The Charm Bracelet (27 page)

‘Course, I don’t know if I will be able to find the time to keep searching for her much longer. After all, with Danny in the condition he’s in now, I can’t exactly be traipsing all over
Manhattan.’

Hearing his name, Danny approached them on the sofa. ‘What about my condition?’ he asked.

Holly smiled and put her arms around him, pulling him close. ‘I said that I needed to be paying more attention to you, playing nursemaid and getting you back to health.’

He rolled his eyes. ‘Mom, I’m fine, you don’t need to worry about me.’

‘Even so, I can’t very well continue this wild goose chase, not with my only son injured.’

‘But you already have so many clues!’ Danny insisted. ‘So I cracked my skull open a little bit … no big deal, I’m OK.’

‘Well, we’ll see … ’

Holly idly turned her attention back to the newspaper, and opened it to the crossword. She picked up a stray pencil nearby and started reading through the clues.
              ‘I agree with Danny – you certainly can’t give up now,’ Kate persisted. ‘Think about it. Someone is out there, frantic about losing their precious bracelet, and searching high and low for it. You are the person who is going to make that happen. You know, if you think about it, there’s a reason this ended up in your hands, Holly. It’s karma or something. You are the perfect perso
n
the vessel eve
n
to deliver the treasured memories associated with that bracelet back into the hands of its rightful owner.’

Holly’s eyes widened. ‘Seriously Kate, you should run for office with a speech like that.’ She laughed. ‘And of course I’m going to try my best to get it back to the owner but, right now, I’m going to try my best to finish this crossword.’

Kate got up for another refill, and Danny once again turned his attentions to his iPad.

Holly sat back on the sofa and immersed herself in following yet another line of clues – this time from the crossword. It seemed far simpler to uncover those mystery words than finding a proverbial needle in a haystack in
New York City.

But as she started to decipher the crossword, her inbuilt radar for intrigue and mystery began to go off as, bit by bit, she uncovered the clues. As she gazed at the page, something was becoming clear, but she wasn't sure what.

Five across: Singer of ‘Two Lives’ five letters.
KAREN
(Carpenter)

Seventeen down: Mr Darcy’s maiden. Seven letters.
BENNET
(Elizabeth)

Two down: Editor of
NYT
crossword. Three letters.
WILL
(Shortz)

Sixty-four across: Not I, me, him, or her. Three letters.
YOU

Fifty-two down: ‘_____ the night’ by Gaga. Five letters.
MARRY

Fifteen across: Not I, him, her, or you. Two letters.
ME

Ten down: Barry's Westdale high school student. Four letters.
GREG
(Brady)

When Holly finally finished encoding the message
plain for all to see in the crossword, her eyes widened. ‘Oh my goodness … ’ she swooned, putting a hand to her mouth. ‘Kate, you have to see this, how romantic … what an absolutely amazing thing to do.’

Kate came and peered over Holly’s shoulder. ‘What is it?’

She held up the newspaper. ‘Look, someone’s being proposed to via the
NYT
crossword. On Christmas morning, can you believe it?’

Kate read the message aloud. ‘Karen Bennet, will you marry me?’ Oh wow, that’s so amazing!’ Ever the softie, tears appeared in her eyes. ‘That’s possibly the most romantic thing I’ve ever seen – or read even. What a way to pop the question! I hope she sees it, this Karen Bennet.’

‘I’m sure she has – or will. She must be a crossword addict, otherwise why would – ’ she looked back down at the message – ‘Greg do it this way otherwise?’

Kate was staring dreamily into the distance. ‘Oh I really hope she says yes!’ she exclaimed, getting carried away by the drama of it all.

Holly read the message again. ‘Well, of course she will. Clearly this guy went to a lot of trouble putting this together, just for her.’ She looked at her friend, for once sharing in Kate’s mushy sentimentality. ‘What woman would say no to a proposal like that?              

Greg was up on Christmas morning just as the sun was starting to emerge above the horizon. He had barely slept the night before, so nervous was he in anticipation of what would unfold on this day. Still, he felt wide-awake and completely alert. Not to mention excited.

He gingerly got out of bed, slipped on a robe and padded silently across the bedroom, stealing a glance at Karen’s sleeping form. He didn’t want to wake her until he was absolutely sure everything was ready to go downstairs.

Quietly opening the closet door, he sought out the jacket he’d been wearing a couple of nights before at Cipriani. Reaching into the inside pocket, he found the ring box and slipped it into the pocket of his robe. He momentarily considered changing out of his pyjama pants and getting ready for the day, but that wasn’t how they typically did Christmas morning here and he didn’t want Karen to suspect anything amiss.

