Hitched

42

Victoria loved being in Jeffrey’s apartment. It was so elegant. They were able to spend just three precious hours together before she had to report to work at midnight. As they snuggled on the couch, sipping champagne and taking in the view of Central Park, they reminisced about their chance meeting.

“It was such a stroke of luck that we ended up on that elevator together,” Jeffrey cooed. “If Tracy hadn’t left her wedding shoes in the car, I would never have had to run up to Alfred’s salon to drop them off. To think you were leaving at that very moment. And then the elevator got stuck with us in it!”

“Just long enough for you to kiss me!” Victoria giggled. “The attraction between us was too much to fight.”

“You were standing so close to me. When you grabbed my hand and said you were scared, I felt electricity,” Jeffrey sighed. “I knew at that moment I could never go back to Tracy.”

“Poor Tracy,” Victoria said as she put her head on Jeffrey’s shoulder. “In time she’ll understand.”

“I doubt it.”

“It doesn’t really matter, does it?” Victoria asked, looking up at him.

“Not at all. But believe me, Tracy will never understand. What about Frederick? How did he take the news when you broke up with him?”

“He felt terrible. So did I. But I told him to visualize the wonderful life ahead of him.”

“What did he say to that?”

“He hung up on me.”

“I can’t say I blame him,” Jeffrey laughed. “Ohhhhhhh,” he said, giving Victoria a big hug. “I can’t wait to get to know you better. I can’t wait until this mess blows over and we can go out in public together. I want to show you off!”

Victoria swooned. “All’s fair in love and war, Jeffrey! I keep pinching myself. I can’t believe I found you. I knew that if I just kept on believing, then real true love would come into my life.”

“Didn’t you think you’d found true love with Frederick? At least in the begi

“No,” Victoria answered honestly. “I’ve never felt like this before.” She looked at her watch. “I’d better go. I’ll miss you, darling.”

Jeffrey walked to the door, and they kissed again. “I’ll be dreaming about you tonight, my sweet,” he whispered.

“And I’ll be daydreaming about you.”

At the hotel where Victoria worked in midtown, it was quiet during the witching hours. Not too many people checked in or out in the middle of the night. Workers on the late night shift ended up having a lot of time on their hands.

Victoria spent the night smiling, thinking about her future with Jeffrey. She was good for him, and he was good for her. Poor Tracy, Victoria thought. She must be devastated.

At around 6 A.M., one of the hotel employees dropped off the morning papers at the front desk. When Victoria saw the headline of the New York Post, her mouth dropped. But when she opened the page and saw her name in bold print, her adrenaline really started pumping. It was a feeling she couldn’t say she disliked.

“I didn’t know you were getting married!”

Victoria spun around.

Her co-worker Daisy, who’d been on a break, was standing inches from her. “I just saw the newspaper!” she cried. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Victoria smiled. “My fiancé is very private. We just wanted to have a quiet wedding…”

“I didn’t even know you had a boyfriend! We’re here together all these nights, and I do nothing but complain about my love life and you don’t tell me anything! Who is the lucky man?”

“His name is Frederick and he lives in Pe

“I’m going to throw you a shower!”

“No.”

“Why not? It will be a fun excuse to get everyone who works here together. No big deal. But it said you were an April Bride. When are you getting married?”

“As you know, I’m working every weekend. We were going to take a couple days in the middle of the week and get married ourselves. Just a few friends and his family will be with us.”

Daisy looked down at the newspaper and pointed at the picture of one of Alfred’s dresses. “You got yourself an expensive dress for a small, middle-of-the-week wedding!”

“ Frederick is a painter. He plans to do a life-sized portrait of me in my wedding dress. I knew it had to be special.”

“How romantic! Are you going on a honeymoon?”

“We’ll go to the Poconos for a couple of days,” Victoria said quickly. “He’s busy and I’m busy, so we’ll take a longer vacation in the summer when the weather is nice.”

“I know what you mean. Give me a beach chair and I’m happy. So what’s Frederick like?”

The expression on Victoria ’s face turned positively saintly. “He’s wonderful. And he’s incredibly talented. His work is magnificent.”

“Yeah. What does he look like?” Daisy asked, always getting to the point.

“Handsome. Handsome. Oh, just so handsome.”

Daisy giggled with abandon. “I love it! What does your mother say about your dress being stolen? She must be freaked.” Daisy’s eyes opened wide. She stared straight at Victoria.

“Actually,” Victoria said, “my mother doesn’t know I’m getting married. She doesn’t approve of Frederick.”

“Really? Why not?” Daisy was clearly enjoying every detail, the juicier the better.

“My mother was hoping I’d marry someone who offered more stability. Frederick is a dreamy artist. So she doesn’t even know that we were pla

“She doesn’t? Girl, she’s going to find out now!”

“Maybe not. She and my father are living abroad. I was going to tell her after we were married so she wouldn’t try and talk me out of it. I just hope Jef-”

Daisy waited, her wide-eyed stare never wavering.

“I just hope Frederick doesn’t get upset that my name is in the paper. He shuns crowds and attention. When I’m with him out at his home, it’s just us and the rolling hills. I have to say I love it.”

“When are you going to quit your job?” Daisy asked.

“I’m not going to.”

“You’re not?” Daisy asked, astonished. “Why not?”

“I will eventually. But Frederick likes to be alone so he can paint. I like to be alone as well. For now I’ll go out and visit on my days off. It’s exactly what we both want.”

“How modern!” Daisy said excitedly. “It’ll probably work better. Less chance of getting on each other’s nerves.”

“Absence makes the heart grow fonder,” Victoria said as a middle-aged man stepped off the elevator and approached the front desk, wheeling his black suitcase. Victoria turned to Daisy. “I’ll take this.” She smiled bewitchingly at the customer. “Leaving us so soon, Mr. Flach?”

Daisy watched as the customer’s face lit up.

“You have a good memory,” Flach said, clearly flattered.

“I never forget a handsome man,” Victoria cooed.

What a flirt she is, Daisy thought as she headed to the back office. And she’s always dressed so sexily in those expensive outfits. Frederick better watch out, she thought. Leaving Victoria alone for too long in the city could mean trouble. Daisy laughed. Biiiggg trouble.

I want to find a man, Daisy mused. I’m going to have to start taking lessons from Victoria. Maybe I’ll ask her about that visualization stuff she’s so big on. I’ve seen her reading those books. She said it helps you figure out what you really want. Then you have to go for it, no matter what it takes to get there.

Daisy shook her head and laughed. It sure looks like Victoria succeeded.