by Tamie Dearen
They all took a sip together.
“Yuk!” yelled Charlie. “Ohmygosh, that burns!”
“That was awful. I’m glad I didn’t take a big sip,” Emily said.
“I just spit it back into the glass,” said Anne. Then all three dissolved into giggles. “People are staring—they probably think we’re drunk.”
“In this family, who needs alcohol to act embarrassing?” asked Emily.
The girls opted for a quick breakfast in the apartment, not being motivated enough to rise early for a restaurant breakfast before their climb. Gherring was waiting in the lobby when they went down shortly after nine. He was dressed in jeans with a leather jacket, and he carried an athletic bag. Similarly, the girls had brought climbing clothes along—even Emily, who swore she wouldn’t climb.
“Mr. Gherring, I’d like you to meet my girls. This is—”
“Wait, let me guess. You must be Charlie and you must be Emily. Am I right?”
“How did you know that?” asked Charlie. “Did Mom show you pictures?”
“No I didn’t,” Anne answered for him. “How did you know? Charlie doesn’t have a hat on or anything. Both of you have your hair in ponytails. Emily isn’t carrying a book. Did you forget your book?”
“No, it’s in the bag.”
“How did you know which was which?” asked Anne.
Gherring smiled, looking much like a Cheshire cat, but gave no answer. He led them outside to the waiting limo.
“Wow! We get to ride in a limousine—cool!” said Charlie.
They climbed in and proceeded to investigate every inch of the car.
“I could get used to this,” said Charlie.
“Mom, do you get to do this all the time?” asked Emily.
“Yes, probably ten times now, but I still get excited,” she answered.
Charlie said to Gherring, “Mom always taught us money wasn’t important, but it sure is fun.”
“Thank you for the tickets last night. It was amazing, and you were very generous,” said Emily.
“Yeah,” said Charlie. “We loved it. And we spent all our money to get here, so we weren’t going to any cool plays.”
“Charlie,” scolded Anne. “We don’t talk about how much money we have.”
“Why not? It’s not like I told him how much is in our bank account.”
“Quite right,” cut in Gherring. “I think your honesty is charming. I’m glad to have given you a fun evening.”
“Speaking of fun evenings… How was the benefit dinner last night?” Anne tried to keep her voice casual.
“Fine.”
What did that mean? Fine? That’s what she had said about an emotionally powerful day. Was it emotional? Was he covering something up?
“What did you think of Sharon?” Anne asked.
“Who?”
“You know, your date? Sharon Landry?”
“Oh, she was fine.”
Anne bit her lip to keep from saying, you looked awfully cozy together. She decided to let the subject drop for now. She hadn’t really learned anything. Perhaps Gram could get better answers.
But Emily had been listening. “So you went to some benefit dinner last night with a girl, and you don't even remember her name today?”
“Emily! Don’t be rude.” Anne cringed, waiting for Gherring’s retort.
“No I’m not offended. It does sound pretty awful when you put it like that. I guess it’s a fair question.”
He contemplated the roof for a moment. “It’s like this… Suppose you’re expected to do something you don’t really want to do, like a benefit dinner, but it’s a good thing, so you decide to do it. And then suppose you’re expected to go with a date, but the only potential escort you know would take it as a sign you wanted a committed relationship. And suppose you haven’t met a person you want to take that risk with. Would you maybe be willing to go on a blind date with someone who promised he’d never expect anything else from you—not a goodnight kiss or another date or even a phone call? Especially if someone you trusted had screened this escort for you?”
“I got lost somewhere on the third ‘suppose,’” said Charlie.
Emily chewed on her lower lip before responding. “I suppose I might be willing to do that under those supposed circumstances.” Then she flashed him a grin, and he chuckled.
“So really, how did you know which one of us was which?” asked Charlie.
“Easy—your mom described you a bit, and I made an educated guess. Emily, you carry yourself like a dancer. And Charlie, you just look like you’d drive a Maserati really fast if you got the chance.”
