A Gift to Remember (29 page)

But since she’d met Aidan and had had a chance to examine the exciting life he seemed to lead it had somehow turned the spotlight on what was lacking in her own. She didn’t mean the
money or the incredible house – though there was no question it was the stuff of dreams – but it was almost as if her quest to help Aidan reconstruct the story of his life was also
helping Darcy discover the missing pieces of her own.

And she wondered if she was a little too guilty of using escapism as a means to avoid confronting the reality of her own life, and what it might be lacking.

‘Look at us,’ Grace whispered as they clomped down the steps in their heels, putting an end to Darcy’s musings. ‘We look like a couple of real gals.’

The taxi she had called for them was waiting, and through the steamy windows of Luigi’s Ricardo waved at them both, a dishtowel slung over his shoulder.

‘Don’t look now, dear,’ joked Grace, lowering herself into the cab. ‘But I think you have an admirer.’

Darcy chuckled, sliding in next to her and giving the driver their destination. ‘Who says he’s admiring
me
?’

As the taxi headed uptown, she couldn’t deny feeling more than a little excited. A night at the ballet in one of New York’s premier theatres was yet another thing that had thus far
been out of her realm of experience, and it would be a chance to experience a tiny part of Aidan Harris’s glamorous lifestyle.

She wondered again if these tickets had been bought by him and if so, who had he planned on accompanying him tonight?

The woman called Melanie who had sounded so indignant on the answering machine yesterday had certainly given the impression that Aidan might have been stepping out with more than one woman
recently, yet on the other hand, hadn’t he taken the time to arrange that beautiful gift for someone special? Notwithstanding that in the short time she’d known him, he’d come
across as a down to earth kind of guy, and wasn’t in the least bit flirtatious with her. Although perhaps, Darcy thought somewhat glumly, it was that she simply wasn’t worthy of his
interest.

The driver dropped them off right in front of the steps up to the Lincoln Center, where the Koch Theater was located, and the two women made their way up the steps and onto the main plaza. As
they neared the top and the backlit fountain came into view – the water sparkling like a diamond in the darkness – Darcy was immediately struck by something.

The black and white picture of the blonde woman in Aidan’s apartment . . . it had been taken here at the plaza right in front of the Revson Fountain. She couldn’t understand why she
hadn’t realised it before now, since the fountain’s backlit jets and circular arrangement were so distinctive. However, she guessed that she’d been so focused on the woman herself
she’d hadn’t paid close enough attention to the background.

And now that she thought about the photo again – the woman’s confident, arching pose, her arms over her head . . . Darcy took the tickets out of her purse and looked at them, the
cogs turning in her brain. Could it be that the woman in the photograph was a ballerina? It might explain why Aidan had the tickets. Then she wondered, her heart racing as she tried to put the
pieces together while she and Grace made their way to the entrance of the theatre, could it be that the same woman was performing here tonight?

Once inside, Darcy hurriedly opened the programme she and Grace had been given, and scanned through the names of the performers, trying to find a dancer by the name of the only person she could
so far confirm was missing Aidan and was worried by his absence.

Granted it was a long shot, but she figured it was worth a try.

If she could find her, then she could at least explain why Aidan had let her down, and if Melanie turned out to be Aidan’s girlfriend – the love of his life and the one who was
supposed to receive the gift from him – then Darcy could put things right.

But there was no Melanie listed on that night’s programme.

‘What’s the matter, dear?’ Grace asked as an usher directed them to their seats, and they both sat back. ‘You seem distracted.’

Darcy was in two minds whether to share her thoughts with Grace, but she figured it would do no harm to have someone else’s perspective on the matter. There were so many mysteries
surrounding Aidan that she could barely get her head straight.

‘My, my, such a muddle,’ Grace said, when Darcy finished the tale some minutes later. ‘But I think you may be right about this lady being a ballerina, at least. It’s
almost obligatory for any dancer talented enough to perform at the New York City Ballet to be photographed at the fountain – a rite of passage, if you will. I have one of myself tucked away
somewhere – though the fountain was quite different back then.’

