Back on Solid Ground (33 page)

“No way,
we’re already there.  And I want to surprise her,” Niki said. 

It would be a
year at Christmas since Niki had been in New Orleans.  His whole family had
been together for the first time in years and it had been great.  Every time he
came back, he wondered why he didn’t visit more often.  Eli turned the rental
car up St. Charles, then turned again and pulled into the driveway.  The big
iron gates of the plantation-style estate were open, as they had been for the
last thirty years. 

Niki and Eli
got out and they were transformed into the boys who had grown up in the house. 
They raced and shoved each other the whole way down the driveway and all the
way to the kitchen door.  Niki opened the door and shoved Eli off the back
steps then closed and locked the door behind him. He was laughing when his
mother turned around. 

“Hi mom!” he
said.

“Niki!” she
yelled, and she ran across the kitchen and hugged him.  Niki picked her up and
squeezed her, then put her down and kissed her on the cheek.  Eli banged on the
door, and when she opened it, she exclaimed, “And Eli!” 

Eli hugged
her.  “You look great, Mom!” he said.

“Why didn’t
you call and tell me you were coming?  I would have fixed a big dinner for
you,” she said.

“We wanted to
surprise you.  Where’s dad?” Niki asked.

“He’s
upstairs.  I have to call your sister and let her know you’re here.  She’ll be
so tickled to see you two!”

“Don’t tell
her we’re here,” Niki said.  “Just tell her she needs to come over.”

Mom was on
the phone dialing and while the line was ringing she was calling up to her
husband.  “Christopher, come down here.  We have company dear,” she said, in
her sweet voice.

“Charlotte, it’s Mom . . . Hi, dear.  I have a surprise for you.  Can you come over? . . .
Well yes, right now. . .  No, it’s nothing bad, darling, it’s something good .
. . okay, great.  I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

“She’s
coming?” Eli asked.

“She’s on her
way,” Mom said.  She went to the bottom of the stairs and called up,
“Christopher.”

“I’m coming,
Lillie.  What’s all the fuss?” Dad asked.  He walked into the kitchen and 
broke into a broad grin when he saw his sons.  “Well I’ll be damned!  To what
do we owe the pleasure,” he said, shaking hands with Niki then Eli.

“Oh, we were
just in the neighborhood and thought we’d say hello,” Eli said.

“Really? Where
were you?” Dad asked.

“London,” Niki said.

Dad opened
the refrigerator and handed each a bottle of beer and they sat down at the
kitchen table and visited.  It was barely fifteen minutes before Charlotte arrived.  She came in the kitchen door and screamed when she saw her brothers. 
They were both out of their chairs and Niki picked her up and hugged her and
swung her around like he had when they were kids.  She laughed and held on
around his neck until he put her down then she jumped into Eli’s arms and
hugged him. 

“I can’t
believe you’re here!  What a great surprise.  You both look great,” Charlotte said. 

“Look at
you!” Niki said.  “Your hair is so long.  I haven’t seen you with it like that
for years.”  It was like looking at a female version of his brother. 

“How long can
you stay?  I want you to meet someone,” she said.

“Someone, as
in?” Niki said.

Charlotte looked at her parents and smiled. 

“What?” Niki
said.  “Are you getting married?”

She held out
her hand and showed them her ring.  “Yes,” she said, smiling from ear to ear. 
“Do you not check your mail?  The wedding is in two weeks.”

“We haven’t
been around much lately,” he said.  “But we’ll be here for the wedding for
sure.” Niki looked at Eli for confirmation.

“Absolutely!”
Eli said. 

The family
visited long into the night and Niki finally made his way to his old room
around midnight.  He grabbed the
USA Today
on the way up and after he brushed
his teeth and stripped down to his boxers, he lay down on his bed and starting
reading.  Niki turned to the second page and sat straight up in bed.  There was
an article about an upcoming fundraiser in San Antonio with Stacy’s picture
underneath it.  The article was entitled:  “
San Antonio
’s Darling to
Sponsor Fundraiser for Children’s Shelter.
”  Niki read on. 

