by P J Gordon
“I’ll miss you too. I’d invite you to come along, but I’m afraid that would be like painting a bulls-eye on your back.” He frowned disconsolately then shook his head slightly. “Sarah and Daniel will be her all week though. Do you think you could entertain them for me while we’re gone? I hate to ask, but they really do enjoy your company and I feel guilty just leaving them here like this. Besides, they want to get to know you better.”
He combed his hair away from his face with his fingers in his characteristic display of agitation. “I shouldn’t have let Mikey talk me into this. I should just stay here.”
Manda captured his hands in her much smaller ones and leaned toward him. “No, you should go. I would love to spend the week with your cousins and this is something you need to do. Just hurry back, okay?”
“I promise,” he assured her fervently. “I won’t be gone one minute longer than necessary, and I’ll call you every day. You won’t even have a chance to miss me.”
“Yeah, right,” Manda chuckled. In just the short time between good night and good morning she managed to miss him. A week would seem like an eternity. She smiled up at him reassuringly though. “I’ll never even notice you’re gone.”
As she’d hoped, Richard laughed. “Well, I’ll miss you.” He glanced back toward the driveway. “I guess I’d better go. Tomorrow is a big day. Merry Christmas Eve, my Manda.”
“Merry Christmas Eve,” she responded, and then turned the tables on Richard, giving him a goodnight kiss that was guaranteed to ensure that he did indeed miss her while he was away.
Chapter 20
Manda awoke the next morning more keyed up with anticipation than she had been for any Christmas since she was a little girl...back when she still believed in Santa Claus. After all, a certain rock-star she knew was, in her estimation, much more exciting than St. Nick. Richard, along with his family and Mikey, arrived early. Emily and Andy and the kids wouldn’t arrive until the afternoon, after they had opened presents together and enjoyed the unaccustomed luxury of a leisurely Christmas morning at home. Josh and Daniel took their turn at providing breakfast, arriving with a wealth of fruit, pastries, and baked goods for everyone to nibble on throughout the morning.
Manda barely had time to help herself to a blueberry muffin before Josh unceremoniously dumped the last of the gifts that he and Richard had carried in under the tree and announced gleefully that it was time to open presents. What followed was a free-for-all of torn ribbon and ripped wrapping paper that delighted Manda.
She had called in a favor and gotten Mikey, Daniel, and Josh each a pair of floor tickets to a Nuggets game. Richard had assured her that they would thoroughly enjoy this gift. Richard’s and Sarah’s gifts she held back though. She didn’t want Sarah to open hers before Richard, and she wanted to save his gift for last.
She tore into her own gifts as exuberantly as the others, and was delighted with of all of them. Mikey had given her a book she wanted to read—he confessed that Richard had told him. Josh gave her a beautiful cashmere scarf in her favorite shade of blue—he too confessed that Richard had helped him pick out exactly the right color. From Daniel and Sarah she received a thick knit throw blanket that was as soft as a cloud.
“It’s alpaca,” Sarah explained when Manda exclaimed over it. “We raise them on the ranch and there’s a woman nearby who does wonders with the fiber.”
Sarah had then slipped her one more small package containing a CD copy of the Christmas album Richard and Josh had recorded.
“That’s from all of us,” she explained. “The boys said it would be okay if I shared it with you.”
Manda was effusive in her thanks and made a beeline to her stereo to play the disk. She had fallen in love with the songs the day before and had insisted on playing it several times throughout the day.
When the storm of flying bows and tissue paper had finally subsided, Manda retrieved her gifts to Richard and Sarah. She nervously gave Sarah hers, and then sat down on the floor beside Richard and gave him his slightly larger package. She had struggled with what to get him. There was nothing she could buy him that he couldn’t buy for himself, and he practically lived in hotels, so it needed to be something small and easily transportable. Most importantly, she had wanted it to be something personal. After she’d finally decided on a gift, she had spent three weeks making it, getting up early to work on it without Richard’s knowledge. Now she just hoped he liked it. She held her breath as Richard tore off the gift wrap to reveal the leather bound box inside.
