Without love and someone to share it with, nothing seemed the same, she theorized.
As the rain started to fall outside against the background of excited laughter from the next room, Francine finally felt the tears start to form and soon they were streaming down her cheeks as a sudden engulfing wave of emptiness seemed to consume her very being.
She quickly dried her eyes and pulled herself together before rejoining Steve and Alison. The next item on the agenda, she had already decided, was to organize a visit to the movies, this time for Steve, Alison and Ruby!
At Francine’s suggestion that Ruby be included in the next visit, Steve’s eyes moistened once again before he gave Alison a farewell hug and promised to see her again soon.
As the child waved goodbye to her father through the window, Francine was watching her face closely. It was as if a new sparkle was back. It was then that she began to realize just how vulnerable children can be after a broken marriage. How they seem to try and compensate by retreating inwardly to try and handle the burden, but in so doing, something is always left in their psyche. A form of hidden scar that most adults have trouble in identifying, let alone being able to help it to heal.
Right now, on her daughter’s face, evidence that such healing had started was clearly evident. She turned to the child. “So, my darling, are you okay?”
Alison smiled. “Yes, Mom. Isn’t that cool! My very own song!”
Francine gave her a squeeze. “Yes, darling, that’s very cool! Your Daddy’s a great musician!”
Alison was excited. “I can’t wait to let Cindy hear it, she’ll be so jealous!”
Francine shook her head as if to say ‘Kids!’
CHAPTER 44
“Hi, sweetie!” Yvette’s happy voice came on the line when Francine later answered the phone in the living room.
“Oh, hi, Mom.”
“How did it go with Steve?” Yvette was also extremely protective of her precious grand-daughter.
“Surprisingly well.”
“Really?”
“Yes, he’s changed a lot, Mom. He’s also recorded a special song for her, even named it after her.”
“That’s nice. Did she like it?”
“She loved it! So, now the next stage is to let Steve and his girlfriend counselor Ruby perhaps take her to a movie.”
Yvette still sounded protective. “Well, keep a close eye on it, Francine.”
Francine sighed. “Don’t I always?”
“Of course, my love. But that’s not the only reason I’m calling. Your father and I want to take you and Alison out for a fancy meal on her birthday next Saturday.”
“What do you mean by fancy?”
“How about the Top of the Reunion Tower in Downtown?”
Francine smiled. “Wow! That’s fancy all right. Shall we meet you there?”
“Yes, that’ll be fine. The table is booked for 7.30.”
“Thanks, Mom, Alison will love it. She always wanted to have a meal up there.”
“See you then. Bye, my darling.’
“Bye.”
A family meal with Mom and Dad, Francine gave a wry smile. Two other lives back together, so why did she feel so happy and yet strangely so sad at the same time. She was half afraid to admit that she already knew the answer.
Now, the next big project was to decide what to buy Alison for her birthday, but before she figured that out, she gave Steve a quick call to remind him, but he already had it planned and agreed to drop off Alison’s present on the Saturday morning.
And so, by Saturday evening, as Francine left her car with the valet at the impressive Hyatt Regency Hotel in Downtown, Dallas, both she and Alison were dressed in their elegant best.
They had arrived a little early since the traffic was not as heavy as Francine had expected and as they ascended in the express elevator to the top of Reunion Tower, the spectacular panoramic view of Downtown Dallas unfolded before them.
Alison, her face pressed to the outside window of the elevator, was looking out wide-eyed at the scene below.
Francine squeezed her shoulder. “Excited, darling?”
“You bet. Will Grandma and Gramps be there when we get to the top?”
“Maybe, baby, we’ll soon find out.”
With that the elevator pinged and the doors opened onto the foyer of the exquisite restaurant at the top of the tower. The sun had long since set and through the windows, across the elegantly laid tables, seating equally elegant diners, the lights of Downtown sparkled way below.
Alison stood there transfixed. “Wow, Mom, this is so cool!”
Francine smiled. “Yes it is, my darling,” she looked around for signs of Yvette and Carl but they were nowhere in sight. She turned to Alison. “Stay here a second, darling and don’t move while I find the Maître ‘D’ to see if he’s already seated them.”
“Okay.”
Francine walked about 10 paces to where the Maitre ‘D’ was located at his podium.
“Good evening, Madame, can I help you?” he inquired.
