Until the End of Time (18 page)

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Authors: Melanie Schuster

BOOK: Until the End of Time
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***
Finally, finally the day of the gala arrived. Renee was outwardly calm, but that was mostly for Bennie’s benefit. She had never seen her friend so worked up over anything in her life. It was partially because of the sheer magnitude of the event, but mostly because she had invited Clay’s whole family from Atlanta and she wanted to make the best possible impression. Renee was trying her best to act as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening, and she had pretty much convinced herself of that fallacy, too.
But it was foolish to try to pretend like this night was like any other. Big Benny Cochran was the toast of urban radio in this country and had set so many precedents it was impossible to name them all. He had been in the business 50 glorious years and was finally retiring. Luminaries of show business, politics and big business were coming literally from all over the world to pay him homage. Bennie and Renee had worked like galley slaves putting everything together and it was sure to be a wonderful night. And Renee was pretty sure that some other wonderful things would be happening that night, too, at least between her and Andrew.
She had selected her dress with the utmost care. She usually had her special clothes made by a wonderful dressmaker named Joyce who was a whiz with design and execution. Bennie in fact was wearing a Joyce creation that night. Renee had been inspired, however, when she saw a Randolph Duke gown in the Somerset Neiman-Marcus. It was oyster white silk with a floor length skirt and a halter bodice that was made entirely of pearls and crystal beads with tiny accents of gold here and there. Renee purchased the dress at once and had Joyce replace the long straight skirt with a swirling knee-length one of silk chiffon. It gave the dress a fresh sexiness that was perfect for Renee.
With the dress she decided to wear her Louboutin evening sandals that were mere straps of the thinnest pearlized leather. She considered not wearing jewelry, but decided to wear a pair of antique pearl drop earrings and a fabulous vintage bracelet of faux pearls and crystals. The only thing she needed was a purse, and that she could borrow from Bennie, who had a sizeable collection of evening bags. Having laid out her attire to her satisfaction, she went downstairs to get a bag from Bennie. She managed to slip by the door of the room Bennie’s in which Bennie’s Aunt Ruth was sequestered; Aunt Ruth was a wonderful woman, but she could be a bit chatty.
She did stop at Ceylon Simmons’s room to make sure that she was comfortable. As well as being a dear friend of both Bennie and Renee, Ceylon was part of the entertainment for the program that evening. Renee had barely had a chance to speak with Ceylon when she arrived, so she tapped on her door. Ceylon answered immediately, throwing the door open to admit Renee.
“
Come on in, darlin’! Pull up a chair and let’s talk, it’s been way too long since I’ve seen you. What have you been up to?” she exclaimed in her warm, friendly way.
It was typical of Ceylon that she didn’t brag about her exploits although she could have. Ceylon was hotter than the hottest star of a blazing comet. She was taking the world by storm with her amazing singing voice and her comedy. Ceylon, for all her fame and glory, was still as down home and sweet as she had ever been. Fame had not changed her one iota.
She settled down to find out the latest goings on in Renee’s life with every indication of deep interest, an interest which was totally sincere. She cared about Bennie and Renee like they were her own sisters. That was one reason Renee felt she could confide in Ceylon about the Andrew situation. The other reason was if she didn’t tell someone she was going to burst.
“
Ceylon, I’m seeing someone new,” Renee began. Ceylon tried not to look disappointed, but this was old news to her. Renee caught her look and hurried on.
“
No, Ceylon, this is different. He’s my age, for one thing. I’m dating him exclusively, for another. And we’ve known each other for some time. In fact, you know him, too,” she teased. Ceylon looked completely baffled, but before she could hazard a guess, Renee told her. “Brace yourself. I’m dating Andrew Bernard Cochran, Jr.,” Renee said sweetly. “Surprise.”
Ceylon’s hazel eyes got huge and her mouth flew open. “Oh-my-GOD! Finally! After all these years, I can’t believe it!” she shrieked.
Now it was Renee’s turn to look puzzled. “What do you mean, ‘after all these years’?”
