Pete glanced around the table with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. “So, are we all on board with this?”
Emma, Ashley and Anne nodded in agreement.
“Then the deed is done, mates,” Pete growled in his best pirate voice. “We’ve made a pact and it’s sealed in blood.”
“More like ketchup and fries,” Ashley amended.
CHAPTER 5
Emma returned to Ohio for Thanksgiving break. Anne and Ashley stayed behind at the dorm. Anne was thankful for the company since holidays were the loneliest time of year for her. The two managed to find a local restaurant serving turkey dinners on Thanksgiving Day. Anne noticed several older couples dining together and realized, just like them, they had nowhere else to go. Even sadder were the individuals who sat alone. She wondered if they had lost a husband or a wife. Were their families too busy to see them? Or worse yet, maybe they just didn’t care. Anne’s ability to read people helped her navigate the troubled waters of her childhood, but Joe taught her to look more deeply and consider what other people might be going through.
In December, icy winds whipped off the lake making frigid temperatures even more unbearable. Emma suggested they go to Macy’s for some Christmas shopping. “Then we can have lunch and see that big Christmas tree in the Walnut Room.”
“Okay,” Anne agreed half-heartedly. The idea of Christmas shopping was completely alien to her.
“Wait a minute,” Ashley intervened, “I would like to add one more thing to our agenda. My mom used to take me to the Nutcracker ballet every year. After she died, my father took me once. Then he left it up to my governess. I would like to invite you to go with me to the Joffrey Ballet Nutcracker. My father buys a bunch of tickets for his clients every year and I’m pretty sure I can take as many people as I like.”
Emma’s face lit up at the news. “Well, for such an elegant occasion, we’ll need to have escorts. Why don’t we invite the three musketeers?”
“No way!” Anne objected.
“Come on, Anne. They’re all ambitious, intelligent and good looking,” Emma pointed out. “What’s not to love?”
“Okay, go ahead and invite them,” she agreed, not wanting to spoil anybody’s fun. “But Mitch won’t come. Remember? I scared him off.”
Ashley gave Anne a sly smile. “We’ll just have to see if he has the courage to face the formidable you. I, for one, have never had a date. So I say we invite them.”
Anne rolled her eyes and folded her arms. “If you insist.”
“We insist!” Emma and Ashley chorused.
Later on Emma called Pete to give him the news. The next day he called back and much to Anne’s dismay, all three had accepted.
“Now that we have dates, we’ll need new dresses,” Emma decided. “This calls for some retail therapy, which you told me is way better than psychotherapy,” she reminded Anne.
The next Saturday the trio went to Macy’s. They decided to have lunch at the Walnut Room first thing to avoid the long lines. Everyone admired the decorated Christmas tree in the center of the room which rose to amazing heights. After lunch they headed to the eveningwear department to try on dresses.
Emma found a chiffon dress in lapis blue. The bodice gave way to a cascading skirt that overlapped in front.
Emma and Anne decided the black lace illusion dress was perfect for Ashley. The design was simple but elegant. Lace trim accented one shoulder and the back of the dress. A sculptural twist at the waist in front completed the look.
“Tom’s eyes will pop out at the sight you,” Emma enthused. “It’s sexy, but in a subtle way.”
Anne chose a scoop neck dress with tulle and beaded sequin detail. The soft jade color set off her strawberry blonde hair and green eyes perfectly.
The date was set for the Saturday before Christmas break. Ashley told them not to worry about anything. Transportation was already arranged for the evening. “All the musketeers have to do is show up here. The rest will be taken care of.”
“What did your dad think about you needing all those tickets?” Anne wondered out loud. “Did he say anything? Was he mad?”
“No...” Ashley replied, with a faraway look. “Actually, when I told him they were for my friends, he sounded really happy about it.”
The evening of the ballet arrived, and with it, a flurry of preparations. Emma put the finishing touches on hairstyles. Anne helped with makeup, remembering her time with Mona and the techniques she learned when Mona sold beauty products. Ashley proved to be a worthy assistant as they put on their dresses.
“After all this, I hope our dates don’t show up in jeans,” Anne worried.
“Won’t happen!” Emma assured her. “I told Pete they better dress for the occasion and not look like hicks.”
Anne laughed at the thought. “Watch what y’all are saying about hicks. They still make jokes about us barefoot Kentucky girls.”
“Barefoot or not, you look amazing,” Emma shot back.
The buzzer rang, notifying them their dates had arrived. All three hurried down the stairs. Mitch, Tom and Pete were dressed in suits and their collective grins revealed they liked what they saw entering the lobby.
“You’d better put on you coats. It’s freezing out there,” Pete advised.
As they walked outside, a limousine pulled up to the curb. Tom did a double take. “Wow! Is that for us?”
“Sure is,” Ashley told him. “And the tickets will be the best seats in the house.”
At the theater, Tom and Ashley picked up the reserved tickets while the others waited. Mitch seemed on high alert, his eyes darting around the room as he anxiously scanned the crowd.
Anne wondered about his odd behavior. “As they say back home, you’re as nervous as a tomcat in a room full of rocking chairs. I won’t bite, you know.”
