“It’s more than that. I’m carrying another man’s baby. How can I ask him to understand when I don’t understand myself? How could I have been so naïve? We were beginning to have feelings for each other when I left for Paris. And, what do I do when the first Frenchman comes my way?”
“Stop it, Gilly. Maxime was not just any old Frenchman. He targeted you. He wasn’t honest with you. Any woman would have been caught off guard with the attention he was throwing your way.”
“That’s just it. I don’t want to be any woman. I’m starting a business. Maybe I’m not up to it. Look what we’re planning to do the next few days … moving to a new place I can’t afford, managing a store … I’ve never managed a store … dragging you and Maria along with me.”
“You’re not dragging us. Maria and I believe in you. We’ve talked about it. Yes, we have.”
Gilly arched her brows at the thought that Maria and Nicole had discussed the deal with Stacy without her. She smiled. “I’m glad you have. If you two didn’t pull out already, I guess you’ve decided to come along for the ride.”
“Yes, and now I want you to stop this pity party. We can’t do anything else today so let’s make our lists … lists for the next six months when the business takes over the lease. I’ll warm up those wicked cinnamon buns your mom transferred from her car to Skip’s when we were leaving the resort yesterday. She said more were coming when they arrive to spend Christmas dinner with us.”
“Do you miss not being home for Christmas with your family?” Gilly asked stretching her arms over her head.
“A little. Christmas was never a big deal. My mom said she and dad were saving up for a visit. We’ll see.” Zapping the buns in the microwave, Nicole took inventory in the refrigerator. “The tuna casserole and other goodies your mom prepared will be perfect for lunch and dinner. We’ll be ready tomorrow morning to take on the world … after the roads are plowed.”
“Nicole, I never could have come this far without you and Maria. I love you guys.” Gilly’s eyes filled with tears. She let them spill over her lids sliding down to her bathrobe. Looking at Nicole, she felt such love for her. Her hand resting on her belly she felt the baby girl kick, anxious to join her mother’s world.
The blizzard eased off by mid-afternoon, the sunshine cutting through the storm clouds before setting behind the mountains. The day had been productive. Christmas music filled the little apartment with holiday warmth as they tackled the list of what had to be done over the next week, then the next month, and then the big picture—redoing the little shop to represent their line of clothes bursting out onto the fashion world’s stage.
───
BY MID-WEEK STACY AND her husband had packed up their personal belongings leaving the second floor cleaned up and available for Gilly to make the move before the New Year’s holiday. Maria and Hawk were back in the city, their olive skin sporting a deepened level of tan from the sun.
Moving day was upon them before they knew it. Anne, Will, and Gramps borrowed a van to help. Gramps and Gilly were stationed in the new apartment, Gramps waving his arms directing where items were to be placed from Gilly’s detailed drawing, as she unpacked the cartons as they appeared. Braving the snow banks, the move was soon accomplished. Nicole had called Skip putting the idea into his head that if he dropped by at a certain time, he would be more than welcome.
After the last load everyone collapsed on a futon, two folding chairs, and a few pillows on a throw rug. Skip sauntered in with a cooler. Prepared, he pulled out a champagne bottle and a new set of crystal flutes for the occasion, the first of many he added. Popping the cork, letting it fly up to the high-beamed ceiling, he poured the bubbly and pulled out a small bottle of ginger ale for Gilly filling her flute.
“Here’s to the successful launch of something big and I’m not just referring to big mamma over there,” he said smiling.
“Mom, with the wedding and the move I forgot to tell you about Arthur Lewis.”
“He’s the man who tackled you at the train station? Saved your life.”
“Yes, but what she evidently forgot to tell you, Anne,” Skip said frowning at Gilly, “Is that your daughter offered him a job to take care of the books.”
“What? I’m out of a job?” Anne said feigning surprise. “Not even a pink slip? Just out?” she chuckled.
“Mom, we’re crazy busy— Gilly smiled at Maria. Crazy busy were two words the girls had used often to describe their life at the fashion academy.