“Yes, I was wondering, have Mr. and Mrs. Dubois arrived yet. We had a reservation for 7.30?”
He quickly looked at his chart. “I’m afraid not. Would you like to wait in the bar and I’ll call you when they arrive?”
Francine didn’t want to take Alison into the bar. “No, that’s all right, we’ll just wait near the elevator.”
“Very well, Madame.”
As she turned to go back to Alison, she was surprised to see her daughter in animated conversation with a small boy, about her own age. Fearing that the child was lost, she approached the children and addressed the boy, anxious not to scare him. “Hi, there!”
He answered politely. “Hello, ma’am.”
Concerned that he had become separated from his parents, she asked. “Are you lost, son? Where are your parents?”
Suddenly, behind her, she heard a familiar voice.
“I guess that would be me!”
She whirled around, her heart almost stopping, to see a smiling Gerard standing there, a look of adoration in his eyes.
Francine seemed to be stuck in slow motion as the two children looked on smilingly. “Gerard, what are you doing here?” she asked, followed by her inevitable question. “And where’s Jeri?”
He looked at her, strangely surprised. “Jeri? I guess where she usually is at the week-end - back in New York, with her husband!”
Francine almost bit through her tongue in sudden, elated shock. “You mean…?”
“I mean she’s always been married. She’s my top assistant for promoting The House of Cinclare, I thought you knew that, Francine?”
All of a sudden, Francine’s mind was in total turmoil. How could she have missed what was going on in the last hectic few weeks? Gerard and Jeri had seemed inseparable. They were photographed together everywhere, travelled together everywhere, with Jeri always hanging on to Gerard’s arm like she was afraid to let him go, just like in the fashion magazine photo alongside the photo of Roger and the two bimbos from Dallas. And to top it all, Jeri had been right there with him in England, even though Francine had not realized that they were staying in separate rooms in the hotel in Little Stanton!
“But your mother was so…” Francine’s voice tailed off.
“Fond of her?” Gerard smiled tenderly. “You bet, they’d known each other for years, that’s why Jeri took her death so hard.”
All of a sudden, the pieces of the jigsaw were starting to fall into place in Francine’s fevered brain.
Sensing her confusion, Gerard held her gently by the shoulders and looked down at the children, a smile on his face. “Excuse us a second, will you, kids?”
Alison was watching the look in her Mother’s eyes and zeroed in on the situation immediately, even as Jeremy, Gerard’s son, looked on a little confused.
“Sure!” Alison replied giving Jeremy a pinch on the arm
“Ouch!” the boy replied, finally getting the message.
&n
bsp; By now, Francine’s heart was about to bust with excitement at what was transpiring. Gerard moved her gently to one side out of earshot of the two smiling children.
“You didn’t answer my question?” she looked at him mischievously.
“You mean what am I doing here?”
“Exactly!”
“Well, when I got back from England today with my son Jeremy here, I called by your workshop, where your staff were still working, hoping that I might find you.”
“Find me?”
“Yes, I wanted to wish you all he best in your forthcoming nuptials to young Cronkite!”
Francine’s mouth sagged open. “My what?”
He smiled. “Yes, well, that’s another story, obviously one you weren’t aware of, but to cut a long story short, your friend Vince almost had a laughing fit when I mentioned it, obviously he wasn’t aware of it either!”
Francine couldn’t stand it any longer. “Aware of what, for heaven’s sakes?”
He grinned. “That young Cronkite had told his entire beloved TV audience that wedding bells were in the offing with the newly crowned ‘Fashion Queen of Dallas’!
Francine almost lost her voice, “He did what?” she almost screamed. Suddenly, Roger’s bizarre attitude became crystal clear. That’s what was burning him up. He was unable to pull it off in front of his adoring fans! “I can’t believe it!” she continued incredulously.
“Well, you see, the sad part of it all was that I actually did believe him!” Gerard answered a little sheepishly.
Her mind was racing at a mile a minute, “And so…?”
“And so, that’s why I went to England!” he added.
Now it was her turn to grab him by the shoulders, those warm green eyes melting her insides like a laser beam. “You’re losing me, Gerard?”
“Well, apart from the fact that I needed to spend some time with my son, when someone tells you he’s hoping to marry the woman you’ve been in love with from the moment you laid eyes on her, the first thing you feel is the need to get out of town, believe me!”
