“Aria slow down it’s not a request! This car is a powerful piece of machinery” he is stern and smiling but I know he cares and wants me safe. He zigs in and out of traffic and makes his way through the construction zones that are always present in summer here in Cleveland, and the speed traps that are usually set out to keeps us all in line, the traffic to the airport for a Friday is not bad, the line of cars are mostly heading to the western suburbs, Ian does not speed the way I do but he pushes the pedal when it is called for when shifting lanes and maneuvering around trucks and what not.
Ian pulls up to the curbside check in, I take off my sunglasses and put them on the dash. He pops the trunk, we got out of the car and the skycap takes his bag, I walk over to the desk with him, he is holding my hand and I am suddenly shy and almost standing behind him. Ian and the sky cab gentleman who is an older black man with an enigmatic smile. They exchange pleasantries as he passes the sky cab his identification, and flight information he runs everything through the computer. Ian turns towards me and pulls me close to him as I bury myself in his chest, I take one last breath of his scent and I know I must not cry, it’s only a couple of days, how I have made such a habit of having him around, it is going to be hard to not see this face for two whole days.
“I’ll call you when I land, no texting and driving” he shakes his finger at me, that is one thing I don’t do but he scolds me about it anyway I would much rather blare my radio then talk and drive, I mean with I-phones now a days it is an impossible task to drive and text carefully, and I do scold people when I see them at lights doing it. It is very disrespectful to other driver’s safety.
I give him my brave smile and I try to hold back my tears but my eyes well up and my emotions get the best of me.
“Sweetheart it’s only for a few days” the tear falls down my cheek as his thumb whips it away.
“I know, I know” he pulls me close kissing and whispers in my ear “I love you … come with me.”
I smile against his neck and his moan I feel in his throat as he holds me close, we both got it bad.
“Ian you’re worst then me” I hold him tight around his neck the skycap is trying to hide his smile at our behavior.
“Just married?” he chimes in with a smile and is still pecking away at his computer.
“In two weeks” Ian says as he looks at me one last time, our brown eyes take one last glance at each other and we have to say good bye for now.
The gentlemen take Ian’s bag from in front of him and sends it on its way.
“Mr. Bollinger your flight is leaving on time and if she doesn’t move her car she will be ticketed!”
Just then we both turnaround and the police pulled up. “Yikes” I blurt out as I see officer friendly flashing his lights behind my Cadillac.
“I’m moving her right now!” I yell at the officers and they wave me on, my car is left running so it is not technically a parked car so they let me move her.
I kissed Ian one last time, as I get into the car the police cruiser turns off his lights and takes off in front of me.
Ian yells as I am putting on my seatbelt
“Hey we waited twenty years a few more weeks won’t make a difference!” I take one last look at him in his navy trousers, white linen shirt no tie and jacket over his shoulder and he is carrying his coach briefcase, my handsome man is going away for the weekend, I blow him a kiss and wave to him out the sun roof.
“I’ll call you Aria be careful slow down!” he looks at me and waves me off.
I beeped three times…for “I–love-you” It’s just something we do whenever we drive off.
The drive back to the store is long, as traffic picks up it is crazy, especially around the area of the airport. Not only is it backed up because of the construction zones but gosh it is always backed up when there is an Indians game, like tonight, I think it’s dollar dog night or something, then there is a concert at the arena, and not to mention the tall ship parade so it will bring them out in groves and of course we now have a casino here, so that flow of traffic is always present.
It is wonderful how downtown has made such a comeback, it is great to be in the city in the middle of all of it, I have always loved working downtown, the energy, the hustle the bustle, you get a different customer and you cater to different needs, but what I love the most is the power and vigor of Cleveland from busy business traffic, to after dark, It’s like New Year’s Eve but its June.
Chapter 3
KISSING A FOOL
I make it back to the store in record time and I don’t believe I pressed the accelerator too much. I always try to park outside The Ritz Carlton Hotel; it’s a one way short street. I always park here after the downtown workers vacate the prime spaces, I usually stay at the store after closing hours to catch up on paperwork but as of recent I have been staying late to work on my wedding dress.
My dear sweet Oliver has been here all afternoon, it’s Friday and he has to be out of here by six…some big shin-dig he is going to tonight. I promised that I would get back as soon as possible.
“Hey Oliver thanks for staying you are brazil-ant!”
“Aria you are, I’m just along for the ride
“Yeah well I’m the one riding your coat tails”
“Aria you are Business as Usual” as he kissed my cheek, and what a mess, clothes and ties, shipments bolts of fabrics and shirts are everywhere, to the average person it looks like a typhoon hit this place but to me it’s Business as Usual.
“So Aria I took care of the shipments that were on the wrong flight, I got the Hovers there tuxes for the wedding tomorrow and you have two more request for the new born ties that you do”
“Ok no problem, I can get those done tonight and have them messengered over”
“The address for the two are on the counter here and I think that is it”
“Oliver go have a great time as you already know Ian is gone for the weekend, so I plan on going through all of this, it should keep me busy.” Oliver agrees as he looks at his watch he gets his things together and he give me the address of the two new born ties that I need to get made and messenger off.
