Chapter 20 #2
Aja and Janae managed to bring out a smile in everyone, despite the emotionally charged moment earlier.
Yara, Raina, and August have turned on the music and are encouraging the impromptu fashion show that the twins enlisted me in.
I modeled several dresses, each in a different cut, length, and style for them.
I caught myself smiling and laughing along with them on more than one occasion, feeling a lightness I haven’t felt in a while.
Despite trying on at least twelve different gowns, all beautiful in their own way, the girls all agree that I should go with the lavender gown.
Raina and August collected our glasses and began wheeling the dress racks away as Yara took our gowns to the back to be packaged and delivered after alterations were made.
The twins turn to leave, walking towards the door, but my feet stay rooted in place.
Did they pay for our dresses already? Shit. I should have checked the price tag in the fitting room.
I turned towards the counter where Yara stands typing on her computer. Before I could even open my mouth, she said, “Your dress has already been paid for, Ms.Norris.”
“I don’t understand,” I sputtered out and looked at the twins.
They both held up their hands, claiming innocence.
“We are not responsible for this,” they squeaked out.
“Mr. Parker Woods called ahead and gave me his card. He said to put whatever you wanted on it. You’ve got a good man, Ms. Norris.”
I must’ve looked like a fish out of water the way my mouth was opening and closing in shock.
“He’s not mine.” I stuttered out once I regained my composure. I heard the twins snickering behind me. “Uh, thank you, Yara,” I muttered as I turned around to flee towards the exit.
As soon as I made it onto the sidewalk, I pulled out my phone to call Parker. He answered on the second ring.
“Hey, Ev! Calling for a rescue?” he answered.
“No, uh. Hi.”
“Ev? What’s wrong? Are you okay? You sound weird.” He rushed out.
I palmed my face at his reaction, choosing that moment to look for William, my personal bodyguard. It didn’t take long because he'd been my shadow since we got out of the car. His presence was probably the only reason I could smile today.
“No. I mean, yes! I’m completely fine,” I said quickly. “I just wanted to say thank you for the dress.”
Parker lets out a sigh of relief followed by a laugh.
“Of course. You’ve been kind enough to be my date for the gala, and I wanted to make sure you had whatever you needed. I told you I would take care of things. Never doubt that.”
The deep timbre of his voice sent shivers down my spine, and warmth bloomed in my chest. What kind of man spent that type of money on a dress for a date that was basically a stranger? It was one night, and I knew those gowns had to be in the thousands easily.
Parker’s kindness was overwhelming and completely unexpected.
“I’ll find a way to pay you back. I promise.”
He sucked his teeth at that. I already knew he would say it was nothing.
“I’m going to act like you didn’t say that. I’m still waiting on your list, by the way. Let's talk about it tonight. Now go have fun with my sisters.”
Before I could get another word out, he ended the call.
I stared at my phone for a moment before looking up.
The twins stood there with knowing looks on their faces before beckoning me over to join them.
Janae hollered, “Let's get brunch! We’re treating. You’re going to love this place, Lo.”
When we walked through the doors of La Selva, I could tell why this was the twins' favorite brunch spot.
The restaurant was bustling with people.
On one side, there was a dining area, and on the other, there was a medium-sized ballroom where people were dancing.
The DJ was playing the music loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear.
The people dining bobbed their heads and swayed to the music as they ate.
This place reminded me of Salsa con Fuego off of Fordham Rd in The Bronx. Celeste and I would go with our families together. We would eat, and then after the meal, the party would start. We would dance all night into the early hours of the morning, then head home.
La Selva was lovely. Vines and flowers with brass pendant lights hung from the ceiling, a mirror of crystals lined the wall of the bar, the tables were made of dark oak, and there were suede garnet booth seats.
The hostess greeted the twins as if they were regulars, familiar and jovial.
The hostess led us to a booth towards the back of the restaurant, steps away from the entrance of the ballroom.
The restaurant was comfortably packed, the DJ was playing No Letting Go by Wayne Wonder, and people were singing along.
We took our seats and started looking at the menu. There was only a moment of silence before the questions started rolling out. I knew that Aja and Janae would have questions and anticipated that I would have to open up, even if only a little.
