“She’s fine,” Simon said blithely, trying not to react to her suspicious tone.
“She wants you, you know,” his mother said with an aura of doom, which annoyed him even more.
“Mother, please. She’s a busy woman, we hardly have time to talk to each other. And I’m sure she has a million men chasing her, a lot more important than I am.”
“You’re young, that’s why she wants you. She wants to have an affair with you, and then she’ll throw you away like garbage.”
“For God’s sake, will you stop? She doesn’t want me, she’s not sleeping with me, and she’s not going to throw me away.”
“Aha! You slept with her! I can hear it in your voice!” She was right, but he would have died rather than admit it to her, especially after what she’d said.
“I’m not going to discuss this with you anymore. What are you and Dad doing for Christmas?” he said, changing the subject, but he already knew. They were going to his brother’s.
“We’re going to David’s. And we have tickets to a Beethoven symphony the day after. My favorite, the ninth. You’ll be in New York?”
“Of course. I’m working. I can’t leave Salima.” Or Blaise, but he didn’t say it.
“Can’t she take care of her own child for five minutes? On Christmas Day at least. It would be nice if you could come to Boston.”
“I can’t. Salima needs monitoring all the time for her diabetes.”
“I don’t see why you have to do it.” He didn’t, Blaise checked her during the night too, but he didn’t tell his mother. “I think she’s a dangerous woman,” his mother warned him in an ominous tone. “She’ll devour you, if you let her.” She had nothing but disaster to predict for him at Blaise’s hands, and it annoyed him so much, he got off the phone, and promised himself he wouldn’t call her again till Christmas. There was just no point. She only depressed him.
A few days later Blaise surprised him. She had been to the network Christmas party, which she never enjoyed, and had received a slew of invitations to Christmas parties she said she didn’t want to go to. She didn’t want to be on display, and she said that many people invited her for that purpose, so they could say they knew her and show her off. She only liked going to the homes and parties of close friends, of which she had few. The network party was a command performance every year. And there was no way she could have taken him.
But after dinner that night, when Salima was with Lucianna, Blaise slid an invitation across the table at him. It was red and gold on Tiffany stationery, it was heavy stock, and Simon recognized the host’s name immediately. Adam Lancaster was a very well-known writer Blaise had interviewed that year. He had written countless best-sellers and a long list of films. He was giving a Christmas party the next day at his townhouse, five blocks from Blaise.
“He just got married, and his wife is about your age. I think he’s sixty-something, but he hangs out with a lot of young people, and he knows everyone in the world. I thought it might be fun to go.” Simon nodded. He was sure it would be interesting, and he was happy for her.
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy it,” he said generously, and she smiled at him, and realized he hadn’t understood.
“Not me, us. You. I’d like to take you. Will you come?”
“As your date?” He looked stunned.
“As whatever they call it. Date. Plus one. Escort. Friend.” Eventually boyfriend or lover, but for now just going out together seemed like a good place to start. She had never taken him anywhere socially, and she wanted to. And she wanted him to know that she didn’t intend to keep him a dark secret. If they made a go of this, they had to be able to go out together and share a social life. She had no idea how people would react or what they would think, or say about her. But she wanted to take their brand-new relationship out for a spin. She was curious to see if they would be comfortable going out into the world. Simon nodded and looked nervous, but he seemed touched that she had asked.
“Are you sure? You’re not embarrassed to be seen with me?”
“Are you crazy? You’re ten times the man that anyone there will be, except maybe our host, who is something of a genius. But you’re smarter, better looking, more exciting, and a hell of a lot nicer and more fun to be with than anyone who’ll be there.”
“Then why are we going?” he teased her.
“I want to show you off,” she said, and then reminded him not to tell Salima. Lucianna was taking her to an early concert, so she would be out. Simon was beaming when they left the room. He was very flattered that she was going out with him, and it sounded like a very intriguing group.
The following evening Blaise dressed after Salima left with Lucianna, and wore a short sexy red cocktail dress and a black coat when they left the apartment at seven. She had come home in time to dress, and Simon was wearing a dark gray suit, white shirt, and navy blue tie. He looked like a banker or a lawyer, and she knew he would fit in. She was proud to leave the building on his arm, and Tully was waiting to drive them the few blocks to the party. He didn’t seem surprised to see Simon with her, even in his dark suit and good-looking navy blue coat. It was bitter cold and there was ice on the ground. She didn’t want to walk the five blocks in high heels and arrive with windblown hair and a red nose.
The party was already crowded when they got there, in a spectacular townhouse with a two-floor ceiling in the living room, filled with pre-Columbian and modern art. They both noticed three Picassos on the way in, and a Léger. And Simon looked perfectly at ease. She introduced him to their host’s new wife, who was a beautiful young woman, and she and Simon realized almost immediately that they had been at Harvard at the same time although she was two years younger. They didn’t know each other but had seen each other and had friends in common, and Simon had a long conversation with her, before moving on to a photographer he had always wanted to meet, while Blaise chatted with the editor of Vogue.
