Louise: A New Beginning (20 page)

“I know. Trust me, I know exactly how it feels to stay away from her knowing that you can’t be with her.”

“Oh. . .” She leaned forward and hugged me tight. “I’m so happy my girl has fallen in love with such a wonderful man. And your love story, it’s so beautiful. I wish I had been there for her.”

“But then, she and I would have probably never even met.”

Sabine smiled, patting my hand. “You are right. She was lucky to have you. And I hope I will have enough time with her to get to know her and to love her the way she deserved to be loved by her mother.”

“Everything’s going to be okay, I’m sure of that.”

She sighed. “Let’s hope for the best. Now, do you mind accompanying me to Louise’s class? I can’t resist the desire to see her. Even if I can’t tell her the truth, not yet anyway.”

“I don’t want Louise to see me with you, so I’d better go.”

“Oh, right. But thank you for coming here and telling me everything. I don’t think I will ever be able to thank you enough for finding me, for taking care of my daughter, for being there for her.”

“It’s my pleasure to be a part of her life. I love her, Sabine, more than anyone or anything in this world.”

“I know. I can see that. I saw it the very first time I saw you watching her. And I’m sure she’s happy with you, William.”

“I hope so.”

“Come with me, I’ll show you another exit. If we don’t want Louise to see us together, we’d better stay away from the main foyer.”

She went to the door, and waved for me to follow her.

“As for dinner. . .” I said, as we were walking down the hall, “I hope you don’t mind my people looking after you.”

“I don’t. Though I’m not afraid of Montgomery. I can handle him. And I’m not afraid to show up in public with Louise by my side. He’d better get used to seeing us together.”

We went downstairs and Sabine unlocked the door to let me out.

“I’ll see you soon, William.”

“Enjoy your dinner, Sabine.”

We smiled at each other, and I left.

It was such a relief to know that Sabine knew the truth. At least now I didn’t have to worry about Louise when she was at school. Her mother promised to make sure she would be safe there.

I arrived at my office around noon. Christopher met me in the waiting room.

“How did it go?” He asked.

“Good. Even better than I expected. What are you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be busy trying to find more information about Montgomery’s past?”

“That is exactly why I decided to come here and tell you everything I’ve managed to find out.”

“Anything helpful?”

“Oh, yes.”

We went to my office, and Christopher gave me a folder he had been holding. “Read it,” he said, taking a seat in a chair.

“What’s this?” I opened the folder, read a few lines from the first paper I found, and looked at Christopher in shock. “You have got to be kidding me. . . All of Montgomery’s property belongs to Christine?”

“Aha. And that’s why she’s still alive.”

“Then why would he put her in an asylum?”

“Good question. But I have the answer. A few weeks before she was sent there, one of Montgomery’s neighbors heard them fighting. She threatened Montgomery, saying she would tell the reporters all the awful things he had done. Then she slowly started to feel off, mentally, and then finally one day he locked her in an asylum.”

“He was afraid she would leave him without a penny, and in prison. But since she refused to give his property back, he locked her in the institution.”

“Exactly.”

“I bet his wifie doesn’t have a damn idea that her precious husband let his cousin rule over everything they have.”

“Plus, they signed a prenuptial agreement. . . According to which, if they divorce, he doesn’t get anything but his car, because most of their family property used to belong to her father. But now that we know he somehow managed to make Christine the sole owner of everything he and his wife are supposed to have, looks like she won’t get a penny either.”

I smirked. “Poor woman. Does she even know what an asshole she’s married to?”

“I doubt it. According to the numerous pictures and video tapes from their family archive, she has always been deeply in love with him. That’s why it wasn’t hard to fool her. Even the prenup they signed years ago was just her father’s attempt to protect his property and his daughter’s future. But after the old man died, Montgomery made sure all the investments and other family property was his, or Christine’s to be exact.”

“I can’t believe he trusted her so much.”

“Neither can I. But the fact remains, and Montgomery has gotten really close to losing everything he has. If Christine doesn’t make it out of the asylum, all his property might become the property of the United States of America.”

“Oh, the man is screwed in more ways than one.”

“But it plays right into our hand, doesn’t it?”

“You are right, old friend. We’ve taken one step closer to destroying the famous Fletcher Montgomery.”

Louise

I was on my way to the café where Sabine and I agreed to meet, when I got a text from Will.

“I love you to the moon and back,”
it said.

I smiled, texting back,
“Likewise.”

Will’s weird behavior that morning was still bothering me. It wasn’t the first time the mention of Sabine’s name made him seem worried. Christopher said I could trust her, so what was Will’s problem? I doubted the woman could do anything to hurt me, or anyone else for that matter. She was too kind-hearted.

Sabine’s driver, Paul spoke, pulling into the parking lot of the café, named
Bon Appétit
, “Mrs. Cormac said she would be waiting for you inside.”

“Thanks for giving me a lift,” I said, stepping out of the car. A loud cry caught my attention. I turned to the right and saw a small girl, down on her knees, crying. She had apparently tripped and fallen. Her mother helped her to her feet, wiping away her tears, and kissed her cheeks, quietly whispering into her ear.

