had a point there, and I couldn’t ignore that. But Henry had an urgent situation.
I set the glass into the sink. “He had something then, and I’m not sure. But we’ll see what happens. Anyway, I’m going to bed now. I’m super worn out today. Tell Lily good night since I’m not going to wait up for her.”
After washing up and climbing into bed, I took out my phone. I opened up my contacts and clicked to Henry’s contact information. I wanted to text him something, but couldn’t pull myself together to do it.
No, I can’t. At least, not yet.
—————
“So, Adam told me you saw Henry?” Lily’s voice sounded into my ear excitedly as I felt my bed dip to my right. I let out a groan, signaling her it was too early in the morning to discuss him. He had been on my mind too much lately. “I need the deets and now!”
“I met him yesterday at the Pearce Hotel for work,” I said drowsily in bed with my eyes still closed. “And we had a little talk, then he had a meeting. That’s all there was. Now can I go back to sleep.”
Lily nudged my arm. “Ally, you’re so lucky!”
I opened one of my eyes to see her thrilled face. “Why do you say that?”
“He’s rich and handsome! Just wonder how it’ll be to have him as your novio?!”
“My what?”
“Your boyfriend!?”
“Peaches, you’re thinking too much. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” I warned her, getting out of bed to go to the bathroom. “Remember he stood me up.”
“Yeah, but he had an urgent situation,” she said with the biggest grin.
After dropping Lily off at work, my ears finally had some relief from her constant nagging about Henry.
Work went by as any typical day. Customers came to buy flowers for their loved ones and orders were received to be fulfilled. As the end of my shift got closer and the weekend at my fingertips, I hurriedly finished sweeping the shop.
The chimes of the door rang.
“Ally, dear, someone is here for you,” Nancy called.
I stopped sweeping and looked up to see Henry standing right there by the counter. His appearance never failed to stun me, just like the day when we met. He was wearing black dress pants, and a white-collar shirt with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows.
I padded over to the counter. “Hi, Henry. What are you doing here?”
“I called the shop, and Nancy said your shift ends at four today. I wanted to see if you wanted to do something. To make up for last time.” No hint of nervousness was apparent behind his voice.
“I still have about ten minutes left. Could you—”
“It’s not a problem, Ally,” Nancy interrupted me. “You don’t want to keep Henry waiting. It’s not that busy at the moment. Why don’t you just leave early today?”
“Are you sure, Nancy?” I asked, but I could tell she already made up her mind.
“Of course, honey! You don�
�t want to keep a gentleman waiting now, do you?” She smiled and started pushing me to the back. “Now go get your things, and I’ll see you next week.”
“O-okay. Thank you.”
I turned to the man standing not too far away and told him that I’d be right back. He nodded.
The familiar anxiety overcame me as I walked to the back room to put away my apron. Was this really happening? Henry turned up at my workplace and asked me to spend time with him? Calm down, Ally, I told myself multiple times. This wasn’t a big deal. He was just a guy.
I went to the front after retrieving my bag. Henry was talking to Nancy, and I couldn’t help but noticed how gentle and kind he looked as he conversed with her.
“I’m ready,” I spoke up, breaking off their conversation.
As we walked out the door, Nancy called out to us, “You kids have a great time!”
I gave her one last smile as we headed out.
Henry led us to his car, and I wasn’t surprised that he sported a black BMW. Those things were way out of my league. Needless to say, so was Henry.
He kindly opened the door for me, and I nervously climbed in. I watched him run to the other side from the front window, and as soon as he got in, Henry reached over me.
CHAPTER FOUR
“What are you doing?” I asked as my eyes met his sea-green ones.
“Putting on your seatbelt.” He complacently smiled, the kind that made your heart skip a beat. He grabbed my seatbelt and clicked it into place. “Is there a particular place you would like to eat at?”
“Anywhere is okay with me,” I said, keeping his gaze locked on mine. I was afraid if he looked down he would notice how shaky my hands were right now.
Henry took me to a restaurant near downtown Chicago called Aleena. The atmosphere and design of the restaurant was elegant and classy, similarly to Pearce Hotel. I wished he would have informed me to dress better because I was way too underdressed compared to everyone else tonight. Skinny jeans, a plaid button-up shirt, and black Converse shoes weren’t exactly the definition of sophistication.
I thought we needed a reservation, but as soon as we walked in, a lanky waiter was already waiting for us. He led us up the spiral carpeted stairs to a secluded room on the second floor, but I didn’t take any notice of where my feet were taking me because all I could feel was Henry’s right hand resting softly at the bottom of my back.
After opening the menu, I wasn’t surprised by the prices of the entrees. One dish cost nearly half a week’s worth of my income. How was I ever going to afford this?
“This is one of my favorite restaurants in Chicago,” Henry said, interrupting my thoughts. “They’re known worldwide for their cuisines.”
“Really? That’s amazing.” I scanned the menu for their most affordable item.
Henry watched me pouring over the menu with a hint of amusement. “Order whatever you like, Ally. It’s on me today.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course. It’s my way of apologizing to you that day I didn’t show up.”
“That was nothing. You had something more important.”
“Don’t worry about it. You can treat next time,” he reassured me with a genuine smile.
“Okay,” I replied. “But next time, it’s on me for sure.”
Even though Henry was paying, I still didn’t know what to order, so I asked him for some recommendations. He selected the lamb for me and lobster for himself.