“Are you and Parker dating?”
The question caught me so off guard that I choked on the water I was drinking.
The question came from Aja, who I was quickly learning was the twin that lacked the filter. I imagined Janae would look slightly embarrassed if she wasn’t dying to know the answer too.
I swiped my napkin across my mouth and choked out a shocked, “No, we’re just friends.”
I thought I saw a look of disappointment on their faces, but they quickly covered it up with smiles.
“So, how did you two meet, then? Parker hasn’t been home in years, and while we’re super happy he’s back, it’s all so strange,” Janae said.
“We chat almost every day—so imagine our surprise when out of the blue, the former heir to the empire decides to come home, and everyone is hush-hush about it,” Aja said in a sing-song voice.
She was smiling, but I heard a tinge of bitterness in her voice. They’ve done nothing but praise their brother since I’ve been with them, but maybe they aren't as unaffected by his distance as they let on.
“Well.” I paused as I searched for the right words. While I didn’t think the twins would ever intentionally put me in harm's way, I didn’t want to risk telling them too much. So I went with a half-truth.
“Parker saved me. I lost my home to a fire, and your brother offered to help me while I get back on my feet…”
If the twins saw anything wrong with my story, they didn’t show it. Somehow, they weren’t shocked to hear that their brother was helping a complete stranger.
“Oh, that is just horrible,” Janae said.
“That must have been terrifying,” Aja agreed.
“It was. I woke up, and there was just smoke, flames, and of course, your brother telling me we had to leave.”
“Not to sound rude, but couldn’t you have stayed with your family? Or back in Brooklyn at his place?” Aja questioned.
This question earned her a smack on the shoulder from Janae.
I chuckled at her attempt to chastise Aja again.
“Unfortunately, no. Both my mother and sister passed away. I don’t know where my father is. I haven’t seen him since I was thirteen years old. My job gave me some time off after the fire, and Parker said he had accrued a good amount of vacation hours over the years. I agreed to tag along.”
It felt odd saying that my sister passed away.
The words made it seem like what happened to her was uneventful, as if she drifted off into the afterlife peacefully.
My mother had left us that way. She went to sleep one night and didn’t wake up the next day.
My sister was tortured and murdered. The words were harsh, but that was what happened.
Saying anything else left a bitter taste on my tongue.
Aja reached to place her hand on top of mine, while Janae placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. They each give their condolences.
“We couldn’t imagine not having our mother there to call or see every day. I don’t think I could imagine a world without Janae,” Aja said solemnly. “I’m sorry for asking like that. I don’t exactly have a filter.”
I took Aja’s hand in mine and squeezed it. “It’s okay, you didn’t know.” I gave them a watery smile as tears threatened to spill from my eyes. “I’m taking it one day at a time. Your brother saw that I was in a bad way and offered to bring me here, away from it all.”
The sound of the waitress introducing herself jolted us out of the somber moment.
When she prompted us for our order, I realized I didn’t get a chance to look at the menu.
Luckily, she offered us the brunch special, and we’re all in agreement.
After the waitress took our order, which seemed like it would be enough to feed the three of us plus five others, we settled into lighter topics of conversation.
While we waited for our food, I learned that Aja studied finance and worked directly under the Chief Financial Officer at their family company, while Janae was a bar-certified lawyer who worked under the Chief Compliance Officer.
“How do you both like working for Gentry?”
“For as long as I could remember, I always wanted to work at the company. Our Granddad used to take us to the office when we were younger all the time. We thought it was so cool that our family owned one of the tallest buildings in Oakland Ridge.” Aja said with a fond smile as she recalled the memory.
“When our dad realized that Aja had a knack for numbers and I was the undefeated champion of the debate team, he made us a proposition.” Janae said with a shrug.
Bewilderment marred my face. “If you don’t mind me asking, what was the offer?”
“Our expenses and tuition were paid as long as we completed our degrees. In addition to living worry-free and debt-free, we got to access our inheritance at nineteen instead of twenty-one. At first, I was hesitant, but Aja convinced me it was the right choice. We kind of had our own cautionary tale to reference.”
“We’re happy there. I may work a little too much, but I love Gentry. It’s in our blood.” Aja finished.