“I know you’re crazy busy,” Anne said. “I about had a stroke when I saw the box full of orders, receipts, bills, check stubs … I don’t know what all. When does this savior Arthur Lewis ride to my rescue?”
“January second. One o’clock. Two days a week to start.”
“She wants to be sure Lewis can add two and two.” Skip said. “At the hospital he said he was an out-of-work accountant.” Skip popped another cork passing the bottle to Gramps to refill his glass.
“I’ll hand him what will pass as my keeping of the books, then I resign.”
“Your resignation will sadly be accepted but your duties as visitor with an occasional pot of chicken stew are still expected to be carried out. Agreed?” Gilly, leaned over to kiss her mother’s cheek.
“Agreed, sweetie.”
“Nicole, we have to start ramping up our sales effort. What do you think about Gabrielle?” Gilly asked. “Do you think she’d like to join us? She indicated she would that last day when we were at the café … seems so long ago.”
“That’s a great idea. Let’s call her … wish her a Happy New Year and to get her butt to Seattle on the next flight.”
Everyone laughed. The darnedest words came from that sweet French girl’s mouth. Sweet words were not always the case. Gilly had heard her let fly at Vinsenso if she caught a flaw at the factory. Of course, everyone thought Gabrielle was a good idea and hoped she would join the little company. Now that Maria was living with Hawk, another person around would help so Gilly was never alone. If only that detective could find Spiky.
“This apartment, if you can call it that, is pretty rustic,” Will said walking around the living room with his champagne glass. “The oak floorboards could be brought back with a good sanding and several coats of polyurethane.” He peeked into the space with a green refrigerator, black stove and porcelain sink—all looked old. “Seems the Sinclair’s divided the second floor in two with this wall. Living this side leaving the other for storage, I guess. Empty now. You said you were going to use it as the studio—those big windows will give you plenty of light. Bet there’s red brick on that outside wall.”
Anne smiled at her husband. With his years of construction experience he saw the potential where someone with little or no experience would say it was beyond repair.
“I know, Dad,” Gilly said sitting on one end of the futon Maria’s mother had donated for the previous apartment, stretching her legs out. “The heat works and the pipes don’t bang too loud —toasty in here. And, I tried the water—good pressure. But, the first plan of attack is the shop—new paint job, indirect lighting—start creating the atmosphere, environment to show off our collection. Second, a place for the baby—should have enough time to accomplish both projects.”
“I can lend a hand on weekends, maybe more.” Will turned to look at his daughter. She was staring at him. Did she hear right? A smile spread across his face. “Well, if your mother’s going to be here with chicken stew, I don’t want to stay home and eat alone.”
Gilly looked at her mom who was as surprised as she at her husband’s offer.
“Hey, what about me?” Gramps said grasping his heart, hurt to the core. “I can still swing a paintbrush, not too good with the hammer. Hit my thumb yesterday. Hurts like the devil.”
“I guess I’d better start the grocery list on the way home tonight,” Anne said.
Coco jumped up on Gilly’s lap, decided it was no longer comfortable, took a look at Nicole and gently stepped to he
r lap, purring as she curled into a ball.
“Maria, I think it’s time for us to leave,” Hawk said, stretching as he extended his hand to his wife. “I’m maxed out, no time to help you guys, with my new office, new apartment, and a new wife who demands my constant attention.”
Swinging into Hawk’s arms, she planted a noisy kiss on his lips. “And don’t you forget it, mister.”
Chapter 43
───
BY MID-JANUARY GABRIELLE Dupont had arrived in Seattle bringing a list of buyers, a treasure trove of contacts she had collected over the two years she had worked with several fashion houses in Paris. At the onset of her career, she had dreamed of starting her own business but never had the courage. When she became Gilly’s agent she immediately saw the young woman’s drive and hoped one day to join her in the States.
Gabby liked the independent American, and thought American men rugged and good looking. They expected a woman to be self-sufficient. At thirty-eight, she didn’t appreciate the way many Frenchmen put her down, scoffed at her desire for a career. In her twenties her goal was to be a designer, but she soon learned her knack at sales was far superior to that of her design skills.