“
Oh, please, girl, Andrew’s been crazy about you for years, you know that!” Ceylon exclaimed. “Don’t tell me you didn’t realize that he was mad about you!”
But it was evident from the look on Renee’s face that it was news to her.
“
Hmmph. Just as well, you would have just dogged him back in the day. Now you two are just right for each other,” she sighed, clasping her hands. Ceylon was an incurable romantic. “Well, don’t just drop a bomb on me and then sit there, I need details. How, when, where, and what does Bennie think? I’ll bet she’s just thrilled!”
Renee hastily explained that no one knew except Ceylon. “We haven’t told anyone because it’s so new that we want to keep it private for as long as possible. And I certainly don’t want Bennie to feel caught in the middle if things don’t work out,” Renee added.
Ceylon looked skeptical, but her expression turned approving as Renee explained the events that led up to their current situation. It was obvious from the animated way that Renee was speaking that Andrew meant a lot to her. For a change it looked like Renee was involved in a real romance with a real man instead of her customary social charade. Ceylon was very happy for her and told her so.
“
So you and Bennie have both found wonderful men at the same time. If I didn’t love you heifers so much, I’d be so jealous! What’s Bennie’s Clay like?” she asked.
“
Oh, you’ll meet him tonight. He’s so perfect for her it’s ridiculous. And he’s so fine you’ll be begging him to let you meet his brothers. He has two or three of them as a matter of fact,” Renee told her, but Ceylon wasn’t interested. She was too excited over Renee’s news.
“
I can’t wait to see you two together tonight,” Ceylon confessed. “You two are probably so beautiful together that it’s sickening.”
Renee just smiled and said nothing, but silently she agreed with Ceylon.
***
When she floated down the stairs later that evening, Andrew’s reaction was all she could’ve hoped for. Bennie had just gone downstairs and knocked Clay’s socks off with her stunning appearance, but her twin Andrew was giving her grief. They were laughing at each other when Renee appeared and put an end to their teasing. For once, Andrew had absolutely nothing to say. He simply stood and drank in every inch of Renee as if he were momentarily blinded to everything else in the world. He stood at the bottom of the main staircase, waiting for her. Luckily, Bennie and Clay were too absorbed in each other to pay them any attention. Renee didn’t say anything, she merely took his tie from his fingers and proceeded to put it on for him and tie it properly.
“
Renee, you look…wonderful,” Andrew said in a hoarse voice.
Renee just smiled. She was standing on the stairs so that she was eye level with Andrew. After she finished tying his tie, she ran her hands over his shoulders. “You look quite handsome yourself, Andy,” she finally said. She continued to rest her hands on his shoulders and he slipped his hands around her waist. They stood there for the longest time, just staring into each other’s eyes with quiet affection. What would have happened next is anyone’s guess, but Ceylon chose that moment to come downstairs.
With a sigh of regret, Renee took her hands from Andrew’s shoulders and allowed him to escort her down the remaining stairs. They turned as one to greet Ceylon, whose eyes widened at the sight of them. They really did look wonderful together. She had promised to be discreet, though, and she held her tongue. After giving Andrew an effusive greeting and hug, she went into the living room to meet Bennie’s Clay and was once again bowled over.
Finally everyone was ready to leave, including Aunt Ruth and sundry Philadelphian cousins of Bennie and Andrew. Everyone piled into limousines except Bennie and Clay, who wanted to be alone, and Renee and Andrew for the same reason. They got into Andrew’s Bentley and followed Bennie and Clay in her Jaguar. Andrew took her hand immediately and didn’t let it go for the rest of the night. The only times that he wasn’t holding her hand was when he was participating in the program honoring his father’s retirement. Renee had to stifle sighs of admiration because he looked way too fine in his custom tailored tuxedo. He was also a wonderful speaker and seemed perfectly at ease with talking in front of hundreds of people. Renee looked around the huge ballroom and decided that the event was as perfect as Bennie could have made it. Everything had a golden glow about it, from the soft indirect lighting, to the candlelit centerpieces on every table. The gold lame tablecloths with the ivory damask overlays were the perfect foils to the fragrant flower arrangements on every table. Thanks to the jazz stylings of Bennie’s godfather Bill ‘Bump’ Williams sand his orchestra, the entire ambiance was that of a posh supper club from the 1950’s, which was just what they wanted to invoke.