“Promise?” he said, making a feeble attempt at humor.
Her attention was diverted to the other people in the lobby who were obviously staring at them. They seemed fascinated, perhaps wondering if Anne and her friends were celebrities. She smiled, her eyes sparkling at the unspoken flattery.
“You should smile more often,” Mitch commented. “You have such a beautiful smile.”
She turned away, looking down at the floor. The moment was lost.
Mitch immediately caught her change of mood. “I’m sorry. I always manage to say the wrong thing.”
Anne dismissed it with a wave. “No worries. For a minute everything seemed so magical, that is, until you brought me back to earth. I’ve seen more than enough of the real world. I just want to live in a fairytale tonight, for once in my life.”
Mitch’s face darkened. “I know, Anne.”
His comment puzzled her. She couldn’t shake the feeling Mitch was holding something back and knew more about her than he was letting on. How could he begin to know how she felt and what she’d been through, when he had everything going for him from day one?
Ashley and Tom returned with the tickets.
“Mitch put his foot in his mouth again,” Emma announced.
“Lawyers do that,” Anne suggested, her mood beginning to lighten.
Ashley looked at them both, shaking her head. “So, what else is new? But...hey, give the guy a break. He may be a law student but at least he’s not a shrink.”
Tom burst out laughing. “Watch out, Mitch,” he cautioned. “These ladies are taking no prisoners.”
The tension in the air dissipated and everyone joined in the laughter.
Tom extended his hand to Ashley with a courtly bow. “Shall we?” With that, they proceeded upstairs.
After she found her seat, Anne took note of the people around her. She studied the parents and grandparents taking children to see the ballet tonight, wishing she could be in their place. A stab of envy crossed her heart but she brushed it aside, focusing instead on the fan
cy dresses the little girls wore for their big night out with their families.
The Chicago Children’s Choir sang before the program started. Afterward the orchestra tuned, signaling the ballet was about to begin. From then on Anne was caught up in the world of Clara and her Nutcracker prince.
At the end of the program, they went outside to a waiting limousine which took them to a steak and seafood restaurant. “Order anything you like,” Ashley told them. “It’s all been taken care of.”
After dinner Pete stood up and raised his water glass in the air. “Ashley, we can’t thank you enough for this amazing evening.”
“Yes,” Emma chimed in. “The ballet was awesome. No worries about transportation because it was all taken care of. I felt like royalty. Now, on top of everything, you’re treating us to dinner. What a wonderful gift!”
“No.” Ashley shook her head with a wistful smile. “The gift is all mine. For the first time in my life, I have friends to share it with.”
“To friends,” they toasted.
Anne gazed at Ashley with new understanding. Their lives were vastly different and yet they had so much in common, it was eerie. Like Ashley, she now had friends for the first time in her life.
Mitch took her hand and squeezed it. He seemed to have an uncanny understanding of her thoughts.
Ashley left for Vail and Emma went back to her family in Ohio for Christmas break. Anne stayed behind, her footsteps echoing down the empty halls of Stanton. One lone Christmas card from John and Cherie Dusek sat on her desk.
Anne hated holidays, especially Christmas. Every year it was a blatant reminder she had no family and would never fit in with the rest of the world. Memories of Christmas past were even more depressing. Finally Anne grew weary of being confined in the cheerless dorm and decided to venture out on Christmas Eve.
Fresh snow blanketed the city, muffling traffic noises. Anne looked up to feel the cold snowflakes gently touching her face. Festive Christmas lights carried her thoughts back to the evening at the ballet. She smiled at the memory and stopped to enjoy all the store window displays along the way as she headed toward Giovanni’s.
A sign posted outside the restaurant alerted patrons the restaurant would be closing at seven for Christmas Eve. Anne walked inside and was greeted by their favorite waiter.
“Where are your friends this evening?” he asked.
“They left for Christmas break, so it’ll just be me.”
Anne studied the menu a moment, hoping to find something different to try. Sensing someone was standing nearby, she turned around. “Mitch! What are you doing here?”
“Somehow I thought maybe you’d be here. Mind if I join you?”
“Not at all. It’s good to see you.”
The waiter hurried over and put down another menu, giving Mitch a conspiratorial grin.
Anne scrutinized Mitch with a puzzled frown. “Why aren’t you with your parents on Christmas Eve?”
“They’re attending some office party. We’ll have dinner together tomorrow and afterward we always go to our summer home in Lake Geneva for the New Year.”
Anne turned her attention back to the menu. “I’m trying to figure out what to order. Somehow a hamburger and fries don’t seem festive enough.”
“The lasagna is to die for,” he recommended.
After they both ordered lasagna, an older gentleman with a shock of thick, white hair emerged from the kitchen carrying an instrument case.
Mitch touched Anne’s shoulder. “I think we’re in luck. Giovanni is going to play for us.”
Giovanni brought out his violin and tuned the strings. When he was satisfied, he played “Gesu Bambino”, followed by “The Christmas Song” and a number of traditional carols. Everyone applauded as he put away his instrument.
Giovanni immediately hurried over to their table. “How wonderful to see you both! And what a beautiful couple you make.” Giovanni wagged his finger at Mitch. “Do not let this one get away.”