Francine’s eyes were already burning with tears of joy. ‘My God! He’s always loved me! How wonderful!’ she told herself as she tried to keep her composure.
“And what did Vince say?” she asked trying to get back to the moment.
Gerard smiled. “He’s a heck of a guy! He said it would be a cold day in hell before you even let young Cronkite in the same room again!”
She looked up into his eyes, warmth and desire in her own. “Ah, would you mind saying that bit again, you know…?”
“You mean that I’ve always loved you?”
She grinned. “Yes, that’s the one. Well, as I’m sure you now know, looking at me standing here crying like a baby with tears of joy, the feelings have always been totally mutual. So…”
He looked humorously inquisitive. “So?”
“So, if you don’t kiss me in the next two seconds, I swear I’m going to jump off this tower!”
He grabbed her tenderly by the shoulders and looked across at the two smiling children. “Close your eyes for a second, you guys!” after which he kissed Francine, tenderly at first, followed by another kiss slowly increasing in intensity.
At last, Francine’s life was total perfection as the power of Gerard’s kiss went all the way down to her toes and back up again, almost stopping her heart en route. As she opened her eyes, she suddenly realized that even the guests in the restaurant had stopped what they were doing and were now applauding the tender scene, as the children, both sensing that their parents were really in love, gently nudged each other in the ribs, huge grins on their faces.
Francine was totally embarrassed, her knees were weak, her face felt crimson and she was still totally breathless from the intensity of the kiss.
Gerard in turn was looking at her, so much love in his eyes that she almost fainted. She finally managed a breathless whisper. “Don’t you think we should get out from under this searchlight that seems to be shining on us?”
“Might be a good idea.” he smiled, but at that very moment, the most beautiful tender moment of her life, Francine eventually realized that when you are in love, totally, irretrievably in love, who cares if the whole World knows.
She then boldly grabbed Gerard, a look of loving devilment in her eyes, adding. “What the heck!” as she kissed him yet again.
As their lips met in total ecstasy, it was as if their surroundings had suddenly been tuned out, they were in a hazy world of total bliss where they were the only inhabitants, that is until the elevator doors opened and Yvette and Carl, birthday presents in their arms, stepped out and witnessed the sight before them!
“That’s my baby!” Yvette cooed as both she and Carl hugged Francine and then shook Gerard by the hand to be joined quickly by the two jubilant children, who had no intention of being left out of the celebrations.
After a delightful meal, during which the members of a happy new family started to get to know each other, Gerard looked across the table adoringly at Francine, the latter already in happy, animated conversation with Jeremy as Alison was busy opening her presents, including the new computer tablet that Francine had bought for her. Francine sensed his glance and looked up, an inquisitive smile of love in her eyes.
Gerard looked so happy, she thought, as he finally made heaven complete.
“By the way,” he began. “That wasn’t the only reason I stopped by the workshop earlier.”
Francine looked confused. “It wasn’t?”
“No, it was to deliver this,” he reached in his pocket and pulled out an envelope. “But Vince suggested I should give it to you personally.” he handed it to her and she opened it.
It was a huge order from the House of Cinclare for copies of the Red Dress. Her eyes lit up in final ecstasy, “You mean..?”
He smiled, holding his hands up defensively. “I mean this will be the ultimate in my Spring Line! Well done, my darling, it’s truly terrific!”
She couldn’t resist it as she smilingly added. “Major surgery was successful, then?”
He reached over to squeeze her hand. “I know, I know, I’m never going to live it down!”
She squeezed his hand lovingly in return. “Well, let me put it this way, we’ve still got a lifetime for you to try!”
END
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
BRYAN MURRAY is also the Author of the ASSASSIN SERIES of Jake Harrigan Political Thriller EBooks. The various Books are listed below:-
Assassin
Assassin 2 - ‘Sleeping Dogs’
Assassin 3 - ‘The Wrong Man’
Assassin 4 - ‘First Son’
Assassin 5 - ‘Sitting Ducks’
Assassin 6 - ‘Los Ninos’
Assassin 7 - ‘Cruise Control’
Assassin 8 - ‘Genocide’
It is recommended that to enhance the enjoyment of the Series, the above Books should be read in sequence
DESIGN FOR LOVE Page 19