A New York Love Story

by Cassie Rocca

  “Can’t you do something about your icy walkway? I almost slipped and fell down out there! Thank goodness I held onto your brother’s arm. I hate the snow!” It was the first sentence her mother said, coming into the house.

  “I’m sorry, but the weather has the bad habit of not listening to me. It does whatever it wants: it makes snow, lowers the temperatures, and my path becomes iced. I don’t know what to do any more with it!”

  Her brother rolled his eyes. “Clover, why do you always have to be so irritable?”

  “It’s called sarcasm, little brother! I don’t think many people around you use it, so obviously you don’t get it…” Clover stood on tiptoe to receive a lukewarm kiss from her brother.

  “Sienna couldn’t come. Mathew has a fever, so she’s staying at home with him. But she sends her love and best wishes…”

  Every year her sister-in-law found an excuse to avoid her birthday dinner. It was just as she’d expected…

  “Sweet! Thank her and send my love too! … and you can also tell her she can fuck off, herself and her best wishes!

  Clover was wondering if Patrick could seriously believe his wife’s excuses and bullshit. Probably pretending to believe her was the wisest thing he could do to avoid admitting he had made wrong choices and a mistake in marrying her.

  “Oh, Clover! You’re still wearing that stupid t-shirt! Are you doing it on purpose, just to get on my nerves?” her mother huffed.

  “Mom, you offend me!” Clover emphatically placed a hand on her heart. “It’s a tradition for my birthday party… and by the way, there’s someone who finds my t-shirt very funny.”

  “I’m not surprised, given the kind of people you hang out with… who said this? Let me guess, your insolent friend Zoe, or that morose boss of yours, or maybe your colleague Eric, that little nerd!”

  Oh – the sweet taste of revenge! Clover thought, leading her mother towards the living room. “No, he’s a new friend. You’ll meet him tonight. He’s joining us for dinner.”

  Clover was staring at her mother. She didn’t want to miss one single detail of the scene.

  “Good evening, Mrs O’Brian,” Cade got up from the sofa.

  Her mother’s face became very pale and then suddenly blushed. She was a passionate reader of tabloids, so Clover didn’t doubt that she would recognize him. But for sure Nadia O’Brian didn’t expect to find an international movie star in the living room of her daughter, that loser! She was breathless.

  Patrick seemed puzzled. He wasn’t someone who read gossip, but he loved action movies, so for sure he had seen Cade Harrison’s latest film.

  “Mom, are you ok?” Clover asked in a modulated tone.

  Nadia got over the shock and offered her hand to Cade. “Cade Harrison! What a delightful surprise…”

  Cade smiled politely, shaking first her hand and then Patrick’s. “I’m sorry to crash an intimate, family dinner…”

  “Don’t even think about it! It’s an honor having you with us.”

  “Cade, as you can see we’ll have enough food, even though you’ve joined us at the last minute. My sister-in-law couldn’t come.” Clover’s voice was full of irony. While they were cooking, she had told Cade about her difficult relationship with Sienna.

  “Food?” Patrick asked. “This is an extraordinary event for a dinner at my little sister’s house!”

  “A good attempt at sarcasm… Bravo! See, even you can learn…”

  For a few minutes there was an embarrassing silence in the room, until Clover said, “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving! Shall we go to eat?”

  “Perhaps you should serve an aperitif in the living room before dinner…” her mother observed, then she whispered to her, “You have a famous actor here, try to behave with some class, please!”

  While Clover restrained herself from doing backflips to embarrass her mother even more, Cade rescued her, saying, “I think eating now is a great idea. Your daughter has cooked all afternoon. There is such a delicious smell, I can’t wait to taste what she’s made!”

  Oh my god! Marry me! Clover thought – it was wonderful to have such an ally…

  “Did you cook?” Patrick faked admiration. “I hope you have an effective antacid to give me after dinner.”