The ties I make for the newborns are baby blue with a silver pinstripe in them and for the girls they are white satin with a pink and silver pinstripe in them. The really nice touch is on the back is the baby’s information name and date of birth and weight; it is all stitched in with our computer embroidery machine. They are so cool everyone just loves them. I make ties for any occasion actually; I have been making neckties and bowties for so long even before I started my business, just a hobby I guess as I always play with fabric and what not.
I’m usually the one who is always going through all the end of day receipts, I usually handle the business dealings and I run everything by Oliver he is the cut above the rest, simply amazing tailor, he can get a whole suit done from fitting to out the door in a few days, he even makes fedora hats to order he lives and breathes fashion, he is priceless, I would never be anywhere without him, we are partners in all of this. We both are the decisions in the business and we feed off one another and drive one another to be better than yesterday.
All of our shirts are made of four elements that make them unique, cut, fabric, color, collar, so you can have a perfectly fitted shirt in any color, any fabric and that is how we build a wardrobe for most of our customers a few key pieces that mix and match well to give our customers that sharp look, that looks nouveau riche feel like expensive designer shirts and suits but doesn’t have that crazy over the top price tag. My motto is our guy may look like a million bucks, but it sure as hell didn’t cost him a million bucks.
We design the look, create the product and ship worldwide, we make a killer suits all shirt’s we sell come with a custom tie, made by yours truly. I studied design and merchandizing in college so I just love to organize the shirts and ties and do the displays and dress the mannequins, yes I even put cologne on the mannequins yeah I know I’m funny that way, you’ll
get used to it.
What can I say I found my true calling…I love to dress men, there is just something that gets me about a well-dressed man, I do think that clothes make the man, if you dress for success you will immolate it.
As I check the grandfather clock to the right of the entry door it is getting late.
“Oliver sweetie go ahead get out of here have a great time I will see you later”
“Are you sure you are going to be ok without the big guy around?”
“Don’t remind me, I will keep busy go, I’m fine, have fun, don’t forget your bag I made you a special tie for tonight”
Oliver unzips his garment bag and looks at the tie and laughs I put the comedy and tragedy mask on it…he is the host of a gala tonight and that is the theme. We usually donate suits and shirts and ties for this benefit that is near and dear to Oliver’s heart. I believe it’s to benefit one of the playhouses here to raise money for renovations.
Did I mention that my dear, dear, Oliver Barry looks like Georgio Armani but with salt and pepper hair, just adorable, smart, fun loving talented oh the list goes on and on.
“Love the tie but I love you more talk to ya later Aria” he grabs his garment bag over his arm and he is on his way. He blows me a kiss and leaves out the cherry wood and glass double doors. Well first things first I grab the fabric and make up the new born ties for two of our best customers, their wives have ordered the ties for them, I get busy with cutting the fabric one is for a boy and the other for a girl, I type the information into the computer and the lettering is done in minutes, I box them up in pretty tie boxes and leave them for Monday to be shipped out.
I look around the store and I am alone with my thoughts and so much to do, I start going through the store, organizing gathering and sorting there are shirts that need steamed so I tackle that and put them away, there are trousers that need surged, that is a fine pressing and then they are all hung in their proper place. All of our pieces here are on beautiful cedar hangers and all the cabinets and book cases as well as the shadow boxes are all cedar as well.
I finished up the pressing after a while I look at my watch It is a little after six, Ian must be in the air by now; I thought he would have called me from the terminal…oh well. Ian is not the one to text and call, I would love to hear from him more often during the day but I just never take the initiative to contact him because he is in class, or he is driving, or in a meeting, me I can usually be reached without a problem but a college professor does not take calls the way a sales girl does. I guess that is why I am so happy to see him at the end of the day, we hardly talk at all during the day. I wonder if Ian has thought about it, I never asked him, Should I do something about it? Should I bring it to his attention? I don’t know? We have both been loners for so long to have each other now we are going to have to make some changes in how we do communicate with each other. Oh well can’t do anything about it now I will speak with him when he returns home on Sunday.
I began cleaning out the shipment boxes, they need to be broken down and taken down to the recycling room we have here which is next to my store. After I return from that task I take off my shoes and turned up the tunes, I have x-m radio piped throughout the store. I listen to the 80’s on eight, the Sinatra station as well as the real jazz station, tonight the station I settle on watercolor my all-time fav. I turn it up and get to work.
I have so much to put away and organize this should keep me busy, for some reason men buy more shirts in the summer then fall, I have been making up so many differ styles and keeping them on hand because the demand has been so high. It is funny I mentioned it to my mom and she said that my dad went through dress shirts for his tux because he played in the orchestra and then he went through his business shirts for meetings and rehearsals so I don’t question it, I just keep up with the demand, I have no choice if they don’t buy them from me they are going to buy them someplace else and I feel mine are worth it because they are custom made fit to order and we keep all of our clients measurements on file, most call in color and how many they need and I can have them done in a days’ notice.