The girls laughed and Charlie said, “I thought maybe you were a Facebook stalker.”
Anne was sweating, wondering what her girls might say next. “We’re here. Let’s go before you make me lose my job.”
The boys had arrived early. Spencer was watching his friend rappelling down from the top of the wall. When he saw the girls arrive, he deserted his buddy to meet them.
“Hey, I’m Spencer.” Towering over the girls at almost six foot four, he was wiry and athletic in build.
His Asian friend came running over when he disconnected. “Hey, I’m Mark.” Anne judged him to be just under six feet tall.
“I’m Charlie.” She shook their hands firmly and asked Mark, “Are you a swimmer?”
“Yeah, how’d you guess?”
“Shiny hair, swimmer’s shoulders…”
“Impressive,” Mark replied. But Charlie was already on her way to change into climbing gear, including her well-used climbing shoes.
Spencer asked Emily, “So you are…?”
“I’m Emily, and I’m not climbing.”
“We’ll see.” He grinned at her, but she crossed her arms as if the matter were settled.
“Excuse me, but are you Steven Gherring?” asked Mark
Gherring stepped forward and shook the boys’ hands. “Yes, I’m Steven Gherring. Spencer, you look familiar. Do you work at Papa’s Place, perhaps?”
“Uhmm, yes sir. But that’s not a permanent job. I’m getting my MBA.”
“What’s your undergrad degree?”
“Economics.”
“You should put in for one of our internships, and put my name down as a reference.”
“Thank you, sir! Wow, that’d be a dream to intern at Gherring Inc.!” Spencer was all smiles.
Charlie was already stepping into her harness when Gherring and Anne went to change clothes. Emily sat down and pulled out her book, without changing clothes. Charlie was starting up the wall when Gherring and Anne came back out.
“Go Charlie!” yelled Emily. She watched her sister work her way efficiently up the vertical climb with far spaced holds.
Gherring sat down next to Emily. “A real book, huh? Not an e-book?”
“I have a Kindle, but I still like real books. I like to hold them in my hands and turn the pages. I like to physically see the progress I’m making.”
“What are you reading?”
“Robert Jordan.”
“The Wheel of Time series? I got tired of waiting between books, but it was so good. I swore I’d never start a series that wasn’t finished again.”
“I know, me too. I’m actually re-reading the series.”
“So you don’t plan to climb?”
“Nope, and you can’t talk me into it.”
“Well, I won’t try. I doubt you can be talked into anything.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Just that I think we may be a lot alike.”
Emily scoffed. “Right.”
“Let’s see how close I am. You aren’t really afraid of adventure as much as you don’t see the value in it. I think you’d climb without any fear whatsoever if there was a good reason to do it.”
“Like what?”
“Well, if someone held a gun to your head and told you to climb or else, you’d probably cross your arms and tell them to shoot.”
Emily
laughed, but she nodded agreement.
“But if someone held a gun to your sister’s head, I bet you’d be up that wall before you could blink.”
“Okay, you’re right. But no one’s holding a gun to my sister’s head, so… What other good reason can you come up with?”
He drummed his fingers on his leg. “Hmmm. You don’t care what anybody thinks, and you’re not competitive in that way, so it has to be an internal motivation.”
“And believe me, I’m not internally motivated to climb that wall.”
“Let me confirm something else. You know, your mom interviewed at Gherring Inc. without doing any research and without the slightest idea of who I was. But I’m betting you’ve already read everything there is to find about me and Gherring Inc. Am I right?”
“Yes, you are.” She lifted her chin a bit.
“Well, don’t believe everything you read, okay? But I bet you know in my younger days I dated a lot of different women?”
“Oh yeah. That would be an understatement according to what I read.”