Darcy heart raced; she was on to something now, she was sure of it. The question was, could the reason he had those tickets be because his blonde friend was actually performing
The
Nutcracker
here tonight? And if so, would Darcy be able to recognise her?

The auditorium was beautiful – a hybrid of traditional and continental-style seating on the orchestra level, and five balconies adorned with jewel-like faceted lights. Hanging from the
gold-panelled ceiling was a large spherical chandelier.

‘Is it how you remember?’ Darcy asked Grace.

‘Would you believe, it’s
exactly
as I remember,’ the older woman replied fondly, a tear in her eye. ‘It’s as if I’ve stepped back in time. And these
are Fourth Ring, the best seats in the house.’

Darcy didn’t understand; she was actually a little under-whelmed that the two of them were seated on a balcony three rows from the back, and thus such a distance from the stage, but Grace
explained that the further away from the dancers, the better to view the detail of the dance.

There was a jovial feel to the evening, as everyone – the men decked out in smart suits and the women in festive sparkling clothes and fine jewellery – took their seats. Temporarily
putting aside all other thoughts as the lights dimmed and the performance began, Darcy sat back, the hairs standing on the back of her neck as the first performer dashed onstage; wearing a soft red
helmet, gorgeous satiny blue jacket with bright gold buttons and shimmering red tights. And right then it hit home just how lucky she was to be experiencing a night at the magical New York
Ballet.

She had never been to a performance before, and to watch was almost to forget oneself; to fall in love with the dance. It was a stunning spectacle, and Darcy was breathless throughout as she saw
the graceful performers leap lithely around the stage, muscles defined and motions fluid, as if they’d been born to dance.

Afterwards, she gripped Grace’s hand. ‘Just incredible!’ she whispered as the curtain fell. The crowd roared its approval but none more loudly than Grace and Darcy, high up in
the balcony where Aidan Harris and an unknown companion should have been.

And though she’d tried her utmost to see if she could pick out the woman in the photograph, it was impossible to get a proper look at the dancers from this distance. Even if she had been
able to get any closer, Darcy doubted she’d be able to identify her beneath the greasepaint and costumes.

As other patrons moved past them in the aisle she stood to go but Grace held her back. ‘Let’s just enjoy it a moment longer,’ she suggested. Darcy noticed the older
woman’s eyes glittering and she was grateful once again to Aidan for his generosity.

‘Grace Clarke?’ a voice called out from nearby, and the two women looked to find an older man, humbly dressed in an old driving cap atop a head full of stringy white hair moving up
the aisle steps towards them.

‘Chalmers?’ Grace gasped, a hand to her throat. ‘I can’t believe you recognised me.’

‘Or you me,’ he chuckled.

The two embraced, and Grace introduced the man as one of her former dancing partners; she explained that Clarke was her maiden name.

‘I haven’t seen you since you got married and crossed to the dark side,’ Chalmers said, smiling at her fondly, and Darcy knew that tonight had meant a lot to her neighbour and
was bringing back special memories in more ways than one.

Reality can be beaten with enough imagination
.
Mark Twain

The following morning, Darcy walked along the footpath on Central Park’s West Drive, Bailey at her side. The place was truly spectacular at this time of year, low winter
sunshine illuminating the surrounding buildings, a light dusting of snow on the ground and on bare branches set against a brilliant blue sky.

She had no choice but to take Aidan’s dog to work with her today, as following Grace’s happy reunion with Chalmers last night at the ballet, it seemed her neighbour now had a lunch
date with her old friend.

Darcy didn’t mind, she’d imposed too much on her as it was, and furthermore she knew that the gentle Husky would be perfectly behaved. Anyway, the customers might appreciate it,
though she knew the same couldn’t be said for the staff – one of them at least, she thought with smile.

There were hundreds of joggers, walkers, cyclists and fellow dog-walkers taking full advantage of the bright winter’s morning. Bailey tugged hard on his leash, sensing the freedom of the
wide open space that lay behind a row of trees just off the path.

‘Sorry, boy. Much as I’d love to let you go crazy, I’m not going to be the one telling Aidan that I lost you after you went chasing squirrels.’ She felt terrible though.
There he was, a Husky, by an open expanse of recently fallen snow; born to race across it. Still, dogs weren’t allowed off the leash in the Park, something she guessed Bailey knew if Aidan
exercised him here on a regular basis.

