Louise: A New Beginning (21 page)

“Are they Montgomery’s people?”

“Yes. I ran their plates. The car belongs to one of the companies your father used to own.”

“Used to?”

“I guess he couldn’t handle being a senator and running a business at the same time. According to the documents, those companies were sold when your father got elected. But we do know he still manages them.”

“I have never seen his people following me so openly. I mean, I always knew they were somewhere close by, but today it felt like they wanted me to notice they were watching me.”

Christopher didn’t respond.

“What do you think?” I asked.

“Anything’s possible,” he said dryly.

“Did you tell Will they were following me today?”

“No. He was busy discussing your father’s secrets with Drew. We didn’t have a chance to talk.”

“With Drew?” I asked, surprised. “Drew hates Will.”

“Nevertheless, he called him earlier today, saying he had something important to discuss with him. Will asked him to come to his office, but I don’t know what they have been talking about. Will said he would tell me when you and I get home.”

“Do you think my father knows that we are plotting against him?”

“I don’t think so. But he likes to keep everything under his control. So I have no doubt that he will continue spying on you. I think he considers you his worst enemy.”

“That is ridiculous,” I said, crossing my arms. “I wouldn’t be able to do anything without you, Will, and Drew.”

“He doesn’t think so.”

“Idiot. He’s obsessed with getting elected as a President. Has he ever thought it would be better to stay in the shadows, earning his illegal money, and avoid attracting attention to himself; especially considering all the shit he has done in the past?”

“That’s why you are his most dangerous enemy.
The shit
from his past, as you called it, started to come out the day you and Will met and he started his investigation about your parents.”

I growled desperately.

If only I could turn back time. . . Maybe I wouldn’t have asked Will to help me find out the names of my parents, maybe there would be a way to avoid the onslaught we were dealing with now.

“It’s not your fault, Louise,” Christopher said. “Sooner or later, the truth had to come out.”

“I wouldn’t mind it happening without our involvement in the whole mess.”

“Well, we can’t change anything now. No, scratch that, we can change many things, and we will.”

“We need to be very careful. I don’t want you, or Will, or anyone else to get hurt.”

“Everything’s gonna be okay, Louise. Trust me, I have never lied to you, have I?” He smiled, parking in the driveway of the house.

I smiled. “Okay, I believe you.”

When Christopher and I walked into the house, it was full of people I didn’t know.

“What’s going on?” I asked Christopher. “Who are all these people?”

“I have no idea,” he said, frowning.

Then I saw Will, coming over to us.

“Hey,” he said, placing a quick kiss on my lips. “We have guests.”

“I can see that,” I said. “Care to explain what is going on here?”

Then I saw Drew, talking to a man in a dark suit.

“These are the people who are going to witness your father’s illegal activities,” Will said.

“How did you find them?” Christopher asked.

“I didn’t. Drew found them. He had to guarantee their safety in exchange for the information we need to lock the bastard behind bars, for the rest of his damn life.”

“So they will support us in the court if we can get him there?” I asked.

“Yes, they will. And until then, we need to make sure your father doesn’t know they have agreed to play for our team.”

“What are you going to do?” Christopher asked.

“Let’s go to the office, and I will tell you all about the plan that Drew and I have come up with. And I’m afraid I have really bad news to share. . .”

“About what?”

“I know for sure that my father’s death was Montgomery’s handiwork now. Drew found a manager who used to work in the port where my dad’s boat was kept. He said Montgomery paid him to tamper with the engine of the boat.”

“But he will go to prison as an accomplice,” I said. “Does he realize that?”

Will smirked, humorlessly. “Drew tried to make him understand exactly what it would mean to admit such things, but he felt bad for taking money and killing a man. He was a hit man. . .basically.”

“What else did you want to share with us?” Christopher asked.

Will looked at me carefully, before he said, “It’s about Isabel. . .”

I shook my head, refusing to believe what I already knew he was going to say next.

“I’m sorry, Louise, but your father was the very man who she spent that tragic night with. And he was the last person who saw her alive. . .”

It was going to be the longest week of my entire life. According to our plan, Will was going to call a press-conference, where he and I were going to inform the voters of everything Mr. Montgomery had been trying to hide for ages. It was going to be one hell of a speech. I honestly didn’t know how I was going to make myself speak once I was there, but I had to try. Yes, I did want him to pay for everything he had done, but not even Will’s presence could make my worries fade. It felt like something terrible was going to happen.

Today was Tuesday, the day of
Balero’s
Annual Christmas Showcase. I was all nerves. I could hardly think straight, both worried about the conference on Friday, and tonight’s performance. I didn’t know if Sabine was back from her trip yet, but I needed to talk to her. I needed to hear her words of encouragement; it was important to me.

“Nervous?” Will asked, placing a kiss on my shoulder. I was standing with my back to him, looking in the mirror. I kept hoping my reflection would tell me everything was going to be okay, and that I was going to do great, but the girl in the mirror had nothing to say.