Seeing the bond between the mother and daughter made my heart shatter into a million tiny fragments. It was such a touching moment. I had never had the chance to be in the girl’s shoes. I had always wished, when I was a girl, that my mom would come and kiss my pain away, soothing me with her words, but that wasn’t in the cards for me – seeing as I didn’t have a mom. And there wasn’t anyone in my life who could replace her, not even Will could take the place of a mother. And I never even had a mother-like-figure in my life, so, like I said before, it wasn’t in the cards for me.

The little girl started to smile, she nodded at her mom, and they started to walk away. I used to think that after so many years of being alone, that I was used to not having a real family. But after seeing their relationship, I decided I might have been wrong about that.

Just when I was about to walk into the café, I turned, noticing a black Jeep, parked not far from where I was standing. It wasn’t the first time I had seen it. Previously today, when I was leaving my school, I noticed it parked in front of the entrance. And maybe I would have never paid any attention to it, if it wasn’t for the song I could hear playing inside the car – it was one of my favorite songs.

The same song was playing in the Jeep I could see now. Its windows were too dark to see the person inside it, but when I turned to have a closer look, the car started to move, slowly passing me by. Maybe I was imagining things, but I had a strange feeling it was not just a coincidence. Did the car belong to my father’s spies? I wouldn’t be surprised if it did. For a moment, I panicked. I knew Christopher was somewhere nearby, he promised to follow me to the café and then take me back home when we were finished. But I couldn’t shake my worries.

I took a deep breath, telling myself to calm down, and walked to the entrance of the café. The doorman pulled the door open, and I watched a very elegant looking couple in their late fifties, walk out of the café with smiling faces. They were dressed to the nines: she was wearing a long trumpet-style red dress, and he - in a tux with a tie that matched her attire perfectly; I looked down at my dark blue jeans, white shirt, and black leather jacket.

I cursed mentally.
I should have changed before coming here,
I thought to myself.

“Louise!” Sabine came out of the café to greet me. “I’m so happy you made it.” She gave me a hug, which was a little surprising, considering I was just a student at
Balero,
and we barely knew each other.

“Yeah, me too,” I said. “Though I don’t think I am in their dress code.”

“Oh, your outfit is perfect! Wait until you meet Regina. You would never believe she is the owner of this place.”

“Why?”

“Well, because my beloved friend is a little…eccentric. In a good way, of course.”

“How long have you two known each other?”

“Oh, dear. . .so long, I can’t even remember when we met.” Sabine laughed. “I guess it was around twenty years ago. She and I used to dance in a ballet troupe in LA. Then I moved to New York, and she got married and started writing cookbooks. Until a few months ago, when she decided she was going to open a café. Everything on the menu came from her grandmother. She passed the recipes to Regina, and they are her pride and joy.”

“Oh, it must be very special then.”

“Oh, yes. And every meal is to die for. I haven’t even tried them all yet, but I just know. Regina has always been an amazing cook. Now, let’s go inside. I can’t wait for you to meet her. She is also anxious to meet you.”

“She knows about me?” I asked, genuinely surprised.

“Yes, she certainly does.” Sabine walked me to the coat-check. I took off my jacket and handed it to the attendant. He gave me a small card with the claim number to get my jacket returned at the end of the night.

“Don’t laugh when you see Regina.”

“What? Why would I laugh?”

But she didn’t have the chance to answer my question before a woman about Sabine’s age, dressed in a long dark-red cloak with white and black lacy frill around her neck walked over to us, and locked me in her tight embrace. I felt like all the air was knocked out of me.

“My goodness. . . Just look at you, girl! All grown-up and so beautiful. . .” She stepped back and looked up and down at me with her big, blue eyes. “I’m Regina André.”

“Are you French?” I asked curiously.

She laughed. “Not technically. My sixth husband was French. And I loved his last name so much that even after we were divorced I wanted to keep it.”

“Oh. . .”
Six husbands? Was she being serious?

Sabine giggled, seeing my shocked expression. “Don’t scare the poor girl, Regie. How about you show us around?”

“With pleasure. Ladies, follow me.” She turned around. As soon as her back was to us, I noticed her shoulder length, curly, blond hair was actually red on the ends. If I didn’t know better I would say the woman got left behind from the circus the last time it was in town. Sabine was right, Regina was definitely eccentric.

Sabine leaned close and whispered into my ear, “She likes people to be surprised when they see her. One day she looks like a hard-rock musician, and the next day – like a goth.” She paused briefly. It was like she could read my thoughts. “But regardless of what she’s wearing, she’s still my old friend. Regina is one of a very few people I can always rely on.”

“I know exactly what you mean. . .” I could count the number of people I could trust on one hand.

We walked into a spacious room, full of guests. They were chatting, laughing, and generally enjoying their meals. The room was decorated with flower-print wallpaper. The tablecloths matched the walls, and the tables were oval and round. Each table had a different figurine in the middle with Eiffel Tower shaped lamps forming a very interesting centerpiece.

“Looks like you enjoy anything from France,” I said, smiling at Regina.

