Taking a Chance (5 page)

When she got home, she unpacked and immediately started doing laundry. As she finished repacking her suitcase, her phone rang.
Thank goodness.
Molly would give her an opinion on what to wear to the Wednesday night reception.

“Hey, Mol.”

“Hi! How are you? How’s Ashley? Is Scott the best father around?”

Maddie laughed. “They’re great and yes, he just can’t get enough of Ashley. It’s adorable.”

“Great,” said Molly. “I didn’t want to bother you last week, but I thought we should put the final details together for the bachelorette party next weekend.”

They went through the list from the girls coming in Thursday night to the brunch on Sunday before Maddie finally asked, “Are you going to give me any hints about Friday night? I need to know what to wear.” Molly and Amanda had planned Friday night as a surprise for Maddie. Amanda had said she wanted to thank her for all the help, but it was driving Maddie crazy not knowing what they had planned.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be sure you have the perfect outfit picked out. No matter what excuse you use, I’m not going to tell you, so don’t bother trying to get it out of me.”

“Fine.” Maddie sighed but smiled to herself. “Can you help me with a different wardrobe question? I need to pick out a dress for an event on Wednesday. It’s a black-tie dinner reception with a lot of doctors, surgeons, et cetera. What type of dress do you think I should be wearing? Short or long? Conservative or fun?”

“Well, it depends. What is the event for? Is it just dinner, a charity event, an awards dinner or what?”

“Well,” Maddie thought about it, “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know? Is it for work? You must be able to find out some of the details.”

Maddie hesitated.
Crap.
She was not prepared to tell anyone she was going on a date. She knew Molly would not judge her, but other people might. “Lola’s doctor, Todd, asked me to attend a dinner reception with him on Wednesday night. It’s downtown Chicago, so he asked if I’d like to go.”

“Whoa, back up, Maddie! So, he asked you out on a date?” Molly asked excitedly.

“I know. It’s too soon, but something about Todd felt right. I don’t want to rush into anything, but I can’t hang out at home by myself forever, right?”

“All that matters is what you feel. If you want to go out with this guy, you should. Please don’t worry about what other people might think. This is about you and only you, but just so you know, I’m excited for you!”

Maddie told her the whole story about Todd, and they narrowed it down to a couple of choices. After Maddie spoke to Todd and got a few more details she would make the final decision.

“Thanks, Mol. I always appreciate your help. I have to finish up a few things before I head to the airport.”

“Sounds good. Call me after your date on Wednesday. I don’t care what time it is, I want to hear how everything goes.”

“I’m not going to call you that night, it could be a late evening and I have to work on Thursday. Besides, I’ll see you Thursday night, so it’s not like you’ll have to wait long.”

“Fine, but I want every detail, so you better remember everything. You know me!”

Maddie did know Molly—she would ask a million questions, so Maddie would have to remember every detail from the first word Todd spoke to what she ate for dessert.

Maddie put her suitcase by the door and finished packing up her workbag. She watered her plants, turned the air down and was heading out the door before turning back to set the alarm. She’d become more conscientious about it now that she lived alone again.

The car was waiting by the time she got downstairs and the driver quickly loaded her bags while she got into the backseat. She sighed as she leaned back against the seat and closed her eyes wearily. She’d been home for only seven hours and was not looking forward to travelling alone.

• • •

O
’Hare was crowded as usual. Cars circled the airport to pass time until their loved ones arrived. As her car pulled up to her terminal, Maddie watched people saying goodbye.

Two kids hugged their dad. They stood while he headed to the doors. He turned one more time to wave goodbye. Their faces lit up when he turned back and their arms started pumping back and forth even faster.

A couple around her age kissed goodbye. When they started to part ways, the guy reached out and pulled her in for one more kiss. He finally dropped her hand as she turned to walk. His eyes showed he hated to see her go, but he gave her a smile as she turned one last time before entering the sliding doors. Maddie longed for that feeling again, having someone miss her while she was gone and someone to look forward to seeing when she returned.