After
recently escaping from a week in captivity in Bogota, Colombia, Stacy Trent, Owner of Trent Advertising & Marketing, will sponsor a charity fundraiser
for the Alamo City Children’s Shelter.  The event is a black-tie affair,
featuring a five-course meal, a ball, a silent auction and a raffle.  Saturday
night’s affair is expected to draw VIPs from around the country. 

Niki looked
at Stacy’s picture.  It looked like a recent photo, clearly taken before the
kidnapping.   She looked incredible. He folded the paper into a square with
Stacy’s picture on top, and laid it on the bedside table, then he turned out
the light and went to sleep.  And the first thing he saw when he woke up in the
morning was Stacy’s smiling face.

Niki woke up
feeling rested and refreshed.  He went downstairs just as the sun was coming up
and his mother was already in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. 

“Good
morning,” Lillie said.  “How did you sleep?”

“I always
sleep great in my old bed,” Niki said, pouring himself a cup of coffee.  He
bent down and kissed his mother on the cheek and sat down next to her at the
kitchen table. 

“How about
you?” he asked.

“I always
sleep well when I know where all my children are,” she said smiling.

Niki sat back
and looked at his coffee mug.

“What’s the
matter, Niki?” Lillie asked.

The question
took him by surprise.  “Why would you ask that?”

“I know you
well enough to know when something is bothering you,” Lillie said.  “Who is
she?”

Niki was
floored.  He had never discussed women with his mother – he had never even
introduced her to anyone he had dated. 

Niki exhaled
loudly.  “Her name is Stacy Trent.  You probably read about her.  She was taken
hostage and escaped from her abductors in Colombia,” Niki said.

“I did.  I
read about her and I’ve seen her on TV.  She’s a beautiful girl,” Lillie said. 
“She’s got your eyes.”

“Well somehow
I let myself fall in love with her and I can’t get her out of my mind,” Niki
said.  “I think about her all the time.”

“But she
doesn’t love you?” Lillie asked.

“No, I think
she does, or at least she did,” Niki said.  “But I haven’t talked to her since
she got back from Colombia, so I don’t know how she feels now.”

“Why in the
world haven’t you called her?” Lillie asked. 

Niki ran his
hand through his hair.  “It’s a long story.”

“I’m
surprised at you, Nikolas,” his mother said.  “You’ve never been one for
inaction.  I would think you would have been on the first plane to Texas when you found out she had made it home.”

“It was very
hard not to,” he said.

“Well you
obviously have your reasons.  All I can say is that, the longer you wait, the
less likely she’ll be waiting.  If she means that much to you, and I can tell
by the look on your face that she does, don’t just sit around wishing you were
with her.  Make it happen.”

Holly had
called Stacy first thing Saturday morning.  “What time do you have to be down
there tonight?” Holly asked.

“Super early,”
Stacy said.  “I need to make sure everything has been taken care of, probably
5:00.”

“Is Scott
meeting you down there?” Holly asked.

“Yeah. 
There’s no reason for him to get there so early.  I got a limo for the night
and I  thought I’d send the driver around to pick up you and your date, and
Alex and Alison.  I’ll have him pick up Scott too.”

“Okay.  I
wish I was going with someone I really liked,” Holly pouted.

“Well at
least your date isn’t purely platonic,” Stacy said.  “Thank God for Scott or I’d
be dateless!”

Holly
laughed.  “Yeah, but when you go with him, at least there’s the possibility
that you can meet someone else.”

“That’s
true,” Stacy said.  “I need to get up and head downtown.  Let me call you this
afternoon.”  Stacy hung up and the phone rang as soon as she put it down.

“Yes,” she
said, expecting it to be Holly.

It was her
co-chair for the fundraiser.  “Stacy, it’s Derek.” 

“Oh, hi.  Are
you already at the hotel?” Stacy asked. 

“No.  But I
had to tell you what happened,” he said, excitedly.  “An anonymous donor called
and said he would match whatever amount we raise tonight!”

“No way!”
Stacy said, in disbelief. 

“I’m dead
serious!” Derek exclaimed.

 “Oh my God,
that’s incredible!  Who do you think it is?”

“I have no
idea.”

 Stacy looked
at her watch.  “I’ll be out of here in 30 minutes.  Are you going to meet me
downtown?” 

“Yeah, I’ll
probably get there about the same time as you,” he said, then he added.  “It’s 
going to be good, Stacy.”

