Chapter Three: Part Three
Only Edison remained in her memories between the moment she left Dom at the dock and arriving home. Their return down the ladder, the water taxi back to shore, and the drive home all went by in a blur. Edison had maintained a respectful silence throughout their journey, just looking at her in the rear-view mirror now and then with a friendly smile. In private, with her, he was warm and compassionate; but Kate saw another face when he looked at the outside world, one that was far more ancient than his more jovial persona.
She remembered her father’s description of what he called ‘thousand yard’ and ‘thousand year’ stares that his war veteran buddies often wore. She had occasionally seen the same look on her father’s face. A thought occurred to her. Edison and Dad would have been friends.
When Edison helped her from the car and said goodbye, Kate hugged him on impulse. For a moment, when he hesitantly hugged her back, she was almost hugging her father too. For a few long moments, their embrace grew far stronger than either of them expected it to. She looked up, a tear shining in her eye, and kissed his cheek. ‘Thank you.’
‘It is my rare and valued pleasure, Catherine. A wonderful evening to you, and to your lovely friends.’
With a spontaneous bow and flourish, he skipped away as lightly as a dancer, winking over his shoulder before slipping into his car and driving off into the deepening twilight. Standing at the entrance to her building, Kate felt her world changing gears. The last efforts of winter tempered the late afternoon air and Kate was still smiling as she turned to go inside, steeling herself for the inevitable barrage of questions about the day from her friends.
~~~~~
That evening, the amigas met at Alberto’s for a night off and some fun with their five casual staff and their partners. The four months since Kate had joined the team had been spectacularly successful and busy, and an evening at Alberto’s was a reward for everyone.
As soon as the last of the appetisers disappeared, Carrie rang a spoon on her glass and stood. ‘Kate has some news for us, and if she doesn’t tell us soon, we will have to make her talk!’ Carrie finished off the statement with a mime of tickling Kate’s ribs, something that could reduce her to giggling tears of frustration in seconds.
Kate winked at her as she stood. ‘Dominique Savagewood has asked us to do permanent gigs for him, starting Saturday a week from tomorrow, and then every three weeks after that. We’re also overstaffing, so everyone is on.’
A chorus of cheers went up around the table. Everyone who had been there the first time had enjoyed it greatly. Having heard the stories, the two who had missed that first gig smiled in anticipation of attending the next. Dominique was a generous tipper and the thought of another nice bonus was another good reason to celebrate.
Everyone noticed the shift in Kate that night. Her mood and manner was lighter, her smile had returned, and she laughed instead of chuckling. Their celebrations went long into the evening and as he always did, Alberto arranged taxis to ensure that those without a sober driver made it home safely. Dee looked more as if she’d been drinking orange juice all night as she helped Carrie and Kate walk the two-and-a-half blocks back to their apartment, goaded by the freshening wind.
~~~~~
It was nearly mid-morning the following day before Kate roused herself to some level of consciousness. Following the enticing aroma of a much wanted coffee, she found Dee at the table, clear eyed and bright as always. Carrie sat next to her in a bathrobe, looking the mirror image of how Kate felt. A text message was on Dee’s phone and she held it up for Kate to read.
~
“At your convenience, please contact Ms Juanita of Mr Savagewood’s staff to discuss upcoming events. Prospective dates and anticipated numbers in the short term are …”
~
‘We have an interesting client,’ Dee declared.
‘There is more to it,’ Kate said. She told them of the other part of the deal, knowing that Dee would feel comfortable with the idea.
Carrie felt a niggling reservation that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. The extra staff, the training opportunities, the generous fee he’d offered ̶ much more than they’d have asked for ̶ and that they needn’t mention anything at all had almost sold it to her. Then she realised what it was that was bothering her. ‘Kate, is he doing this just to get to you?’
Kate thought about it for a long moment before answering. ‘No. He knows he could have kissed me under the bridge and at that moment, I’d have kissed him back. It wasn’t like that, though. He cares, but he was a complete gentleman the whole time. He is frigging hypnotic though.’ Kate paused, a slight frown fighting with her smile. ‘It’s frustrating. He speaks and I can’t hear anything else. Everything he says just seems to make perfect sense. He loves your food, Carrie. He loves our service and wants more of it. He seems able to pay for it, though I still don’t know what it is that he actually does.’
Dee chuckled, ‘Whatever. He is an easy client with a great venue and we have some gigs to plan. He wants us to overstaff them so we get an easier ride in the bargain. He also values our Katie’s – ahem – powers of observation… and he wants more,’ her suggestive tone and wiggling of her eyebrows accenting her teasing intent.
