Chapter 37
thirty-seven
LOS ANGELES, CA
Avery looked in the full-length mirror one last time, giving herself a once over.
The dress looked as good as new, the black velvet brushing her calves at just the right spot.
Her dark hair fell over her right shoulder in soft, shiny waves.
She smoothed her hand over it, not a single flyaway.
She parted her cherry-red lips and smiled.
All good, no lipstick on her teeth. She looked over her shoulder and realized in horror, that her mother was doing the exact same thing in the bathroom mirror with her own, more subdued berry-colored lipstick.
Like mother, like daughter. Avery shook her head.
It’s like her mannerisms are hard-wired in my DNA.
“It’s showtime,” her mother said in a singsong voice, doing a little shimmy, the light catching on the floral sequins in her long, emerald green dress.
Her mom always rose to the occasion for these big nights, effortlessly slipping into the role of hostess and fashionista.
Many things about her mother annoyed her, but Avery couldn’t help but admire her mom’s ability to be so ‘on’ when she needed to be.
Why couldn’t I have gotten a little more of that DNA?
“Here we go,” Avery said, placing her hand over her heart to try and slow it down.
Am I about to walk into a disaster? She had been tied up with glam for hours and hadn’t peeked in the tent to make sure it was ready.
Her mom reached over and gave her other hand an encouraging squeeze.
The feeling of the cool, smooth stones of her mother’s signature diamond tennis bracelet bumping against her wrist felt comfortingly familiar, even if their newfound emotional closeness would take some getting used to.
“We’ve got this. Not to worry, darling,” her mom added, before dropping Avery’s hand and confidently walking out of the main house and into the tents on the lawn, not a single hair out of place in her graceful bun.
Avery took one last deep breath and followed.
She had expected the event tent to be buzzing with pre-showtime energy, but it was almost serenely calm.
Everything was ready to go: the tables were set, the auction items beautifully displayed, and the heating lamps lit.
Avery’s hands felt empty without the fat event binder she’d gotten so accustomed to carrying around with her the last few weeks.
The only noise was the clinking of champagne bottles being placed in ice buckets behind the bar.
Avery’s heart swelled with pride. She’d done it. She’d pulled this whole thing off at Ben’s house. Now all there was to do was wait for the guests to arrive. And for them to start drinking all that champagne so that they would feel uninhibited enough to bid big on the auction items.
It’s out of my control now.
Her heart lurched imagining two distinct futures.
Six months from now she could be in her athletic wear, laughing and shooting hoops with kids when she visited the new sports complex.
Or, she’d be meeting with community leaders, apologizing for not being able to deliver what they needed.
It could truly go either way–it all came down to how successful the event was tonight.
Avery observed her mom from behind as the older woman sashayed through the space, the long duster coat she wore over her dress trailing behind her like a cape.
They’d gone all in on the winter holiday theme.
Small bud vases with winter white roses were bunched together on the cocktail-height tables.
Table runners made of festive green garland adorned the long rectangular dinner tables.
Her mom adjusted a few leaves here and there as she made her way across the room toward Avery.
Of course, she had to touch and fix the tables—truly incapable of letting it be.
The old Avery would have rolled her eyes, maybe even made a smart-aleck comment.
But the new Avery observed her mom jooj the tables without acting on it.
So that was something. Someday, in the not-too-distant future, she’d be able to admire her mom’s attention to detail, or laugh off her inability to leave things be.
Not tonight, but someday. Tonight, I’d like some credit for pulling this whole thing off.
“Well, ladies, you’ve outdone yourselves this time,” her dad said by way of hello as he barreled into the room. His hair looked as coiffed as her own.
“Thanks, Dad,” she beamed, the compliment she’d been waiting for filling her with warmth, “Nice tux.”
While the event wasn’t black tie, her dad, like her mom, used his wardrobe to make an impression. Tonight was their personal runway.
“So, what do we do now?” he asked, checking this watch. Avery knew she got her nervous energy from her dad, who didn’t always keep his game face on as well as her mom did. We have that in common, but wearing your heart on your sleeve isn’t always a bad thing, is it?
