Chapter 10 #3
“You are utterly amazing,” she said, and leaned over and kissed him.
“You don’t even know these people, and you barely know my daughter.
” Patrick had only seen Gloria once, since she had already left in a huff when he met the others for a second time.
“I don’t know how to thank you. You are saving my life, and adding something wonderful to her wedding.
And I want to pay for all the expenses, food, alcohol, whatever you spend on it. ”
“I’ll take it out in other ways,” he teased her. “Listen, we’re both in a tough spot at the moment, or at least we have been. It’s nice to be able to help each other, and blessings are meant to be shared,” he said sincerely.
“From what I can see, you’re the one helping me, I haven’t done a damn thing for you, and now I’m bringing thirty or forty people to your boat for dinner. I don’t want this to be a one-way street. That’s abusive.”
“Not if I volunteer it. And I just did. Now I want you to relax and have a lovely evening.” He kissed her and she texted Pam and told her the plan. “We’re saved. Rehearsal dinner on Patrick Hughes’s boat, for family and inner circle. Details tomorrow. Love, E.”
They had a leisurely dinner and walked slowly back on Madison Avenue.
Several stores that hadn’t survived the pandemic were still vacant, but most stores were open again, some newcomers had appeared, and the city was alive again.
Patrick stayed at Eugenia’s apartment that night, and felt at home there.
They were both surprised at how comfortable they felt so quickly with each other.
They took a bath in her bathtub that night after they made love, and then made love again.
She made him breakfast in the morning, and he left for his office from her home.
She was going to speak to his chef that morning, about the menu for the rehearsal dinner.
She worked out all the details with Pam when she got to her own office, the guest list of twelve family members, including the Crawfords, plus eleven couples who were coming from the West Coast and the Midwest. None of their friends from London could come except via quarantine in Mexico, and none of them had the time to do that except Geoff’s parents.
That made a guest list of thirty-four people maximum, which Patrick had said was a piece of cake.
She spoke to the chef, and they chose a varied menu for a buffet, and by noon Pam emailed the invitations.
Three couples declined immediately, having made other plans for the night before the wedding, leaving twenty-eight guests as a possible maximum, which sounded intimate and perfect to Eugenia, and would to Gloria as well.
Patrick had saved the day with his fabulous yacht. And the menu sounded delicious.
“And we can put up see-through plastic curtains if the weather turns bad. There are some storm warnings for this weekend. They’ll probably change direction by then, but if not, we’ll be prepared.
” Patrick had suggested that they move the boat to the Hamptons, since people would be staying there for the weekend with the wedding there on Saturday.
The club had told her they could install a tent for the wedding, in case of bad weather, for a large additional amount.
So they had a Plan B for all eventualities, and a rehearsal dinner in place in less than twenty-four hours after learning that the Crawfords hadn’t held up their end and never bothered to tell her.
Eugenia didn’t call Prudence. She would find out from their son or the official email Pam was sending to the wedding party, the family, and long-distance out-of-towners.
Gloria’s sisters were her bridesmaids and Daphne her matron of honor, if she hadn’t given birth by then.
With everything in order, Eugenia called Gloria in London. It was six p.m. there and she was still in the office. She had gotten the email too, and Eugenia was taken aback by her first comment.
“Why did you interfere and do it on a yacht so you could show off, when you know Geoff gets seasick?” Gloria accused her.
“Are you serious? You’re complaining about having it on a fabulous yacht when his parents completely dropped the ball on the rehearsal dinner and never told me?
I found out at seven o’clock last night.
What did you expect me to do? Rent Madison Square Garden?
He saved my ass and Geoff’s parents, and your rehearsal dinner.
And he’s renting a berth at the dock at a different yacht club that has a port big enough for his boat to come closer, so guests don’t have as far to go in the tender if the sea is choppy.
His boat has stabilizers so Geoff will be fine.
The boat will never leave the dock, and no one will get sick. ”
“He says he gets sick even when a boat is tied up at the dock, he just called me when we got the email.”
“Then tell him to take medicine, for God’s sake,” Eugenia said, exasperated.