“
Nervous
doesn’t even begin to describe it,” I replied, leaning into him. He wrapped his arms around me, smiling at me through the mirror. “Wanna show me your dance so I can tell you whether it’s good or not?”

I punched his chest lightly. “I thought you never doubted my talent.”

“I didn’t. I was trying to come up with an excuse for you to dance for me again.”

I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck saying, “You will see the dance later tonight. And you know I’m gonna dance it for you, no matter how many other people will be watching it.”

“I’ll have to bring a camera. I want to take a few pictures of you dancing. I kind of miss photographing you.”

“But you took pictures of me last night, doesn’t that count?” My memory went back to the night Will and I had. It felt different. He took pictures of me, I took pictures of him, and of us making love. We danced, we talked. And I couldn’t imagine a better way to spend my night than next to him, a man I had been dreaming about for ten years, first as a friend, then as a lover. But whenever I saw his face in my dreams, I felt like I was the happiest girl in the world. And that was one of the things that hadn’t changed with time.

“No matter how many pictures of you I take, it’s never enough,” Will said, kissing me on the lips. “It’s like making love to you, only on paper.”

I smiled. “Then I don’t mind you loving me forever.”

“Now that’s the best thing I could have expected to hear from you this morning.” He gave me another kiss, longer this time, then he said, “I have a few things to do at the office, so I’d better get dressed, before I say to hell with work and stay here with you.”

“I need to get dressed too, Christopher is probably waiting for me downstairs.”

“Do you think he noticed that we missed breakfast?”

“I think he notices everything we do, or in this case, don’t do. Sometimes I feel a little embarrassed in his presence. I feel like he knows every thought that crosses my mind.”

“God forbid! I don’t want anyone but me to know about those naughty thoughts crossing your sinful mind.”

“My sinful mind? Seriously?”

Will smiled. “Well, even saints have sinful thoughts, right?”

“Don’t know. Never been saint enough to check it out.”

“Mmm. . .stop tempting me, my little devil. I really need to go to work.”

“Go, I’m not stopping you,” I said, placing a small kiss on his chin and then moving up to his lips.

“Oh, yes, you are…” Will’s embrace around me tightened. “You are my addiction, Louise. Strong and incurable.”

“And you are mine,” I whispered against his lips.

Too bad, we couldn’t just go back to the bedroom and lock ourselves away from the rest of the world. For at least a while longer.

“What are you going to wear tonight?”

“It’s a surprise.” Will had already seen me in the dress, and since the performance was important to me, I wanted everything about it to be special, including the dress.

***

It felt like the entire school was on fire. Students were running down the halls, dragging enormous rails with different costumes on them. Some were trying different moves from their performances right in the middle of the hall, because all the classrooms had been taken.

I was one of the few students who didn’t feel like practicing my routine. I was too nervous to take a step in fear of falling. Let alone to dance without plummeting on my face.

“Louise!” Sabine called from the opposite end of the hall. “Come here, please!” She waved for me to come to her office. I was glad she was back. I was kind of afraid she wouldn’t make it to the show, and I wanted her to be there and see my dance.

“What is it?” I asked, entering the room and closing the door behind me.

“Do you have a dress for your dance?”

“Yes, I do. Why?”

“What color is your dress?”

“Black and white.”

“Perfect. Take any pair you like,” she said, opening a box with no less than two dozen of pairs of gloves. They were all different lengths and colors, but all beautiful beyond words.

“Wow. . . I have never seen anything like this before,” I said, taking a pair of elbow-length, black gloves. They were made of silk and lace, decorated with small shining crystals.

“These are all made by my favorite Italian designer. She’s a friend of mine. She never misses a chance to surprise me with a new pair of gloves. Each pair is a masterpiece.”

“Masterpiece indeed,” I said, trying on the gloves. “But why would you-”

“Don’t ask any questions, just take them. It’s a gift. A sign of my gratitude for going to Regina’s café with me.”

“But that was a pleasure to accompany you.”

“Please, Louise, take the gloves. They bring luck. I know it from my own experiences.”

I hesitated.

“I’m not taking them back,” Sabine said.

I gave up. “Okay, I’ll take them. Thank you, they are very beautiful.”

“Good. And I hope to see an unforgettable dance tonight.”

“Now I’m really worried.” I laughed nervously.

“Don’t be. Is William going to be joining us tonight?”

“Yes, he promised to be here by six o’clock.”

“Very good. Now go get ready for the show.”

She wished me luck and I left.

***

Being on the stage had always felt a little surreal. Nothing but the bright stage light existed for me at the moment, as if there were an invisible bond between the magic of the light illuminating the stage and myself. There was nothing like it. The surge of energy, running through me while I was waiting for the first beats of the song I was going to dance to; the fire that I felt in every step I took, in every move I made; the air leaving my lungs with every jump – it was my special world, and it was so sacred, I never wanted to leave it. Because whenever I did, there had always been something awful waiting for me. . .that is, until today.

