Reye's Gold (32 page)

“Thank you,” he said, smiling. He proceeded to the
entry doors leading into the ballroom. It was opened by
a hostess, a young woman with red lips and an equally
red dress. A beauty, she was a slim brunette with
enhanced breasts, and he’d seen enough to know. She
looked him over and smiled, her eyes signaling to him
that she thought he was her match in the beauty depart
ment. He was. He returned that smile and followed her
to his table, which was located in the front of the room.
What was the point of underwriting these events if you
couldn’t be seen as the great benefactors that you were? And you couldn’t do that from the tables located in the
back. He looked over and nodded to his parents, who
were seated at the first of two tables reserved for his firm.
The second table held two empty chairs, for him and a
date, which he hadn’t found and didn’t bring. He
thanked the beauty in red and sat down, smiling in
acknowledgement at those seated at the table with him.

In the front of the room, two tables extended from
each side of the podium. He supposed that was the
seating for the honorees. An older lady, dressed in a black
sequined gown trimmed in black fur around the neck,
stood at the podium in front, talking, providing the audi
ence with the reason for being here tonight. He sat back,
his gaze moving around, taking in the ballroom, amazed.
Every table was full. He was surprised by the popularity of events like these. He’d expected less. Christmas was
only two days away; perhaps the size of the crowd was d
ue to the holidays and related festivities. This was one
form of entertainment, not his preference, but he’d admit that the food was probably excellent, the drinks were free,
and the company rich.

Stephen turned his attention back to the woman
speaking. “We are here to honor the outstanding volun
teers of Texas. They have been nominated by their respec
tive organizations for exhibiting heart and dedication to
their causes and for persevering long after the lights are turned out.” Stephen glanced briefly over the honorees
located to the left of the speaker, his inspection interrupted by the waiters delivering the salad course. The
speaker continued. “Our first honoree is younger than
most, having just received her teaching degree from the
university.” Catcalls filled the air as the crowd cheered;
they all loved the university. Waiting until the room was
again quiet, she continued. “Reye Jackson has been nom
inated by the East River Community Center, where she
has worked tirelessly with their after-school program.
Her biggest accomplishment was the start up of a new
and unique approach to their summer care program. I would like you to stand with me as I invite Reye to join
me at the podium.”

Reye stood up and walked over to join the speaker.
“Let’s give Reye an applause that demonstrates our appre
ciation of what she has done for children in Austin,
Texas.”

Shocked and stunned, Stephen stared, standing up to
clap along with everyone else, not really aware of doing
so. She was beautiful, better than he’d committed to
m
emory. Her hair was still short and spiky, but she
seemed taller. Heels, he guessed. The body he’d spent the
better part of a year getting to know was still perfect. Her
smile knocked the air from his lungs, sucker-punched
him, leaving him shaken and dazed. He sat down before
the others had finished clapping. Smiling, she moved to
stand in front of the podium, adjusting the mike to
accommodate her height, and said confidently, her smile
huge, eyes shining, “Thank you for this wonderful honor.
Believe me, if you all were given the chance to work with
these kids, it would be you instead of me on the receiving
end of this award tonight. Those kids make you believe
that anything is possible, and if it isn’t, you feel compelled to do all within your power to make it so. They
have been my saviors, and I love them tremendously.
Thank you again.” She held the plaque up and smiled,
stepping away from the podium.

The speaker said, “Please, let’s give one more round of
applause for Ms. Jackson.” Stephen remained seated, his
eyes following her as she moved back to her seat, and
moved over to the person, male, seated next to her. It was
Sam, whose eyes met his with a look that was sharp
enough to cut glass. Stephen didn’t blame him, recalling
Sam’s talk to him months before on the soccer field about
Reye. He understood the anger he saw in her brother’s
eyes. He deserved it. His gaze swung back to Reye, who was now looking down, reading the plaque. Either she didn’t know he was here, or she wanted to avoid him.

He was slightly aware of the waiter removing the
salads and placing the main course before him. His mind
n
ow scattered, he wondered what he should do. He
needed to talk to her, but how? What would he say? Thoughts ran like ants in search of food through his
mind. Shit, he planned on going to Austin, talking to her in private, not here in front of all these people, but he
didn’t want her to leave without talking to her. God, he’d missed her. All of the unsettled feelings from the past six
months hit him, surprising him with their force. He sat
back against his chair, tugging at the tie at his neck,
needing to breathe.

The speaker had moved on to introduce the other hon
orees. People stood and clapped for each one, and so did
he, but his body was just going through the motions. His mind had separated entirely from it. Finally and thankfully the program portion of the evening ended. People were getting up from their tables, to mingle, dance, and seek the
bar for stronger libations. He looked again at the table
where Reye and Sam sat. Reye was engaged in conversa
tion with a woman seated next to her. She laughed. He
stood up, deciding to go over and congratulate her.