Smiling, he patted his robe pocket and left the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him.

He systematically went around the house turning on their Christmas tree lights, and the ones on the mantel wreath – setting the tone for a warm, festive atmosphere. He couldn’t deny it, he hadn’t felt this excited on Christmas morning since he was a child.

Reaching down to rearrange the presents under the tree, Greg guessed that there would be more when his father came over to join them later.

He disarmed their security system and walked to the front door, crossing his fingers on the way out that their paper delivery guy hadn’t decided to sleep in or skip his route that morning. That would certainly put a spanner in the works, and Greg didn’t fancy having to slip out to a newsstand to find a backup paper.

Outside, the air seemed to sparkle, as if he could see individual molecules floating around him. He admired the crisp new covering of the snow and the icy brightness of the sun as it reflected off the smooth surfaces outside.

Hoping against hope that
The New York Times
would be lying on the doorstep as usual waiting for him, he gave a sigh of relief when he saw that the blessed paper was exactly where it should be. At his feet, in its protective plastic wrapper, just waiting to be picked up. He would have to remember to give the delivery guy a good tip next time he saw him.

Greg picked up the paper and shook off the snow that had settled on the outer covering overnight. Now that he thought about it, maybe he should run out for another one – might be nice to have an unused ‘souvenir’ copy of that particular edition. Something to show the kids someday.

Greg glanced up at the clouds and he thought of his mother. Oh, how he wished she could be here to see this!

Easing back inside the foyer and shutting the door, Greg took a deep, cleansing breath and thought back to last Christmas. Their last Christmas together as a family.

Even though Cristina had been very ill at that time, due to the robust chemotherapy she’d been getting, she had been feeling very positive.

Two days before Christmas last year, her doctor had told her that it seemed the cancer was responding to treatment. By this time, she had lost her hair, and his normally curvaceous mother had been reduced to a shell of her former self, but she was there, smiling, and as always staying positive about the future. No matter what it might hold.

Greg smiled as he recalled her words. ‘If you live everyday like it’s your last then you have no regrets, because each new dawn is a blessing in itself – a gift you didn’t know you were being given.’

Her smile never even faltered when, a few months later, even after the encouragement from the doctor, a fresh piece of news was conveyed. Yes, while the breast cancer seemed to be controlled, a new mass had been found on a recent chest X-ray. They would have to operate immediately and another round of chemotherapy was ordered, with radiotherapy to follow.

At the time, Greg and Jeff had taken the news badly, but Cristina had simply said: ‘We just have to roll with the punches. It’s just another challenge and we’ll get through it.’

Greg sometimes wondered where his mother found her reserves of strength. A lesser human being would have easily crumbled under the stress and strain, let alone the fear, of dealing with such a disease, a disease seemingly dedicated to morphing and changing into a new type of monster every day. But still Cristina marched on, head held high.

Thinking of her words, Greg smiled as he edged back in the door and shut it behind him. Automatically his thoughts segued to their conversation in Cipriani about her missing bracelet.

After he got through today, it was next on his list of priorities. He
had
to find his mother’s bracelet. It was a family heirloom.

Karen awoke and stretched out her arms. A full night’s sleep for what seemed like the first time in ages had done her the world of good and she felt like a new woman today.

Glancing to her left she discovered that Greg was no longer in bed, and felt briefly thankful – she wasn’t in the mood for any Christmas morning nookie.

Karen swallowed hard
as she thought about all that had happened recently and she tried to make sense of it.

There was no doubt
she had been struggling with the idea of Greg becoming some sort of freelancer and, quite frankly, she would be lying if she tried to say that she was OK with it. There was no point in sugar-coating it any more.

She
thought back to the countless times when Greg had said that they were partners, equal in everything. But he took that away from her when he decided to quit his job without even getting her opinion on it. It made her responsible for everything – the finances, the mortgage, everything. And that was not what she’d signed up for.

She
had always imagined herself with a certain type of man. A man who was interested in the finer things in life, in being a member of a certain level of society and having possessions that were reflective of his status, not one who was necessarily interested in sitting in Central Park all day long selling photographs to tourists. She thought that she had found the former in Greg, and it frightened her that she might have actually found the latter.

It was fine to frequent galleries if you were there to rub shoulders with people who mattered
, and buy conversation pieces that meant you had money, if not taste. But not if you were there hoping to sell your wares so you could pay this month’s rent.