  “Ha – ha! Really, little brother – very funny! Apparently being with me brings back your sense of irony…”

  Their mother was staring at them with a severe and disapproving look, like when they were naughty children.

  “I didn’t know that my daughter knew you. She never told me.” She addressed Cade.

  “I don’t think she has had time to mention it… and I specifically asked her not to spread the word. I’m in New York incognito.”

  “Oh, of course! I understand perfectly. Sometimes the show business environment can be so very stressful!”

  “Are you in show business too?”

  Clover pretended to throw up behind her brother’s back, and Cade coughed to hide a laugh.

  “My image has appeared in some ad campaign for beauty products. Nothing compared to your fame, Mr Harrison – of course!”

  “Please, call me Cade.”

  “It would be an honor!”

  “If you keep talking to her, she’ll have an orgasm at the dinner table. I would rather prefer to avoid that scene…” Clover whispered in Cade’s ear.

  “How did you meet each other?” Patrick asked, as they sat at the dinner table. The question seemed to show a sincere interest and that surprised Clover. Her brother used to be very protective of her, but after he got married he had become completely disinterested.

  “A friend talked to me about Giftland’s services and Clover helped me select my Christmas gifts.” Cade lied.

  “That’s lovely… I hope my daughter had some good advice for you!”

  “Absolutely. She has wonderful ideas, unique taste, and a really contagious Christmas spirit.” He glanced at Clover, smiling. “It has been a long time since I’ve enjoyed myself so much. Your daughter is very nice and original; but I don’t know why I’m saying this to you. You’re her mother and I’m sure you know this very well!”

  Her mother almost choked on a sip of white wine, and Clover was ready to swear eternal gratitude to Cade!

  The dinner went on without any major crises, actually better than Clover had expected. Yet she kept checking the time, hoping it would be over soon. In spite of Cade’s presence – which had restrained her mother and intimidated her brother – the cutting remarks and the usual critical attitude weren’t lacking all evening. Also, she couldn’t stand her mother’s kissing ass attitude with Cade. She almost came on to him – it had been frankly embarrassing. She was old enough to be his mother!

  Most of all, her own presence became totally irrelevant. She didn’t have a chance to talk. The O’Brian widow monopolized the evening, while her brother had remained mostly silent. Clover found herself carrying plates back and forth to the kitchen like a maid.

  Her birthday party?! Fuck! They didn’t even wish her happy birthday. Her mother, as always, had brought some banal cookies. Forget a cake with candles!

  She barely touched the food, but she drank a lot of wine – although she didn’t feel as drunk as she had hoped.

  “Clover, aren’t you hungry? You hardly ate a thing…” at least Cade had noticed. She shrugged.

  “How long will you be staying in New York?” Nadia asked.

  “Not very long,” Cade answered laconically.

  “Would anyone like dessert?” Clover was heading to the kitchen.

  Her mother ignored her and kept on talking to Cade. “It was such a pleasure meeting you. You have made a huge difference to our evening – really quite unexpected!”

  Thank you, Mom! “So – do you all want dessert or should I eat it by myself? I can do it in a corner, on the kitchen floor, so I wouldn’t disturb you!”

  “Clover! Is that any way to treat a guest?”

  “Mom, are you sure you want to be p
reaching to me at this moment?” She came over and placed her hand on Cade’s shoulder.

  “Clo, bring the dessert,” Patrick said, trying to calm the situation.

  “Right away – ladies and gentlemen!”

  At that point Cade stood up, excused himself, and explained he had to make some important phone calls. Clover ran back. “Where are you going?”

  “I left my cell phone at home…”

  She followed him to the door. “Please, don’t go…” she whispered.

  “I just have to make a couple of calls.”

  Clover handed him her cell. “You can borrow mine…”

  “No, I can’t call from here,” he gently smiled at her.

  “Please, pleeease… shall I kneel? I beg you! She might hurt me, if you leave now…”

  Cade chuckled, trying to interrupt her torrent of words, but Clover kept going.