Today everything felt different. I felt different. More experienced, braver and stronger than ever. Maybe it was because I knew Will was watching me now, recalling the last time I wore this dress when dancing for him in his room. I knew he was remembering the things he felt back then, because I was doing the very same. Or maybe it was different because of the gloves I was wearing. . . Another pair of gloves had inspired me once, making me believe that I could do anything I wanted, absolutely anything. . .

I couldn’t watch it myself, but I knew my black and white dress flew beautifully whenever I spun, it was swaying up in the air, and then landing on my feet with a soft rustle. I could hear it even through the sounds of music filling the room. When the lights hit me, another surge of excitement rushed through me. It was like I was connected to a magical spirit, raining on the stage, flowing with the moment and drowning in it.

I didn’t see any one person in the crowd, except one particular pair of eyes, following my every step, drinking me in, becoming one with me and the dance I was performing. The eyes that I loved more than I could have ever imagined. Only one feeling could be compared to what I felt when being on the stage…making love with Will, knowing that nothing but this consuming moment would ever take me higher, make me feel like I was in a trance, lost to everything but the feelings that pushed me over the edge, and into something so beautiful.

There was no end and no beginning, I became the music, the dance and the audience, watching me. I became the bliss, so boundless and overwhelming, I could have made the sky fall. And that feeling was priceless. . . It was too good to be real, and too real to not live in it.

But the best thing of all was the moment when the music stopped, and I opened my eyes to look at the audience again. For a few silent seconds, no one moved or spoke, they were spellbound by my dance. It was like holding them all in the palm of my hand, feeling every beat of their hearts. And they belonged to me. . .

Then the applause started. It brought new emotions: pride, relief, and love for everything I had gone through just to be here tonight. And I felt like I was the almighty.

But then, my eyes met with the ones of the person I loved. Even across the room, I could feel the indescribable love radiating from his soul. And that is what I needed most of all. No amount of admiration from anyone else would ever matter, if I hadn’t seen those beloved eyes, if I hadn’t felt the admiration coming from
them.
It was divine. . .

One tiny nod of approval that changed it all: the time before the dance, the time in the dance, the time after the dance.

I nodded in response, smiling as happily as ever and then left the stage, higher than ever before. And only when the sound of applause disappeared behind the curtains, I let out the breath that I hadn’t noticed I was holding. And I lived again, feeling more alive than I ever had. . .

“Louise, what a wonderful dance!” Kate said, running up to me. She said she wouldn’t miss the  performance tonight, for the world. And of course, I was happy to see her. Unlike Will, she stayed behind the curtain, saying it was where she would feel more comfortable.

“Thank you,” I said, hugging her. “I used a few moves from your lessons, did you notice?”

“Of course, I did! How could I not?” She laughed. “My girl. . . I’m so proud of you.”

“It means a lot to me. You know that, right?”

She nodded, and I noticed a few tears running down her cheeks.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

She smiled through her tears. “It’s just that. . . For a moment I wished I were you, on the stage. Free and happy. . .”

“But you are free, Kate. It’s never too late to start something new. It’s never too late to leave
Le Papillon
...”

“Not for me, Louise. It’s where I belong.”

“Oh, Kate. . . You are amazing, in every sense of the word. Don’t you ever doubt it.”

“That’s the thing – I never doubted that.”

We both laughed.

“No more tears tonight, okay?” I wiped those glistening on her cheeks and said, “Will you help me get changed for the party?”

Kate nodded. “Sure.”

“I hope you will stay, won’t you?”

“I’m afraid I can’t, Sweetie. I need to go back to the club. With Drew leaving the place so often to resolve, you know, the problems with you know who, someone has to be there to make sure that everything is all right and under control.”

“Oh, I see. . . Too bad you can’t stay. I wanted to introduce you to Sabine Cormac. You two would like each other.”

“Maybe next time, okay?”

“Okay.”

***

“What a magnificent performance it was, Louise.” Will came to me, and kissed me softly. “I loved every second of it.”

“And the dress?”

“Oh, the dress almost killed me. You should have warned me! I could hardly stop thinking about the first time I saw you wearing it. You put it on on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Maybe. . .”

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me again. “You were so graceful and beautiful up there. Now I can see why
Balero
has accepted you. I don’t think you have ever danced as beautifully and mesmerizing as today. I couldn’t take my eyes off you.”

“I’m glad you liked my dance. Have you seen Sabine? I would like to hear her opinion too.”

“I don’t think I can find the right words to describe how much I loved what you did on the stage, Louise,” she said behind me.

I turned around and smiled happily at her. “Your gloves did bring me luck.”

“It wasn’t the gloves, and we both know it.” She looked at Will and then back at me. “Love does wonders.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more,” Will said.

“Now, how about a glass of punch?” Sabine asked. She called the waitress, and the girl came over to us, carrying a tray of drinks. “I’d like to raise this glass to you, Louise. To everything you’ve managed to learn and achieve in your eighteen years. You are so young, yet so wise and talented. I’m so proud to have you here, with us. . .”