When she walked into the bookstore with Bailey in tow, Joshua was standing behind the counter with Ashley, logging new inventory into the computer. He looked up, stricken at the sight of her
four-legged companion.

‘What. Is.
That
?’ he shrieked, eyeing Bailey. ‘If that . . .
wolf
does his business in here, there is going to be hell to pay. Liam Neeson will have nothing
on me.’

Bailey regally returned Joshua’s gaze, and if Darcy was correct, his eyes faintly narrowed at the uncivilised notion of actually doing his business inside.

‘Oh Joshua, cut it out. This is Bailey and I can assure you he’ll be fine. He’s probably better behaved than you or me. Maybe even better read too.’ Darcy dropped her bag
behind the cashier’s desk and took Bailey off his leash. Immediately, the dog took to sniffing about, making himself at home in his new surroundings.

Joshua eyed him warily. ‘What if he pees on the merchandise? You know there is a reason for the sign on the door saying:
No Dogs Allowed
.’

‘Except assistance dogs,’ Darcy retorted. ‘And he’s assisting us today.’

Her workmate shook his head, his Santa hat bobbing furiously as he did so. ‘You are insane.’

Ashley wandered around the counter and dropped to her knees, coaxing Bailey to her. Darcy watched as he introduced himself to the younger girl, first sniffing tentatively and then laying a
sloppy kiss on her cheek. He nudged himself so close to her that she almost fell backwards and Bailey wagged his tail happily as Ashley tried to get the upper hand on their spontaneous bout of
wrestling, giggling the whole time.

‘He’s fabulous.’ She looked up at Darcy. ‘I’m so sorry again about the other day. If I hadn’t asked to change shifts that morning then you wouldn’t have
had to rush and none of this would have happened.’

‘No need to apologise; it was completely my fault for not setting my alarm.’

‘Joshua told me all about Jason Bourne,’ she added smiling, and Darcy glared at Joshua, who shrugged. ‘I think it’s really great that you’re trying to help
him.’

Darcy reached for her Chaucer’s apron. ‘For the record, his name is Aidan Harris, and I’m not sure I’m actually helping at all, to be honest.’

‘Well, speaking of Mr Bourne,’ Joshua said, unpacking one of the newly delivered boxes, ‘I guess with that new movie coming out, we should put a bunch of these Will Anderson
thrillers at the front.’

Darcy had to smile as she noticed a pile of books by the author Katherine had tried to set her up with before. Her aunt had been right about the thriller author being a ‘big deal’.
She began to wonder if Katherine had had any luck in finding someone via her famous connections who might know Aidan. Though if she had, Darcy knew she would have heard about it by now, despite the
fact that her aunt was tied up with the countless holiday events Ignite hosted at this time of year.

Making sure Bailey was comfortably situated on the rug behind the counter near the store’s heater, she tried to focus her attentions on the day ahead, but her thoughts kept drifting back
to Aidan.

While her last visit to the brownstone had thrown up a lot of interesting stuff, it didn’t really get her any further down the line in helping him. When she’d shown the medals and
Born to Run
paperback to him on a quick visit to the hospital after work yesterday, he’d looked just as clueless about the idea of being some kind of ultra-fitness aficionado as he
had about everything else she’d presented him with so far.

And much to her disappointment, he seemed even more perplexed about the existence of the library. Darcy had been truly expecting that the books would be just the thing to trigger his memory.
Especially as he’d already shown he possessed some kind of literary knowledge.

In the meantime, she’d even gone so far as to enquire about Aidan at Gray’s Papaya, but the guy behind the counter at the hot-dog joint had looked at her as if she was mad. ‘Do
you know how many people we get here every day?’ he’d asked incredulously.

Which meant that it looked like the ballerina angle was the only option left to her at this point, and if she was wrong about that – if Aidan’s lady friend Melanie was no longer a
dancer, or never had been – then she was well and truly sunk.

Plain and simple: Darcy just didn’t know what else to do.