“They match,” Sarah noted, holding her own, flatter leather box up for Richard to see. Her eyes sparkled with curiosity and she lifted the lid off of her box at the same moment that Richard opened his. “It’s a book!” she announced, carefully lifting the leather bound volume from its matching box. Manda had eyes only for Richard though. She watched him closely as he removed the book reverently from the box. She tried to gauge his reaction, biting her lip anxiously as he slowly flipped through the pages, pausing to examine each one carefully. He looked at a dozen or so, then closed the book and looked at Manda.
“These are my songs,” he said softly. Manda couldn’t tell if he was pleased or not.
“Oh, Manda! This is beautiful! It’s like a book of poetry! And the pictures are gorgeous! Where did you get it?”
“She made it,” Richard answered before Manda could…and this time Manda could hear the pride in his voice and her tension was replaced by the warm glow of pleasure. He liked it!
The others had gathered around Sarah, looking over her shoulder as she flipped through her copy of the book. Manda had purchased a silver frame for her, but had switched it for her personal copy of the book after Sarah had expressed how much she loved Richard’s songs. Manda could always have another made for herself.
“The pictures are wonderful,” Daniel remarked. “What are they? Photographs with watercolor? Is it a local artist?” He reached over Sarah’s shoulder to flip back to the title page. “Richard is listed as the author, but there’s no credit for the artist.”
Richard’s eyes never left Manda as he answered for her once more. “Manda did them. She’s the artist.” He smiled his approval, eliciting a return smile from Manda, and then opened his book to a picture of a small waterfall among snow-coated rocks and evergreens. “This is the place you took me on that first time we went for a drive.” He flipped forward a few pages. “And this is that small clump of aspen trees in the plaza in front of your building…the one with the squirrel.” He progressed a few more pages. “And this is in your backyard.”
“They’re all there,” Manda told him, gesturing to the box on his lap. Sarah’s box held only the book, but there was more in Richard’s. He lifted the divider to reveal the stack of matted, hand-colored photographs below.
“The originals, hand signed by the artist,” he announced for the benefit of the others, and tipped the box up to show them. “This is perfect, Manda. I’ll cherish it forever. Thank you.” He carefully returned the book to the box and replaced the lid before expressing his appreciation with a kiss. Then, he announced with a grin that it was his turn. Reaching behind himself, he produced a box that had been buried beneath a pile of torn gift wrap.
“Merry Christmas,” he said, placing the package in Manda’s lap.
Manda removed the wrapping slowly, savoring the thrill of anticipation. She removed the bow and ribbon and set them aside, then deliberately found the edge of the paper and carefully lifted the tape.
“Come on, Manda! Just rip it open!” Josh urged impatiently.
Sarah immediately shushed him. “Leave her alone. Let her enjoy it.”
Manda stuck her tongue out at Josh and made a point of meticulously folding the wrapping paper and putting it with the bow. The plain white box on her lap gave no clue to its contents, though she tipped it first one way and then the other, examining it from all sides. Finally, curiosity trumped anticipation and she lifted off the lid...and smiled when two smaller white boxes w
ere revealed, nested side-by-side inside the larger box.
“This isn’t going to be a succession of smaller and smaller boxes, is it?” Josh groaned.
“No, now be quiet!” Richard replied with a playful glare at his brother.
Manda removed the box on the left and opened it, only to find its contents heavily wrapped in bubble-wrap and tissue paper. No longer trying to draw out the suspense, Manda quickly stripped the packing away from the hard, irregularly-shaped object.
“Careful,” Richard cautioned. “It’s breakable.”
