A piece of the story...part 7

 It's been over two weeks since I posted part 6, but I was all caught up on what I had written and didn't take any time to write more. But this week I got on it and finished typing out what I had (because pen and paper is where it's at 😀). Anyway, here is the beginning of chapter three! 

“What do you think?” Tara stood over my shoulder, tousling my freshly shampooed hair. 

I didn’t know what to think. I hardly recognized myself. My once long, blonde locks were now clipped to just barely touch my shoulder. Tara’s maid slowly demonstrated the proper ways to style my new hairdo and the techniques of putting on makeup until I felt I could redo the look on my own. “I… I look so different.” 

“You look absolutely gorgeous, that’s what. I wish my hair were as curl-able as yours. I can hardly do anything with this.” She pulled on one of the naturally tight, red curls that framed her cheeks.

“What are you talking about? Your hair is lovely.” 

“Agree to disagree. Come on, I smell dinner.” With a final spritz of flowery perfume, she pulled me out the door with a bounce. “Have I told you about my birthday party yet? After tons of begging on my hands and knees, she finally agreed to my having one. But, oh! there’s so much to do. Find a band for the music; make a list of songs; send out the invitations; pick out the flowers and the food; and, of course, a dress!” She was talking so fast now, I could barely understand her. 

“Slow down, Tara,” I laughed. “Isn’t your birthday more than a month away?”

“Well, yes. But there’s so much planning to do beforehand, we must start right away.” 

“We?”

She stopped, a confused look on her face. “Of course. It’s my sixteenth birthday, I want my best friend to be there.”

“Like...go to a party?”

Tara rolled her eyes. “Did you sneak some of father’s brandy? Of course you’d go to my party.”

“But I don’t even have a dress.”

Tara resumed her pulling me down to the dining room. “You always fret about the little things. I can get you a dress.” She gestured to her surroundings. “It’s not like we’re lacking in the money department.” 

Tara continued to go on about other random topics that came into her mind at the moment, but I was in a different place. An actual party? This was literally a dream come true. 

During dinner, I often found Henry glancing across the table in my direction, and I honestly had no idea what to do with that discovery. Somewhere deep inside, I was glad for the male attention, yet in my mind, I knew I had no right to think such thoughts. Anyone who came from a background as he did would never even give a second thought to anyone like me. An orphan. A burden on society. I had seen and done things that respectable people could never imagine. Nonetheless, a part of me longed to move past who I was and into the person I could be. For the night, anyway, I would allow myself to pretend to be that person. 

I daintily picked up my spoon and listened to the conversation, joining in when I felt it was appropriate. The more I listened, though, the more I noticed the tension in the room. It was easy to overlook, especially if you didn’t look for it. Even Tara herself seemed oblivious to it. She went on and on about her upcoming birthday and the party, without sensing the stiff way her mother ate, or the way her father forced laughter and a smile. Even Henry seemed stiff and tense. Of course, I didn’t know any of these people besides Tara, so who was I to say they seemed different. But still, they were.

But why? What had happened to make this family so on edge? They had everything they would ever need, and then some. I would give everything to know what happened to my family. Yet here was this family, all together, with luxury beyond imagination, and they seemed miserable. My gaze returned to Henry but I quickly turned away when he noticed my staring.

I pretended to focus intently on my plate, yet I still sensed his eyes on me. I felt a blush rise in my cheeks. When I finally dared to look back up, he was smiling, his head tilted slightly to the side.

After dinner, Henry approached me in the hall. Tara had disappeared somewhere, leaving me to wonder how I was to get home. 

“It’s Cassidy, right?”

“Yes.” I drew up the courage and met his gaze straight on. It was unnerving the way it felt like his deep brown eyes could read my innermost thoughts like we were connected in some way. I had never seen such dark, chocolate eyes before, and to be honest, they were quite handsome. Especially when they weren’t staring at me angrily. And then those same brown eyes looked at me expectantly and I realized that I had completely zoned out thinking about his eyes that I missed his question. “I’m sorry what?” Panic tightened my chest, making my words come out more harshly.

“I mean if you don’t want to, that’s fine, too. I was just wondering.” He seemed nervous and...was that disappointment?

Oh boy. What did I miss? “No, no. What did you say before that?”

“Oh. I was hoping we could start over. I don’t think we met on the right foot.”

“Of course. Yeah,” I offered a distracted smile. “I’d like that.”

Henry looked relieved. “Good. Look, I’ve got a huge favor to ask. You know Tara’s birthday party is coming up?”

“How could I not?” I laughed.

“It's a tradition that the father has the first dance with his daughter on her birthday. But since our father has been gone for years now, I was hoping to take his place.”

“Wait, then who’s that?” I thrust my thumb in the direction of the study where Mr. Cochran had taken refuge after dinner.

“That’s my stepfather.”

“Oh.” By the look on his face, it was clear they were not on good terms. That explained the awkwardness at dinner.

“Anyway,” he ran a hand through his hair and sighed. “I can’t dance. I was hoping you could teach me.”

I was shocked. Learning to dance was one thing, but teaching someone else? That would be like sharing my deepest secret. I agreed to starting over, but this was an entirely different matter.

“It’s just…I saw you dancing. It was spectacular.” His eyes pleaded with me, silently begging me to agree.

Every doubt disappeared and I knew I had to help this poorly desperate man. “Sure. I mean, yes, of course.”

“Thanks. I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow night.” Henry turned to go but quickly glanced back. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to keep this a surprise. For Tara.”

“She’ll love it.” I smiled at his obvious love for his sister.

TO BE CONTINUED...