Anne blushed as Giovanni kissed her on both cheeks.
“I may be old, but I still have an eye for the pretty girls.” With that he went back into the kitchen.
Anne looked at Mitch, her expression turning serious. “I can’t believe you found me here.”
“Just lucky, I guess.”
“I hate holidays and was all set to stay at the dorm, but I decided to have dinner here and give myself a great big pity party. Then you came along and spoiled the whole thing.”
“Glad to oblige.”
“I’m glad, too,” she admitted.
They left the restaurant and headed back to the dorm. Snow continued to fall softly as they walked together. The feeling of Mitch’s hand in hers warmed Anne from head to toe.
Mitch turned to her at the front steps and kissed her on both cheeks. “I, too, have an eye for the pretty girls.” His smile disappeared and turned into a look of regret as he brushed a tendril of hair off her face. “Merry Christmas, Anne.”
The sadness in his eyes troubled her. Was he saying goodbye? After such a beautiful evening she couldn’t imagine what went wrong.
Ashley returned from Vail a different person. She was quiet and subdued like last fall, as if some evil spell had been cast upon her.
“So how was Christmas with the step monster?” Emma asked, ready to get to the heart of the matter. “Was it really horrible?”
“No,” Ashley admitted. “Not too bad. But she kept trying to be my friend. It was kind of weird.”
“Totally weird,” Emma agreed. “Why, isn’t she an elderly lady of at least...thirty-two or so?”
Ashley giggled at the thought. After that she emerged from her shell and was back to normal.
Anne was disappointed but not surprised Mitch never called again. There was something unspoken between them on Christmas Eve. She couldn’t begin to figure out what caused him to shy away, but in the end she thought it best to forget about him. Someone like Mitch was way out of her league.
They met Pete the next Friday at Giovanni’s. He gave a report on his research. “I’ve been looking at news articles about trials from the seventies and eighties, both in Chicago and New York. Nothing seems to jump out at me so far.”
Anne was more than willing to give up on the whole thing. “I told you it would be impossible. There’s so little to go on. I know you gave it your best shot, but you’re probably wasting your time.”
“Oh, I’m not about to give up. I’ve only just begun to fight,” Pete insisted. “One thing did catch my eye. There was a mob boss here in Chicago by the name of Tony Romero. He was like a folk hero in his day. He went to prison during the timeframe I’m looking at. They got him for racketeering and tax evasion but he was probably guilty of a lot more. Now he lives in the northern suburbs and is supposedly a legitimate businessman. I’m sure he has all kinds of people protecting him, so trying to find out more might be like swimming in a mote full of alligators. But I’m willing to try.”
“Go get ‘em, Tiger,” Emma cheered.
“Funny you should mention that. Everyone called him ‘Tony the Tiger’.”
Finals week arrived in late May and there was still no word from Mitch. By contrast, Pete and Emma seemed to be getting closer by the day. They all but glowed in the dark when they were together.
Ashley heard from Tom occasionally. He was preparing to go to medical school at Stanford University and didn’t have time for a serious relationship. She took it in stride. “He might have been my first date but he won’t be the last.”
With nowhere else to go, Anne planned to stay on for the summer session. When they met for dinner on Friday, Emma revealed she would also stay in Chicago because she wanted to be with Pete.
Ashley waved her hand in the air to get her point across. “Hey! Newsflash! I’m staying here, too. Do you honestly think I could go back to healthy fo
od hell for three months?”
“That would be a fate worse than death,” Emma agreed with a solemn nod.
The three decided to take in the sights of Chicago after their morning classes. They visited the Adler Planetarium, the Museum of Science and Industry, the Art Institute, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Chicago History Museum, the Notebaert Nature Museum, and the Museum of Natural History. They also visited Buckingham Fountain. While they were there, a tourist agreed to use Ashley’s camera to snap a picture of the three of them.
Their pleasant summer weaved itself into a tapestry of friendship, sightseeing, classes, and joining the cacophony of sounds in the music building as they practiced each day.
New students began arriving after Labor Day for Freshmen Orientation. Anne, Ashley and Emma watched from the window as they came in the door of Stanton Hall. Anne noticed many looked like lost puppies, not knowing what to expect. Others appeared ready to tackle this new chapter in their lives head on. Once again Anne envied those who had families to help them settle in and say goodbye afterward.
One evening, Emma came back to the dorm with a flyer. “Take a look at this! They want people to audition for a community event. It’s a paying job.”
Anne was immediately intrigued. “Sounds interesting. Let’s do it! If we’re hired, it’s something to put on the resume. What do you think, Ashley?”
Ashley shook her head. “Performing is not my thing. I’m wondering how I’ll make it through my junior recital next year, but I think you guys should try.”
Emma decided to play the Chopin “Nocturne” in C# Minor.“ There’s nothing like Chopin to bring people around the piano,” she said with a confidant grin. “He knew how to touch people’s hearts. They say many of his pieces were improvised on the spot and never written down. What a loss!”
Anne chose the Faure “Fantasie” for her audition piece because she’d played it for her juries in May. Emma agreed to accompany her.
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