by Alison Mello
“Check it out,” I say to Bella. “There’s a one-year gym membership complete with personal trainer, perfect for the New Year’s Resolutions being set tonight.”
She laughs. “Yeah, well, some of us do not need a gym or personal trainer.” She looks me up and down.
We both start laughing as we move along to look at more of the items. One of the last things I find is a weekend ski package complete with lift tickets and lessons for two. I bid on the spa weekend as well. Bella outbid me. She put in for the spa weekend and the personal trainer although I teased her that I’m sure Derek would be more than happy to keep her active.
We both decide we need another glass of wine. As we’re on our way back to the table, we hear a voice come over the mic. “Good evening, ladies and gentleman. My name is Jake, and I’ll be your DJ for this evening. Dinner will be served shortly, but while you’re waiting, please be sure to check out the silent auction table. There are some great items being auctioned off, and it all goes to this great cause.” He puts the mic down and starts playing some music once again.
Bella and I are about to reach our table when Elizabeth stops me. “Good evening, Patricia,” she says. She looks stunning in a cocktail length black dress that is fun and flirty but formal too.
“Elizabeth, I didn’t know you were attending this evening’s event.”
“Well, I wish you would have told me you were helping your boyfriend with the event I would have gladly bought a ticket. Your mother called and asked for your agent’s support, so here I am as well as my assistant and a couple of the other agents from the office.”
“He’s my fiancé.” I beam with excitement. “We got engaged at Christmas, and I’m sorry I didn’t think to ask, but thanks for joining us.”
“I’m happy to be here, and congratulations.”
“Thank you.” I give her a soft smile. I’m still not sure I trust her, but I’m hoping she’ll gain it as she finishes this contract. Otherwise I have to find a new agent and that can be a pain.
“Listen, while I have you. Have you been having any other problems with you know who?”
“I have no proof, but I think she created a fake account on Facebook and started bashing me. Lucky for me I have some great fans that came to my rescue and defended me. I don’t think she did a ton of damage, but I need to keep an eye out.”
Bella says, “I think the woman is stalking her. She started getting texts from a random number too.”
“I’m so sorry, Patricia,” Elizabeth says, frustrated. “I feel so bad that this woman has gone all crazy on you like this.”
“It’s not your fault. You had no idea the woman was batty. I have to be careful. Bella and I are sticking together tonight, so we won’t have any problems.”
“Well, you two enjoy your evening,” she says. “Please come over and say hi to the rest of the team when you have a chance.”
“I will stop by after dinner. Thanks again for the support and for letting me know you’re here.”
“Looking forward to it,” she says as she walks away. We continue to our table.
“I’m not sure I trust her. What do you think?”
“She seems genuine, but I would be cautious if I were you.”
When Bella and I finally arrive back at the table, Carter and Derek are there as well. No sooner do they start telling us to take our seats because they’re about to serve dinner, the DJ comes over the mic.
“Good evening once again, ladies and gentlemen. If you would please find your seats, dinner is about to be served.”
He thanks the three local contractors for their generous donation. He explains how they have offered to help three local vets who are in need of home repairs or who need a living space more suitable to their needs.
I smile at Carter, so proud of him and the work he’s done. “You’ve done a good thing here tonight,” I tell him proudly.
“The night is young. Let’s hope everything goes smoothly.” He smiles and kisses me gently on the cheek.
The wait staff serves our three guests of honor tables first, and then our table, and then the final reserved table. Carter points out the final reserved table and explains that it's his boss's table. He tells me, “I tried to get his table served first since he runs the entire state, but he said he wouldn’t hear of it. He said that I put this event together; therefore, I should be served first.” He shakes his head. “He acts like it was a big deal for us to wait five more minutes to eat.”
“You’ll have to introduce me after dinner.”
“Oh, that’s right. I’m sorry, baby. I forgot you hadn’t met him yet,” he says as they place two large bowls of salad in the center of the table.
“No worries, honey. I would like to meet him and thank him for being so good to you while you were taking your personal time.”
He gives me a warm smile as food starts to be passed around. As everyone is enjoying their salad, conversation of the wedding starts up. I give my mother a look. “Mother, people are going to get bored constantly hearing about the wedding. We do not need to discuss it every minute.”
Mia giggles. “It’s fine. There’s a ton of planning to do, and with your idea of getting married in April, we do not have a lot of time.”
With Mia defending her, my mother starts grilling us about what we want and don’t want for the wedding. “Daddy, tell her there’s plenty of time.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know, is there?”
I roll my eyes in frustration. “Fine. I want a DJ, no band. I will wear a white dress, and I have no idea what color theme I want. I’m thinking turquoise and gray or coral and gray. However, I promised Bella that I wouldn’t pick until she’s tried on a few colors and we see them on her.” I turn to Bella, winking.
“Did you even breathe?” My mother asks, shocked at how I rambled off my response.