“Well, can we get some photos out of the way?” Avery summoned the photographer, and the core Silver family posed for a few staged photographs that would likely accompany the post-event news release the next day.
Avery plastered on her best event smile, channeling Teddy’s masterful, practiced grin. He was never far from the surface of her thoughts.
“Okay, looking good folks. Mr. Silver, can you slide that way?” The photographer directed them as Ben and Adam joined them, looking dapper in coordinating, but not matching, dark blue suits.
Ben paired his shiny royal blue one with a black bow tie, like their dad.
Like father, like son. She smiled to herself.
Ben gave her a thumbs up before they slid into their places.
“How about we move to the entrance, and get a shot in front of the big Silver logo?” the photographer suggested.
Josh arrived during photos. As soon as the photographer got what they needed, she went to him while lightly tapping her jaw, afraid to rub off any makeup.
She needed to loosen it up after ten straight minutes of smiling.
At this rate, it would ache by the end of the night.
But all the smiles and small talk would be worth it when she pictured the smiles of happy kids who had somewhere safe and productive to go after school.
“Josh, I’m so happy to see you. You look great,” she said. And she meant it. He really did look fantastic, his bronze skin and gray eyes really popped against the black and white of his suit and shirt. However, seeing him didn’t light her on fire.
It was part of the reason she knew what she felt for Teddy had been different. Josh had set the bar pretty high as far as first boyfriends go, both in looks and personality. But their chemistry hadn’t been wow. At least now she knew what wow felt like.
She felt another pang in her chest for Teddy.
She was trying hard not to imagine an alternate universe where it was Teddy instead of Josh escorting her.
In that scenario, she’d dive into his arms, give him a light kiss so as not to leave her red lipstick on his cheek, inhale his spicy, woodsy cologne, and enjoy the tingle she felt every time he put his hand on her lower back.
They’d make eyes throughout the night, enjoying the secret intimacy of lovers in a crowd.
“You are absolutely stunning,” Josh said. Josh, whom she’d invited to the event, was standing right here in front of her.
Snap out of it.
She felt his eyes look her up and down, pause for a second on the bare pale skin between her breasts where the jeweled bows were holding her gown together.
His gaze felt a tad bit more than friendly.
But there was no time to think about that tonight, she’d have to deal with any lingering romantic intentions from Josh another time.
As the room filled with guests, Avery scanned the scene, her eyes darting back and forth between the entrance, the bars, and the silent auction tables.
Is there a line forming at the bar? She didn’t want anyone to have to wait to be served.
Is anyone checking out or bidding on the auction items yet? Everything depended on it.
Are people moving quickly through the check-in process? Her eyes searched and found Caroline, who was stationed at the entrance wearing high-waisted trousers and a headset, and her friend gave her a thumbs up. So far so good.
“You look tense, can I get you a drink?” Oh, right. Josh is still here.
“Yes, a glass of prosecco would be great.”
He left to fetch it for her.
“Avery, just who I was looking for,” her dad pounced the second he found her alone. “You remember my old business partner, Lenny?”
“Of course, so nice to see you again.” Avery stuck her hand out to give Lenny a shake, but instead, the older, gray-haired gentleman leaned in and gave her a very damp kiss on the cheek.
Gross. She resisted the urge to wipe away the wetness. It would be both impolite, plus potentially smudge the makeup. Didn’t this guy know that women in formal gowns wanted air kisses only?
“I understand you’re the mastermind behind this beautiful party. That’s one proud dad you have there,” Lenny said.
Avery stood up a little straighter. That recognition was all she’d ever wanted from her parents.
By now, her dad had turned around to greet the next arrivals, the team principal of Mercedes and his wife (who was equally as successful and impressive in her own right), leaving Avery to entertain Lenny on her own.
“It’s really all for the kids. All the proceeds from tonight are going to build the new Southside Youth Sports Complex.
Did you know that we commissioned a study last year at UCLA that found that kids who participate in afterschool sports are three times less likely to get involved in gang violence? ”
“Is that so? I played some basketball myself back in my day. Even got to play against Magic once when he was at Michigan State,” he said expectantly as if he were waiting for Avery to fall over impressed.