Manda had begun to suspect what it was and was smiling in anticipation when she pulled away the last layers of tissue paper...and then froze. Judging by its shape, she had expected it to be a new teapot to replace the one she had broken. Instead she held in her hands her old teapot, glued back together from its broken pieces. She turned it over in her hands, examining it from all sides. It had been meticulously reassembled, with each tiny puzzle-piece shard mated to the adjoining shards so cunningly that only the finest hairline cracks could be seen. It must have taken countless hours to put it back together so perfectly, and as long to collect all of the pieces.
“It will never be functional again, but I thought you might like to keep it. That’s not really your present though. Now, open this one.” Richard set the other small box on Manda’s lap and tried to take the reassembled teapot from her, but she clutched it gingerly to her chest and shook her head, unable to speak. With her one free hand and a great deal of Richard’s help she lifted the lid from the other box to reveal an object wrapped identically to the first one.
This was the new teapot then, she guessed. Hindered by trying to work one handed, Manda let Richard finish unwrapping the second bundle. It would never replace the teapot she held, but she would love the new one if for no other reason than because Richard had given it to her. When he unveiled his gift, however, Manda gasped and silently repented for underestimating him. He held the new teapot out to her and the hand she took it with was trembling, and tears blurred her vision. The new teapot was an exact replica of her old one. Blinking to clear her eyes, Manda held them up side-by-side for comparison. Had the one not been broken, she wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. The copy was exact right down to the brush strokes on the flowers.
“Where did you get this?” she asked, finally managing to compose herself enough to speak.
“I had it made,” Richard answered simply. “I took the pieces of your broken one to a restorer. That’s all. It’s amazing what you can find if you look.” He shrugged, downplaying the time, effort, and money she knew it must have taken.
What humbled Manda and made her heart ache with love for the man beside her wasn’t the money he must have spent—though she knew it must have cost a fortune—it was the care and effort he had put into the gift.
“You collected every little, tiny piece,” she said softly. “It must have taken hours. Just so you could have a new one made. Every piece.” Manda was stunned. That had been before they were even dating, back when she was sure he considered her merely a friend...and well before she had explained the significance of the teapot. Even then, though, he had known her well enough to understand that it had been something important to her. Even then she had mattered enough to him that he had painstakingly collected each and every tiny shard and sliver that had littered the carpet in her office.
“Does that mean you like your gift?” Richard asked her, totally undermining her frail control. Her tears came silently then, but with a vengeance that refused to be banished.
Taking the two teapots from her, Richard wrapped them back up and placed them back in their boxes for safekeeping. Then he gathered her into his arms and held her close.
“Thank you,” she finally choked out. She heard Daniel’s following comment and laughter joined her tears.
“I think that’s a yes.”
Chapter 21
New Year’s Eve didn’t turn out anything like Manda expected. Richard and Josh left the morning after Christmas, entrusting their cousins’ entertainment for the week to her. She missed Richard, as she’d known she would, but Sarah and Daniel were funny and lively companions, and by the end of the week she considered them friends. She liked Sarah especially. She felt an almost sisterly affection for her that was different than the mother/sister relationship she had with Emily. Sarah was closer to her own age, and like Richard, had a gift for putting Manda at ease and making her feel good about herself.
Richard did his utmost to fulfill his promise to Manda that she wouldn’t have a chance to miss him. It was a failed attempt, of course, as she missed him a great deal, but it was a valiant effort nonetheless. True to his word, he called her every evening and he sent her flowers every day. On the impossible chance that Manda needed even more reminders of him, Rain appeared on a different talk show almost every morning, promoting their foundation and often singing a song or two. Manda watched avidly, often on the television at work with David, Jen, Sarah, and Daniel.
It was a busy week, filled with lunches and dinners with Daniel and Sarah, sometimes with David and Stacey thrown into the mix as well. During the weekend before New Years, Manda took Daniel and Sarah sightseeing, visiting museums and other points of interest. By Sunday night Manda was exhausted and would gladly have rung in the New Year cozied up in her bed, watching the festivities on television. Sarah and Daniel wouldn’t hear of it though. They insisted that Manda join them for a New Year’s Eve celebration in their hotel suite, where they could all watch Richard and Josh’s performance during the broadcast from Times Square.