Kate threw her bread roll at her over the table in response. All in one movement, Dee snatched it from mid-air and bit a piece off whilst winking back at her. Their leisurely breakfast finished with the sounds of laughter as their day began in earnest.
~~~~~
Their next gig at Dom’s place was a beautiful but very run-of-the-mill affair. The only challenges were an afternoon rain-shower that had everyone scurrying indoors, and a slight issue with a guest who got a little rowdy. The situation was quickly sorted out when Kate charmed him into ‘deciding for himself’ to drink a few glasses of water and have a cup of coffee. Dee noticed Dom and Edison smile between themselves as they observed how smoothly Kate handled herself.
~~~~~
The following three weeks were wonderfully intense for the amigas. With the upcoming election only weeks away, political parties and dinners for the man who was almost certain to be the next mayor occupied much of their time. A 50th wedding anniversary for one of the city’s power couples was a highlight of the social calendar and the outlandish praise they received in the social column the next day resulted in four more significant bookings.
Almost before they had noticed the passing of the weeks, they were back at Dominique’s and their third gig for him was well under way. His guests were cheerful and the atmosphere was much more that of a party than a ‘power’ dinner. In the dynamic atmosphere of chatter and laughter, Kate again watched Dominique in action, further analysing how he worked his magic and refining how she could complement his efforts. Now and then Edison would be discreetly at her or Dee’s shoulder with a whispered insight to fill in a blank.
At one point, Kate noticed Dominique standing by an open door on the far side of the room, his shirt ruffling slightly in the swirling breeze. She took a moment to examine him as the afternoon sun highlighted his clean, well-defined features. He had a solid jawline that matched his manner and his mouth and eyes held small wrinkles at their corners from smiling a lot.
Remembering an iconic cigarette advertisement from her childhood, she almost laughed out aloud as she recognised a remarkable similarity between that rugged image of a man’s man and Dominique. Just stand him on a hill with his horse, a hat and a lasso in his hand and that’s him, right there!
She found the only thing at odds with his relaxed demeanour were his actual movements. Like those of a stalking cat, each seemingly casual action held intent and purpose, but only if you looked hard enough. Looking again, Kate added Edison into the same mental basket as she watched them moving around the room. The rest of the evening flowed effortlessly and the guest’s smiles were wide and genuine, even as they departed.
Whilst the staff packed up the evening’s gig, Edison discreetly invited Kate into the same side room where she and Dominique had first talked. He showed her a manila folder with a teasing wink. Around its borders in heavy red marker were the words, ‘Top Secret’.
Looking at the folder and remembering her joke with Dom under the bridge, she grimaced before chuckling, ‘Very droll. Is he coming back out?’
‘He is on a conference call and sends his apologies. I know Dom is very happy with how these events are working out, Kate. We all are. We feel you and Ms Danielle would benefit from familiarity with the guest list of the next event. They essentially represent three entangled parties and a project that could positively impact many people and communities. They are all in here,’ he said, patting the folder. ‘Dom asked me to reiterate that you need not do or say anything, unless you feel it is right. You all throw a brilliant function, and he appreciates everything that is done for him. We all do.’
‘Edison, what is it that Dom does?’
‘Now a clever lady like you doesn’t need me solving all of life’s mysteries for her, does she?’ He replied in such a disarmingly cheeky way that it came out as a dare to her.
She found herself smiling, but yet again she also found herself without an answer. ‘You are just a little bit too smooth sometimes, Edison,’ she said, acknowledging his deflection with a smile. Edison winked in response.
He opened the folder and passed her a folded sheet of A3 paper. Unfolding the sheet, Kate found nearly forty head-and-shoulder images, each captioned only with a name. Hand-drawn frames around most of the portraits indicated three overlapping groups. She looked up at Edison and he pre-empted her question. ‘Just the names and basic associations. The rest is for your unbiased observation.’
Keeping the empty folder, he passed Kate a blank envelope, pausing to let her fold and insert the guest list. Offering her his arm, he said, ‘I believe your companions have completed their tasks. Shall we join them?’
Finding their staff congregated around Dee and Carrie outside the kitchen entrance, Edison said to them, ‘Thank you, everyone. It was another beautiful function. Mr Savagewood especially loved the Thai soup, Ms Carina, as did I.’ He went on to offer praise to each person by name as he passed them an envelope with a thank-you note and a tip.
‘Dee, that red was atrocious!’ he said loudly and dramatically, baiting her. ‘Do try to find something drinkable next time?’ Dee delivered a suitably inappropriate and earthy response, and with everyone still laughing, Edison warmly wished them all goodnight.
Kate saw genuine smiles on every face as they got into their cars. This was a special kind of environment. Smiles at the end of an evening were normally about heading home; these were about feeling happy and appreciated.
~~~~~