Maddie had packed light, so she did not have to check her luggage. She walked up to an express kiosk to check in for her flight and moved along quickly arriving at her gate about thirty minutes before boarding. Taking out a book to pass the time, she heard her phone ring a few minutes later.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Maddie. How are you?”

She immediately perked up at the sound of his voice. “Todd. I’m good. How are you?”

“I’m glad I caught you. I just wanted to touch base about Wednesday before the week starts and we both get caught up at work.”

“I was hoping you’d call. I realized I never asked you any details. I know you said it’s a black tie event, but a girl needs to know a bit more to be sure she’s appropriately dressed. I mean you can just put a tux on, which is almost like cheating.”

As she said it she realized she had never seen Todd wearing anything but scrubs. She wondered how great he was going to look in regular clothes, especially a tuxedo.

“You’re correct. I’ll be wearing a tuxedo, so it’s easy for me. As for you, I don’t think it’s much more difficult. You just need to pick one dress.” He laughed.

“What kind of event is it? Dinner? Charity? Awards? Dancing?”

“Let’s see, yes, no, yes and yes. There will be a band, so depending on how much alcohol is consumed I would guess a little dancing.”

“Okay, one more question. Do you have any preferences?”

He laughed again.

“You know what? I don’t think I’ve ever been asked that question, at least not so matter of fact. I like that about you. I will say this, long or short doesn’t matter to me. You will see full-length ball gowns and short cocktail dresses. The one thing I will request, since you so kindly gave me the option, is you don’t wear black.”

“Why? Is that what all your other dates wore?” Maddie teased.

“What other dates?”

The answer caught her off-guard. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry or sound childish,” she stammered.

“It’s fine, Maddie,” he reassured her. “The reason for no black is I’m sure a majority of the room will be dressed in it, and I want you to be different.”

“Why would you want me to stand out?” It was already a unique situation to attend a formal dinner with hundreds of other people for a first date, and standing out would make her feel like she was in a spotlight.

“Who knows, you may have to take a few pictures. I have to go, but I’m looking forward to seeing you Wednesday. I’ll pick you up at seven.” He chuckled. “And I hate to sound pushy, but I really can’t be late, so I’m hoping we can leave right on time. Besides, I know you’ll look beautiful no matter what.”

Maddie laughed with him. “I’ll be ready on time. See you Wednesday.”

She hung up excited but still a bit nervous. Maddie had not been on a first date in over four years. At least now she knew what she was going to wear.

W
hen the car pulled up to Maddie’s building on Wednesday afternoon, she had only a few hours before Todd arrived. She was excited to see Todd but still anxious since it was an unusual first date.

Maddie finished unpacking and called her mom to get an update. Her mom was still spending a lot of time at Scott and Lola’s house. Maddie sensed she was holding back on something, but she didn’t have time to get into it now.

“Have fun tonight, sweetheart.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

She hung up and paused to check her reflection in the mirror. The emerald green dress was strapless and fit to every curve of her body. Even with four-inch heels, the skirt fell almost to the floor. Maddie put on an antique gold and crystal necklace that hung between her collarbone and the top of the dress. She slid in the matching studs and wore her hair up in a loose chignon.

Maddie stepped into her shoes and checked her make-up in the mirror one last time. She walked out of her building with five minutes to spare and smiled as she soaked up the warm evening air. Sid was standing outside near the door and she asked about his grandchildren. His face always lit up when he talked about them and Maddie loved hearing the stories.

Sid was in his early sixties and still handsome. Much like her father, even though fully gray, he still had a full head of hair. He was very active and loved biking. The stories he told about his long rides and competitions always amazed Maddie. With a mind like a steel trap, Maddie swore he remembered every detail of every conversation. It gave her comfort knowing he was the person watching their building.

Sid’s wife had passed away a few years earlier after battling cancer for many years. Sid had been a high-level executive at an investment firm downtown but had retired soon after she had passed away. Losing his drive for the corporate world after losing Emily but not wanting to stay at home, he had decided to spend a few days a week as a doorman at a building near his home just to keep busy. He told Maddie he had fallen in love with the job and now many weeks he worked five or six days.