With the spring collection now on display at Nordstrom’s and downstairs in The Working Girl, Gabby began a full assault on buyers with the aid of Maria’s lookbooks. They were still working from a season behind but were ready with the fall collection to be debuted at the March event. It wasn’t a big event, nothing like New York, but this exciting, brand new company was learning—talking to customers who came into The Working Girl shop, noting their reactions to the line, their likes, dislikes, what they were looking to buy.
On Thursday nights for the next month, the girls shut the shop’s doors, pulled a curtain over the large storefront windows, pulled racks of clothes away from the section to be tackled, and pulled out the paint buckets.
Taking the early Friday morning ferry, Anne, Will and Gramps set to work and didn’t leave until Sunday evening. Anne kept the troops fed. Will organized the team—he and Gramps making several runs to the paint store down the block to replenish the supply of drop cloths, rollers, or paint. An unanticipated bonus—Will was a licensed electrician.
Gilly closed the shop on weekends to accommodate the worker’s hours. Gabby erected a sign: Under New Management. Closed for Reconstruction. Come back Monday. You’ll love the new look and the addition of the NEW GW Fashions. The sign went up Thursday night and stayed up until Sunday night when the Wilder crew left for the ferry.
Weekend by weekend the interior of the little shop changed from sterile white to a light tint of mauve. Indirect lighting and greenery gradually transformed the environment with a minimum of expense which mainly consisted of feeding the worker bees—big pots of chicken stew or pans of lasagna, French bread, bottles of milk and gallons of coffee.
Gilly wasn’t allowed in the shop during the painting. She worked nonstop in the studio designing the fall collection to debut at the March first event. With Nicole, Maria, Gabby and her mom’s help muslin samples were sewn, then the samples brought to life with the wool, silk, and trims for display on the mannequins at the event.
At Gilly’s last visit, Dr. Kirkpatrick said everything was on schedule with the baby but wished Gilly would ease up on her work schedule. She needed her rest. Exhilarated by the prospect her baby girl would soon make her appearance, Gilly stopped at a second hand shop. Seeing they had everything she wanted, she called Hawk who enlisted Skip. The two men drove up in front of the shop in a U-Haul. Gilly laughed as they entered, surprised to see Skip, but grateful for his help. Hawk gave her a hug and asked, “Okay, big mama, where’s the loot?”
“Hey watch your language. Just because Skip calls me big mama doesn’t mean you can.” A big grin spread under a twinkle in her eyes.
“Is that right?” Hawk said. “Lookin like a big mama, an even bigger mama today. What do you say, scout?”
“I think you’re right, chief.”
“Geez, you guys are a piece of work.”
“Come on, big mama, show us what goes where,” Hawk said laughing with Skip.
“That room divider, baby crib, chest of drawers, changing table, and highchair. And, oh yes, the teddy bear throw rug, Raggedy Ann doll, and the Elmo lamp.”
“Holy cow, this kid’s never going to want to grow up. Come on, Skip, let’s get her loaded.”
The two loaded, unloaded, and set up the nursery in less than an hour. Anne, her arm around Gilly scrutinized the result as the men stood back very pleased with themselves. The second project on Gilly’s list was complete—the little space transformed into a new infant’s paradise.
───
THE TWO-DAY MARCH FASHION event was a big success. The GW Fashion’s booth was beautiful thanks mainly to Maria’s marketing acumen. The four girls gathered lots of information and Gabby made lots of contacts for a show in September to launch the spring collection. Her efforts were paying off. A few customers attending the show placed orders—Nicole knew she’d be off to the factory at the end of the event. Sitting around an expanded kitchen table at the end of the final day, Gabby joked that before they knew it they’d be going to fashion week in New York, maybe set up an office in the fashion mecca, and quipped that Sheridan would soon be added to the payroll. Anne brought in a pot of spaghetti. “What’s this about Sheridan? Another mouth to feed?” Anne chuckled. She was spending more time in Seattle with her daughter.
