Authors: Andrew Ball
standing right there."
"…muffin top?" Henry murmured.
"Don’t call me that," Eleanor said.
"Ever again."
"Of course not, kitten."
"Daniel."
"Boobear?"
"Please stop."
"But puddin’. I just gots to es’press mah
feelins somehow."
Henry’s eyes widened, then he burst out
laughing. "Eleanor, I don’t believe I’ve ever
seen you verbally backed into a corner in my
entire life."
"You give him too much credit."
"I’m overcharged on all my credit
cards," Daniel said.
Henry looked at Eleanor, than back at
Daniel. He peered at them like a botanist
examining a plant he’d never seen before.
"…Daniel, why don’t we sit down and get to
know each other?"
****
Daniel had to admit that the dinner was
as good as advertised. Being hungry enough
to eat a horse helped. He must have had fifty
rolls off the appetizer tray—they were these
light, buttery, garlic-coated nuggets small
enough to shove straight in and chew down
in one gulp. He kept throwing waves up to
Rachel. She looked quite in-charge,
coordinating the black suits and always
chatting into a walkie-talkie.
Henry was turning out to be Daniel’s
favorite person at the party. He was
incredibly casual. He thought Daniel’s
lightest pokes at Eleanor were the most
hilarious things he’d ever heard. The rest of
their illustrious table didn’t know how to
react, so the two of them dominated the
conversation.
"Did I mention I cooked for her?"
"You cooked for Eleanor? You’re
kidding."
"Mr. Astor, I never kid. The quickest
way to a woman’s heart is through her
stomach."
Henry burst out in a hefty belly laugh.
"What did you eat?"
"Lasagna. Just ask her, it was the best
thing ever."
Everyone immediately looked at
Eleanor. She took her time sipping from a
glass of seltzer water. "It was good."
"That’s not what you said at the time,"
Daniel said.
"That’s precisely what I said at the
time."
Daniel looked back at Henry. "She had a
great line the first time I addressed her as
Miss Astor."
He leaned in. "What?"
Daniel mocked Eleanor’s light voice.
"Finally
someone
in this place addresses me
appropriately
. I was starting to think we’d
gone back to finger painting caves and
dancing at fires."
Henry slapped Daniel on the back and
laughed his head off. Eleanor looked at her
lap. When he calmed down, he turned to his
daughter. "Eleanor. Did you really say that?"
"I did."
He shook his head. "Well. I suppose it is
your birthday, and Daniel seems to consider
it joke material than anything else."
"Oh, it was a little frosty," Daniel said,
"but we didn’t really get to know each other
until after I met Rachel."
Henry turned away from his daughter.
"Oh, you know Rachel too?"
Eleanor drew a small line across her
throat and shook her head. Daniel didn’t
even hesitate. "Absolutely. We hit it off over
that lasagna, actually. I’ve been helping her
out with her calculus, among other things."
"I owe you some thanks, then. She’s
been with us for some time. I consider them
both my daughters."
"So I’ve heard." Daniel smiled. "It’s
great she’s got that kind of support. She’s a
wonderful person. Even Eleanor lets her
guard down around Rachel."
"Please, Daniel," Eleanor said. "Try and retain some sense of tact."
"Don’t be such a stick in the mud. I
haven’t said a word everyone shouldn’t
know." Daniel took the opportunity to offer
Rachel a big wave. Rachel noticed all the
eyes focused on her. She bit her lip, looked
around uncertainly, then did a little wave
back with her fingertips. "She’s such a doll."
He nudged Henry with an elbow. "Get it? A
doll?"
Henry snorted, then started to laugh.
"That was terrible."
"I’ve got a million of ‘em."
Meanwhile, the dinner party had begun
to disperse. Tables were being moved to
clear the floor for whatever all the rich
people had planned. Daniel’s building sense
of expectation faltered when it turned into a
giant schmooze-fest. All they did was stand
around and talk to each other.
A middle-aged woman came up to their
party. She was attractive, dressed in a
sweeping maroon gown and elegant silk
scarf, though she had a particularly big,
hooked nose. Eleanor flicked her eyes
toward her and scratched her temples.
Daniel gave her a subtle nod, wondering
what exactly the beef was.
"Henry!" The woman was all over him
in moments. "Oh, and Eleanor," she said, in the tone of someone remembering something
unimportant. "Happy birthday."
Eleanor was stony. "Madame Flemmet.
Glad you could make it."
"I wouldn’t miss it for the world."
She wrapped an arm around Henry.
Eleanor’s father made a face, but didn’t say
anything. Eleanor looked pissed to hell.
Oh.
So that’s the beef.
"Henry," she said, "what do you say we show these kids how to dance?"
"Well…I’m don’t think I’m quite up for
it."
Daniel detected the hint of a French
accent in her words. Was she foreign? "Oh,
don’t tell me your knees are bothering you
again."
Henry coughed slightly. "Yes, afraid
so."
"Excuse me, Madame Flemmet?" Daniel
asked.
Flemmet paused and looked Daniel up
and down. "…Eleanor’s date, yes?"
"Yep. Do you smell something funny?"
Everyone stopped, confused, but they all
sniffed the air automatically. "…ah…no.
Why do you ask?"
"I was trying to place a passing scent. I
thought you might have an advantage in that
arena after observing your most impressive
facial feature." The roundabout insult took
time for them to process. It started dawning
on faces one by one—Flemmet’s last of all.
Eleanor turned away, bending over to control
her laughter. "Must have been my upper lip.
Could have sworn I got a whiff of doxy."
Flemmet was baffled by the last word,
but others gasped. Eleanor snorted into her
hands. Henry used the opportunity to slip
away. "What on earth is a doxy, young man?"