“I’m sure the number is exaggerated. But it wouldn’t surprise you to know I dated a prima ballerina for a while? That woman could really climb. She couldn’t do overhangs, but she could do anything else. Ballerinas have strong leg muscles that don’t fatigue easily. That’s what you need for climbing. People think you need arm strength, but the key is to use your legs.”
“Okay, so what?”
“Your mom said you dance. Do you still do ballet?”
She nodded.
“Then you just might have the ability to be an amazing climber, and if you don’t try, you won’t ever know.”
“You really think I might be good at it? Even my first time?”
“There’s a good chance.”
“Oh man! I can’t believe you did it! Now I have to do it so I’ll know.” She stood up to get her climbing clothes from the bag before turning back to Gherring. “What did you mean about us being alike?”
Gherring sighed. “How old were you when your dad died?”
“Eight… I was eight years old.”
“I was ten when I lost my parents. I’m betting you never let yourself be a little girl after that.”
Emily was quiet. She nodded before she disappeared in the dressing room.
Anne’s eyes were brimming with tears when he looked up at her.
“Yes, I could hear everything,” she said.
“I hope that was okay for me to talk to her like that.”
Anne sniffed and dabbed at her face with her shirt. “It was good. I mean… She needs… She didn’t have any father figure in her life. Just her grandfather when he was visiting. It’s good for her to talk to a man like that. She’s so… careful… She puts up such a wall around her heart. It’s amazing you got her to open up at all. I just don’t want her to end up alone like…”
“Like me?”
“No I didn’t say—”
“That’s okay. I don’t want her to end up like me either.”
He stood and walked to the wall to gear up.
Gherring was halfway up the wall when Emily came out of the dressing room. Charlie almost knocked her over with a hug.
“Em! You’re going to climb—yay!”
“Just this once—to see if I like it.”
Charlie looked back toward the guys. “Wow, he’s got a nice butt. And those back muscles are incredible.”
“Which one?” asked Anne. “Spencer or Mark?”
“Are you blind? I’m talking about Mr. Gherring.” Charlie grinned.
“Charlie, that’s creepy. He’s old enough to be our father.” Emily was lacing her shoes.
“Have you looked at him?” Charlie grabbed her sister’s face and turned it toward Gherring who was making his way under a ledge.
“Ohmygosh, you’re right! No wonder he makes that Most Eligible Bachelor list every year.”
“Does he just work out all the time, Mom?” asked Charlie.
“He does Iron Man competitions,” Anne replied.
“Of course he does. And he said we were alike. Riii-ight!” Emily rolled her eyes.
Charlie grabbed Emily’s hand. “Come climb, sister.”
Soon Emily was making her way up the wall. Her brows were furrowed with concentration.
“That’s it,” called Gherring, having joined the group after his successful climb. “Use your legs.”
She climbed slowly and steadily, asking for guidance when she was stuck.
Charlie called up, “Put your right foot on that yellow jug and move over to the right. That’s it. Now can you reach that blue crimp with your left foot? You’ve got it.”
The moment she reached out to touch the top, the clan below began to cheer.”
“You did it! She did it! Yay, sister!”
Emily rappelled down and stood on the floor with a huge grin on her face.
Gherring asked her, “So, was I right?”
“I have to admit, it was pretty easy.”
“And you’ll do it again?” Gherring asked.
“Sure, why not?”
“This spring you can come to Colorado, and I’ll take you climbing for real, on cliffs. It’s so much cooler,” said Charlie.
“That’s why you’re so good,” complained Spencer. “You’re making us guys look bad.”
Charlie walked toward Spencer and gave him the once over.
“I don’t think you look bad.” She grinned and winked at him.
Spencer started laughing and pretended to fan himself.
“Oh, you made him blush,” teased Mark.
Charlie grabbed her mom’s arm. “Come on, Mom. You’re the only one who hasn’t gone yet.”
“I’m ready,” she said. Gherring moved over to help her gear up and set up the belay. With her girls in audience, she was even more self-conscious as Gherring’s hands brushed against her while securing the straps. She felt the blood rise to her face, and Emily raised her eyebrows.