Arthur, at Gilly’s request kept massaging the numbers trying to figure a way she could buy the business from Stacy. He suggested making Stacy and her husband shareholders to offer a structured deal for the business. Hawk was called in to discuss the strategy that Arthur proposed. He said it was interesting and would get back to her.
Arthur topped the staircase and called to Gilly. “These flowers just arrived. The delivery man said to give them to you.” He smiled handing her the long white box as Maria and Gabby stood to see what kind of flowers the box contained. Arthur held the box so she could lift the lid. He saw their faces change from smiles to furrowed brows and frowns. He didn’t know the significance of the small box wrapped in brown paper tucked beside six roses surrounded with green tissue paper.
The arrival of Spiky’s package laid a pall over the day’s activities. Gilly called Detective DuBois and he swung by for the package. Gilly introduced the detective to Gabby and gave him a quick tour of the new space. DuBois huddled with Gilly and Maria before he left. He said he thought they were closing in; maybe Spiky was in the area. One of his officers thought he had seen Spiky but he slipped away. “There hasn’t been a package for over two months. I hoped Spiky’s ardor for revenge was over. But I guess not,” DuBois said.
“Did you get my message last week, Detective? About my mom talking to Helen Churchill?”
“Yep, I got it.”
“What did his grandmother say?” Maria asked.
“She heard from her son that Edward had an operation on his foot followed by therapy for a couple of months, but neither he nor his wife knew where he was, or weren’t saying,” Gilly said. “That’s probably why the notes stopped.”
“I hoped he stopped for good,” DuBois said.
“Me, too,” Gilly added. “But Helen then heard that the operation was botched, unsuccessful. At any rate his mother was not allowed to send Edward any more money.”
“That’s why this package. He needs money. I’ll let you know what the note says after forensics checks it out. No florist name on the flower box. I’ll talk to Arthur on my way out—get a description of the delivery man.”
Chapter 44
───
AT 2:20 A.M. ANNE sat up in bed. She heard Gilly cry out in pain. Turning on the lights she found her daughter crumpled on the kitchen floor, curled in a ball, a broken glass lying beside her in a puddle of milk.
“Nicole,” she shouted.
“We’re here,” Nicole and Gabby said at once rounding the doorway.
&n
bsp; “Call 911. I think she’s in labor. Gilly, did you fall?” Anne asked kneeling beside her daughter gripping her hand. “Gabby, get a blanket.”
“Yes … no. I felt a sharp pain and doubled over. Mom, I’m afraid to move.”
“The medics are on the way,” Nicole said kneeling on Gilly’s other side.
“Here’s the blanket,” Gabby said tucking a pillow under Gilly’s head.
“That’s all right, dear. You don’t have to move. The medics are on their way. I’ll just wrap this blanket around you. Are you cold?”
Anne wrapped the blanket while Gabby swept up the glass best she could so no one would get cut.
“I’ll go down to wait for the medics. I gave the directions to the back entrance.” Nicole ran to the bedroom, pulled on her jeans, a sweater and grabbed her sneakers on the way down the stairs.
Gabby looked out the front window. “Anne, the EMT van just turned down the alley. Go get dressed so you can ride with Gilly. Go. Go. I’ll stay with her.”
Gilly grabbed Gabby’s hand as her mother darted away to get dressed.
Nicole opened the door for the two medics. They asked if there was an elevator.
“No, just the stairs. Come on.” Nicole led the way through the studio to the kitchen.
The medics knelt beside the very pregnant woman, took her vitals, and told her she was doing just fine. The beefy one scooped Gilly up while the other tucked the blanket around her as they headed for the stairs. Anne pulled on her coat and followed them. “Gabby, call Gilly’s doctor,” she yelled over her shoulder. “Kirkpatrick. The number’s on the fridge.”
“Right. Nicole and I will lock up. Meet you at the hospital.” She closed the door as the medics laid Gilly in the van.
Gabby looked at Nicole. “How early is she?”
“Three weeks I think. She’s strong. She’ll be okay. Tell me she’ll be okay,” Nicole said a terrified look on her face as a tear escaped her eye. She slapped it away.
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