"An experienced woman," Daniel
answered smoothly.
It took another moment, but she put it
together. "…scathing as I’d heard. I don’t
like to judge from hearsay, but I suppose Mr.
Aiken was correct."
"Aiken again? I bathe in the negative
opinion of that arrogant dick."
"Eleanor, dear," Flemmet said, "who are you associating yourself with these days?"
Eleanor straightened, then took a long
breath. "Madame Flemmet, this is Daniel
Fitzgerald. My friend."
"Sure, best friends now that I’m not
working against you," Daniel said. "I guess you’re pretty enough that I’ll let it go."
Flemmet looked at Daniel. She closed
her eyes for a long moment, then opened
them. "Is he a mundane?" Flemmet asked.
"You can’t be serious about him at all."
"Mundane?" Daniel said. "I’ll have you know I’m talented at all kinds of eccentric
and exciting things. I’ve got a level 53 ranger
in Hellfire Online. I can whistle really well.
I can even do magic tricks. Didn’t bring my
cards, though."
A few people in the group exchanged
glances. Eleanor and Henry looked at each
other. Something passed between them. All
in all, it amounted to one very long,
awkward silence.
Daniel immediately tried to figure out
what had triggered it. Maybe he’d just gone
too far.
Eleanor grabbed Flemmet by the arm.
"Madame Flemmet, help me greet my
guests?"
"Ah…certainly, dear."
The rest of the party quickly dispersed
into the crowd, leaving Daniel scratching his
head. He stood with Henry while Eleanor
entertained the crowd near the present table.
"Don’t think I didn’t see what was going on
there, young man," Henry said.
"…sorry."
"Oh, not at all. If anything, I should thank
you."
"Annoying people is my real talent."
"Madame Flemmet is…persistent, but I
could live with her for a few minutes. Thank
you for being there for Eleanor."
"No skin off my back."
"Her mother died when she was only
two years old," Henry said. "Eleanor is as
fiercely brilliant and competent a successor
as I could have hoped for, but I think she
might be spoiled." He looked at Daniel. "She needs someone like you. An equal. Not in
wealth or class, but a person that can cut
through the fog and knock her down to size. I
can tell she likes you."
"…what? Really?"
"No one else would dare speak to her
like that, and if they did, she’d deal with it
quickly. I don’t know what happened that
gave you permission, but run with it as long
as you can."
"…she loves you very much," Daniel
said. "Too much, sometimes."
"You are referring to the tension
between Eleanor and Rachel."
Daniel pursed his lips. Henry might be
good-humored, but he didn’t miss a beat.
"Yes."
"Can you tell me anything about that?"
"I think I’m making progress."
"I’m more impressed with you by the
minute."
"I didn’t really do anything special,"
Daniel said. "I think…they were just stuck
there. Wound up in cobwebs. They just
needed a crazy person to come in swinging a
torch."
"And you fit the bill!" Henry said. He
chuckled. "And here I didn’t even know
about you until three days past. I’m glad
Eleanor got around to it."
"Not Rachel?"
Henry frowned. "What is your
relationship with them, exactly?"
Daniel fingered the lock of hair on his
forehead. "…Mr. Astor, can I come clean
with you?"
Henry’s face firmed up. "You’d better,
Mr. Fitzgerald."
"I’ve been dating Rachel for quite some
time. Things are very serious between us.
Eleanor had a hard time figuring out what to
do about it, and she lashed out at me. I don’t
think she likes being ignored. Anyway, I’m
on loan to Eleanor tonight. Apparently this is
her way of apologizing. We both see it as a
favor to the other person, though. Funny."
"I won’t ask for the details," Henry said.
"Rest assured I’ll keep an eye on it from the
background. I won’t let her do anything
stupid."
"I appreciate that."
"Hmph." Henry snorted softly. "So
close, and yet so far."
"Close to what?"
Henry smiled at him. "You and Rachel
will make a fine couple. But take care of her.
She’s more fragile than she seems."
"I know." Daniel stepped in front of him
and looked him in the eye. "I promise I’ll
protect her."
Henry had a strange look on his face.
"…strong words, Daniel. I wonder if you
really know what they mean."
"More than you, old man."
Henry burst into his deep, rumbling
laughter. "Good answer."
****
Daniel stayed low key after that, letting
Eleanor take center stage. The constant
introductions and ritzy doublespeak of the
implied and the half-said made his head hurt.
He didn’t know anyone, and he didn’t want
to know them, so once Henry left to take care
of the formalities, Daniel established himself
at an empty table.
Eleanor danced with at least a dozen
other guys in between opening her presents;
he sat, watched, and ate pieces of her
towering birthday cake. She often drifted
back toward him for brief conversation, only
to be pulled away a minute later. He could
see the request in her eyes, but after his
discussion with her father, he’d lost his
motivation.
He wanted to see Rachel in a pretty
cocktail dress. He wanted to walk Rachel
out onto the dance floor. He wanted to make
Rachel laugh. But she was stuck on the
balcony and he was stuck on a date with a
rock of ice he’d only just made peace with,
so he sulked and picked at his cake.
"Mr. Fitzgerald."
Daniel glanced up. "Hey Matt. Mind if I
call you Matt? What’s up?"
Matthew Aiken looked as though he’d
smelled rotting meat. "I noticed you sitting
here. You’re a cello virtuoso, correct?"
"I leave the judgment of my skill to
others," Daniel said. "I’m pretty badass in Hellfire, though. Not that you’d appreciate a
matter of such prerequisite gaming
refinement."
"…right. Well, I’ve taken the liberty of
alerting the band that you’ll be playing for us
after this song ends. Thought you’d want to
know." Matthew grinned and walked off.
"They’ll be announcing you in just a few