First Sight (30 page)

“What’s the worst that could happen?” David said philosophically as they finished dinner on the plane. “You could end up dumped, duped, and distraught. So what? You’ve lived through worse, much worse. It’s worth taking a chance. From everything you’ve said about how he took care of you in October, and how crazy he is about you now, I trust this guy. Don’t ask me why, but I do. My gut tells me you’ll be okay.”

“Tell that to Jade,” Timmie sighed. She was trying to say as little as possible to her, or to anyone for the moment. But traveling with David, it had been obvious to him what was happening, and since he was so enthusiastic, she had been fairly open with him in the past few days. “I think what scares me is that it’s happening so fast. I’ve never trusted things that happen that way. I always thought the right things took time, even a lot of time.” But her business didn’t always happen that way either. Sometimes her best decisions had come to her like lightning bolts, just like her sudden romance in Paris. The whole thing had arrived in their lives, ready to go and fully formed. There was no infant stage.

“I think it happens this way sometimes,” David said quietly, looking at her with a warm smile. “I hope it works. I think it will. I’m happy for you, Timmie. You deserve it. No one can shoulder the load forever all alone. Life is too hard that way. You’ve been pushing boulders uphill alone for a hell of a long time. I don’t know how you do it. And you make it seem effortless most of the time. I think I’d have given up years ago in your shoes,” particularly after the hard blows that had happened to her, losing her son, and then her husband in such a shocking way. It would have been enough to knock lesser people off their feet, and dishearten them completely. It had decimated Timmie too, but she had gone on anyway, on sheer grit, with the kind of dogged determination and strength that made her who she was. Her blessings had been hard earned. “I know it’s early days yet, very early days. But I trust this for you.”

“I know it sounds crazy,” she said quietly, “but so do I. It’s hard to explain it to anyone sane though. If I told anyone I had fallen in love at first sight at the Plaza Athénée, they’d have me committed. And if someone told me that, I’d probably think they were crazy too. But this feels right to both of us, or as though it could be. And I haven’t even kissed the man, or gone to bed with him.”

“That’ll give you something to look forward to,” David teased her.

“I’m not even sure I will. Not for a while anyway. I think I want to wait to sleep with him, until he moves out in June. Just to be on the safe side, and make sure he makes it out of enemy territory.” It was the sensible thing to do, and she had said as much to Jean-Charles again on the phone the night before, and he agreed. He wanted to do what was right for her, and he respected her wishes. But they had both laughed and were in complete agreement that it was going to be a long four months till June.

“I know whatever happens, you’ll do the right thing,” David reassured her. “And don’t be too tough on yourself if you change your mind and wind up in bed with him before June. Worse things could happen. Sometimes it’s hard to slow down that train. Maybe you don’t even need to slow it down, if you really love each other.” He had enormous respect for her judgment, her wisdom, her integrity as a human being, and the fact that she was throwing her heart over the wall for Jean-Charles told David a lot about him. He had never seen her do that before, and had never expected her to. She wouldn’t have done it for just anyone. He had to be a very special man for Timmie to feel this way. Timmie felt sure he was. She had no doubts about him whatsoever, and trusted her instincts unfailingly this time. She was sure she was right about who he was.

It was a long flight home, and finally she slept. She dropped David off at his apartment on her way back to Bel Air, and her driver carried her bags in for her. Her phone rang almost the instant she got home. She picked it up, expecting it to be Jean-Charles, and instead it was Jade.

“How was the trip?”

“Long,” Timmie said. It felt good to be back, and it would be better yet to sleep in her own bed. She felt as though she’d been traveling forever, after the weeks in Europe, and now the trip to Taipei. “But good.” She told her about the problems she and David had resolved. It had gone better than either of them had hoped.

“I hate to do this to you, but you’ve got to go to New York tomorrow. The union struck the factory in New Jersey while you were on the plane. They want you there for the negotiations. You may be able to solve it quickly, but if not, we’re going to miss all our deliveries for spring. I hate like hell to tell you that. I told the lawyers you couldn’t do it, and they say you have to.”