“I know!” 
Stacy hung up and sat down on her bed, absorbing what Derek had just told her. 
Her goal had been to raise $250,000 and with one phone call, the figure had
just jumped to a half-mil.  Stacy was psyched.  She finished getting ready and
headed downtown.  She spent the day with caterers, florists and decorators,
making sure that everything would be perfect for the function.  She checked the
podium and microphone, she checked the lighting, and she looked over the room
from top to bottom making sure that everything was in place and in working order. 
Then she had her hair done and went home to dress for the occasion.  She put on
a simple long black dress with a slit up the side and high-heeled strappy sandals,
then she put on an emerald necklace and earrings that had been her
grandmother’s. She had just enough time for a glass of wine before the limo
picked her up downstairs, and when she walked out of the elevator she looked
like a million bucks.

Cocktails
were served at 7:00 and by 7:30, the party was in full swing.  Stacy had been
walking around mingling and when she got to her table, Alex and Alison were
just setting their drinks down at their places.  Stacy smiled when she saw the
two of them.

“Hi!” Stacy
said.  She gave Alison a big hug.  “It’s so nice to meet you!  You look
beautiful,” Stacy told her, then she turned around and hugged Alex.  “And don’t
you look handsome?  What a nice looking couple.”

Alex looked
over at his wife and they smiled at each other. 

“You look
very pretty, Stacy,” Alex said.  He looked around the room and concluded, “We
have the prettiest women at our table.”

“You have him
well trained,” Stacy told Alison.

“Right,”
Alison said, and they both laughed and checked each other out. 

“Alex has
told me a lot about you,” Alison said with a warm smile.

“And vice
versa, but he only says
good
things about you,” Stacy laughed.

“Not
everything
I’ve said about you is bad,” Alex told Stacy.

“He said
you’re the best person he’s ever been assigned to,” Alison said.

Alex put his
arm around his wife. “Don’t tell her that!”

Holly arrived
at the table with an extra glass of wine.  “You look great,” Holly said,
handing Stacy a glass. 

“Thanks. So
do you,” Stacy said.  She looked around, “Where’s your date?”

Holly waved
off the question, “Oh, I don’t know, over there somewhere,” she said vaguely. 
She leaned in and whispered to Stacy, “I love Alison!  She’s just like one of
us!”

“I know.  And
she and Alex look so cute together.”

Derek tugged
on Stacy’s arm. “You want to get up and say something?”

“Sure,” Stacy
said, and she walked up to the stage and over to the podium. 

“Good evening
ladies and gentlemen,” Stacy said into the microphone, and the room got quiet.
All eyes turned to the podium.  “I’m Stacy Trent, and I would like to welcome
you to tonight’s festivities and thank you all for coming and supporting this
very worthwhile cause.  The Alamo City Children’s Shelter has provided services
in our community for more than 50 years.  They have taken care of more children
than we would ever want to imagine, and they have helped countless numbers of
neglected and abused children find caring and loving homes.  Children who have
never in their short lives known happiness have come to believe in miracles
with the help of this Shelter.”  Stacy paused and looked around the audience. 
“Evidently miracles abound where this Children’s Shelter is concerned, because
I witnessed one today myself.  My goal tonight was to raise $250,000 for the
Children’s Shelter,” Stacy said, and everyone clapped. 

“Wait!” She
waved at them to stop clapping.  “That’s not the miracle.” When the laughter
died down, she announced, “We have an anonymous donor who intends to match
whatever amount we raise at tonight’s event!”  The crowd went wild with cheers
and clapping and gave the announcement a standing ovation. “I know!  Right?”
Stacy exclaimed.  It was several minutes before the room quieted down enough
for Stacy to be heard, then she continued.

 “Please take
a look at the items on our silent auction table.  There are some incredible
antiques,  there are first edition books, and one-of-a-kind collector’s items
that you’re not going to find anywhere else in the world,” Stacy said.  “And
please remember where your money’s going when you are bidding on these items.” 
Everyone clapped again.  “Thank you all again for coming, and I hope that
everyone has a great time!”

The crowd
clapped as Stacy walked off the stage and back to her table.  The first course
was being served and she went over and sat beside Scott.