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
ZORA'S POVTEN YEARS LATER"Freya! Freya!" I called repeatedly as I walked towards her room.I did not hold much hopes of her answering though. It was a few minutes to 7 in the morning, and if I knew my daughter very well, she would still be in bed and fast asleep at this time."Fre-" I threw open the door to her room and stopped short.She was not in bed as usual. She was up, and appeared to have been up for some hours. She was already dressed and was sitting in front of the mirror, applying some lip gloss. My eyes narrowed at this. I could not remember when I had seen Freya interested in anything that had to do with makeup. As a mum that was a model, I had half been expecting Freya over the years to have shown some interest in the cosmetics lining my dressing table. But she had been completely indifferent to them. I hadn't minded her indifference though. I had sort of welcomed it."A mother that knows all about fashion, and a daughter that has no interest in it whatsoever," Elliot u
ZORA'S POV"And how is your vacation going?" Katherine asked almost as soon as I picked the call.This question was followed by a giggle. I narrowed my eyes at that. It seemed there was a hidden meaning underlying Katherine's question."And why did you laugh after asking that, Kathy?" I asked her."Oh, don't mind me. It's just that my imagination went into overdrive for a minute. What I actually wanted to ask if if Finn and Freya's presence there has given you and Elliot some much needed smooching time, if you know what I mean.""Kathy!" I exclaimed and blushed when the meaning of her question became plain. "You are something else, you know that, right?""I know. I know. I'm picturing the blush on your cheeks right now." We laughed. "Seriously though, how is everything going over there?"I stretched languidly in bed and transferred the phone to my other ear. "It's going better than I had imagined. We are all having lots of fun. This resort is so beautiful. I can spend hours and hours w
ZORA'S POV"What do you think? That I'm serious about this, or joking?" I asked Elliot with a grin.Elliot traced patterns with his fingers all across my collarbone."You tell me, Zora," he murmured softly. "I can't seem to think straight right now. But I know something that will help improve my thinking faculties right now.""Oh. And er- what could that be?""This." In one fluid movement, Elliot pulled himself up and pressed his lips to mine. His tongue moved across my lips several times, then withdrew. He continued kissing me a few moments longer before pulling away. I was breathless by then and could barely speak. He smirked at the effect he knew he had on me."Now I can think again," he said. "Now where were we? Let me see. Ah. I remember. We were talking about what you just told me-"I pouted. "It's not fair at all. We were having a serious conversation, then you kissed me and sent my thoughts going here and there." I reached for him. "Come back here and finish what you started."
ZORA'S POVUnder the lights, Katherine's diamond ring sparkled and glinted like there were a thousand fireflies caught in it."I still can't believe it," she gushed. "I'm engaged to the man I love-" She gave Drew, who sat beside her a doe eyed look. He gave her one right back. The sparks flying between the two of them were almost visible. "-and that was after several tortuous days in which I died several times over. I just can't believe it everything turned out so well.""I can't either," I said and groaned, rubbed my forehead. All eyes turned towards me. "I can't believe that you finally proposed to Katherine. I think that at this point, I am happier than Kathy here. She almost drove me out of mind by worrying so much about you, talking on stop about you and forcing me to listen to her do so."This stirred up laughter. A chuckling Elliot put up his hand. "I'm a witness to this. Whenever Zora's phone rang when I was with her, it was Katherine calling more than ninety-nine percent of
ZORA'S POVElliot turned to Finn who he held in the crook of one arm."And how has school been for you lately, Finn?""It's been good. My teacher says I'm smart, and I always do my work at school myself. I do my homework too. Mummy knows that.""Good. I'm impressed with you. By the way, have you been drawing any more of those beautiful pictures?"Finn nodded eagerly. "Uh huh. I've drawn lots and lots of them, but they are at school now. I will get them next time, so you will see them.""I would like that very much.""Aren't you going to ask Freya about how school is too?" Finn questioned.There was a twinkle in Elliot's eyes as he looked over at Freya who he held in the crook of the other arm. She was busily engaged in licking a lollipop from various angles."Freya has told me all about her time at school. She gives me a dialy report every single day." Elliot tipped me a wink.I hid a grin. I knew exactly what he was talking about. Whenever I went to pick the kids from school, Freya w
ZORA'S POVDrew goggled at me. The expression on his face was almost comical. I tried my hardest to keep the laughter in, and to keep my qexpression deadpan."Are you being serious, Zora?""Uh huh. Don't I look serious?"Drew groaned. "Why are you and Elliot being such a pain in the ass today? It's almost like you two had it all planned." He looked at me sharply. "Elliot didn't call you to tell you that I was coming here, did he?"I rolled my eyes at that. "Of course not.""Then why won't both of you help me? You are sort of like my last resort, you know? Who else am I going to ask for ideas?""I don't know, honestly. Like I told you before, I am fresh out of ideas, but I am sure that you will figure something out. You always do. Whatever you eventually come up with will be... adequate."He gasped. "Adequate? Did you say adequate? This is a once in a lifetime event, and I want to get it exactly right for Kathy. Not right even. I want it to be perfect. Adequate won't do at all.""Ah. I
ELLIOT'S POVI looked through the pile of documents on my desk as I waited for my secretary. Seconds later, the door to my office opened, admitting her."Here they are sir," she said as she handed some more files over to me."Okay. Thank you."She resumed her seat, restarted her computer and began to work. I quickly glanced through the files, noted some information on the notepad in front of me."What about the progress reports on that account we just got?' I asked her after a while."I didn't include it because it was not completely ready yet, sir.""Okay... but it is essential for me to have that in order to properly make sense of the bulk of these reports you just gave to me."She quickly made a note and nodded. "Alright. I will get the person in charge of sending the progress report to speed things up.""Good. Now how about the project the company is working on outside the state? I haven't been able to travel to er- oversee it myself. How is it coming along? ""Oh, very well, sir.
ZORA'S POV"Are you quite busy?" Trey said a couple of minutes after he had come into my office and stood around, watching me work.I placed a finger on the place I was reading and looked up at him. "You gave me this files through Cheryl to work on, so I'm saying yes, I'm quite busy."I meant this as a joke, grinned at him, but he did not return the smile. He looked like a man with a lot on his mind. I shut the file folder, and sat up, giving him my attention."Okay. Tell me. What's on your mind?"As though he had been waiting for me to say that all along, Trey quickly seated himself."What's on my mind is a question. When is Elliot making it official?"I had an inkling of where Trey was headed with this already. Katherine had asked me this very question a while ago too. I just wished they would all give it a rest already, at least for now. I was still sorting out myself. I didn't know if I was ready yet for that commitment.I raised a brow. "I am guessing you are insinuating that Ell
ZORA'S POVI watched Finn and excitedly tear off another gift wrap. I winced a little at the squeal of delight that they let out at the same time. My ears still buzzed from the last one."Mum, mum, look. He got me another doll," cried Freya as she held out a realistic looking dolly still in it's plastic wrap.I grinned. "Yes, sweetie. I can see that. You new doll is pretty. What are we going to call her?""Let me see," Finn said, and tried to take the doll from Freya.She immediately held it out of his reach."It's not yours," Freya said.Finn gestured to the pile of unwrapped toys beside him. "I let you see my own toys. Why can't I see your doll?"I felt it was time to intervene now. It was the twins birthday and they had been happily unboxing Elliot's gifts for the past hour. They had gotten through a pile and still had about half a pile more to go."Why don't we go on with opening your presents?" I suggested. "I'm curious to know what is in all those pretty boxes. Aren't you?'S