He turned to step away from his table and bumped
into his dad, who was now standing in front of him,
blocking his path. Leaning his head back, he looked into
his son’s face. Stephen didn’t know what his dad saw
there. “Are you well, son?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered, finding understanding in
his dad’s eyes.

“Your mother remembered Reye from their meeting
and pointed her out to me. She is a beautiful girl. I can
see why you’re taken with her.”

“Yes, she is.”

“I was on my way over to the honorees table to con
gratulate and thank them for their hard work. Would you
like to join me?” Stephen, surprised by his dad’s request,
agreed. It would be nice to have a buffer.

Starting at the end of the table, they congratulated
the other honorees, slowly making their way towards
Reye. The crowd to meet and thank the honorees was
larger than Stephen anticipated, so it took some time to
reach her. She stood with Sam, his arm around her shoul
ders as they talked to an elderly couple, her back to him.
The couple moved away, and Stephen touched her elbow,
watching as she turned to him, her widening eyes giving
away her surprise at seeing him. Her smile faltered, dis
appeared, and returned, all in the span of two seconds.

“Ms. Jackson, I wanted to personally congratulate
you for your volunteer efforts. Stephen’s told me about
your work at the center and on the soccer fields,” said the elder Stuart, reaching for Reye’s hands. Her eyes swung to
his dad’s, surprised again as her hands disappeared, lost
between his father’s. “Stephen has told me so much about
you.”

Reye looked between them, unsure. “Thank you,”
she said.

“You remember my son, Stephen?”

“Sure I do,” she said, accepting Stephen’s hand, her
eyes hard, at odds with her smile.

Reye turned back to the elder Stuart. “Mr. Stuart, this is my brother Sam,” she said.

“
It is a pleasure meeting you sir,” Sam said, accepting
the older Stuart’s hand.

“Will you be staying in Dallas for the holidays?” Mr.
Stuart asked them.

“No, sir, we are going to go back to Austin. We usu ally spend the holidays with our family,” Sam replied.
“Well, it has been a pleasure meeting you, Ms.

Jackson. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

“Thank you, sir,” she said, not sure of his meaning.
Reye turned and began speaking to the next person in
line before Stephen could say another word.

* * *

“Do you need a minute?” Sam asked her during a break.

“No, I’m fine, but I do want to find the ladies’ room for a second. I’ll be right back,” she said.

Sam’s eyes were hard. “He’s not worth you, Reye.”

“I know, it was just a shock to see him again. Give me a second, okay? I’ll run to the restroom and then I’ll be
back,” she said, laying a hand on his arm. He stepped back, allowing her to pass.

She strode through the ballroom, returning smiles as
she made her way out the doors. Why him and why
now? What happened to all the cute, cutting remarks
she’d prepared to say when and if she saw him again?
They’d all vanished from her head. And why did he have
to look so good? Ugh! His eyes were still the striking
blue she saw most nights in her dreams. He was still fine,
e
specially so in that tux, still golden. But he’d left her,
he’d had someone else while he was with her.
Remember
that, Reye,
she said to herself. She marched out of the
main door and down the hallway with her head up as
she went in search of the bathroom. There were so many
people, she thought, changing her mind and direction,
deciding to go to her room instead. She needed privacy.
She turned to walk to the main part of the hotel where
the main elevators were located and heard her name. She’d have recognized that voice anywhere. Stephen
walked toward her. Pretending like she hadn’t heard him,
she walked faster until she reached the elevators and pushed the button.

“Hey,” he said as he stopped next to her, looking both
uncertain and nervous, his hands in his pockets. That was
a new look for him, she’d never seen him nervous or uncertain.

“Hey.”

He took another step closer to her. “You look beau
tiful tonight.”

“Thank you.”

“Congratulations on the award. I guess you took the job at the center.”

“Thank you again, and yes, I did.” The elevator had
arrived. Two teenagers disembarked and she stepped in.
So did Stephen, along with an older couple. She pushed the button for the eighth floor.

“Would you push number ten?” the other couple
asked.

“Sure,” she said. The door closed.

R
eye and Stephen watched as the elevator took them
nonstop up to her floor. The doors opened and she
stepped out. Stephen followed.

“Where are you going?”

“I need to talk to you,” he said.

“Maybe another time. I need to get back, Sam’s
waiting for me.”

“Give me a second.”

Not wanting to argue in the hallway, she turned and
walked to her room. He was behind her.
What are you
doing,
she silently asked herself, but opened the door to
her room, holding it open for him.

She entered, faced him, arms folded across her chest.
“Okay, I’m listening,” she said.

“Look, Reye, I’m sorry for the way I left things. I had
planned to come to Austin after the New Year to find you
to tell you that I loved you then, and still do. It just took
some time for me to figure that out, to realize that I want
you in my life,” he said.