SPOTLIGHT Page 6

  “Abby,” William began, his tone also rife with emotion. He stood, taking her hands in his, keeping her from rending the tie any further. He stood close and his warmth was a comfort. He reached up and wiped a tear gently from her cheek with the pad of his thumb.

  Abby wanted to give in to his comforting aura but she had to finish what she had started.

  “So I gave up,” Abby said. “I didn't believe I could take her place in the spotlight so I didn't try to. I was always the reliable one. The reasonable one. So I focused on that. I finished high school. Then I took a few community college courses, but money got tight for my parents so I dropped out and started working full time as a waitress to help them out. I set aside what I had always wanted.”

  “But now you're here,” William said. He was tucking that stray hair behind her ear again. “You're doing it now. What changed your mind?”

  “It's for Angie,” Abby said, her voice so strained it was almost a whisper. “It's for me of course. To finally stop hiding in the shadows, to do something for myself. But it’s for Angie too. I carry both of our dreams. I have to. She may be gone, but it’s the one thing we always shared.”

  That last came out on the heels of a sob and then a torrent of tears fell down her face, her shoulders shaking, her head down to hide the complete takeover of her sorrow.

  William hugged her then as she'd longed to be hugged. His strong, rich sense was around her, his warm, capable arms were an instant comfort, a balm to her soul. He bent down to kiss her on the forehead, so tentatively, so gently that it seemed that he thought she was made of spun glass, that she would break if he handled her with more than the most tender of treatment.

  They stood that way in the center of the apartment for a long time. William gently rocked her and murmured sweet nonsense things. He was putting her back together with his embrace. When the moment passed, Abby pulled away just slightly. She didn't want to lose William's selfless warmth. He loosened his hold just a little so they could look each other in the eyes.

  “I'm sorry,” she said, trying to dry her face of tears. “I didn't mean to become such a mess. I just wanted to tell you everything.”

  “You're not a mess,” William chided, giving her that winning smile. “You wanted to be truthful with me. That means a lot.”

  He broke their embrace completely to go to his desk and give her a handful of tissues from the box there. She took them with a sheepish thank you and tried to compose herself.

  “I must be red and puffy and a horror to look at,” she said, dabbing her eyes.

  “You're beautiful,” William said so sweetly that she really believed it.

  “I haven't cried like that in... forever,” Abby admitted. “And certainly not in front of anyone. Not even at Angelica’s funeral. I couldn't, not with everyone looking at me. And for years afterward everyone in South Meadow would see me and look so apologetic. Every person I saw reminded me of my loss and I reminded them of a dead girl.

  “I got tired of people being sorry on my behalf. I got tired of people promising to pray for me,” Abby sighed. She took William's hands the way he always took hers when he wanted to convince her of something. “For a while I didn't go to church. I know everyone had the best of intentions for me and truly cared about me and Angelica and the rest of our family. But there was always some kindly lady who wanted to make dinner for us or someone who wanted to tell me they understood. They were being kind but at that time I didn't feel that I deserved kindness. Not really. So I didn't go. Eventually I assimilated back into the church and the community, mostly because I knew that's what my parents wanted.”

  Abby paused and William looked on encouragingly.

  “I came here to put all of what happened behind me. I wanted to start a new life. And you're right, I've been too isolated. I need to get out and meet people who aren't just directors or angry customers at the diner. It'll be good for me.”

  William smiled like a child who'd just gotten all their Christmas presents early.

  “So you'll come with me to the BBQ?”

  Abby nodded.

  “I'll come. I am kind of curious to meet these friends of yours,” she teased.

  Chapter Eight

  Getting off of work for July 4th had not been as easy as Abby anticipated it would be. When she worked at restaurants in South Meadow it had always proved a slow night of mediocre tips. It was a holiday for picnics and parties and BBQs and few people chose to take their business to restaurants. But in New York City her boss Aaron told her it was a whole different affair.

  “Tons of tourists come in for the big fireworks show,” he said, dollar signs practically glowing with green neon in his eyes, “And then afterwards all those lights and sounds and spectacles make them extra hungry. And that's when they wander into our fine dining establishment for a little Home Sweet comfort and an All-American slice of apple pie.”

  Abby had rolled her eyes at that but conceded it made sense. She had had to pull in a number of favors and promise a few more but she'd managed to get a split double shift, the first half starting in the wee hours of the morning and the second half at near midnight. It was going to be a stressful day and would probably throw off her sleeping schedule for days to come, but the schedule freed up her late afternoon and evening to spend in William's company and that was more than worth it.

  Abby watched the sun come up through the big picture window as the day started. She kept mostly busy serving the few customers who were looking for a hearty breakfast and even helped the cooks prep some of those famous apple pies. The morning passed in relative quickness; she wiped down the tables, daydreamed about William and fought off Aaron's feeble advances.

