Tony left the apartment early so Eric could drive Claire and Emily to the boutique. On her way to Emily’s hotel, she contemplated her fiancé. By the time he came to bed the night before, Claire was sleeping. She faintly remembered him kissing her, turning out the lights, and feeling relieved. Maybe he hadn’t been reviewing surveillance. Maybe he was doing actual work on Thanksgiving night? No matter, when he came to bed, he wasn’t upset. That morning, before leaving, he hugged her tight and told her to have fun with her sister choosing her wedding gown. Claire wanted to believe her life was as it appeared.
Traffic to the hotel was crazy. Until she saw the multitude of people, she’d forgotten all about Black Friday. The department stores were inundated with hoards of shoppers. It made their destination of a private boutique all that more appealing. The associates would be totally devoted to them. None of this mad rush she witnessed from the windows of the limousine. Smiling faintly, she fondly remembered Black Friday shopping with her mom and Emily when she was young. To save $25, $50, or $100, they would wake at three in the morning and stand in multiple lines. It sounded unpleasant, but the memories were warm.
Eric approached the Hyatt Regency a few minutes before nine. Emily wasn’t waiting. “Miss, would you like me to go to the front desk and inquire of Mrs. Vandersol?”
Claire thought a moment. “No, we will give her a few minutes, and then I will go in.” Emily hadn’t read the Anthony Rawlings’s rules of punctuality memo. Claire decided she deserved some slack. Five minutes after nine, Emily emerged from the lobby. Eric quickly got out of the car and opened the door. Emily entered the limousine. She hugged Claire again and looked around at the leather seats and splendor.
“Seriously, this is how you get around New York?” Claire said yes. “And you don’t feel ostentatious? Perhaps you haven’t heard our country is in an economic downturn.”
Eric pulled away from the curb, and they entered traffic. It wasn’t the stop-and-go traffic that caused Claire’s neck muscles to tighten, more the sudden onset of defensiveness. “Emily, please don’t judge me or Tony. I want you to be part of our wedding. Let’s have fun looking for dresses.”
Emily exhaled and sat back on the seat. “Claire, I want to. I really do.” Claire could tell there was a “but” coming. “But John and I sat up for hours discussing you and Anthony.”
Sitting straighter, she asked, “What did the two of you decide?”
“We decided we love you. We are so happy that Anthony invited us to get to see you. But here is one of our concerns.” Claire raised her eyebrows, Emily continued, “Why did Anthony need to invite us? Why couldn’t you?”
Claire’s head almost touched the ceiling. She sat so straight and looked Emily directly in the eye. “Emily, that is ridiculous. I could. I told you things have just been busy. With his schedule, we are all over the place, as I am sure you’ve read about in the newspapers. I didn’t even know until last week that Tony was needed in New York.” And then to clarify, she added, “He didn’t know until then. He has a lot on his plate.”
“Uh . . . hmmm, please know we are just concerned. It seems like you’re a different person.” The conversation paused, and Emily continued, “That isn’t necessarily bad, but it makes us uncomfortable.” Emily saw her sister: polished, refined, stylish, elegant, and worldly. Not the little sister she knew. “I have tried to learn about Anthony Rawlings. Everything I found about him on Google is business related. He has an impressive reputation as a businessman, but I cannot find anything about him personally.”
“Emily, he is an impressive private man too. But I must emphasize private. He asked me to join him in his private personal life. I want you and John there, but you must respect the importance of his confidentiality.”
They sat in standstill traffic. “Okay, we can do that. But we worry about you. Don’t you get to have a life too?”
Claire felt her blood pressure rise. She needed to defend the life she’d despised for months. It was time to utilize the compartmentalization, bring out the good stuff. “Just because I haven’t contacted you doesn’t mean I don’t have a life. I do. I have a very full and rewarding life. I live in a beautiful home. We attend a number of events and functions. I’ve met wonderful friends in the Quad Cities area.” She surveyed Emily’s reaction. “I’m not doing meteorology currently, but I am working with Tony. As I said, he is a very busy man, with a busy schedule.” She didn’t need to offer more explanation.