ZORA'S POV I sighed exasperatedly and turned towards Katherine. "For the last time, Kathy, Drew is... Drew." Katherine pondered on this. Then she frowned. "What does that cryptic statement even mean? Give me all the details, Zora." "I have," I cried. "Haven't we been talking about this for the past few minutes?" "But-" "Okay. Okay. Hold your water. Now, stop talking and listen closely because I honestly don't think I will be able to repeat myself. No interruptions please." Katherine folded her legs underneath her on the sofa and made a zipping gesture across her lips. She craned her neck in my direction even though I was seated on the sofa closest to her. "Okay, sure," she said. "Good. Now... Drew has the same shade of sandy brown hair he has always had, and no, he has not dyed it," I added after seeing her lips about to frame a question. As I spoke, I ticked each item off my fingers. "Let's see... what else? Yes. He has the same slate grey eyes- no contacts. He is still tal
ZORA'S POV "Oh," Kathy cried. "Where have you been all my life?" I turned away from the clothes I had been staring at and looked in Katherine's direction. She had been referring to a dress -a red one- which she took out of the rack, handling it gently as though it was made of glass. The electric blue dress I had selected and told her she looked stunning in, was lying abandoned, draped over the shoulder of a mannequin in the corner. She looked up, saw me staring, and beckoned to me. "Feel the texture of the material," she said, taking my hand and placing it on the gown. "It almost seems to caress your skin, doesn't it?" "It is not about the feel of the material," I argued, holding the dress up to get a better look. "It is about the fitting. Do you really think this will er- fit you?" "Of course. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was made for me. But just to satisfy your curiosity, I will go and change into the beauty." She draped the gown over her arm, went to the changing room,
ELLIOT'S POV As soon as we walked through the doors of the boutique, Sharon was at my side in a flash. Just as I was recovering from the surprise of how fast she had moved, her hands crept into mine and held on tightly. She smiled at an elderly couple who were about to leave. She beamed at the receptionist as she swung our hands. She looked around, seeking an audience that would witness her pitiful efforts at painting a picture of marital bliss. I forcibly jerked my hand away from her grip as we approached the counter. Her smile slipped just a little bit. The receptionist eyed us with interest as we approached. She appeared to lose interest in the other customers she had been attending to. She looked star-struck, and I could tell that she knew who I was before she even said my name. "Mr Garrett, Mrs Garrett," she said. "It's nice to have you shop with us. We have a selection of-" "I will take it from here," interjected a man who was dressed in the blue shirt the staff of the bo
ZORA'S POV "I miss you too," I replied, after listening to Derek tell me how much he missed me. I sighed. "You know what, Derek? I am willing to bet anything that you don't miss me half as much as I miss you." "Don't even go there. Ask Katherine. I must have talked her ear off because I was always talking about you. She probably got tired of my bugging her, so she went to be with you in New York." We laughed at that. Derek went on laughing for a long time after I had stopped. It was then I noticed that there had been a tinge of excitement in his voice ever since we had been having this phone conversation. Derek was always happy to hear from me, but I got a feeling that there was something else getting him all pumped up. He said something that I didn't quite catch. "I did not quite get that," I said. "I am sorry." "Oh, are you working now? Maybe I should-" "No, I was just woolgathering and I was also wondering when you were planning to tell me the good news." "How did you know?
ZORA'S POV "What the hell is this?" Katherine yelled, looking at me with a mixture of shock and disgust, a look I hoped not to see on her face again. It was not that I did not deserve it though. I called myself seven kinds of a fool not only for having those pictures on my phone, but for forgetting something as elementary as deleting them when I was done viewing them, or before giving the phone to someone else. Not able to look Katherine in the face, I lowered my gaze. "Zora, I am talking to you, goddammit! Can you explain what exactly this is?" Katherine's voice grew louder and more shrill with every word she uttered. I was beginning to get scared that her raised voice would wake the twins up. What would I tell those inquisitive kids of mine if they should walk in on us? "Please, calm down," I pleaded. I pressed a finger to my lips. "Keep your voice down a little. The kids- you will wake them up." Katherine, who was about to speak, made a great effort and swallowed her words
ZORA'S POV Katherine gasped, looked again at what I had just given her, and stared at me in surprise. I smiled, trying to act as though I didn't know what her excitement was all about. She squealed in delight, darted forward, and wrapped her arm around my neck, hugging me tightly. "Oh. Thank you, Zora," she cried. "Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. This is like a dream come true. Finally, I will get to hobnob with the big shots in the big city and it's all thanks to you. Thank you." "That is a whole lot of thank yous," I said. "And hey- you are choking me. Ease up a little, will you?" She relaxed her hold a little but did not entirely let go. She laughed as she said. "I am just showing you how grateful I am. In fact, you are my only love, Zora. No one else even comes close." I snorted and laughed, giving her a disbelieving look from under my lashes. "What? But it's true though." "Really? I would like to see you repeat that statement in front of Drew. I would really love to hear
ZORA'S POV Cheryl looked around the hall and stamped her foot impatiently. "Where has Trey gone off to now?" she said, half to herself. "He told me that he would be close to the bandstand, but he isn't there." I looked around myself. A lot of people were in attendance at the Gala. They were constantly in motion and it was very hard to focus on individual faces. The place was busier than a beehive. "Don't let it get you upset," I told Cheryl. "I honestly don't think you can find anyone in this crowd. Trey may even be looking for you. He will turn up eventually... he always does." Cheryl shrugged. I stepped forward to take a drink from the tray a passing waiter carried. Katherine did the same. She dug her elbow into my ribs to get my attention. She leaned in really close. "Hey. Is Drew really here? Have you er- spotted him by any chance?" I shook my head. Her shoulders slumped in disappointment. "Well, he had better turn up soon before I lose it. I don't know how my talk with him
ZORA'S POV I felt the bile rise and clog my throat as I made a mad dash for the restroom. I could barely see the door knob. Before I could attempt to reach it, the door was jerked open. That was the first indication I got of the fact that I was being followed. I looked around wildly, caught a flash of white, rushed towards it, and bent over it, just as the bile rushed up my throat and out of my mouth in a flood I could not control. It kept coming in floods, making me feel like my guts were being wrenched from the inside out. I felt warm, strong hands descend on my back and rub it in soothing circular motions. I would know the feel and texture of those hands anywhere and could identify the perfume he always wore. Elliot continuously murmured words of sympathy. Gradually, I began to feel better as the feeling of nausea passed. With a shaky hand, I turned on the faucet and rinsed my mouth several times to take the bitter taste out of my mouth. I let the water run for a while and t