Chapter Four: Images
|
I |
don’t mind telling you this, but a girl from my neighborhood is never big on hoity toity affairs. Sure, there were a lot of women mingling around in fabulous gowns that probably came from stores like Marshall Field’s and Lord & Taylor, not from the love and labor of a talented seamstress, and a lot of other big wigs rubbing elbows with each other. But, since I was here to support my best friend, I gritted my teeth and did a lot of smiling. I could see that Rena and Eric were doing the same thing, but they seemed a lot more at ease than I did. I was just waiting for us to sit down and eat, so that way, my friends and I could be together and just laugh and joke like we always did.
“Miss Ryan?” I heard a familiar voice calling my name. A girl in a waitresses uniform came up to me, with a tray of glasses full of champagne.
“Zaniya! What are you doing here?”
“Trying to make some extra holiday cash. That dress is great! It’s definitely ‘bout it, ‘bout it!”
“Uh yeah,” I giggled. Now I know how my mom felt whenever Rick and I came home with some new slang rolling off our tongues.
“You look beautiful,” she told me, sensing my confusion.
“Thank you.”
“Well Caitlin are you enjoying yourself?” Senator DuVall walked over to us.
“Senator DuVall, I’d like you to meet one of my girls. This is Zaniya Perkins, captain of the varsity cheerleading squad at Englewood. Zaniya, this is…”
“Senator Michael DuVall! Oh my God! Sir, I can’t tell you how happy I am to finally meet you! I would shake your hand, but ah…”
“I’m telling you to take a small break, my dear.” Zaniya put the tray down and Senator DuVall shook her hand with both of his. Her young face lit up like the Christmas lights decorating Michigan Avenue.
“Zaniya is a very good student, and an excellent athlete. She’s already been accepted at Great Northern University and Spelman College.”
“Excellent. Have you chosen a school yet, my dear?”
“No Sir. It’s a hard decision, choosing a college.”
“Well, far be it for me to influence you, but I think that you would benefit greatly from an education at Great Northern.”
“His daughter went there,” I whispered. He chuckled in reply.
“What do you plan on studying, Zaniya?”
“I’m not sure. I think I might want to study journalism.”
“Fine school for journalism there, my dear. I know many young people who have gotten their undergraduate degrees from Great Northern and have gone on to do wonderful things with their lives, including my precious daughter.”
“Zaniya is an honor student at Englewood. She pulls in straight As.”
“Miss Ryan,” she whispered, “you’re embarrassing me.”
“Can you blame me?” I put my arm around her.
“Senator DuVall, we need you over here, Sir,” a woman in a floor length, stunning aquamarine gown called.
“Excuse me please, girls. Zaniya, if you need anything, and I mean anything at all, I want you to call me at this number.” He reached into his jacket pocket and gave her a business card. “It was very nice to have met you.”
“Oh thank you, Sir. Thank you very much.”
“Pleasure’s all mine, my dear.” He shook her hand again and then walked away.
“Miss Ryan, wait until I tell the kids at school that I met a real politician!”
“I’m sure that you’ll make a real name for yourself now,” I smiled.
“Um, I’d better get back to work. Want some champagne?” I took a glass off the tray.
“See you in school on Monday,” I assured her. “Oh, and stay out of trouble,” I winked.
“I will.” She walked over to a group of women who were asking for a waitress.
“Hey babe. How’s it going?”
“That was one of my students.”
“Really? Which one?”
“Zaniya Perkins. She’s working here to make some extra Christmas cash.”
“Oh yeah, I remember those days. Shoveling snow, cleaning off cars, anything to get some extra money.” He put his arm around me.
“Have you gotten my present yet?” I asked, gazing up into his eyes.
“Perhaps.”
“Perhaps? You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“Not a chance.”
“You’re mean!”
“Ah, but my precious little Puchina still loves me anyway.”
“You sure about that?” He raised an eyebrow, which sent me into giggles.
“Listen, what happened to Moms?”
“Oh man, I think I stuck her with that friend of the DuValls, Stacey Van Dyke.”
“Looks to me like she’s having a good time.” He pointed across the room. Mom and Stacey were standing by one of the windows, both of them with glasses of champagne in their hands, and he was whispering something to her, and she laughed and tossed her head back like she was my age again.
“I guess so. I want to make sure though. Come with me.” Joshua took my arm as we went to talk to Mom and Mr. Van Dyke.
Sure enough, Mom was laughing and smiling when we got over there.
“Having fun, Mom?”
“Oh hi honey.” She reached out and put her arm around me. “Stacey was just telling me one of the funniest stories I ever heard. He’s got a wonderful sense of humor.”
