Mythe: A Fairy Tale (7 page)

He stopped outside of a door marked as the Aspen Suite and passed their tickets under the scanner beside it before handing them back to Manda. The lock opened with an electronic buzz and he opened the door to let them in, entering behind them. David and Stacey were standing at the front of the suite overlooking the arena floor, each with a champagne flute in hand.

“Hi, guys,” Manda greeted, drawing David and Stacey’s attention when she spoke.

“Hey, M. Hi, Katie!” David called across the short distance.

The concierge stepped forward to address them all. “Dinner will be brought in shortly. Please help yourself to the hors d’oeuvres and beverages.” He paused with an uncomfortable look at Manda and Katie. “Mr. Raines has provided champagne for the evening, but....”

Manda smiled. He was very diplomatically trying to ascertain if they were old enough to drink. Katie, of course, wasn’t, and Manda had never developed a taste for alcohol. She let him off the hook.

“We don’t drink, but thank you. We’ll just have soft drinks.”

“I can bring you some sparkling juice instead of the champagne if you’d like?” he suggested, undoubtedly grateful to avoid an uncomfortable confrontation.

“That would be perfect,” Manda answered gratefully. “Thank you very much.” He slipped out the door then, leaving the four guests alone.

“Ha! More champagne for us!” David exclaimed with a grin, popping a morsel of food into his mouth. Stacey elbowed him playfully in the ribs and he half choked on the food before he managed to swallow it.

“Take off your jacket and get comfortable, Katie,” David said, when he’d recovered. “Have you ever been in one of the suites before?”

“No, not until now,” Katie replied, taking off her new jacket. She knew David well and had at one time had a crush on him.

“Then let me give you the guided tour. We can hang your jacket up back here in the closet.”

Manda left David and Katie to their tour and sat down on a stool next to Stacey. “Happy birthday,” she greeted the other woman. “Did David manage to surprise you?”

“Completely!” Stacey gushed. “This is the best birthday present ever!”

“Whoa! Back up! I never said this was your birthday present,” David interrupted, distracted from his conversation with Katie. “We’ll get to your present after dinner.”

“You mean there’s more?” Stacey asked in delight.

“Of course,” David answered, smoothly pulling a small wrapped package out of his pocket. He sat the flat, rectangular box on the bar in front of Stacey. “But you can’t open it yet.”

Manda smiled, pulling Stacey’s birthday card out of her purse and setting it on the bar beside the box.

“Do I have to wait to open that one, too?” Stacey complained.

Manda glanced at David out of the corner of her eye and he nodded slightly. Manda hadn’t intended to make Stacey wait, but was willing to go along with David.

“Yep. Not until after dinner,” Manda told her.

Stacey turned to Katie and addressed her mournfully. “These guys are just mean!”

Katie laughed, and Stacey, unable to maintain her hangdog expression, joined her. There was a firm knock on the door, and it opened to admit several servers and two carts laden with serving dishes. The concierge, Jonathan, followed them in and supervised the transfer of the food onto the serving table that sat against the sidewall of the suite. When everything had been set up to his satisfaction he ushered the servers out and addressed David.

“Please help yourselves. When you’re ready for dessert, or if there’s anything else you need, let me know. I’ll be right outside.” He indicated an additional bottle that had been placed on ice beside the champagne. “I’ve had them bring some sparkling white grape juice. If you need more of that or more champagne, just ask. Enjoy your dinner.” He smiled and left, closing the door softly behind himself.

“It smells delicious,” Stacey declared, inhaling deeply.

David started peeking into the dishes, savoring the aromatic steam that escaped. “When I told Richard you liked Italian food, I didn’t think he’d send
all
the Italian food in the city! There’s some of almost anything you could want here!”

“When did you tell him that?” Manda asked, puzzled. She didn’t recall David ever mentioning anything of the sort.

“I ran into them downstairs when I went out at lunchtime yesterday,” David explained absently, still checking the covered dishes. “They invited me to have lunch with them but I’d already grabbed something after I picked up Stacey’s present. They asked about you too, but I told them you were working through.”

