Glass Towers: Surrendered (25 page)

We head back out as the sun is starting to set. It is glorious. What a wonderful weekend in Tremblant.

I hop on my snowmobile and secure my helmet. Harrison helps me start it up.
The machine makes a little grumble, but all seems to be fine. We start to head down the hill to make another loop around before going back to the rental shop. I am picking up speed, with Harrison behind me. All of the sudden, I hear a loud clank and grumbling and my snow mobile seizes up. The engine shuts down without any warning. I scream as it throws me over the handlebars and into the snow with a thud.

I really don’t understand what has just transpired. Did my snow mobile just die on me? What the hell just happened? I am simply stunned and speechless.

Garrin, Harrison and Simone come running up to me in a panic.

“Dani, Dani!”

“Omigod Danielle, don’t move. Don’t move at all.”

“Dani, stay still. Harrison is right.” Clarke sputters.

I hear Garrin get on his cell and call the team. Before I know it, security team and medical aid are at my side.

I sit on the ground and start to asses my body. I feel sore and achy. I see blood on the ground.

“Omigod. Harrison, where am I bleeding? Is it my face?”

I take my glove off, getting ready to swipe it over my face.

“Madame, please don’t move. We need to evaluate your injuries and prep them.”

Prep them!? Harrison, what the hell happened? Tears being to stream down my face, as I have a knot in my stomach that feels as if it keeps growing and growing. Bad feelings start to run through my whole body.

Harrison is sitting by my side, talking to the medical team and describing what happened.

“I am having this snow mobile brought in to see what happened.” Garrin says, having slipped into his official role.

“Thanks Garrin. Please have them give me a full report as soon as possible.”

“How are you feeling, Danielle?”

“I am okay. I am just glad we were on snow, and I didn’t hit ice. I must have hit a softer patch of snow, because I feel okay, but my body feels a little achy.”

“That is to be expected. We need to take it easy tonight.”

“Mrs. Towers, I want you to take it easy. Do you have any pain at all?”

“No, I was just saying I feel achy.”

“You are very lucky. I am glad that you all were riding near fresh snow when this happened. Please take it easy, and if anything worsens or becomes bothersome, please come to the medical office and we will take x-rays.”

“Thank you. I feel okay. Thank you for coming so quickly.”

The medical team heads off, and Garrin conferences with our security team.

“I suggest that we take it low from here on out, until we find out the cause of the accident.”

“Do you think it could be....?”

“We are not sure, but I can assure you we will have answers.” Garrin is sweet to try to reassure us all.

Harrison helps me onto his snowmobile, and we ride slowly back to the hotel.

“Now, don’t move. I will carry you in.”

“Carry me in!? Are you crazy? I can walk Harrison,” I laugh out loud.

“You shall not do anything of the sort. Your body needs to rest.”

Alright, I am not going to win this one. Harrison picks me up, as he did last night. Oh lord, the memories.

“Do you remember this?”

“Oh, Mr. Towers, how could I forget? Everything about you really is unforgettable. You know that right?”He just gives me a big, perfect smile and kisses me on the lips.

“I am glad you are okay
mi amore
. I think what you really need now, is a good massage and a hot tub!”

“That sounds like the perfect ending to our weekend.”

“I love you, Danielle. I will get to the bottom of what happened but let’s enjoy the remainder of our evening and get you rested up.

I nod as I walk into the bathroom to view the damage on my face. “Eek! I look like a hot mess! This is not good! I hope this is gone by the wedding!”

“You will look beautiful no matter what. Now let’s see to your massage.”

On our way home from the mountain, Harrison intercoms the driver and asks him to pullover at the tree lot up ahead. I look at him with a puzzled glance.

“We need a tree, don’t we?”

“Oh my gosh, yes, I hadn’t even thought about that. I would love to get a tree. But, wait, are we getting a pre-cut tree? I look over  the roadside tree lot we just parked in front of and feel a little disappointed.

“What else did you have in mind?”