It was a lively, eclectic group, and every well-known, accomplished person in New York seemed to be there. Blaise stopped to talk to their host, and introduced him to Simon. And whenever people came by that she knew, she introduced him as “my friend, Simon Ward.” No one asked if he was her boyfriend, her best friend, her walker, her son, or her nephew, if she was sleeping with him or he was gay. They didn’t care. And no one seemed shocked to see them together. She looked very pretty in her red dress, and Simon was very handsome in his suit. He and the host had quite a long chat, and he and Blaise had a great time together. It was fun to be out in a grown-up world, particularly with the kind of people she had access to. When people asked what he did and he said he was a special ed teacher, no one looked contemptuous or was dismissive, and a few asked what kind of special ed, and he explained that he worked with nonsighted children at a school in Massachusetts, but he was currently on leave in New York. No one knew he worked for her, and Blaise didn’t say it, but she liked the reaction people had to them. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, and no one cared about the difference in their age. It was a sophisticated group. She had wanted to prove to both of them that they could actually have a life together in the real world. She had wanted to test it for herself most of all. But they both loved the result when they thanked their hosts and finally went home, as the party began to thin out. Simon wished he could take her out to dinner, but they had to get back to wait for Salima, when Lucianna dropped her off.
“Wow, that was terrific,” Simon said as they rode the few blocks home. Blaise was beaming when they got out at her building and they walked across the lobby. It had been even better than she’d hoped. She loved being out with him.
“It was great,” she giggled in the elevator as he kissed her. He had been starving for her all night, and they still had to wait until Salima went to bed. “Nobody looked shocked or even interested that we were out together. I was afraid people would stare,” she admitted, “or make some rude comment.” She was enormously relieved and had had a terrific time with him.
“The o
nly person who makes rude comments is my mother,” Simon said, as they got out on her floor and walked into her apartment.
“She’s going to go crazy when she finds out about us,” Blaise said with a look of concern. Simon looked totally relaxed as he took off his coat and left it on a chair. “What will you do?” Blaise asked him.
“About my mother? Ignore her. She’s made a big point all my life about how bohemian she is, and not bourgeois, while my father plays by no one’s rules and made a career of thinking outside the box. They have no right to get traditional now. They lost their right to that a long time ago, when they got married, and they’ve been pretty outrageous ever since. And what we’re doing isn’t outrageous.” They both changed their clothes and were sitting, chatting in the kitchen when Salima came home half an hour later, excited about the concert. She had no idea that Blaise was wearing makeup, but they were both wearing jeans.
“Hi, Simon,” she said blithely. “Wow, you smell good, Mom.” It never dawned on her that they had been out together. “Did you go somewhere?” Had she been sighted, she would have been able to read everything in her mother’s eyes.
“I went to a party at Adam Lancaster’s house. It was a nice Christmas party not far from here. He has a beautiful place and incredible art.” They chatted about the concert for a few minutes, and then Salima went to her room, Blaise went to do some work before they turned in for the night, and Simon said he had some e-mails to answer. But it was several hours before Simon came into her bedroom, and they curled up for the night and talked about the party again. Blaise lay in his arms and looked up at him. “I have fun with you, Simon.” More than she had ever had with any man in her life.
“I think that’s the idea.” He smiled back at her. “I have fun with you too. Thank you for taking me tonight. I felt so special being there with you.” He had been truly touched that she had included him in such an illustrious group.
“I wanted to,” she said, as she turned off the light and they cuddled. “I felt special being out with you too. It was nice, and no one looked surprised to see us together.”
“Why would they?” he asked, and she didn’t answer. They both knew. The fifteen years between them that his mother was so worried about. But no one at Adam Lancaster’s had cared. He was older than Blaise by twenty years, and his wife was even younger than Simon. Blaise had gone out to dinner with him once, and she had sensed that he thought she was too old for him. He liked much younger women. And now everything was reversed. It still surprised Blaise, and she was grateful that it didn’t seem to bother Simon. The evening had been a hit for both of them.
He fell asleep before she did, and she lay looking at him in the moonlight. She wondered if he’d leave her one day for a younger woman, who would have children with him, or go back to Megan. Anything was possible, but for now he was hers. She smiled thinking of it, and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 11
Blaise managed to squeeze in her trip to Israel before Christmas, to interview the prime minister, while Simon and Teresa stayed with Salima. Simon called her in Jerusalem constantly, he was so worried about her. There had been a bombing the week before she got there, and he was terrified something would happen to her. She reassured him that she was fine and staying in a beautiful hotel with lots of security. She felt totally safe. And her interview with the prime minister went better than expected. She got back to New York a week before Christmas, in time for Harry’s annual visit to his daughter, which was as disappointing as it was every year. Salima deserved so much more.
They sat in the living room of the apartment, while Harry looked uncomfortable as Salima walked in, and when she sat down, she told him about her singing lessons, but he looked at his watch every five minutes as though he were in a hurry to leave. Salima looked beautiful, and she had kissed his cheek before she sat down with him and her mother. But he stiffened when she bent near him, and Salima could feel it. She wanted to tell him that blindness wasn’t contagious. Nor was diabetes. Her health issues had always made him acutely ill at ease, and even without seeing him, Salima knew it.