I took a sip of water from the glass to calm my nerves after the waiter left with our orders, leaving the two of us alone. The classical music helped a little, but it wasn’t enough to distract me from the man sitting across the table.
“So where did you grow up?” I asked bravely.
“I grew up here in Chicago, actually.”
“Ah, so this is home for you too.”
“Yeah.” He chuckled wryly. “But sadly, it doesn’t feel like home.”
“Why’s that?”
“After graduating from college, my grandfather wanted me to take over the family business, so I’ve been all over the world. I really haven’t had a chance to settle down in just one place.”
“Oh, I see,” I said while my hands played with the napkin. “How about your family?”
“My parents were killed in a car crash before my sister died and my grandparents passed away with old age.”
I sensed the same sadness in his voice as before. “I’m so sorry.”
“You don’t have to apologize every time, Ally,” Henry said. He took a sip of his water. “How about you? Tell me a little bit about yourself.”
“Well… I’m also from Chicago. I like to read and scrapbook in my spare time. I like to …” I managed to trail off countless things about myself. Oddly, it felt weird telling Henry about me. I didn’t know how he would find this interesting at all, but when I looked at him, he had the most attentive gaze on.
“How about your family?” he asked.
“I guess it’s only fair to tell you since you’ve told me so much about yours.” I paused, collecting my thoughts. “My mom left when I was very young, and since then, it’s been me, my brother, my sister, and my dad. Papa worked a lot to support us three kids, and we had it okay for a while, but he passed away five years ago from cancer.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
I smiled and nodded. I couldn’t reply. It still hurt remembering it.
“Where are your brother and sister now?” he continued.
“Well… my brother, Chris, ran into some trouble a couple years back and he has been locked up in prison ever since. I don’t remember much of what happened. I only visit him once in a while when I can, and as for Eve, she also lives here in Chicago with her husband, Rick, and their two kids.”
“At least you have siblings who are still alive,” he commented. I could hear a small amount of tension in his voice, but he recovered himself with a question. “So, what about Lily and Adam?”
“Lily and Adam are my best friends from middle school. They’re my support system along with Nancy ever since my father passed away.”
“You have great friends, Ally.”
The waiter returned with our food, ending our conversation for the moment.
The service and food were exceptional at Aleena, but the tab wasn’t at all. We stayed in the restaurant for almost two hours, and by the time we finally stepped out, it was a little past eight.
“Do you want to go for a walk?” Henry asked after we got inside the car.
Before I could reply, I remembered to put on my seatbelt this time as Henry stared at me with humor. “Sure, if it’s not too late for you.”
“It’s never too late for me.”
A cool spring breeze blew, making it a perfect evening for a walk at the Lakefront Trail, one of my favorite places in Chicago. After Henry had parked the car, we started walking south, heading in the direction of the museum and aquarium. We strolled side by side, his hands behind his back while I kept mine together at the front.
“How long will you be here in Chicago?” I curiously asked. Ever since Henry mentioned how extensive traveling was for him, I couldn’t help, but wondered how long his residency was here.
“I don’t know exactly at the moment, but I’m thinking a couple months or so, depending on work. Why do you ask?”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “I was just wondering. You said earlier you don’t stay in one place very long.” I turned to look at him for a response, and even though it was dark out, I could still see how prominent his features were. “It must be fun traveling to new places all the time.”
“It’s not always fun.”
“No?”
“I mean… It’s a very different way to live, always moving from one place to another. It’s not what you think it is.” His steps came to a halt, and as soon as I noticed, I did the same. As I brought my gaze up to him, I could see the seriousness in his eyes. “If I had t
o choose, I would very much like to settle in one place. A place like the countryside ... Away from the city, away from business and society in general. That’s just my perspective.”
I watched him, unsure what to respond with. It was strange for me to picture Henry — this handsome businessman always in nice, brand-name clothing — living in the country with overalls. He didn’t look like a country person at face value.
An idea popped into my mind, and I grabbed his right hand with my left. “Come on. Follow me.”
Henry furrowed his brows in confusion, and I pulled him along as I started to run. “Where are we going?” he asked, slowly picking up his pace.
I smiled at him. “You’ll see.”
We ran together, hand in hand, down the trail and I could feel Henry’s hand grasping tighter onto my mine. We passed a couple of walkers who were probably wondering if we were running away from someone or something, but I didn’t register any of their reactions because they were all just a blur.
We finally arrived at the place.
Buckingham Fountain. It was one of the largest fountains I had ever been to. The water sprouted out like streamers, and the golden lights were turned on, lighting up the fountain in the darkness.
“Before my mom left, we would take a family trip here every summer. I didn’t remember much, but there were still pictures in our family albums,” I said. I fumbled in my bag for two quarters, and after finding them, I handed one to Henry. He gave me another confused look. “You said you wanted to live in the country. Make a wish and throw it in.”
He gave me a look as though this was absolutely childish. “Ally, I—”
“Close your eyes and make a wish,” I insisted with a smile. “It’s really easy. Like this.”
I closed my eyes with the quarter in my hands near my chest, and after deciding on my wish, I threw it into the fountain. “Now it’s your turn. Just make sure you throw it high enough or it’s going to land on the grass like my very first wish I made here.”
He chuckled and slowly obliged, completely skeptical of all this. I watched him with content as he closed his eyes with the quarter in his hands and mimicked my gestures. It took a moment for him before he reopened his eyes and threw the quarter into the fountain.