Her iPhone beeped at the very same time the bedroom door opened. Karen jumped. She looked up to see Greg standing in the doorway, a huge smile on his face.

‘You’re up? I was just coming to wake you.’ He crossed the room and, sitting down on the edge of the bed, pulled her towards him in a huge hug. ‘Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I think it’s going to be a great day.’

‘Merry Christmas,’ she said, a little taken aback. He seemed weird … almost as if he was ready to jump out of his own skin. It worried her a little.

Breaking apart from him, she swung her legs out of the bed and found her footing on the floor. ‘I’ll be right down. Just give me a moment to get myself together.’

‘Take your time.’ Greg smiled and left the room, allowing Karen to put on her robe and retrieve her phone. Her gazed quickly scanned the message and she smiled, placing it carefully in her pocket.

She brushed her hair and washed her face, taking a moment to rub some Crème de la Mer onto her skin, which was certainly showing the effects of dehydration from her exploits a few nights before.

Karen winced, thinking about it.

Having approved her appearance, she got ready to join Greg.

Based on the way he was acting, you’d think Santa himself was downstairs. Yes, Christmas was fun, and yes she liked to get presents (preferably expensive ones in either blue or red boxes), but there would likely be none of that this year. After all, these days they had to think about their
finances
. Which meant that such goodies (not to mention all-round fun) would be limited.

Karen sighed deeply.
OK, let’s get this over with.

Her suspicions were confirmed when she spotted the dearth of elegant gift boxes and bags in her pile beneath the tree. Instead there were a couple of very obviously store-wrapped packages and a simple white envelope.

Reaching for the envelope first, her jaw dropped when she read the card inside. ‘Skating lessons?’ she said, looking up at Greg in bewilderment.

He laughed. ‘I know it’s not usually our thing but I met this great lady in
Central Park and I thought it would be different – a fun thing for us to do together.’

Once they’d finished opening the rest of their rather meagre gifts to each other – some perfume and a skincare set for Karen, and tickets to a Yankees game for Greg, they sat in their living room, drinking mimosas, as was their usual Christmas morning custom.

Greg went to get a garbage bag for the discarded wrapping paper, and when he came back, he placed the newspaper in Karen’s lap.

‘Here’s your paper, honey. I know that even Christmas morning doesn’t separate you from your crossword.’

Karen smiled and took a sip of her drink. ‘I must admit I particularly enjoy the holiday ones.’

Skating lessons aside, she had to admit she was feeling pretty good today. Maybe Greg’s giddy mood was rubbing off on her a bit. Or maybe it was just the champagne. Nevertheless, she was going to just sit back and enjoy the day.

‘My lady,’ he said, handing her a pencil. ‘Do your worst.’

Karen placed her drink on a side table and curled her legs beneath her. She went right to the Entertainment Section and flipped through the pages, finally finding what she was looking for. Folding the section into quarters, she studied the crossword and set out about solving the initial clues.

Greg watched her with nervous trepidation, knowing that it would only be a few minutes until she found the hidden message. His stomach suddenly sick with anxiety, he decided he needed to do something to pass the time. He unfurled the trash bag and began picking up wrapping paper, all the while keeping a surreptitious eye on Karen.

He couldn’t help but grin to himself as she filled in each clue, a studious expression on her face as she worked towards the completion of the puzzle.

Greg bent under the tree taking his time.

When he heard her issue a startled gasp, he knew it was time.

‘Oh my God … ’

He turned back to face Karen, expecting to be met with a huge smile, a delighted bowled-over-you’ve-blown-my-socks-off smile.

His stomach lurched when he met her eyes and instead saw utter confusion, a look of sheer disbelief.

Was it really that unexpected?

Before he could utter a word, Karen held up the section of newspaper. ‘Greg, what is this?’

‘And here I was thinking you were good at these things,’ he teased. ‘Need some help with that?’

He moved forward. Then, reaching into his pocket, he extracted the ring box and got down on one knee.

Karen’s mouth dropped open.

‘Greg … ’ she said breathlessly.

‘I wanted to do something special for you, to show you just how dedicated I am to us, and how committed I am to our relationship. I know that there have been some big changes recently, but we have been through so much together already – this year especiall
y
and I know we can weather anything. Karen, if that crossword didn’t spell out the message clearly enough, let me. Will you please do me the honour of becoming my wife and making me the happiest man on the planet?’

‘Greg,’ she said softly, shaking her head. ‘I’m sorry but no, I can’t marry you.’

‘Wh-wh-what?’ he stuttered, his face falling.

