Halfway back I was stopped in place by Lillian Brown from the Pops, who wanted to ask me a question which was both work related and trivial. I answered her question, at the same time brushing her off a little. We were at a wedding ... it was hardly the time.
After I turned away from her, I continued making my way through the crowd. This was a huge wedding, far larger than mine and Karin’s had been. I’d insisted on a smaller, more private ceremony, though I think she’d have preferred the same sort of huge, lavish party as Madeline and James. This wasn’t my style, an event that required a huge hall to house four hundred or more guests. Bluntly, I was feeling claustrophobic as I finally made it through the crowd and slid into place beside my wife.
“Here you are,” I said, passing her the glass of wine.
She took the drink, then pressed her left hand into my arm, a touch that felt forced and uncomfortable. I took a too long sip of my gin and tonic and looked up, right into the eyes of Savannah Marshall.
I froze in place, involuntarily falling into Savannah’s huge brown eyes as she took me in. She was standing right there in front of me, while Karin’s grip on my upper arm squeezed a little bit tighter.
Savannah’s lips parted when I met her eyes. Her hair was piled high on her head, leaving her graceful, beautiful neck bare. She wore a deep blue sleeveless dress, which accentuated every curve of her body, eyelets giving a tantalizing and constantly shifting guess at what might lie underneath.
She was … what? Twenty-six now? Twenty-seven, maybe, but I didn’t know when her birthday was. She no longer had the too-young, intentionally challenging look of a teenager trying to prove her independence. Now she looked like a confident, professional woman. A bit of color touched her cheeks as her eyes met mine, and I swallowed as her tongue brushed against her lips. Running just over that tiny scar.
I couldn’t see it from this distance, but I could still feel it.
Silence fell over the little group, and I don’t know if that was because they saw the sudden tension or if I just didn’t hear them anymore.
“Gregory,” she said. I was instantly steeping in her rich voice.
I swallowed. “Savannah.”
Karin’s grip on my arm tightened. Which was odd, all things considered. Savannah and I had a frenzied love affair years ago. But that was long over.
“It’s a pleasure to see you again,” I said, trying to maintain an even tone.
Savannah huffed softly through her nose as her raspberry colored lips twitched into a quirky grin. “Yeah, you, too. Congratulations.” She raised her glass just slightly as she nodded toward Karin and me. Her forced smile failed to light up her gorgeous eyes.
Karin’s grip on my arm loosened just slightly. “Thank you,” she answered Savannah as my mouth inexplicably ran dry.
“Yes,” I cleared my throat and raised my glass back, “thank you.”
As Madeline turned back around, she raised her eyebrow in my direction but turned away quickly again as more people approached her with congratulations. Nathan Connors appeared out of nowhere behind Madeline. Maybe he was standing there the whole time. It was hard for me to focus on anything besides the sinful curve of Savannah’s breasts in that dress.
“Ready to find our table? They’re about to serve dinner.” She kept her eyes trained on me as he spoke. Finally his eyes followed. Then darkened.
“Yeah,” she said, finally breaking her gaze from me, “let’s go.” She turned away from me and walked side-by-side with Nathan to their table. They didn’t hold hands, and he didn’t put his hand on the small of her back.
Foolish boy.
“Gregory?” Karin’s irritated voice cut through my thoughts.
“Yes.” I couldn’t enunciate properly as I tried to find Savannah in the periphery of my vision. Of my past.
“I said, shall we sit for dinner?” She spoke through her teeth as her eyes unabashedly glared at the empty space created by Savannah’s exit.
“Yes. Let’s.” I took Karin’s hand and led her to our table.
“Your hand is sweating,” she said, her voice sounding distant.
I shrugged. “It’s hot in here.”
Karin rolled her eyes as I pulled her chair out for her. Needing to change the course of our evening and fast, I leaned over her and pressed my lips softly against her cheek.
“You look absolutely stunning tonight, darling,” I whispered into her ear.
The corners of her eyes creased as a large smile took residence in her face. “Thank you, Gregory.”
Dinner went smoothly and the cake was served with mediocre coffee. I didn’t finish chewing my second bite before Sadie Daniels, oboe, turned to Karin and said, “So, when are you two going to start your family?” As she rubbed her growing belly, I swallowed a mouthful of the bitter coffee to cover up nearly choking.
Not this conversation. Not here.
“Soon,” Karin answered confidently as her hand glided over to my thigh underneath the crisp champagne colored linen tablecloth.
“Don’t look so excited, Gregory,” Sadie teased. Tasteless.
“Well,” I was honest, “we haven’t discussed it much, really. What with our work schedules and traveling this summer—”
“Traveling?” Karin dropped her hand and pulled her head back a bit.
“Yes, for the Big Five Tour,” I said matter-of-factly. Because it was fact.
American orchestras had been losing money at an alarming rate since 2000. Each year, it seemed, there was another long-standing orchestra ending their year in the red for the first time in decades. The Big Five decided to take initiative on the matter by forming an orchestra made up of members from each orchestra, and touring the United States. While the goal was to raise awareness of and increase excitement for classical music, the underlying goal was to gain new donors to keep this cornerstone of American arts above water.
“I thought we decided you were going to abstain from that tour.” Karin worked to keep her voice even. “James and Madeline aren’t participating.”