I have never lived with a man so I am assuming it’s got something to do with hot sticky weather and the need for a fresh shirt in the morning and one for night if they are going out.
As I finish up my tour of duty here I get through the mound of things that need to be tended to start to diminish as tasks get accomplished I have less mess to deal with and that makes me happy.
Well that wasn’t too bad I finished all that needed to be hung and now for the restocking I grab the socks and studs and fill the cases, oh and how can I forget the cufflinks we sell cufflinks like crazy here, they are silver square and blank we have your initials engraved on them by my good friend Mark at Tiffany’s he does a great job on them and he just bills my store for it, they go like crazy out the doors so I am forever restocking them.
I cleaned out the fitting rooms, I have worked in women’s clothing before and I have to say fellas men are worst then women, when they try on clothes it’s like a hurricane hit the fitting room until they find what they want, then it’s the calm after the storm. I have noticed when it comes to clothes, that women; we are cut, color and clarity “how do I look? Is this color good on me? Does this make my butt look big?” once we get clarity on an outfit we are committed to it. Men always think there is a better jacket, a better cut, better fit, better style and they need more clarity then we will ever understand, but I love them all just the same because when a man puts on that perfect suit and the must have shirt with the fabulous tie. The look on their face says it all. They light up just like we do when we find that perfect little black dress.
After what seems like hours of cleaning and organizing I decide I need to relax, I love having a bar in my store, I don’t charge for drinks they are complimentary, it’s a whole atmosphere that we conjure up here, like for instance when you go and get your wedding dress they offer you champagne, when you pick out a suite or a shirt here at Business as Usual you can have a drink of your choice from gentlemen jack to anything from our well stocked bar, coffee and tea to cold beverages, for me tonight I pour myself a glass of vodka, I run the vacuum and get the floors cleaned for Monday’s business.
It seems the floors are always a mess with strings and dust on them I am forever dusting and moping and cleaning and going through all the corners with the swifter’s. I use to have a cleaning company do this for me but I was here anyway so now I just handle it all myself.
Once I finish the cleaning I want to pull out my wedding dress and work on it.
Ah a sigh of relief as I finished all my chores on my to-do list, now I can tend to my wedding dress.
I stand back and gaze at her, she is a piece of work which means Aria, by the way. I was named by my father who was a musician he was a bass player for the orchestra.
I keep her on a bust form in my office, which is on wheels and mobile makes it easy to keep her under wraps until the big reveal no one has seen her except Oliver and my mom who has helped me with it.
I check carefully the beadwork, making sure each one is secure and in its proper place.
I stand back and just admire my handy work, she looks amazing, the silhouette that I envisioned in my mind then down on paper is before me, the bodice just sparkles and shimmers, in candle light, they look like tiny diamonds that smile and wink at you, it looks classic sophisticated, and beautiful, it is my dream dress that I always wanted.
There are a few more things that need to be done on the dress. Such as the lace work on the train, the hem on the veil and the tiny sleeves are not as ornate as I would like, but I’ll get there.
With Ian out of town there is no time like the present to get through some of the things that need to be done to it. It puts my mind at ease that I can work on it and not have to worry about him walking in on me.
Over all The dress is just perfect, the bodice is silk taffeta, with off the shoulders caped sleeves, that are all lace, the
neckline is beaded, my mom showed me how to bead when I was a little girl, I never would have said that I would be making my own wedding dress, but then again I never thought I would be running a men’s clothing store either.
Mom also showed me how to draft patterns. Her eye sight is not the best these days but when I show her what I did she can feel the stitches and tell me if it’s right or not, the detailing, like the lace work that had me stumped she would count the stitches and help with the scallop edges on the cap sleeves as well as the embroidery of the dress’s 3ft detachable train.
I wanted the traditions of a wedding to be part of the dress as well. Mom came up with the idea of having the traditions sewn into the wedding dress.
I just loved the idea, so for something old, the crystal beads they came from my mom’s veil when she married dad, they are covering the bodice of the dress, I made a map of the beadwork, sketched it out and then one by one I attached them to the dress, it took a while, the beading of the bodice shimmers in candlelight like diamonds, Oliver and I got it perfect.
For something new my mom gave me the most beautiful crystal rosary, I just love it. I came up with the most perfect place to put my rosary it will be attached my bouquet, that way when I walk down the aisle everyone will see the beads shimmer from the bouquet.
Borrowed are these yummy earrings from Tiffany and Company, I wanted these so bad and the matching ring years ago but Ian went to Cartier that is where my three carat ring is from. Don’t get me wrong I love it, this ring is brilliant, but I am a Tiffany girl, as I live and breathe I grew up with Breakfast at Tiffany’s my niece is even named Tiffany so to get my ring from there that was my dream, and like I am coming to realize we all don’t get our dreams we have to make do with the hand we are dealt.
A Wedding Affair (The Wedding Affair) Page 3