“Shit,” Timmie said, and sat down. “I haven’t been back for ten minutes. When do I have to go?”

“I’ve got you on a noon flight tomorrow. Something could change in the morning. But it didn’t look like it at six o’clock tonight. I’ll call them at seven from my house. You may not have to stay for more than a day or two. I just called David, he said he’ll go with you. You must feel like you’re traveling through outer space these days. I tried to get you out of this trip, but I just couldn’t.” She knew Timmie was exhausted. Timmie looked at her suitcase when she hung up. There was no point unpacking. She would just take all the same things to New York. And as she contemplated getting on a plane again, her cell phone rang. It was Jean-Charles. She told him about the trip to New York, and the reason for it, and there was a long silence at his end. He was thinking. She was ready to cry, she was suddenly so tired. And she hated dealing with unions. They were always so damn unreasonable, and she couldn’t afford to miss all her spring deliveries. It just wasn’t fair.

“What if I meet you there?” he asked gently, afraid to intrude on the running of her business. But he was dying to see her, and suddenly saw the hand of providence offering them a gift.

“Are you serious?” She smiled, and felt something in her stomach do a small, neat flip, like a tiny gymnast doing somersaults. She had wanted some time to get used to the idea of what they were saying to each other, and make sure that it was real. Seeing him again so soon in New York was going to be extremely real, and maybe more than she could deal with just yet. She wasn’t sure. But her desire to see him again and see what this was was stronger than the fear.

“I am. Unless you think it would be an intrusion, with the problems you have to deal with there.”

“I probably need a day or two to sit down with the union lawyers and see how bad it is. But … I’d like to see you …,” she said softly, remembering what she had said to him, that she wouldn’t sleep with him, or even date him, until he moved out in June. It seemed the wisest course to her, and a better way to start, to wait for him to move out before they began a relationship, even if they were falling head over heels with each other. Sensible people could wait, and if this was real, it would. He had agreed.

“When are you going?” Jean-Charles asked cautiously. He would have to cancel his patients, and find someone to cover for him, not always an easy task.

“Tomorrow at noon,” Timmie said with a sigh. All she had time to do was get a good night’s sleep and walk out the door again. She no longer had any idea what time zone she was in. She felt like she was in outer space. But part of that too was the excitement of what she was feeling for Jean-Charles. That had disoriented her too, but in the nicest way.

“They don’t give you any time to breathe, do they?” he said sympathetically. “Must you do all of this yourself?” he asked, sounding worried about her. “Is there no one who can take some of this off your shoulders for you?”

“Not really.” They both knew she was too much of a perfectionist to let any of it go. She liked overseeing it all herself, and having her finger in every pie. It was part of the legend of Timmie O. She did damn near everything herself, from designing their collections to running the whole show. She was a magician of sorts, a high-wire act that dazzled the crowd, with no net under her most of the time, except the faithful employees she kept close. But the responsibilities of making the entire operation run rested on her. Jean-Charles had begun to see that now, as he called her all over the world.

“Why don’t I come to New York on Thursday?” he suggested. “That will give you time to deal with the problems in New Jersey. Can you take a few days off? It would do you good.” And him as well.

“I’ll try,” she said, her mind racing over all she had to do. She felt as though she were falling behind, and then suddenly she took a breath, and realized what he was offering her. The opportunity to love and be loved, a glimpse of a whole new world. “No,” she said, sounding stronger, and different. Her priorities had already begun to shift ephemerally in the past two weeks. “I will.” She held her breath, thinking of him. This was terrifying and wonderful, something she had never expected, a dream she had never in a million years thought would happen to her. “Can you really come to New York?” She felt like a child waiting for Christmas as she thought of it. Now waiting even a few days to see him seemed too long. Fate had handed them an opportunity, and neither of them was going to miss it. It was time to reach for the brass ring as the merry-go-round went round and round. The prospect of catching it was dizzying for both of them.