“I did. I’m sorry, but I’m not good at this. Event planning is your thing, not mine. If you make me a list of things you need decisions on, we’ll figure everything out together.” I point at Carter and I. “But to be honest, I don’t even know where to begin right now,” I say, a hint of whininess in my voice. I hate it when I sound whiny, but it’s the only way to get her off my back.
“Okay, fair enough. The four of us will meet for lunch this week, and I will come up with a list of things you will need to make decisions on. That will include picking the weekend of the wedding because I will also bring a list of dates the club is available.”
“Fine. Now if we can please change the subject.” Everyone gets quiet for a moment while they finish their soup.
Once I’m done, I glance around. My mother and Bella are talking about her upcoming shoots. Richard is talking business with Jackson and Mia; and my father, Carter, and Derek are all talking sports. I love that my family has grown and we’re all together and getting along.
Our main course has arrived, and it smells delicious. There’s spinach- and cheese-stuffed chicken, baked scrod, and beef for the main course options, and we have a selection of veggies, rice, and potatoes on the table as side dishes. Food is being passed around as the conversation continues.
Carter catches me watching him with a huge grin on my face. “Is everything okay, baby?”
“Yeah, I’m enjoying my family. We’ve managed to have another nice meal together without there being any problems.”
“Yeah, it is nice, isn’t it?” He looks around, gently squeezing my knee under the table. I get started on my meal, not really able to eat much after eating salad and soup, but it’s delicious, so I enjoy as much of it as I can.
After dinner is cleared, the DJ turns the music up since people have started to gather on the dance floor. Carter has asked me to join him in making rounds to thank his special guests once again for attending, so we excuse ourselves from the table. The first table we go to is his boss’s table.
“Excuse me, Tobey,” Carter says as he walks up behind his chair.
“Hey, Carter,” he says as he
stands up. “Great event, man. You’ve made me proud.”
“Thank you. I came over to introduce you to my fiancée, Patricia.”
He shakes my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Patricia.”
“Please call me Patty. It’s a pleasure to meet you as well. I wanted to personally thank you for supporting Carter while he was going through his troubles and getting himself back together. He really needed the support, and you guys were there for him.”
“You have no need to thank me. It’s what we do. I’m glad he got his act together. We need hardworking guys like him around.”
“Thanks, Tobey,” Carter says, looking slightly embarrassed about his boss’s compliment. “If you’ll excuse us, I have some guests I need to thank for their generous donations.”
“You two have a nice night.” He sits back down.
We finish making our rounds, and as we do a slow song plays. Carter takes my hand, pulling me to the dance floor. He wraps his arms around me, and we slowly sway to the music as we look into one another’s eyes.
“I love you so much, Patty. Thank you for all of your support with my work. It means so much to me.”
“Well, I have a soft spot for soldiers,” I say with a wink.
“I better be the only soldier you have a soft spot for,” he says with his brows raised, and I can’t help but giggle.
“Oh, you will forever be my one and only soldier.”
I kiss him as the song ends and we walk back to our table with our fingers locked. When we arrive, coffee is being served, and we both accept it. I don’t want to drink too much. I know there will be champagne shortly before midnight to have with the ball drop. Bella and I both check out the dessert table to pick a little treat to have with our coffee. It’s starting to get late, and I could use both the sugar and the caffeine at this point.
When we get back, Carter says, “Derek and I are going to go check on the silent auction.” He kisses me on the cheek and walks away with Derek.
“Ladies and gentlemen, please note you’re running out of time for the silent auction, so please check your bids,” the DJ announces, and that’s when I realize it’s already ten-thirty. They’re going to announce the winners of the silent auction in thirty minutes. Bella and I are teasing and laughing at the younger crowd dancing on the dance floor. They’re all having a great time, but they’re dancing like this is the club, not a formal event to raise money.
“You two need to stop. The point of this event was to make it fun. Their parents have donated quite a bit of money to the silent auction, not to mention the tickets they paid for.”
“Sorry, Mother, you’re right. If it weren’t for the DJ and the dancing, half this crowd wouldn’t be here tonight. It’s funny to us because we’re all grown up now and have no desire to shake our asses like that on the dance floor.”
“Watch them, though. They’ve been drinking, and that means they’re all going to go over to the auction now and spend Mommy and Daddy’s money.” I roll my eyes because that’s the snobbiest thing my mother has said in a while, but it’s true. All the young guys are fighting over the TV and gaming system while the girls are bidding on the spa day.