She offered to sing one of the songs she’d been working on, but he said he didn’t have time, and had to leave. Blaise was so angry that when he handed her a check at the end of the visit, as she walked him to the door, she handed it back to him.
“Buy her something nice, Blaisie. I never know what to get her.” The gift of his time would have been better, and Blaise was furious that he hadn’t bothered to listen to her sing.
“I’m not going to this year,” Blaise said to him with a grim expression. She was tired from her trip to the Middle East, and she hated the way he treated their daughter, as though she were a total stranger to him, which she was, since he spent no time with her. He wanted no responsibility for her, and was afraid to take her anywhere. And Blaise was tired of covering for him, and trying to make him look better than he was to Salima. “Buy her something yourself. She knows the difference.”
“I don’t know what she likes, what size she wears. How can I pick something for her, if she can’t see it?” It was the same excuse he used every year to have Blaise do it.
“She loves music. Hell, Harry, buy her CDs. Buy her anything, a piece of jewelry, a fur jacket. She’s not an invalid. She’s a nineteen-year-old girl who loves clothes and perfume and jewelry, just like every other girl her age. She’s no different. And her passion is music. And she’s good, really good. She has a teacher from Juilliard who’s here four times a week now. She’s going to have a recital in May. Not that you care.” She hated his disappointing Salima year after year. It upset her even more than it did Salima, who was used to it after years of his indifference and always bounced back quickly. But she always looked sad when her father left after his infrequent brief visits. He was in town for a day on his way to St. Bart’s to meet friends on a yacht. And Salima was the duty call he made between meetings.
As Harry was leaving, Simon walked in, and Blaise introduced them. Harry observed him with interest, and then Simon went to find Salima, who had gone to her room. He said goodbye to Harry and disappeared.
“Wow, nice-looking young guy, Blaise. Your new boyfriend?” He smiled at her with a lascivious grin, and she was even more annoyed.
“No, Salima’s monitor from school.”
“You can have some fun with him,” he commented. “I can really see you with a younger guy. You look great for your age, and you have more energy than anyone I know.”
“He’s here for Salima,” she said drily. It was none of his business.
“When is she going back to school?” he asked as they waited for the elevator.
“When they reopen, probably sometime in January.” She didn’t like thinking about it. She didn’t want Simon or Salima to leave, and wished they never would.
“That’ll be a lot easier for you,” he said sympathetically. “It must be hard having her home.”
“It’s wonderful. It’s not hard at all,” she said, as the elevator came and he disappeared into it with a wave, and wished her merry Christmas. And as she watched the doors close, she wondered how she could have been married to him. He was such a lousy father and a total zero as a human being, no matter how intelligent he was. She was still looking unhappy about it when she went back to her office to do some work. Simon stopped by to see her after he left Salima in her room, talking to friends on Facebook, as usual.
Blaise looked up and smiled at him when he walked in. “Nice-looking man,” Simon said about Harry. But he hadn’t liked him. He knew how little attention he paid to Salima and how sad she was about it. He was successful, handsome, and charming, but to Simon, that wasn’t enough. And Simon thought it unforgivable that Harry had detached from Salima at three, when they diagnosed her with diabetes. He had heard it from both her and Blaise.
“He said the same thing about you. He asked if you were my new boyfriend.”
“Well, that’s direct anyway. Maybe he should talk to my mother. He’s so
cold, Blaise. I can’t see you with a guy like him.” He had been puzzled by him, and couldn’t imagine him connected to Blaise, or anyone. He was all about himself, and it showed.
“Neither can I. I was impressed by him. He’s brilliant. And I was very young. I was twenty-five when we met. And he was the same age I am now. I married him a year later, and a year after that the network moved me to New York, so we only lived together for a year. Our time together was pretty irregular after I moved. We were both married to our careers. We weren’t even planning to have kids. Salima was a slip. A fortuitous one, it turns out.” She smiled at him. “Harry has no idea what a gift she is.” Simon had seen that, and he nodded. “He wouldn’t even let her sing for him. Sometimes he really is a shit.” She shook her head and went back to work, and she was relieved to see at dinner that Salima didn’t look upset. Her father always disappointed her, so she was used to it. She had recovered very quickly. Disappointment was the only relationship she’d ever had with him.
A big box arrived from Chanel that night. It was a Chanel backpack from Harry, with a note.
“Merry Christmas! You can use this when you go back to school.” It was beautiful, though not really her style. But at least he had tried.
“I can use it for my music,” Salima said happily, touched by the gift. And she could tell that he had picked it instead of her mom. He had actually called the store, spoken to a salesgirl he knew, and told her to pick something for his daughter and put it on his charge. He had no idea what she’d sent. Salima texted him that night to thank him, but he was on the plane to St. Bart’s by then and didn’t respond.
They were all tired that night, and Salima went to bed early. Blaise was tired too, and said she felt fluish after the long trip a few days before. For once, she wasn’t her usual energetic self. And she was already half asleep when Simon came in later that night. He snuggled up next to her, sleepy too. He had done a lot of errands with Salima that day. She was looking for one last gift for her mother, and had dragged him to every store. And after that they’d gone grocery shopping at the supermarket, and then checked out a new stereo.
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