  It was not lost on her that her boss had what passed for a crush on her. He was not too pushy but she had already turned him down a number of times since she had been working there, but still he persisted like some kind of love-struck gnat. Aaron was polite enough, quite easy on the eyes with his long jet black hair and rugged, lean physique. But Abby had never really been into the bad boy type and anyway she had William now.

  “Why not give me your number?” Aaron asked boldly.

  “Aaron, you already have my number. You call me all the time and yell at me when I'm two minutes late,” Abby swatted him playfully away with her dishcloth.

  “Yes, I know I already have your number. But it's more special if you give it to me.”

  Abby had to laugh at that logic. Aaron was quite witty when he wasn't in angry boss mode, and she had no doubt that he had tricked and charmed any number of girls, and probably a fair few former waitresses, with that line.

  Angelica would have liked him, Abby found herself thinking. It was a game she sometimes played, imagining what her outspoken sister's opinions would be on anything from guys to shoes to a book she'd read or a movie she'd seen.

  Abby had already decided that Angelica would have liked William. How could anyone not like him with that mop of unruly brown-blonde hair and those cornflower eyes, clear as cut glass?

  Angie would have liked him and she would have stolen him away, Abby thought darkly. She immediately felt bad for such an idea fleeting through her head even briefly, but there it was and there was no taking it back. It made her uncomfortable that she could still feel envious of her long dead sister, even after all that had happened between them and all that had happened after.

  Abby forcibly set those dark thoughts aside, focusing instead on her customers, and before she knew it her first shift was over and it was time to go. Noelle flounced in to take over, uncharacteristically early and with a huge glowing grin on her face.

  “Good news!” She announced to Abby as she walked in the doorway “The best news ever in fact!”

  Noelle actually did a few prima ballerina pirouettes right there in the restaurant entryway that had Abby laughing and clapping and eager to hear her friend's news.

  “I got a job!” Noelle squealed.

  “You have a job,” Aaron said irritated. He had c
ome out to see what had his waitresses so giddy.

  “A gig then,” Noelle amended.

  “Tell us!” Abby urged.

  Noelle explained that several months back she had auditioned to be a dancer for a dinner theater troupe in Upstate New York. She hadn't made it for the season but the director had remembered her and recommended her for something else.

  “A cruise ship?”

  “Yes!” Noelle exclaimed. “We go on the cruise and perform shows for the travelers, one performance every night for the entire trip.”

  Abby hugged her friend in congratulations. She was truly thrilled for her, glad that someone close to her was getting somewhere even if she wasn't.

  Aaron was less excited, grumbling about the finer details of when Noelle would be leaving and who would be picking up all the shifts that would end up unmanned in her absence.

  Abby left them to their usual bickering and hurried home. She was left with a small window of time to get out of her greasy work uniform and be showered and dressed before William would want to leave and she wasn't willing to lose a single minute of it.

  Once back at her apartment, she quickly freshened up, then picked out a flouncy blue lace dress to wear. She paired it with a pair of plastic-y bright red wedge heels that brought out her patriotism, even if they did hurt her feet.

  Abby gave her reflection an appreciative nod in the mirror. Satisfied, she headed to the kitchen. She grabbed the apple pie she had convinced one of the cooks to let her have.

  As usual William was already in the hallway waiting for her. He stood at the elevator poking its button over and over and over. Abby laughed at him as she approached.

  “You know,” she called to him when she was near enough, “they say madness is doing the same thing twice and expecting different results.”

  William laughed too. “No, madness is expecting Len our lovely landlord to actually fix the elevator.”

  They shared a quick hug in greeting and Abby noted he was wearing a different cologne though this one was just as tantalizing. She probably still smelled like greasy foods despite the shower she'd taken.

  “I guess we're taking the stairs then, all eight floors down.” Abby glanced down at her impractical shoes with a sigh.

  They walked down the hallway, shoulders brushing but not touching. William looked good dressed in a collared shirt with the sleeves rolled up. It was that particular silvery blue he preferred to wear and reminded Abby of the tie she had sobbed all over. After she'd collected herself, she'd insisted on taking it to the dry cleaners to have it cleaned for him. William had tried to convince her it wasn't necessary but she'd insisted. It sat now on top of her laundry basket, another item on her to-do list.

  William assured her his friend's apartment where the BBQ was being held was not far and he suggested that they walk there. Abby agreed, despite her clunky shoes. She'd explained to him about her nervousness in New York City cabs and William understood her feelings as he always did.

