Moments later, Jeff’s tie was perfect, compliments of his son. He admired the handiwork in the mirror. ‘Not bad. Where did you learn to do that?’
‘Where do you think?’ Greg asked.
‘Thank goodness you inherited more of her genes than you did mine.’
‘Oh, I think I probably did pretty OK from both sides.’
‘How are you feeling Dad? Are you absolutely sure about coming along to this thing tonight?’ He knew today’s date as well as the significance of the evening would be weighing on Jeff’s mind – especially when this would be the first time they would be attending the annual New Year’s Eve ball without Cristina.
His father raised a smile. ‘Don’t worry about me kid, I’m fine. Anyway, your mother would kill me if I even thought about giving it a miss. The St Jude’s benefit has always been one of her favourites.’
‘I know.’
‘You seem a bit distracted yourself,’ Jeff commented as the two left the penthouse fully bedecked in classic tuxedos. Greg punched the elevator button, and father and son waited for the doors to open.
‘I just wish that the woman who found Mom’s bracelet would get in touch. It’s been days now.’
Greg chewed ever so briefly on one of his nails. Despite leaving his number with that awful teenager, he’d heard nothing from Holly or the owner of the vintage store and it worried him. Didn’t Father Mike say that they were decent, dependable women? Yet Holly no longer worked at the store and her boss had ignored his request to call him back. Greg was worried now that something had happened in the meantime, that he was too late, and maybe they had indeed sold the bracelet on to a customer. After all, who knew how long they’d be looking to give it back? With these places, there might be some rule that after a certain length of time trying to contact the owner, they just give up and put it out for sale. And who could blame them – if the bracelet had been amongst items his mother had requested be donated or sold on, then they were perfectly entitled to do so.
He tried to think back to his brief encounter with Holly on the way in to the gallery that time. How frustrating to think that their paths had already crossed? Neither one of them could have realised the importance of that brief meeting.
‘I’m sure she’ll get in touch. Don’t forget it’s still the holiday season and everything’s a bit crazy. She sounds like a good person – going to all that trouble to try and get it back to us,’ Jeff smiled.
The elevator pinged and both men got inside. Greg shrugged. ‘I don’t know - maybe she just has too much time on her hands.’ But he was secretly impressed that this Holly seemed to have used the charms themselves to try and track the owner down. Cristina would be tickled pink by that, seeing as she always joked that the bracelet was a roadmap of her life.
65
‘Your carriage awaits, my lady,’ Eileen smiled, as she watched her daughter elegantly descend the steps outside the apartment building, Kate and Danny standing alongside her at the doorway.
Fully bedecked in the Anna Bowery Givenchy, Holly looked as though she had stepped out of another era. She had pulled her hair up into a loose chignon, which highlighted her elegant neck and showed off the bejewelled comb that expertly complemented the 1950s style. The dress sparkled and showcased Holly’s attractive figure while the opera-length gloves that she had discovered in a drawer gave a nod to the past parties that this dress had surely seen.
Reaching the bottom of the steps, she blushed. ‘I can’t believe you hired a car to take me there, Mom. I could have just caught a cab.’
‘That dress, and you, deserve better than any old yellow cab,’ said an earnest Eileen.
Holly bit her lip. ‘Well thank you, I appreciate it. So I guess I’m ready.’
‘You look awesome, Mom,’ Danny smiled.
‘Why thank you, young man. Are you sure you don’t mind me leaving you tonight?’
‘Nope, Nanna says we can watch Jay-Z. He’s performing tonight on TV.’
More like Jay-Z was sipping champagne in a mansion in Beverly Hills, Holly thought knowingly. Danny didn’t need to know that the majority of ‘New Year’s Eve Live Telecasts’ were filmed months ago in studios.
‘Don’t worry about us; we’ll have lots of fun,’ Eileen said, putting an arm around her grandson’s shoulder. ‘And you, my dear, enjoy yourself. Don’t even attempt to come home too early.’
Holly reflected on how times had changed … half her life ago, Eileen would have been telling her not to get home too late.
‘We’ll see. I might well be home in no time watching Jay-Z in my pj’s with you guys.’
‘You wouldn’t dare,’ Kate said ominously.
‘Yeah Mom, go out, have fun,’ Danny encouraged.
Eileen patted her grandson’s head. ‘Yes, please have a good time. Just go and enjoy yourself. Regardless of whether or not you find the bracelet’s owner.’
Holly looked down at the full tulle of her skirt and swished it, once again hypnotised by its crystals. Maybe she did deserve a little fun.
