Inferno Anthology (242 page)

“I know the place. I’ve been there.”

Claire waited for him to agree to the celebration. Finally, she asked, “I promised Courtney I’d get back to her about it. Would you like to go Friday night or Saturday night?” His agitated expression made her uncomfortable. She realized this was a subject he didn’t want to continue. “Or, would you rather I told her we’ll celebrate on our own?”

“
I
will think about it and get back to Courtney.” The discussion was done, and Claire didn’t know their plans.

THE NEXT EVENING
Claire sat surrounded by papers when Tony entered her suite. Dressed and ready for dinner, she was completely absorbed in the financial information of the Iowa
Red Cross
. He looked at her mess and placed two large leather-bound photo albums on top of her papers. Claire looked at the albums and then at her husband. “Good evening. What are these?”

He bent to kiss her and the tips of his lips moved upward. “They’re proofs of the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.” Quickly, forgetting the mounds of paper, she began looking through the albums. The only pictures she’d seen were the ones on New Year’s Eve. The first album began with pre-wedding poses. The estate, the men, the women, everything and everyone looked beautiful. Then ones of Claire and John prior to walking down the aisle. Tony watched as she turned each page; she was afraid to linger on the photos of John and Emily. She would look at them later. The next, were a series of Claire approaching Tony and him waiting. She had to admit she looked beautiful. Tony added adjectives: stunning, amazing, gorgeous, and striking. They both appeared to be brimming with love and adoration. There were photos from multiple directions: some very artsy.

Their food arrived and they still had a full album to view. After dinner they spent the entire evening on the sofa in front of the fire, going over and over each photo. They talked about the people, decorations, and ceremony. There were numerous posed photos of the two of them in the grand hall and at the base of the stairs. She laughed at ones where the photographer put her up a few steps, trying to make her taller. “You know, if you’d married one of those models you dated they wouldn’t have had to do that.”

He kissed her tenderly and gazed at her with soft brown eyes. “I didn’t want to marry any of those women. I’ve never wanted to marry anyone but you.” He could melt her heart so easily.

The next photos were of the reception. They both agreed the guests seemed to enjoy themselves. Then pictures of them dancing. Claire remembered her overwhelming desire as Tony directed her around the floor. “I love watching your eyes sparkle as you look at these photos.” She told him how much she enjoyed their reception, especially the dancing. “Well, it won’t be the same, but we can try to relive that dancing on Saturday for my birthday.”

Claire smiled. They were going to celebrate. “I don’t know how I can possibly choose which pictures I like best.”

“Then don’t choose. You can have them all.” Placing one arm around her and flipping the pages back, and added, “This one of you on the stairs, with your gown all around you, I want that one. I want it enlarged over the grand fireplace in the sitting room.”

Claire wrinkled her nose. “That’s silly. I don’t want to see me great-big every day.”

“I don’t care. I do, and I will. Actually, I think I’ll contract an artist to paint it.” He leaned back and smiled. Claire just shook her head. Stopping him from doing something he wanted to do was beyond her ability.

Next, she saw the family photo of her, Tony, and the Vandersols. “Tony, can we have copies of some of these made for Emily and sent to them?” She only said Emily on purpose, but the them should have been her.

He sighed. “Yes, that can be done.”

Claire knew she should drop the subject, but sometimes she couldn’t stop herself. “Has Emily tried to contact me anymore?”

“Yes.”

Claire didn’t reply. He knew what she wanted. If she persisted it would be arguing or pleading. If he changed his mind, he would let her know. Besides, they were having a nice evening with the wedding pictures. She directed the conversation back to the album. “Look at this picture of MaryAnn and Eli. They were hilarious!” The Vandersol conversation ended.

Trust not too much to appearance.