Karen reached out for his hands, helping him to his feet.

‘Greg, please sit down. We need to talk.’

Holly
was readying the table for Christmas dinner. It was set with all her mismatched china, and mismatched glasses and, she thought ruefully, there was no denying it looked more like a rummage sale than the height of elegance. She lit the candles in the middle of the centrepiece: a small holly wreath with a few red berries on it. She felt Danny sidle up next to her. ‘Wow, it looks great Mom!’

She h
ugged him. ‘You really think so?’

‘Yeah, it looks
cool, like a real Christmas table!’

Holly
squeezed him tightly, her little man, he saw the joy in everything.

‘Thanks honey.’

There was a knock at the door and he rushed to answer it.

‘Mom!’ he called out from the living room. ‘Nana’s here! And some strange lady.’

‘OK … here we go,’ Holly mumbled to herself, going to the door to meet her Christmas guests.

Eileen had Danny enveloped in a bear hug, and then she quickly pushed her friend into the apartment. ‘This is Madame Vera Treynovitch,’ she said proudly. ‘Vera, meet my lovely family.’

‘Nice to meet you,’ Holly said, her eyebrows rising.

She graciously extended her hand to a very old, grey-haired lady wearing glasses with huge lenses that made them look more like goggles. She wore a short black skirt over leggings and a purple wrap stole beneath a short fur coat, which looked barely enough to keep her warm. Her hands were shrouded in long leather gloves as she took Holly’s hand.

‘Thank you so much for inviting me.’

Holly looked quizzically over the woman’s head at her beaming mother. ‘No problem, can I take your coat?’

Vera happily gave up her coat and peeled off her gloves. As she did, her bare hands briefly touched Holly's. ‘Thank you again … oh!’

‘What is it?’ Holly asked anxiously. ‘Are you OK?’

‘Yes – it’s just …’ She looked at Eileen. ‘I am also clairvoyant, and when I feel the naked flesh, ‘ she clutched her chest dramatically.

Eileen hid a smile as Danny led his grandmother away to show her his new iPad.

Perturbed, Holly gently tried to slip her hand away, but Vera clung on.

‘You are going to meet someone, tall … dark—’

‘And handsome, I’ll bet?’ Kate interrupted from where she sat on the sofa, trying not to laugh.

Vera suddenly gripped Holly’s hand tighter. ‘Yes,’ she gasped. ‘Yes, handsome, but … I know him … I
know
him and he believes he is bound for another but … ’

Holly looked helplessly at Kate, who shrugged and made the universal sign for crazy behind Vera’s head.

‘With another … but there is a puzzle … ’

‘I’m sorry. I really have no idea,’ Holly said politely.

‘Yes, a puzzle – literally!’ Vera enthused. ‘A crossword puzzle.’ Still grasping Holly's hand, she then spotted the charm bracelet and stroked it with her fingers. ‘Is this yours?’

‘That’s right,’ Holly said, feeling slightly unsettled at the mention of the crossword puzzle, especially in view of the one she’d been working on earlier that morning.

‘I'm sorry  …  the vision is lost. Or perhaps I'm just confused, and tired … ’

Finally Vera released Holly’s arm and dramatically raised her own to her head. ‘Do you have any wine?’ she asked.

‘Yes, of course. Kate, would you please … ?’ Holly pleaded, desperation in her eyes, and Kate duly led Vera to the couch, promising to fetch her a glass of red, while the older woman continued to stare at Holly as if she made no sense.

‘So Mom, how did you two meet?’ she asked her mother brightly.

‘Well, not only is Vera a dancer but she's also an usher at the Lincoln Center. We've know each other for years, isn’t that right, Vera?’

Vera took a big gulp of wine. ‘Yes, years. We first met when your mother tried to sneak from standing room to a free seat during a Wagner opera. I let her, of course, I mean it was Wagner … it goes on forever … no one should have to stand through that.’

‘So, anything we can do to help?’ Eileen asked Holly.

‘Maybe you could start lighting the candles,’ Holly gestured to the expanded kitchen table and the old-style candelabra she’d also picked up from Frank’s.

‘No problem. Oh and I almost forgot -’ her mother said, thrusting a medium sized box into Holly’s hands.

‘What’s this?’ she asked, surprised. Lifting the lid of the box, her breath caught, as the scent evoked a million and one memories. Tears came to her eyes. ‘You made
Irish Christmas pudding?’ It was perfect. Just the perfect addition to Holly’s first Christmas dinner here and tasting it would no doubt evoke memories of the wonderful Christmases of her childhood back when Seamus was still alive.