“I thought that we agreed that the rehearsal dinner was for all the guests,” Gloria continued to complain.
“Not with four days’ notice when nothing has been done about it.
It’s a miracle we can have a rehearsal dinner at all, and that’s the Crawfords’ fault, not mine.
Patrick just saved the day, and I can’t believe you’re complaining about it.
” Eugenia was furious at Gloria’s reaction and lack of gratitude.
“It’s such a small skimpy group, that isn’t what I wanted and what we agreed on,” Gloria persisted.
“Fine, tell Geoff’s parents, don’t tell me. I think this is outrageous, you’re not grateful or even polite, all you do is want something else or something more. How did you get so entitled?”
“Oh, because I’m not as sweet as Daphne, or crawl up your ass like Eloise?” Gloria said nastily.
“I am paying a fortune for this wedding, which is costing twice the budget we agreed on, and you and Geoff keep adding new expensive elements every time I turn around, without even asking me. I am hosting the wedding, he’s not.
And now I’m stuck with the rehearsal dinner too.
He and his family need to grow up and get some manners, with all that alleged blue blood of theirs.
I’ve just about had it.” She had raised her voice and didn’t like to do that, but Gloria was pushing her too far, particularly with her complaints and entitled demands.
“And Geoff’s parents will be upset about Brad,” Gloria whined, and Eugenia clenched her teeth.
“Frankly, Brad is twice the man, or ten times the man, your future husband is, or his parents, and is much more polite. He won’t cause a scene at the dinner or the wedding, and if Geoff or his parents do, I will personally escort them to the door.”
“You see, this is why Geoff and I left the Hamptons early, because you don’t respect us.”
“Gloria, you and Geoff don’t know the meaning of the word ‘respect.’ And his parents are no better, not giving me any warning that they decided not to give the rehearsal dinner, which is their responsibility not mine, and dumping it in my lap on four days’ notice, and I assume they expect me to pay for it, or you do. ”
“Obviously, Mom,” Gloria said scathingly. “They can’t afford it, you can.”
“Don’t be so sure. You don’t know what I can afford.
I haven’t sold an evening dress or a wedding gown in eighteen months, and I have not skimped on this royal wedding you want, and think is your due.
I want to give you the wedding of your dreams, but you need to give some serious thought to how you behave, what you expect, and how you treat people. ”
“You’re the one who treats people badly, Mom. You have no respect for Geoff’s sensibilities. He’s a very sensitive person. He feels it physically when he thinks people don’t like him or respect him.”
“I can’t listen to this,” Eugenia said. “I have to hang up now. I’ll see you when you get to New York,” and she hung up, with all of Gloria’s words ringing in her ears, words of hate and ingratitude, racism and entitlement.
On every level, she was completely out of control and off base with her ideas.
Eugenia was shaking when she ended the call and for nearly an hour afterward.
She couldn’t even talk about it, and went to the casting meeting she had to attend to pick models for her show.
It distracted her from thinking about her ungrateful daughter.
They had all the models picked by the end of the day, and fittings were scheduled for the week after the wedding, which was cutting it close.
And they had to work with the models’ other bookings, because several of them were walking for more than one designer.
They were young and beautiful, and had to be babied through all of their shows and bookings, since every season some of them had never walked the runway before and were fresh off the farm or from other smaller cities, and had no idea how rigorous and professional it was.
Pam was good at shepherding them through the process.
And then she remembered to tell Eugenia that Natasha had called.
“She said to tell you that your partner called,” Pam said, smiling.
“I’m actually getting to like her. She is rough around all her edges, but she’s honest and real,” and Natasha had told Pam that before she met Austin in the south of France, she had been a factory worker in Moscow.
And she didn’t pretend to be anything more than she was. The honesty of it touched her.
“She wants two invitations to the show.”
“Give them to her. She’s right, she’s my partner. She can have four if she wants.”
“And she placed another Cotton Candy order. She wants a fifty percent discount on it,” Pam said with a disapproving look.
“Give her that too,” Eugenia said fairly.
“We can’t put her and her friends in the front row,” Pam said firmly.