—Virgil

THE BIRTHDAY WAS
a success. Tony and Brent joked that with late-night partying they shouldn’t drive an hour home, so everyone rode together in the limousine.
The Brew Company
was vibrant with music resonating from multiple sections of the large warehouse style building. The main stage had a
Tribute to Jazz
performance. Courtney reserved a premium table and told the restaurant they were celebrating a birthday. The people at
The Brew Company
didn’t know his name, only that Tony was the guest of honor. Claire, Courtney, and Brent laughed as the singer acknowledged him with a rendition of
Hey Big Spender
and wrapped him in her feather boa. Watching Tony’s tolerance, Claire decided she could learn a lot from Courtney. He seemed to accept things from her Claire wouldn’t dare to attempt.

A WEEK LATER,
Tony invited Claire to Chicago for two nights. Even though she needed to cancel a committee meeting, she wanted to go. It was even her idea to go to the spa and lighten her dark roots. Brent and David Field, whom Claire met what seemed like a lifetime ago on her first trip to New York, were with them as they flew to Chicago. Claire sat on the sofa while the three men discussed their impending meetings. To pass the time, she looked through her purse and was pleased to have her new ID and credit card. Claire didn’t care about their money, but shopping was one of the few pass times Tony granted without hesitation.

Her old driver’s license was a Georgia issued ID. She thought it was interesting to see the difference in different states licenses. She soon realized the variances didn’t stop with the issuing state. The new one contained her name: Claire Rawlings, and printed at the top was
VALID IDENTIFICATION
. Her Georgia ID had said
VALID DRIVER’S LICENSE
. She hadn’t noticed it before. It wasn’t something she should bring up with Brent and David present but decided it was worth discussing when they were alone.

Claire spent the afternoon at the spa lightening her hair and receiving a manicure and pedicure. When she arrived back at the apartment, Charles informed Mrs. Rawlings, Mr. Rawlings would be detained until after 9:00 PM. He could happily serve her dinner at a more appropriate hour. She declined. “Thank you, Charles. I’ll wait for Mr. Rawlings.”

While dining, Claire sensed Tony multitasking. He was eating and conversing with her, but his mind was elsewhere with Brent and David on some big deal. He talked about the next evening. Hopefully, they would be able to go out to dinner and perhaps to a show. It all depended on his meetings. Claire said it sounded great, but she understood if his work went late. She planned to spend the entire day shopping and knew they were scheduled to go home on Thursday.

As Claire contemplated the best way to bring up her question, Tony did it for her. “You’re going shopping tomorrow? Did you see your new ID and credit card? They should be in your wallet.”

“I did, and I was wondering why my new ID isn’t a driver’s license?”

Tony momentarily stopped eating and looked at Claire as if she’d asked why is the sky blue or why do birds fly? It seemed as though the only word missing from his next sentence was
Duh.
“Because you don’t drive.” His tone wasn’t cruel, perhaps cold.

She thought carefully about her response. “I haven’t driven since I’ve been with you, but I used to drive and enjoyed it.”

“You now have access to a driver. You didn’t before. Correct?”

“Correct. However, you have a driver and you still drive. The Simmons’ have a driver and Courtney drives.”

Tony’s annoyance with this conversation came through loud and clear, his words were flat with restraint. “Claire, this is a ridiculous conversation. You have a driver or you’re with me. You have no need to drive.”

“Tony, you are obviously busy with work. We can discuss this later.”

THROUGHOUT THE PAST
year there were numerous instances when Tony purposely baited Claire. He liked to observe her reactions. Initially, it was done maliciously. It intrigued him to see how far he could push. Lately, it had become a private game. He found her self-control and resilience incredibly sexy. The restraint she demonstrated to refrain from arguing, when clearly her body language screamed fight, was stimulating.

This evening Tony was not playing a game. His mind was set. Claire would not be driving. The fact they were even discussing the subject seemed absurd. “Let me help you. It
has
been a long day and this discussion is over. It does not need to be revisited.”

SHE THOUGHT ABOUT
saying, “Fine, I’m going to bed.”

Before she could, he continued, “I would offer you the opportunity to decide on your own if it is worth continuing, but I have decided not to take that risk. It isn’t.”

Her chest expanded and contracted as she released a sigh. Looking at her husband, she kept her lips together and remained silent. He watched her neck stiffen and eyes flash. He waited. After a prolonged silence, confident of her compliance, he continued, “Now, tell me about your day at the spa.”