Clark takes this as her cue to interject, “Yeah, you don’t expect us to go traipsing through the woods to find that perfect tree and then saw it down like a bunch of lumberjacks do you? Besides, I am not dressed for it.” She lifts her feet clad in pristine white snow boots with tassels and poofy pom poms.

“Well, I guess I am outnumbered. I suppose I should be thankful that you are willing to do this much.” Clarke all but sticks her tongue out at me with the look she is giving me.

“Well, who said I was getting out anyway? I have had enough of this arctic chill to last me a lifetime.” She pouts.

I scoff, “You have…think about me for a second, at least you didn’t do a face plant into a snowdrift!” She looks at my face and turns to hide a giggle.

“Enough Clarke, the marks on my face are not funny. I am going to need some fancy makeup wizardry to cover these nasty scrapes.” Harrison holds up his hand “Okay ladies, I have had enough of your bantering. I just want to get a tree for our first Christmas together. If this is too much for you, then let’s just go.” He is growing impatient and the furrow of his brow is deepening.

Clarke sticks out her bottom lip to pout. “You guys go pick out a tree. I want to stay in here where it’s warm.” She looks at me, “And I am not laughing at you, I am laughing with you, Dani. You have to admit those scrapes on your face make you resemble Raggedy Ann.”

“Ohhh, you can be such a brat sometimes, how rude.” I scramble to get out of the slippery bench seat as Harrison helps me out. He leans his face back in the car and says something to Clarke that causes her to pout even more and cross her arms. Garrin climbs out of the car too, which sends her over the edge and puts her in the fetal position on her seat. She must not have gotten enough sleep the last few days. She is being very testy, and she is not even the one with new injuries.

We pick out the perfect Balsam Fir tree that stands more than 6’5 tall. We plan to put it in the great room, near the sofas in the corner. The limo driver and guards managed to secure the tree to the top of the limo with rope from the tree lot. My arms are loaded down with containers of fresh maple syrup and hot coffee. I look at Clarke who is fast asleep, still curled in the fetal position on her seat. I was right. Garrin must have kept her up the last few days.

Once we are home, the four of us go inside, while the driver and guards unload our large tree. I giggle to myself at the thought of how we must have looked careening down the road in a fancy limo with a Christmas tree tied to the  top. Certainly not what Christmas tree hunting was like back when I was growing up. The tree selection outing consisted of us piling into the family suburban and finding a place to hike through the forest to find the perfect tree to chop down. My parents would inevitable argue, and the yuletide spirit would be left behind. Now that I think about it, I like going to a lot, kicking a few trunks, and paying someone to tie it up and load it for me. None of this breaking saws, getting sap all over our hands and clothes, discovering a bit of the wilderness has come home with you by way of a nest of some kind of insects hatching in the warmth of our living room. Yes, new traditions are being made.

My parents greet us in the foyer. “Oh honey, let me take a look at you. When I got the call from Harrison, I swear I thought my heart was going to stop. My God, is there no way to stop
that
woman?!”

“Donna, I know this is upsetting, but we have already worked through some of this, and I don’t want to get Danielle all riled up. Now, let’s go into the great room, and we will tell you all about our stay at the mountain, minus the snowmobiling.”

My mom nods, and I follow them into the great room where my dad and Garrin are sitting. Simone sleepily wanders in behind me, and finds a comfy chair to curl up on like a cat. She falls back to sleep. My mom covers her with a fluffy throw.

After an hour of giving my parents the full rundown, I am feeling exhausted, so I excuse myself and head upstairs. I strip off my heavy wintery clothes and crawl into bed. I don’t remember my head hitting the pillow as I fall into a deep sleep.

I am awoken by a strange sound. I open my eyes with a start and look around without moving. I am trying to figure out where I am. I turn my head and see that Harrison is beside me in the bed. Glancing at the clock on the table next to me, I see that it is 3:30AM. I have been asleep for almost eleven hours. I slept through dinner and Harrison coming to bed. I lay there for a minute and again hear the sound that woke me up in the first place. I don’t have a clue what it is. It’s almost as if someone has thumped into a piece of furniture. It seems to be coming from the seating area by the balcony. I strain to see in the dimly moonlit room.