Manda opened her mouth and then closed it again soundlessly, struggling to keep the disappointment she felt from showing on her face. “Oh,” was all she finally said.

Stacey, however, was more vocal in her shocked dismay. “Why did you do that? I’m sure Manda would rather go to lunch with them than eat at her desk! I’d certainly play hooky from work to meet Richard and Joshua Raines!”

Katie was looking at David in horror and disbelief as well, as if unsure what kind of person would pass up a lunch invitation with her idols. David looked around at the disapproving females in bewilderment.

“But I asked you if you wanted to run out and pick something up with me and you said no!” he defended.

Stacey put her arms around David’s waist and kissed him on the cheek. “Take my word for it on this; it’s not the same thing at all.”

David cast a penitent look at Manda. “I’m sorry if I screwed up, M. Stacey doesn’t have me fully trained yet. It’s her fault.” He pulled Stacey closer so she couldn’t get a good angle on her retaliatory punch and she chuckled.

Manda shook her head. “It’s fine. I did tell you I didn’t want to go out. But right now the food is going to get cold, so let’s eat.” Manda firmly pushed away her disappointment over the lost opportunity to enjoy a leisurely lunch with Richard—but it was more difficult than it should have been for a supposedly level-headed person.

They let Stacey fill her plate first, in honor of her birthday. Manda sampled a little of everything and was too full by the time she did that to go back and try more of her favorites.

“That was so good,” Stacey raved, pushing her plate to the side.

“What’s for desert?” Katie asked enthusiastically, eliciting groans from both Manda and Stacey.

“Let’s find out,” David suggested. He walked to the door and stuck his head out. Manda could hear him talking in a low voice, and then he shut the door and returned to his stool. “They’ll bring it right in. Anybody want some more champagne or juice?” he asked, refilling his own glass.

“I’m good for now,” Manda refused, but Stacey and Katie each took refills. Manda strolled to the front of the suite and looked out over the arena. The seats had filled up while they were eating and the noise level had increased accordingly. She checked her watch and anticipation fluttered in her stomach. Katie came to stand beside her, a glass of sparkling juice in hand, and examined the round stage in the center of the arena floor.

“These are awesome seats, Aunt Manda. We’ll be able to see everything. How much longer until it starts?”

“About fifteen minutes,” Manda replied. She heard the door open at the back of the suite and looked over her shoulder to see Jonathan directing one of the servers to place a small but elegant birthday cake onto the bar.

“Is there anything else you need right now?” Jonathan asked.

“No, we’re fine, thank you very much,” David assured him, and Jonathan excused himself and slipped out.

“Can I open my presents now?” Stacey pleaded, picking up David’s present.

“Yes, now you may open your presents,” David intoned, like a king granting a favor. Stacey wasted no time ripping the paper from the package to reveal the black velvet box inside. David had shown Manda the gift the day before, right after he’d picked it up. Stacey flipped open the lid and delightedly turned the box around to show Manda and Katie the gold charm bracelet in the satin-lined box.

“It’s beautiful! Thank you!” Stacey gushed, removing the bracelet from the box and fastening it around her wrist. She kissed David enthusiastically, and then admired the bracelet on her arm again.

“Open Aunt Manda’s card now,” Katie prompted eagerly, handing it to her.

Stacey, happy to comply, slid her finger under the flap and tore open the envelope. She smiled as she read the comical card Manda had made for her, and then opened the smaller envelope that held the gift card to a boutique that Manda knew she liked. Her eyes widened when she saw the amount on the card and she hugged a startled Manda.

“Oh, you shouldn’t have! You really, really shouldn’t have, Manda!”

“I figured you deserved it for putting up with David,” Manda joked, downplaying the gift. “Happy birthday.”

“Thank you,” Stacey replied earnestly. Before she could continue the crowd in the arena roared and the group in the suite turned as one toward the stage.

The opening band had just appeared. It was a group that Manda had heard of but wasn’t very familiar with. David, Stacey, and Katie knew them well, however, and dessert was forgotten while the band played.