  “Tell me what you want. I will do anything you want, if you stay. I will help with all your Christmas gifts – no charge!”

  He put his hand on the door knob. “I will come to bed with you!”

  He turned, looking at her with a suggestive expression. Then he took her chin, lifting her face. “Sweetheart, I’m just going to make a few calls. I will be back.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”

  “I tried. You didn’t give me a chance…” He laughed.

  “Can you please hurry up?”

  “I promise…” He stole a kiss from her – brief, but intense.

  She watched him cross the street and forced herself to go back to the kitchen, leaving the door ajar.

  As she returned, Nadia stood up. “You’re really rude, Clover! How can you behave like that with a person like him?”

  “Maybe I’m rude, Mom. But you are ridiculous. You were flirting with him!”

  “How dare you?!”

  “Listen Mom, you’ve monopolized the conversation all evening, you’ve ignored me every time I tried to say something…” Clover burst out. “What is bothering you? Is it that your poor, unattractive daughter has met a celebrity, while you haven’t been able to, in spite of all your efforts? Are you afraid that Cade Harrison actually might be more interested in me than in you? Sorry to give you the bad news, but I think that’s exactly what’s happening this time!”

  “Why? Are you sleeping with him?” Patrick asked with a serious tone.

  “Not necessarily. It’s because she’s old enough to be his mother! And because Cade is sick of people’s flattery and adulation…”

  “Sometimes I wonder whose daughter you are – where did you get this personality?” Her mother mumbled, irritably. “And now you’ve made him leave! Are you satisfied?”

  “Cade just left for a few minutes. He will be back. So – put your swords away and pull yourselves together!” Clover put the cookie tray on the table.

  “I wonder why a movie star like him should want to have dinner with us – ordinary mortals.” Her brother was saying, with a perplexed tone. “Okay, so you helped him with his Christmas shopping, but it doesn’t seem to me a good enough reason for him to join a small, boring family dinner party…”

  “Well, evidently he finds me interesting enough to accept my dinner invitation – unlike your wife!”

  Her last words silenced Patrick and the room became suddenly very quiet.

  *

  After about ten minutes and a few calls, Cade returned. He was happy with the idea that had occurred to him before he left her house.

  Clover’s birthday party had been a disaster. She hadn’t had a good time at all, she had barely touched any food. Cade understood how she must have felt, although his own family was totally different – sometimes messy, but at least a very close family. They didn’t fight for attention like that, nor were they so disrespectful of one another.

  All evening he had been aware of Nadia O’Brian’s sycophantic attitude towards him – not to mention her continuous flattery. Although he was used to adulation, at times he had felt frankly embarrassed. He had been kind and polite – it was his nature – plus they were Clover’s relatives; yet it had been hard at times not to intervene to help Clover. He had tried more than once to bring the attention back to her – after all she was the birthday girl! – but without success. Clover had pulled away from the general conversation, except for a few funny, sarcastic responses to her mother that had almost made him laugh out loud.

  When he came into the house, he found the O’Brian family shrouded in an obstinate silence. Clover was standing near the refrigerator, with her arms folded across her chest. She seemed relieved to see him back and he flashed her an encouraging smile.

  “My apologies to you all, but I couldn’t postpone some important calls. I hope I didn’t make you wait too long…”

  “Not at all! Please, don’t worry; it was just a pleasant break before the dessert…” Nadia O’Brian seemed to come back to life.

  “Simple cookies,” Clover said, sitting next to Cade. “It seems that birthday cakes have become obsolete. Did you know that?”

  “Sweetie, you’re not a child any more,” her mother said. “Soon, you’ll stop even celebrating birthdays…” and she giggled.

  Cade put a hand on Clover’s knee under the table in a comforting gesture. When he felt her small hand on his, he squeezed her fingers with affection. Neither of them could wait for the end of that dinner.