“Really? Why not?” Eugenia was fed up with people’s prejudices and lousy behavior and treatment of others, although Pam was only trying to protect the look of the show.
“She’s going to look like a girl off the streets of Moscow, while she was working in a factory.
How she accomplished that, in a bed or on her feet, is absolutely none of our business.
She’ll look like she likes my clothes and is a fan, especially if she’s wearing something of mine.
She’s good advertising, and she loves what we do,” she tried to reassure Pam, but she could see that she hadn’t succeeded.
Eugenia had just finished talking to Pam when her cell phone rang, and without looking to screen it, she picked it up and never bothered to look at the caller ID.
“Hello, darling.” A deep sexy voice with a heavy accent was on the other end of the line. She knew the voice.
“Hello, Umberto,” she said calmly. “Welcome to New York. How was your trip?”
“Fine. I did what most people from Europe are doing. I came through Mexico, with a two-week quarantine in Mexico City. I have friends there. I need a favor,” he said, cutting through his usual charming dialogue when he wanted something.
“I have a friend with me for the wedding. She’s lovely, you’ll adore her.
” Umberto always brought a woman to anything, even events that involved his children.
“She’s a French viscountess,” like every woman he knew.
“She’s a lovely girl. We traveled light from Mexico.
She needs a dress for the wedding. I told her she could borrow a gown from you.
Darling, please don’t make a liar of me.
” He had been doing that himself for years.
“Umberto, I did that the last time you came to New York, with the German baroness who looked sixteen years old. The girl never gave the dress back. It was a fifteen-thousand-dollar dress. It looked great on her, but neither she nor you ever paid for it. I can’t afford to give away dresses. I’m sorry, but the answer is no.”
“You can afford anything you want,” he said, irritated. “And she’s twenty-two, the same age you were when you married me.” His famous charm hadn’t worked on Eugenia in years. She had had too much of it for too long and she knew all his tricks.
“I’m sure you can find her a pretty dress at Bergdorf’s, which you can afford,” Eugenia responded.
“You never change,” he said accusingly.
“Sadly, neither do you.” Once she had opened her eyes to him, she had never been able to close them again. “Are you ready to walk your daughter down the aisle?”
“Of course. I did for Daphne.” She didn’t remind him that the girl he had brought had slept with one of the guests at the reception, and a security guard.
She had never told Daphne, but she had discreetly asked Umberto to get her out immediately, which he had done, and then came back to the reception to dance with his daughter.
She didn’t mention it now. “How are the parents? I gather he’s an earl. ”
“Apparently,” Eugenia said, struggling not to lose her temper.
“I got the email about the rehearsal dinner. You’re giving it?”
“They forgot to,” was all she said. “Maybe you should have dinner with them. I don’t have time.”
“And it’s on a boat?” He sounded skeptical. “Not a small one, I hope. I hate small boats. They make me seasick, big ones never do.”
“I think you’ll be all right on this one,” she reassured him. “It has stabilizers, and we’re not leaving the dock, so you’ll be fine.”
“Well, another one of our little chicks, taking flight into married life. I like Geoff. I had dinner with them a few months ago.” She had no idea how he could say that about liking Geoff, but she didn’t comment.
He viewed all their children as though he were a benevolent uncle and not their father.
He never asked the right questions or wanted to get too deeply involved.
Gloria had never told Eugenia that she had seen him, which was typical of her.
She was always on his side. To Eugenia there were no “sides,” just what was good for the children, and she didn’t think Geoff was.
—
At the end of the day, she was exhausted, after everything she’d done.
Gloria and Geoff were arriving the next day and after that the pace would be stepped up.
Gloria had to try her dress again to make sure it fit properly, in case she had gained or lost a pound or two.
There were a million details for Eugenia to see to, even with Pam’s help, and Eloise, who was willing to assist too, with work, the wedding, the rehearsal dinner, Fashion Week coming up with her new line, and Cotton Candy flying out of her store.
Eugenia had promised to call Patrick when she got home, and she was going to. He wanted to come over, and she lay down on her bed for just a minute, and fell sound asleep until morning. Patrick called her to find out where she was, and she didn’t even hear the phone.