At the end of the performance, as the group left the stage to the sound of enthusiastic applause, Manda stood and stretched. She had, it turned out, recognized several of the group’s songs. David had occasionally played them at work.

“They were great,” David enthused.

“Yeah, they were pretty good,” Manda agreed. “Shall we cut the cake now?”

“Yes, definitely,” Stacey said. “It’ll take them a while to reset the stage anyway.”

Katie groaned unhappily. Manda sympathized.
Rain
couldn’t take the stage soon enough for her. Her appreciation of the opening band had been diminished by her eagerness to see Richard and Josh perform.

“Come help me cut the cake,” Manda suggested to her niece. The busier they stayed the quicker the time would pass. Katie jumped up to join her, taking pieces to David and Stacey as Manda cut them. Katie took a large piece for herself and Manda took a small one. After two bites she found she wasn’t hungry and pushed the cake around on her plate idly until David finally took it away from her and threw it in the trash.

“For Pete’s sake, Manda! You’re worse than Katie,” he accused. Katie was prowling the suite like a nervous cat. She’d eaten her cake quickly, and then returned to her seat in the front box. After a few minutes she’d grown restless and wandered to the bar, where she’d flipped through the channels on the flat screen television there before returning to her seat. Now she was alternating between surfing the Internet on the suite’s computer and sitting restlessly, watching the crowd.

“But I’m just sitting here quietly,” Manda protested.

“Exactly. We’ve been talking to you for the last ten minutes and you haven’t heard a word,” he told her, exasperated.

“Sorry,” Manda apologized sheepishly. “What were you saying?”

“I was just warning you that two of the guys in the next suite are checking out Katie.”

“Hmmmm” Manda responded with a frown. She dropped her chin and tilted her head, letting her hair swing forward to hide her face from the occupants of the adjacent suite. She peered through the curtain of hair, watching as two men in their early twenties leaned on the low wall that divided the boxes at the front of the two suites. Katie was focused on the stage, waiting for Richard and Josh to appear, and was as yet unaware of the men’s interest. She wouldn’t remain oblivious for long, however, as one of the men was apparently badgering the other to speak to her. “I’ll go run interference,” Manda growled, all of her protective instincts toward her niece coming into play. She strolled to the front row and took the seat beside Katie, between her niece and the two men. She very casually ignored them, angling her body toward Katie and engaging her in conversation.

“It shouldn’t be too much longer,” she assured her niece. “Are you having fun so far?”

“Yes! Thanks for bringing me!” Katie enthused.

“Excuse me,” a man said behind Manda. One of the men had finally worked up the nerve to speak. Manda pretended not to hear, turning instead to address Stacey. She and David had taken seats in the second row, behind and to one side of Katie and Manda.

“How about you, Stacey? Are you having fun?”

“Definitely,” Stacey responded excitedly.

“Excuse me,” the man said, louder this time.

“So, did you get enough to eat?” Manda asked Katie, still refusing to acknowledge Katie’s admirer.

“Um, yeah, I guess so,” Katie answered, looking past Manda toward the man and then back to Manda and clearly wondering why her aunt was ignoring him. Almost at once Manda felt the tap on her shoulder she’d been half waiting for. It seemed they weren’t going to give up easily. She turned, pasting a look of wide-eyed surprise on her face.

“Yes?” she said innocently. She heard David grunt in annoyance behind her, but didn’t turn around.

“Hello,” the young man greeted her, smiling. His grinning companion eyed her appreciatively. “We were wondering if you and your friends would like to join us over here for the rest of the show. We’re having a little party and we have room for four more.”

Manda doubted that. Their suite looked quite crowded and she was thankful for the roominess they themselves were enjoying. “Thank you, but we already have seats here. Have fun and enjoy the show though. I hear that this band is supposed to be pretty good.” She gave them a dismissive smile and turned back to Katie. From the corner of her eye she could see David turn his head away, biting his lip to suppress his laughter. He was always inordinately amused when she gave men the brush off. She was never sure why.