She nodded. “Couldn’t agree with you more, Louise. Sometimes I truly miss being married to Claud. No matter how much of a womanizer he was, our marriage was the best I ever had.”

“I was in Paris last summer. It was just for a few days, but I loved the city,” I said, recalling those unforgettable days Will and I spent in France.

“Oh, really?” Sabine looked at me, a little surprised.

“I went there with Will,” I explained. I knew Sabine and Will met during the competition the other day. She had even said she liked him.

“Oh, he loves you so much, doesn’t he?” Regina asked. Sabine gave her a look that I couldn’t really understand. If I didn’t know better, I would say it was a warning. Which I thought was strange. It looked like Regina knew a lot more about me than I did about her.

I remembered my first conversation with Sabine. She said she didn’t have any children, and now I wondered if the special attention she paid to me, had to do with her longing to have children of her own. Maybe she simply felt like I was the daughter she never had. . . Who knows?

“There’s our table, ladies,” Regina said, pointing to one of the tables on my right. “I want you to try my roasted chicken in mushroom sauce. It is to die for!” She waved for the waitress to bring the food and the drinks, while we took our seats.

“So, tell me, Louise, how do you like your classes in
Balero
?” Regina asked.

“I love them. I love everything about the place actually. I have always dreamed of going to school to be a dancer.”

“Yeah, it’s a great place for dancers as talented as you are. Who taught you to dance?”

“No one did. I learned everything I know from watching TV shows and reading books.”

“You are a natural then,” Regina said, watching me thoughtfully. “Dancing, like any other talent, is something that you will never learn how to do properly if you don’t have the gift, already inside of you. I used to dance a lot. . . Until the day I realized I loved food way more than exhausting routines. So let’s raise our glasses to you, ladies, to your passion for dancing, and to the beauty you create on the stage!”

“Cheers!” Sabine and I said in unison.

I was only allowed to have non-alcoholic beverages. So, when my watch showed ten pm, I realized it was time to call it a night and go home. What was supposed to be just a small dinner meeting, turned out to be an entire dinner party. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. Regina had introduced me to so many people, I couldn't even remember all of their names. Some were from her past as a dancer, others were her co-workers, and some were friends she thought I would like to meet in person.

As for Sabine, she looked a little distracted tonight. She didn’t talk much, and I caught her watching me with a barely visible smile on her face more than once. I kept wondering what she was thinking about.

“I think it’s time for me to go home,” I said to Sabine. “Do you know where Regina is?” I asked, looking around. “I’d like to thank her for this wonderful evening. I had so much fun. She was great, and all of her friends were so kind.”

“Don’t’ worry, Louise. I will tell her you had fun. Do you need a ride home?”

“Christopher, Will’s driver is waiting for me outside.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, a little disappointed.

“Are you okay, Sabine? You seem a little off tonight.”

She gave me another thoughtful gaze and said, “I’m more than okay, Louise. I don’t think I have ever been happier in my entire life.”

“Which means I don’t have to worry about leaving you here alone, right?” I smiled, rising to my feet.

She stood up too and said, “I’ll be fine. Let me walk you out.”

We walked out of the restaurant, and the first thing I noticed was the black Jeep I had noticed before. My heart started to beat faster.

I looked around nervously, frantically searching for Christopher’s car. I breathed a sigh of relief when he pulled up to the curb.

“Are you okay, Louise?” Sabine asked, noticing my troubled expression.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you for inviting me, Sabine. I don’t think I have ever had so much fun, being surrounded by so many people I don’t know.”

“I’m glad you liked it,” she said, hugging me good-bye. “I have to leave for a few days, my husband’s younger sister is getting married, and we can’t miss her wedding. But I’ll be back for your next performance Tuesday. I know you are doing a solo for the annual Christmas Showcase.”

“Yes, and you can’t even imagine how nervous I am. My knees shake at the mere thought of dancing with so many teachers and students watching me.”

“But it’s not like it’s going to be your first solo performance. So what are you worried about?”

“I have never danced with so many professionals watching me. My performances in
Le Papillon
were more like the trainings are at
Balero
. They weren’t big or important. Though, I’m not gonna lie, I was nervous before every dance there.”

“You shouldn’t be worried about your performance, I know it will be perfect.”

I liked the way her words sounded. It was so nice to know that she believed in me, it gave me more self-assurance and courage.

“I hope you and Will are planning to attend the after party. It’s a tradition, you can’t miss it.”

“A party? I didn’t even know there was going to be one. But I’m sure Will will be happy to go with me.”

“Great. Have a good week, Louise.”

“And you have fun at the wedding.”

“I will.”

We said our good-byes and I got into Christopher’s car, waving at Sabine through the window.

“Looks like you two had a great time together,” he said, watching me through the rear view mirror.

“We did,” I replied. “Who would have thought she and I would get along so well?”

Movement on my left caught my attention. I turned to look out of the window, and saw the Jeep pacing us.

“They’ve been following me all day,” I said to Christopher.

He nodded. “I know. I saw them follow you to the restaurant, and then I noticed they were waiting for you to leave.”