Rain was finally introduced shortly before midnight by a pretty little starlet who Manda vaguely recognized as the lead in some television program she’d never watched. The scantily-clad blonde was obviously enjoying her proximity to the two brothers and she attempted to cling familiarly to first one and then the other.
“Why that little…!” Manda exclaimed in annoyance when the woman was particularly stubborn in her advances toward Richard.
“Oh, just watch,” Daniel advised with a grin. “Richard handles himself pretty well with that sort.”
Indeed, at that moment the starlet attempted to twine her arm through his flirtatiously, but Richard, appearing oblivious to her, turned away to wave at the crowd, then proceeded to his place behind the piano. The perky blonde was left standing awkwardly alone with her back toward Josh. She was quite satisfyingly out of sorts as she fumbled through the song introduction and hurried off of the stage. When the camera shot switched to a close-up of Josh, Manda thought she detected a fleeting laugh from him as he readied his guitar.
She didn’t spare much attention for Josh after that though. She studied Richard’s face whenever she had the opportunity—and they were generous with the close-ups. She was looking for something specific and…yes, there it was! There was an edginess about his expression, a tension that she’d noticed all week long during his other television appearances. He smiled charmingly enough to fool anyone who didn’t really know him, but his smile never quite touched his eyes. He looked tired and worried to Manda. Josh, when she spared a look for him, seemed by comparison to be relaxed and completely in his element. He owned the stage. Their performance was, as usual, amazing, and when they finished, the crowd roared deafeningly.
It was less than a minute before midnight and the scene on TV switched to the throng in Times Square as they waited for the ball to drop. Manda discreetly slipped her shoes back on. She would excuse herself as soon as midnight arrived. She just wasn’t in a very festive mood. She’d been understanding and supportive when Richard told her he would be away for New Year’s—it was his job, after all, and it wasn’t as if she were some needy, clinging hothouse flower who couldn’t take care of herself—but she had been much more disappointed than she’d let on. She’d never had anyone special to share New Year’s Eve with before and she’d hoped that this year.... Well, it didn’t matter. Richard would be back tomorrow.
As Manda
glanced around the room, inconspicuously trying to locate her coat, someone knocked on the door.
“I’ll get it,” Daniel announced quickly, glancing at his watch. It was very late for anyone to be knocking.
Manda spied her coat on a chair against the wall. She stood and stretched, edging in that direction. On television the crowd began to chant the customary countdown.
“10…9…8…”
“She’s got her shoes on, Richard. She’s planning on sneaking out at the stroke of midnight, like Cinderella.”
“She’ll have to get by me first,” Richard answered his brother as the two men strode into the room. “And I’m much harder to elude than Prince Charming.”
“4…3…2…”
“Richard!”
Richard captured a laughing and confused Manda in his arms just in time to kiss her as the New Year began.
“Happy New Year, Cinderella. Did you miss me?”
“Oh, were you away?” she retorted in wide-eyed surprise. “I couldn’t tell.” She couldn’t sustain the act though. She was simply too pleased and surprised to see him. “How can you possibly be here when I just saw you on television from New York?”
“We recorded that earlier, of course, and then jumped on the first flight we could get back here,” Richard explained patiently.
“He’s had me running through airports all night just so he could make it here by midnight,” Josh complained. “And he wouldn’t even stop and wait for our bags after we landed. He made poor Mikey stay behind to collect them all.”
“You could have stayed behind to help him,” Sarah scolded as she greeted Josh with a hug.
“No, I wanted to see Manda’s face when Richard surprised her. Besides, Mark was there to help.”
“So you didn’t come in the limo?” Daniel asked in exasperation, though Manda didn’t understand what was wrong with that.