I gasp, as I swear I see a dark shadow or maybe a figure moving outside on the balcony. I rub my eyes to clear away the fog. I must have been seeing things. I start to get out of bed to investigate, but instantly chastise myself. What am I thinking? I can’t go check it out by myself! I nudge Harrison and whisper his name, while looking over at the terrace door. I still see a dark figure out there. “Harrison, Harrison!” I am pushing at him. “Harrison! Wake up!” He opens his bloodshot eyes, “What? Are you okay?” He says in a groggy voice.

“No, well yes, but I think someone is out on our terrace, could that be possible?”

He turns his head to look at toward the terrace doors. “I suppose someone can get to it from the from the neighboring balcony, but that it is quite high up. I am sure it was just a shadow from a cloud crossing over the moon.” He pulls me closer to him, and I snuggle into his body, but my eyes are still fixed on the doors. “Now go back to sleep
mi amore
.”

I keep my eyes fixed on the doors until I can’t keep them open any longer. I drift back into a deep uninterrupted peaceful sleep. As soon as the sun comes up, I am awoken by the beams of light shooting across my face. I sit up to stretch and look over at my husband’s beautiful sleeping face. I slip out of bed and put my soft pink silk robe on. I slide into my Ugg slippers and head over to the terrace. I look out the windows and see that something is lying by the door. I unlock the deadbolt and open the door. To my shock, there is a bouquet of dead roses, reminiscent of those that have been left on many occasions by now. I notice that one of the terrace chairs has been knocked over and some of the furniture is askew. It’s as if the person who delivered these was a bumbling idiot. Or, drunk perhaps. But, at this height? I walk over to the railing and look to my left and to my right. Aha, there is the point of access! To the right of this terrace is a balcony that has a roof access ladder. It is a small balcony and one could easily lose his balance and plummet to his death, if he were climbing back to it. I hesitate, but look down to make sure that isn’t the case here. Judging by the mess he made of the furniture arrangement, it almost seems strategic. It seems as if the furniture was purposefully scattered.

At any rate, I am rather surprised at my reaction. While I am shocked that I was right that someone
was
in fact prowling around last night, I am not surprised. It was as if I expected it. I decide to let Harrison sleep a bit longer before I show him the latest. Before I shut the door, I notice that the lock appears to have been tampered with. It seems to be jammed with something. I am betting the intruder was trying to leave their present inside, but since they couldn’t, they made the noise so we knew that we needed to investigate. How exasperating it must have been for him when we didn’t actually come to investigate. I pick up the dead flowers and a note falls out. Oh, of course, it wouldn’t be Marion if she didn’t have some cryptic note. Let’s see what she has to say this time.

Apparently you haven’t gotten the message. You will regret that. If you live.

I laugh to myself
.
Is that the best she’s got? I really don’t feel the fear like I have in the past. She is coming unhinged, and I am just going to sit back and watch. I feel like a new woman who has a new lease on life. I dump the crappy flowers in the trash and leave the card on the low dresser.

Later that morning, Harrison tells me to go upstairs and change into something casual for lunch and shopping in Montreal. Garrin is showing Clarke the sights, and they are meeting up with his friends tonight. My mom has a slight cold, so she and my dad are planning to take it easy, considering all the festivities that are coming up this next week.

I find Harrison downstairs in the foyer, and he gives me an approving smile as we head out. I am wearing a slim fitting cigarette pant in dark gray and a fitted black v-neck cashmere sweater with a matching soft scarf wrapped around my neck. I put on a pair of black patent booties and a black leather jacket. Harrison looks just delicious in his Ray Ban Aviator sunglasses that I bought him for his birthday. The light blue fitted long sleeve shirt matches his eyes perfectly. Over the sweater, he is wearing a dark brown bomber jacket paired with dark designer jeans that hug his butt and hips. The best thing he is wearing though, is his smile. In the limo ride, we hold hands and discuss the plans to have the locks changed and the security system updated.