It’s eleven, and that means the silent auction is closed. There are a few men standing by the table ushering guests away as they finish making last minute bids. Derek and Carter walk over with Tobey to collect the bids and take them to the DJ booth to announce the winners. However, Tobey takes the mic.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention please. My name is Tobey Hanson, and I’m the head of Veterans’ Affairs for our lovely state. I want to take a moment to give a few special thanks tonight. First to our three very special donors. Thank you so much for your generosity. As our DJ announced earlier, thanks to you a soldier in need of a ramp will now get it. Another soldier will get the help he needs to do some repairs to his home, and the final soldier will be receiving renovations to make it so he can function in his home. These are men and women who have gone overseas to keep us safe and have returned injured, both mentally and physically. I thank you, and I’m sure they will too when they finally meet you.” He pauses for a moment. “I also want to thank all of you for being here tonight. Although we do not have a tally yet, your generosity has helped us raise a lot of money that will be used for either home renovations, service dogs, or whatever else our local heroes need. Lastly, I want to say thank you to two men who recently started working together and have managed to put a great event together in a short period of time. Derek and Carter, you two have done a great thing here tonight, and I’m proud of both of you.”
The room erupts as everyone stands up, clapping and cheering for the two men standing at the front of the room. My eyes well with the tears of pride I feel for my man right now. Derek hugs Carter and whispers something to him. I’m sure he’s telling him to stay calm since this noise level isn’t good for him. He does well, and a minute later Tobey puts up his hand to silence the room once again. I can see Carter visibly relax as the room quiets down. No one else would ever know it, but those who are close to him know how hard that was.
Tobey starts going through the list of silent auction winners, and one by one they stand and head to the front of the room to write their check and claim their item. Tobey thanks everyone again for coming and tells us to stick around for champagne and the ball drop at midnight. He, Derek, and Carter all get busy collecting the money for the silent auction items, and as they do, the staff moves the items to another room so they’re out of the way.
It’s now about eleven forty-five, almost time to celebrate. The staff starts coming around with large trays. Glasses of champagne are on the trays, and the staff hands the glasses out one by one. We’re all standing around the minute before midnight when a staff member hands me, Carter, Derek, and Bella a glass of champagne. As the clock on the wall winds down and there’s thirty seconds left, everyone in the room starts to count. That’s when I see Carter put his earplugs back in. I give him a supportive smile. Suddenly the room’s getting louder as we count down the last ten seconds: nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one…Happy New Year! The room erupts as a huge ball drops from above the streamers. Red, white, and blue confetti shoots out of it. We all clink glasses and drink down our champagne.
Carter scoops me up and twirls me around. “Happy New Year, baby.”
He puts me back down, but suddenly I feel off. Something's wrong, but I don’t know what’s happening. Everything feels like it’s happening in slow motion. I’m getting dizzy, and my vision is blurring. Carter looks scared.
He tries to speak to me, but his speech sounds slurred. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
***
Carter
“Someone call 911!” I scream as I drop to Patty’s side. “No, baby, you stay with me.” I hold her head, rocking her as her eyes close. She’s now unconscious.
“They’re on their way,” Derek says. The majority of the people in the room continues to party around us with no idea that Patty has collapsed and I’m freaking out.
Her mother comes running over with Richard. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. We were drinking our champagne and celebrating the New Year one minute, and the next she was woozy and collapsed to the floor.”
“Where’s her champagne glass?” Richard asks. I nod in its direction. “Right there.” He uses a napkin to pick it up. “I need a Ziploc bag of some sort,” he says to the manager, who came over shortly after Richard and Sandra to see what’s going on.
A minute later, the ambulance is here, and there are medics around her. They check her pulse and her eyes and ramble off medical terms. Richard tells them he thinks she’s been drugged. “I have the glass,” he says. They nod as she’s placed on a gurney with an oxygen mask over her face. We run out the door.
I shout back, “I’m riding with her.”
Derek holds Bella while she sobs, and Patty’s mother nods as Richard takes her hand and tugs her toward th
e door. I spot Troy and Claire in the hall. I shout, “Richard and Sandra are on their way out. They’ll explain but get to the hospital.”
They load Patty into the back of the ambulance, and as soon as the medics and I are all inside, they take off, speeding to get us there as quickly as possible.
I’m watching as they check her pulse and ramble things to one another. “Sir, do you know if she’s allergic to anything?”
“No, not that I know of. I’m her fiancé. I think she would have told me.”
“What did she have tonight?”
I close my eyes to think. “Um, she had some wine and some soup and salad at dinner.” I furrow my brows as I try to think. “She had fish for dinner and then coffee and the champagne. It had to have been the champagne. She was fine until she drank that at midnight.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m positive. Is she going to be okay?”
“Sir, we have to figure out what was in that champagne.”
“The person bringing the glass is her stepfather and the local DA. That’s why he chose to bring it because he needs to use it as evidence. I’m sure he will be right behind us.”
We pull up to the hospital, and they wheel her off the back of the ambulance, leaving me to wait by myself in a cold, lonely waiting room.
Chapter 16
Carter
I’m pacing the waiting room, unable to sit still, when Sandra, Troy, Derek, Bella, and my parents come walking in. “Where’s Richard? They’re waiting for the champagne glass so they can figure out how to help her.”
“Relax. He came straight over in a cop car. They already have the glass and are testing it as we speak.”
Sandra shows me the text from Richard.
Richard: At the hospital now, they have the glass and are testing it.