  It lasted only another half an hour, but to them it felt like an eternity. When they finally moved into the living room, Patrick looked around and then asked if she had changed something. Clover looked at Cade anxiously, and he shook his head as if to say no details… so, she simply answered, “It was about time!”

  At last it was time to open the gifts. Clover didn’t expect any surprises. In fact, from her mother she received the perfume that she had specified on her wish list and her brother gave her a book. Probably this too, Cade thought, was something Clover had requested… yet he couldn’t help but think that her brother could have done something more. The coldness of the whole scene shocked him. Maybe it was because he came from a family where everyone showed affection for each other. He felt the sudden urge to hug Clover and shower her with gifts, to somehow make up for her sadness and disappointment.

  Finally, the O’Brians left. Cade sighed with relief and took Clover in his arms. She buried her face in his chest, whispering, “It’s finally over…”

  “When you told me you had a difficult relationship with your family, I thought you were exaggerating… but Jesus! Anyway, my sweet Clover, now that the worst is over, what about going out – just the two of us?”

  “Now? Seriously?”

  “Isn’t this what you usually do to forget your family get togethers? I’m not Zoe or Liberty, but I hope I could help you to…”

  “I’m sure you can!” She flashed him a mysterious smile that suggested she might be entertaining other thoughts.

  Her eyes were more luminous and suggestive than ever, maybe because of the joy of seeing the back of her relatives, or simply because of the wine. Looking at her, Cade felt his body waking up and a rush of desire went through him like a lightening. Damn it! He had already organized everything, he couldn’t change things at the last minute. Or could he?

  Clover put her hands on his chest, caressing him slowly. “It’s already a wonderful diversion that you’re still here, after the horrible evening I put you through!”

  “That’s a good reason to get out of here – you’ll feel less guilty.” Cade tried to focus on the present, trying to overcome the excitement and desire he felt at that moment. Maybe later they could return to the subject.

  “Okay, take me out. Do I have to change or am I fine like this?”

  Cade took hold of the edge of her t-shirt and took it off. There! Now you’re perfect!”

  “Such a rush! Confess – you too hate my poor t-shirt…”

  “Right now I can’t stand any of the clothes you’re wearing.” He laughed. “But I’ll behave un
til later…”

  “Later?”

  “Am I mistaken or did you promise me something?”

  “Oh – that was before you told me that you were coming back anyway!”

  Cade grasped her hips, pulling her against him. “So, did you change your mind?”

  “Umm… I’m not reasoning very well right now. No food and a lot of wine, plus the feeling of gratitude for having you as an ally tonight… all these things are definitely working in your favor! But it’s unfair – since they might play against my better judgement.”

  “No worries! Since I want you sober, I won’t take advantage of the situation.” He took her hand. “Let’s go.”

  When they stepped outside, the freezing air quickly cooled off any erotic fantasies they might have had.

  “Where are we going?”

  “To eat something… you need some food with all the wine you drank on an empty stomach!”

  “And you? Will you watch me eat or do you still have some room?”

  “There is always room for fat and fried food.”

  “Fat and fried?! Oh – that sounds great to me…”

  9

  The pizzeria near the Village seemed like a quiet place. Cade had made only one request, some privacy in spite of the fact that it was a restaurant.

  “Pizza?” Clover smiled, looking at the illuminated sign.

  “Well, I understood that formal dinners are not your style…” Cade joked, taking her hand.

  “It’s almost eleven. Maybe they are closing soon…”

  “Don’t worry.” Cade opened the door for her.

  “Surprise!” Zoe, Liberty and Eric shouted from a table at the end of the room.

  The few people in the restaurant turned to look at them with curiosity. For a moment Cade regretted his idea. Perhaps he should have organized the party at his house. Anybody there could recognize him and spread the news. If the journalists found out, his peace would go up in smoke. But when he saw Clover’s obvious delight at seeing the giant pizza and her friends, he thought that it was worth taking the risk. He wondered how many surprise parties had been organized for her before. Looking at her amazement and shining eyes, it was probably a sadly small number.