Eileen smiled bashfully. ‘It’s been so long, I was worried I’d forget the recipe.’

Her mother duly began their task of lighting the candelabra, ably assisted by Danny, and feeling much calmer now, Holly went back into the narrow kitchen to check on everything. ‘Cranberry sauce … ham …  cloves … ’ She held a wooden spoon to her head and tapped it as she went down the list. Kate followed her into the tiny kitchen.

‘Well,
that
was a little weird,’ her friend commented.

‘Who – Madame Vera? Tell me about it
. Anyway, she seems quite old, and obviously doesn’t have any family around.’

Kate looked at her. ‘You got family on the brain lately, haven’t you?’

‘At the moment, I’ve got Christmas dinner nerves on the brain … ’

‘Can I help with anything?’

‘Yeah, pour more wine – for me.’ Holly gestured to the bottles on the counter.

‘No problem,’ Kate uncorked a Merlot and passed a glass to her. ‘Do you know, maybe you should show the bracelet to Vera, seeing as she’s a clairvoyant and all?’ she teased.

Holly said nothing, but kept the idea in the back of her mind, unwilling to dismiss the idea out of hand. Oddly, the strange old woman had been right about the crossword puzzle, so maybe she could pick up on something random about the bracelet that might help? But as far as tall, dark and handsome went … well, that just sounded like the usual guff those types pulled out to make a buck.

Soon afterwards, Holly announced that dinner was ready, and they all crowded around her table that had been extended with the help of a card table – another donation of Frank’s.

Kate brought out the ham and vegetables and Holly followed with the turkey, stuffing and berries to applause. When the table was full and they were all seated, everyone hesitated, as if unsure what to do next.

As it was her first time hosting Christmas dinner, Holly wasn’t sure what to do either.

‘A prayer?’ Eileen suggested, smiling encouragingly at her daughter.

‘Yes.’ Glancing around briefly, Holly scrunched up her eyes and took a deep breath. ‘Let us …  let us always be happy … ’ she stumbled. ‘Let us always … ’ she started again ‘ … be grateful for the wonderful things in life – family, friendship and good health.’ Feeling stupid, she opened her eyes, but everyone was smiling. No, actually – Danny was beaming.

‘Amen!’ he cheered along with the others before digging in and eating.

Kate slipped away from the table to put on some festive music, and before Holly knew it, the whole table was laughing and talking and devouring everything faster than she could put it in front of them.

She glanced again at her son and felt happy tears spring to her eyes. He had a mouthful of ham and was laughing at something that Vera had said. His nana was on his other side spooning roast potatoes onto his plate, while Kate was trying to balance a paper hat on his head. This was it, Holly thought, realising that this was what she’d always wanted for him. Danny was surrounded by people who loved him, wanted to protect him … everything he deserved. She hoped against hope that Nick understood that too, and would go on to give him the same thing.

When dinner was over
(and Eileen’s Christmas pudding devoured) , Holly cleared the table while Kate made coffees. Everyone else collapsed in the living room to watch TCM.

‘Ah yes,’ she heard her mother exclaim. ‘
An Affair to Remember
… Cary Grant.’

‘Nineteen fifty-seven,’ Danny said factually.

‘Deborah Kerr is so—’

‘Beautiful!’ Kate called out.

‘Annoying,’ Vera said sourly at the same time.

Holly and Kate glanced at each other and smiled as they cleaned up.

Her friend poured her a cup of coffee. ‘Get out there and spend time with your family. I'll finish up here.’

‘Are you sure?’ Holly took the cup gratefully.

‘Of course, you’ve done enough.’

She walked out into the living room and looked at the small crowd gathered around the TV.

‘Come on Mom,’ Danny ordered. ‘Sit.’

‘Yeah Holly, ‘said Eileen. ‘Hurry up, they're about to meet at the
Empire State Building.’

As there was no more room on the couch, Holly sat on the floor in front of the glowing screen, and watched as Cary Grant waited patiently for Deborah Kerr at the top of the
Empire State Building. As she watched, something tickled in the back of her brain – but what she didn’t know.

Frustrated, she got up and went back into the kitchen.

‘What's up?’ Kate asked.

‘I dunno … it's weird, but remember the bracelet – that charm … ?’

‘Which one?’

‘The “Date to Remember” charm, the one with the New Year’s Eve inscription:
Same Time, Same Place
. What if … ?’ She trailed off, shaking her head as if the idea was too absurd for words, yet …