“Of course I can come,” Jean-Charles said reassuringly. “How could I not, Timmie?” he said, sounding so loving, it nearly made her cry. “I’m doing this for myself as much as I am for you. I want to see you.” They both wanted to see now if this was real, even if they still had to wait several months until he was physically free. “Do you want me to stay in a different hotel?” he asked sensibly. “I don’t want to cause any problems for you, or embarrass you.”

“I think we can behave ourselves,” she said, sounding confident. “Why don’t you stay at the Four Seasons too? It would be silly if you didn’t.”

“I’ll make a reservation for Thursday … and Timmie … thank you for meeting me … and letting me come …” He sounded moved, and so did she. She was so tired that all her emotions were close to the surface, but they had been for two weeks, and perhaps even before. She was beginning to think that this had been brewing since her ruptured appendix in October, without either of them knowing, or wanting to admit it to themselves.

“Thank you for coming to New York,” she said gently. She could hardly wait to see him, and he sounded as excited as she.

“I’ll take the night flight back to Paris on Sunday. That will give us three and a half days, nearly four. I’ll take an early flight on Thursday morning, and with the time difference, I could be at the hotel by noon.”

“I can’t wait,” she said softly, although she was frightened now. They were both taking a step into the future, which would either take them one step closer to their dreams, or dash them forever. And then she forced herself to remember this was only a weekend, a string of days to spend with him, and discover who he really was, while he did the same with her. It was an exploratory mission between two people who had been struck by lightning. What they needed to know now was whether or not to go forward. Perhaps they would see each other and realize how foolish they had been for the past two weeks. It was still possible that it was only an illusion. True or false? Dream or real? All either of them knew was that they would find out in New York.

“I’ll see you in New York on Thursday,” he said gently. “Now get some sleep. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.” She said good night to him, and realized as she hung up that she had almost said she loved him. How could she love this man she scarcely knew, so soon, and what were they doing? All either of them knew was that they would find the answers, some of them at least, in New York. Timmie stood looking around her bedroom, feeling thunderstruck again, and suddenly frightened, as Jean-Charles sat staring out the window in his office in Paris, thinking of her, and smiling. He had never been as happy in his life.

Chapter 13

Miraculously, after ten hours a day at the bargaining table, negotiating with a fleet of lawyers beside her, Timmie was able to resolve the strike at the factory in New Jersey. It had cost them dearly, but it was worth it. The factory opened again on Wednesday night, with new overtime rates, new benefit packages, and a higher wage for all their workers. Sometimes you had to know when to be tough, and when to give in. Timmie had a good sense of what it took to keep her business running. She felt relieved, if not victorious, when the union backed off and the employees went back to work. David shook her hand in open admiration, and booked a seat on the last flight to L.A. out of Newark, and was surprised when Timmie said she was staying in New York.

“God, I would think you’d be as anxious to get back as I am.” This was why he hadn’t had a serious relationship in nearly two years. Who could find the time when they were flying between Paris, New York, L.A., Taipei, and back to New York again? It was hard to believe, but Timmie didn’t even look tired. She liked to say she had the constitution of an ox. She seemed like Superwoman to him.

“I’m taking a few days off,” she said quietly.

“Why here?” He looked puzzled. It was freezing cold, and had snowed three times in two days. All he wanted was to get out and go back to L.A. She was obviously in no hurry to go back, and he guessed that she just wanted to disconnect after the many trips and complicated negotiations. He could hardly blame her, and maybe she could do it better in New York, three thousand miles from her office, although her business and the demands it made on her followed her everywhere, even here.

“I just want to take it easy,” she explained, as they left the last of the negotiations, with the lawyers following behind them, congratulating each other. “I want to sleep, go to some plays, and shop.” It never occurred to him that she was meeting Jean-Charles in New York, and she wanted to keep it to herself. Like a newborn baby, she wanted to protect the fledgling feelings they had for each other. For this first time anyway, she just wanted to disappear with him, and see what happened. They had already agreed what wouldn’t, the rest remained to be seen, and didn’t need to be observed, or even acknowledged, by anyone else.