Sid had known about Maddie’s break-up the day it happened. She had called to tell him George was not allowed up to her condo. She had immediately changed the locks and codes, but was afraid if she did not tell Sid, George would con his way up to her place. That was not something she ever wanted to come home to.

“It looks like your prince for the evening has arrived, mademoiselle,” Sid bowed and waved his hand the direction of the limo as it pulled up.

Maddie turned as Todd stepped out. A look of appreciation spread over his face as he saw her. “Hi, Maddie.” He gave her a quick hug. “You look gorgeous,” he said as he pulled away from her.

“Thank you,” Maddie said, “and you look pretty good yourself.” She laughed as she said it and some of the nerves eased.

“I really didn’t expect you to be downstairs already, but it certainly was a pleasant surprise. Are you ready to go?”

“Absolutely, seven o’clock on the dot. I’m ready to see what this evening is all about.”

Todd placed his hand on her back to guide her as they turned to walk toward the car. After she slid into the limo, he closed the door and walked around to the other side.

A bouquet of stunning pink roses lay on the seat next to Maddie. She also noticed a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket. She wondered how often Todd did this and was concerned that she might have misjudged him. Hoping he did not think she was going to be some easy one-night stand kind of girl, her nerves kicked up a bit.

She turned to him as he settled in. “Todd, it’s been a long time since I’ve been on a first date, and I hope you understand I need to take things slow.”

“Maddie,” he reached out and took her hand, “I haven’t been on a first date in a while either. I know this may appear cheesy with the flowers and champagne, but I really just wanted to make sure everything was perfect. I was afraid you had guys trying to impress you all the time, so I didn’t want to fall short.”

Not sure if that was just a line or he was being honest, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and smiled.

Their car pulled up to the building and Todd jumped out when the chauffeur opened the door. He waved and smiled to a couple walking up to the building. Her nerves returned. The evening was his show and she would not know anyone. She didn’t want him to feel like he had to entertain her, especially if he needed to mingle with other people. The couple he had waved to both looked at her as she stepped out and each raised their eyebrows before turning back again.

Todd and Maddie rode the elevator up with three other couples. As Maddie stepped out, she gasped. The event was even more glamorous than she had expected.

Waiters and waitresses roamed between the guests carrying silver trays of appetizers and champagne. The waiters had on black tuxedos with tails and the waitresses were in long black dresses. All of the servers wore white gloves.

Black silk tablecloths cloaked the tables and were accented with black and white linens. Atop the tables were enormous arrangements in varying heights created with all different white flowers. Maddie smelled the fragrance of fresh flowers due to the sheer quantity in the room. Hanging from the twenty-foot ceilings at different lengths were black and white lanterns.

“Wow, this place looks fantastic! I understand why you said not to wear black, but I feel like I’m the only one not in black or white. I don’t want to stand out too much.”

He laughed. “That’s exactly what I wanted. Everyone will be staring at you and you’re with me, so that makes me happy.”

“Are you sure it’s okay that I’m wearing a color? I wasn’t supposed to wear black or white, was I?”

“No. Other women will wear a color, just not many. Most people here prefer to blend in with the crowd. Shall we get a drink?”

“Yes, please.”

As they walked toward one of the bar areas a man approached Todd.

“Congratulations, Todd. I couldn’t have picked a more deserving recipient myself.”

“Thank you, Dr. Hernandez. That means a lot coming from you.”

“Why was he congratulating you, Todd?” Maddie asked as they turned away. “I have the feeling there might be more to this dinner than you told me.”

“You sound like my mother scolding me.” He chuckled and Maddie blushed. “An award is given out every year and I happen to be the recipient this year. Sorry to keep it from you, but I was afraid if I told you that you might not come and I really wanted to see you.”

Everything was starting to make sense now. She understood why he could not be late and the comment about taking pictures. She wished he had been honest, but she also knew if he had told her, she probably would have turned down the invitation.