  “I've never been in a car accident myself, not even a fender-bender,” she explained as they walked, her arm linked in his. “But whenever we take a sharp turn or break too fast I can't help thinking of Angelica. I always think, is this what she experienced right before the crash?”

  “And every cab driver in New York City drives like half a maniac,” William finished her thought.

  “Exactly. It's silly, but I try to avoid them. The subway's perfectly nice though.”

  William laughed. “You are the only person who thinks so.”

  As they walked, William regaled her with tales of his adventures on London's Underground and the “mind the gap” signs. Abby told him about Noelle's big opportunity and how happy she'd been that morning.

  Before she knew it they'd arrived at a building at least three times taller than their own and at least that many times more fancy as well. They were greeted by a doorman who looked dapper in his suit despite the summer swelter and who ushered them into the gorgeous lobby with a gracious nod.

  Abby had not known what to expect when she'd been told that the July 4th celebrations were being held at the apartment of one of William's friends. She'd had visions of a group of them huddled together on a balcony, storeys above the city, ordering hotdogs off a mini grill, but she thought it better not to ask for more details.

  To say that she was pleasantly surprised was a understatement. The BBQ was being held on the building's huge rooftop. It boasted of a small garden and a tent decorated with glimmering lights and even a little fire pit so the guests were made to feel like they were at a camp out. They had a panoramic view of the city that was absolutely breath-taking and nothing like the view she had from her own apartment - the brick wall of the next building over and the sordid alley below.

  “Do you like it?” William asked with a proud smile, and Abby knew she must have been standing there with her small-town girl expression firmly in place and her mouth all agape for the catching of flies.

  “I've never seen anything like it. I wasn't expecting this at all,” she said. That statement was true of the view but also of the sheer amount of people. William's demure explanations of the party had had her picturing a small group of ten or so but there had to be forty or so people milling about on that roof.

  And of course all of them were young and bright-looking professionals, the future movers and shakers of New York no doubt and Abby's stomach did a little flip flop as her nervousness rose.

  “They'll love you as much as I do,” William whispered close to her ear, as if he were reading her thoughts.

  He took her hand in his and led her in. Abby nearly stumbled as they started walking, so lost was she in thought. They'll love you as much as I do, kept replaying in her head and making her heart do exultant somersaults in her chest. Was that a mere turn of phrase? She hoped not, she realized all at once. She hoped he meant it.

  William was introducing her to a flurry of people each one more interesting than the next. This one was a doctor and this one studying politics and this one researching nuclear physics. She was introduced to a chisel-chinned man with a strong grip who was the son of a diplomat she'd heard of on the news but could not put a face to. Everyone she met was incredibly gracious and claimed to be just as thrilled to meet her as she was to meet them.

  “Ah!” They said to William clapping him on the back and smiling with all the glow of their impossibly white teeth. “So this is the mystery girl William can't stop talking about. She does exist!”

  Abby had never met so many people at once in her life and William promised he'd remind her of all of their names if she needed it. She definitely would need it she conceded, but there was one name she could not forget.

  “I'm Madeline Richards,” an impossibly beautiful woman told Abby, her manicured hand extended in greeting. “And you must be the notorious Abigail that's got our William looking like a smiling schoolboy.”

  Madeline had a luxurious, velvety British accent and everything she said sounded like an over sweet compliment, dripping with saccharine and double meaning at least to Abby's ears.

  “I usually go by Abby,” she corrected, but her voice came out meek and no one was paying attention to her anyway.

  Madeline was already throwing her arms around William for a lingering hug that lasted a few beats too long in Abby's humble opinion. Abby hadn't missed the 'our William' remark either. She decided to file that comment away for later consideration.

  Madeline was undeniably gorgeous. Her perfect heart-shaped face was graced with two deep dimples and framed by long waves of hair that glistened in the summer sunlight more gold than blonde. Her skin was a sun-dappled shade of honey made more apparent by the long form-fitting white dress she wore. It clung to her in all the right places and made her look like a bride atop a picturesque wedding cake. Her impressive height was enhanced by a pair of stiletto heels, also in an unblemished white, and she moved around in them hopping from here to there with a grace Abby and her sore feet couldn't help but be impr
essed by.

  Madeline and William talked for a while about people and places Abby had never heard of and she left them to it, nodding where appropriate but not really listening. None of it related to her. Instead she watched their body language, the way William would throw his head back and laugh at something Madeline had said or the way Madeline would reach out and touch William on the arm with her long bejeweled fingers and stay there, rubbing at his sleeve. Abby didn't want to be jealous but she was getting there.

  Eventually, Madeline saw someone else she knew across the roof and she rushed over to greet them, but not before giving William another hug and saying, “lovely to meet you Abigail.”

  Abby must have had a sour look on because William laughed and put his arm around her.