“So, are you enjoying the party, Caitlin?” he asked me in that warm Dutch accent that made my knees almost buckle.
“So far, so good.”
“Your mother was just telling me that you work with underprivileged children. You must find that to be quite rewarding and fulfilling.”
“Actually, yes, I do. I love my work. They can be little rascals sometimes, but for the most part, I wouldn’t trade them for anything else in the world.”
“I know what you mean,” he said, taking a sip from his glass. “Children are some of the most precious gifts. Very precious.”
“It’s too bad that you never had children of your own, Stacey,” Mom said.
“My wife and I wanted very much to have children, but ah…she passed away so young.”
“You’re still young enough to find someone else, if you like,” Joshua pointed out.
“Perhaps,” Stacey said, running his finger through one of Mom’s soft brown curls.
“Um…Joshua, why don’t we go and find our table now?”
“Sure, babe.”
“I’ll be over shortly!” Mom called after us.
“He’s really putting the moves on your mother,” Joshua whispered in my ear.
“Oh, he’s harmless. He’s just a very nice man who’s good with the ladies. Besides, I think it’s about time my mom started dating again.”
“She hasn’t dated since your father died?”
“She claims that she stayed single for our sake, Ricky and I. We’ve always had our grandfather to look up to, and my uncle Hank and all of my great uncles, so I never felt like we lacked for a male role model.”
“I’m sure that your mom just wanted you two to be happy.”
“And we were happy. But we’re grown up now, so it’s time for her to have some fun.”
“I definitely agree with you, Puchina.”
“Puchina? What does that mean?”
“I don’t know. I made it up. It sounds cute though, doesn’t it?”
“Puchina Ryan…sounds like an Italian actress. I like it.”
“Guys! Over here!” Rena waved to us from a table by the window. She and Eric had already made themselves comfortable. There were five more chairs to fill.
“You two look nice and cozy,” I said.
“We are,” Eric replied.
“Where’s your mom? Thought she’d have joined us by now,” Rena said.
“Over there being swept off her feet by Mr. Wonderful.”
“Excuse me?” Rena said with a chuckle.
“Stacey Van Dyke,” I said, as Joshua pulled out a chair for me and I sat down.
“I’ve heard of him,” Eric said. “He’s some big time pediatric medical researcher. He did a lot of work for St. Jude’s, and now he’s back here in Chicago, working at Children’s Memorial.”
“Really? I should’ve asked him if he’s done any research concerning juvenile diabetes.”
“Knowing that big wig, he probably has,” Eric said.
“He sounds to me like a totally unselfish person. Anybody that would start this kind of organization to raise money so that sick little kids can have a merry Christmas has to be somebody that God smiles on a lot.”
“Yes, I think so,” I said, watching as he kissed my mother’s hand and walked out the door.
“I wonder what’s going on.” Mom came to the table a few seconds later.
“Mom? What’s wrong?”
“Oh nothing’s wrong, honey. Stacey had to make a phone call, and he can’t get a signal on his cell phone in here.”
“Oh, I see. Aren’t you going to sit with him?” I teased.
“You know that he’s sitting at the head table.”
“Yeah, but from the way that you were laughing at his jokes, I was sure that he’d invite you to sit with him.”
“Do you like him Mrs. Ryan?” Eric asked.
“Yes, I do. He seems like a very nice man. He’s very smart and very dedicated to his work. Which reminds me,” she opened her purse and pulled out a couple of pamphlets, “he wanted me to give these to you.” I looked them over.
“Hey Mom, this is about some experimental medicine for juvenile diabetes.”
“I know. I thought you might be interested. If you want to participate in his study, let me know.”
“Are you kidding? A chance to be cured of this monster in my blood? I’d be a fool if I said no.”
“Great! I’ll tell him as soon as I get the chance. That’s my girl.” She hugged me close.
Out in the foyer, Stacey walked over to an isolated spot and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a number, and when the voice on the other end answered he said,
“Are you in position?”
“Yes Sir. I’m just waiting for you to bring them to me.”
“Don’t worry. We’re going to have dinner first, and then, somehow, I’ll lure the DuVall girl into our trap. There is one problem though.”
“What’s that?”
“The Ryan woman’s fiancée is a police detective. He’s been keeping a close leash on her all night. I need a way to distract him.”
“Leave that to me,” the voice crackled into the phone.
“How is our houseguest doing?”
“Exhausted himself trying to escape my knots. They will never learn. For the women however, I have some more powerful restraints.”
“Heh, heh, heh, very good. Listen, I have to go before someone gets suspicious.”
“All right. I will see you in a little while.”
“Of course.”
They hung up.