Gherring asked, “Ready to try a harder climb?”
Anne swallowed. “Sure.”
Gherring set up Anne’s belay on a medium level climb, while Spencer set up to try the overhang climb Gherring had completed.
“Race you up,” called Spencer.
“You’re on,” Anne replied.
She started her climb, adrenaline flowing. The holds were farther apart, and the wall was vertical. She struggled to pull her weight up.
“Use your legs, Mom,” called Emily.
Anne shifted her weight and concentrated on utilizing her leg strength. Soon she was climbing steadily. She spied Spencer above and to the right. Determined to at least put up a good fight, Anne started climbing faster. Spencer had reached the ledge and was struggling on the overhang. Then Anne’s foot slipped on one of the holds, and she almost fell.
Charlie was yelling directions from below. “Put your left foot on that red crimp! You’ve got it! Just a little further. Keep going.”
“I made it! Woo hoo!” yelled Anne as she touched the top. “Do you have me?”
“You can let go. I’ve got you,” said Gherring.
Anne started a quick decent.
“Did I win?”
“You won, Mom. But it wasn’t quite fair. Spencer’s climb is almost impossible.” Emily looked up where Spencer was making a third attempt on the overhang.
“But Steven did that climb twice,” whispered Anne.
“Yes, Mom. We already know Mr. Gherring is Superman in disguise.” Emily waggled her eyebrows and started laughing.
Charlie giggled, having overheard the exchange. “Yeah Mom. Have you found his kryptonite yet?”
Emily whispered something in Charlie’s ear, and she snorted with glee.
“What?” demanded Anne.
Charlie whispered to her mom. “Em says it’s you.”
A few more climbs, and the group was ready to go. Spencer asked, “Are you guys doing lunch at Papa’s today?”
“We’re stopping by the bo
okstore first, but then we’re going to lunch. Y’all wanna come?” Anne gave a sweeping glance, casually including Gherring in her invitation.
Spencer and Mark agreed to meet them for lunch.
“Mr. Gherring, are you coming with us to lunch?” Emily asked.
“I’ve got to go to the office today.” Anne remembered he would have to work alone all weekend because of her altercation with Jeff.
She jumped when he put a hand on her arm. “It’s not the presentation. I’ve got other things to attend to that I’ve been neglecting all week.”
“I thought Papa’s place was right next door to Gherring Inc. Couldn’t you just take a lunch break?” asked Charlie.
“I was actually planning to skip lunch—”
“Mom says you should never skip a meal.”
Gherring’s dimples deepened. “So I’ve been told. Sure, I’ll come over for a quick lunch. I just can’t play around all day.”
Gherring dropped the girls off at Binding Books. As they walked into the quaint store, Charlie protested. “Mom, we’re never going to get Emily out of here!” She pointed to Emily who was already totally absorbed in the book collections. She gravitated quickly to the antique books.
“Come meet Ellen,” said Anne, dragging Charlie to the checkout counter. Ellen’s straight glossy brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her razor cut bangs emphasized the almond shape of her brown eyes.
“Ellen, you got your hair cut. I like the bangs,” said Anne.
“Thanks. Just got it done. It’s for my character in the play. This must be your daughter. She looks just like you.”
“Hi, I’m Charlie.”
“Ellen. Nice to meet you. I met your mom on the subway.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t get anyone else to talk to me. I kept trying to start conversations, and people just looked at me like I had antlers or something.”
“I don’t usually talk to people on the subway either. No one does, except for your mom. She’s just so friendly.”
“Charlie’s just like me. When she was a little girl, she would meet people in a store and invite them to our home.”
“I bet you had some interesting house guests,” said Ellen.
“So, Mom says you’re an actress.”
“Well, I’m trying to be. I have my first lead role in a small production. We may only be open for a week, but it’s a start.”