The entire evening was wonderful, especially when the speeches and testimonials were over and the dancing began. Andrew was an absolutely fantastic dancer. He was as graceful as he was tall and there was no dance that he could not do. From the electric slide to the merengue, he had them all down pat. And as for slow dancing, well, he was the most amazing partner Renee had ever had. They were hardly out of each other’s arms all night.
“
Andy, I had no idea that you could dance like this,” Renee confessed.
“
That’s because you’d never let me within 10 feet of you at a social event. I love to dance. And I’ve always wanted to dance with you,” he admitted.
Finally, it became apparent that dancing was not going to substitute for what they really wanted, which was to be alone. They left as discreetly as possible and went directly to the house. Once there, it dawned on Renee that it might not be such a good idea to pursue anything really personal with so many people underfoot. She was about to express this idea to Andrew when he covered her mouth with his. For several minutes, all she could do was react to the feel of his hot, passionate lips on hers and the taste of his tongue as it wrapped around hers.
“
I’ve been wanting to kiss that lipstick off your mouth all night. Damn, that tastes good,” he moaned.
Renee stifled a moan of her own as she tried to gain control of the situation. “Andy, I think we should, um, say good night. There are like 50 people staying here and they’re all probably going to burst in here at once. Especially Aunt Ruth,” she reminded him. They had made it as far as the living room and were wrapped in each other’s arms on the sofa. Andrew didn’t want to hear any voices of reason.
“
So let’s go to my house. Let’s get the hell out of here, Renee. I want to be alone with you right now. For a long, long time, like all night,” he growled.
Renee was touched and delighted by his frankness, but she didn’t see how she could just disappear and leave everything on Bennie’s shoulders. Entertaining guests was hard work, especially when you had to make breakfast in the morning and keep them happy until it was time for a barbecue at Alan’s house the next day. She tried to explain this to Andrew but he didn’t want to hear it, which rather explains why he said something incredibly stupid with his next breath.
“
Well, hell, Renee, if those old geezers of yours had to wait this long they’d all be dead,” he muttered.
Renee backed out of his arms as though he had morphed into a space alien. “How dare you! What makes you think I was intimate with those men?” she hissed.
Andrew wasn’t looking directly at her or he would have seen the utter fury on her face. “Well, if you weren’t they were bigger fools than I thought,” he said thoughtlessly. And those were the last words he spoke for some time as Renee’s left fist connected with his face.
“
You
are the biggest fool I ever met in my life, Andrew Cochran! Get the hell out of here!”
Before Andrew could form a response she had leapt to her feet and dashed up the stairs.
Andrew slowly stood and looked at Renee’s retreating figure. “That didn’t go as well as I planned,” he said dryly.
***
Renee would’ve stayed in a rage all night had it not been for two things. For one, after she had taken a shower to rid herself of the scent of Andrew’s touch, she stormed downstairs for iced water, where she had encountered Bennie and Clay. They were now officially engaged. Renee had burst into tears of joy upon hearing the news. And she was awestruck at the exquisite canary diamond ring that Clay had put on Bennie’s finger. Renee was so thrilled with Bennie’s obvious happiness that some of the anger ebbed away. The three of them talked about wedding plans and Bennie’s moving to Atlanta for a while before Renee had discreetly left them alone.
The second thing happened as she was going back upstairs to bed. On the way up she’d encountered Ceylon who had come in search of her. “Okay, you’ve kept me in suspense long enough! You and Andrew are perfect together,” she gushed. “I want to know details. What did he say when he saw you, how much in love is he, when are you two getting hitched, tell me everything!” she wheedled as they strolled up the wide stairs arm-in-arm.

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