Uncorked (47 page)

“I will honey.”

Chella had a hard time sleeping
the rest of the night. She paced the floors, worrying about Craig, wondering
what she could have done to stop this. Too many people were getting hurt. Too
many innocent lives were being affected.

Mitch woke up
the next morning and found
Chella packing her things.

“Chella, what are you doing?”

“I’m going back to San Diego.
This nonsense has to stop. If I don’t go, they will continue to hurt my
friends. None of them deserve this.”

“And neither do you. This is
exactly what they want. I refuse to let you leave.”

“What makes you think you can
stop me?”

“Chella, you’re not thinking
straight.”

Mitch took her hand and pulled her
over to sit on the bed.

“Sweetheart, why do you need to
do this?”

She hesitated for a moment then
replied, “I don’t know. I need to be there to help in some way. He’s family.”

“What would you do if you went
back to San Diego?”

“I just feel so helpless, so out
of control.”

“Sweetheart, this is out of your
control whether you’re here or there. If you’re there, though, your life will
be in significant danger. Trust me. I understand how hard this is. I know it’s
not always easy to let things work themselves out. You think it’s been easy to
know you were violated and I did nothing to prevent it—much less not being
there for you in the aftermath? Or that there are people who continue to hurt
you, and I can’t do a thing about it?”

“I’m sorry I’ve been so selfish.”

“I’m not accusing you of being
selfish. I just want you to remember you’re not the only one who feels out of
control. Let’s go for a walk. If the road has been cleared, maybe we can go
into town to take your mind off things.”

“Sure,” she replied half-heartedly.

The drive to town was
breathtaking. Deep green pine trees and naked aspens led the way, dressed in
brilliant white coats and skirts dressing the trunks. They parked the SUV and
window-shopped. They strolled through the town streets holding hands. Half an
hour into their stroll, flurries began again.

The next day,
Maggie called to tell Chella
that Craig was conscious. Detective Carter called just after Chella ended the
first call.

“Ms. Noon, how are you today?”

“I heard Craig is better, so I’m
happy.”

“That’s good news. We spotted
Jade in the camera footage at the bar, but her hands are out of view.”

“Figures.”

“I know. I was hoping we’d be
able to make an arrest from the video footage.”

“What about the photos?”

“We questioned the intern who
packed them. The envelopes were put in the conference room together with all
the other things. She admits to putting them in the bag, but she never knew the
contents of the envelope.”

“Jade was responsible for
ensuring those packages were put together.

“She denies having anything to do
with it. She says she doesn’t know how the envelopes got in the conference
room.”

“She’s lying. How do we get her
out of there before she does any more damage?”

“Give me until the new year, Ms.
Noon. I want more than circumstantial evidence. When we arrest her, I want the
charges to stick.”

“Too many people are getting
hurt. I just want it to stop.”

“I understand. I’ll try my
hardest.”

“Thank you so much.”

New Year’s Eve
came. Mitch and Chella awoke to
clear blue skies. Heavy snow from the night before coated the mountains,
flawless and undisturbed by any living being. As the day went on, skiers would
make their mark. At the breakfast table, Chella’s phone rang. Maggie’s number
appeared on the screen.

“Hello?”

“My wife says her phone has been
ringing off the hook because of you.”

“Craig?”

“It’s me, Darling.”

“It’s so good to hear your voice.
I’ve been worried sick. How are you?”

“I must be doing well, because
they’re letting me go home this evening. I get to go partying for the new year.”

“We’ll see what Maggie has to say
about that.”

“It will be a good night. All the
kids and grandkids will be there.”

“I’m so happy to hear your voice.
I’ve been worried.”

“It’ll take a lot more than
poison to kill me. I missed you at Christmas. Now, I’ll be missing you at New
Year’s. You okay all by yourself?”

“You’ll be happy to know I’m not
alone.”

“Hot damn, I knew it!” he said
excitedly. “So you broke down and told him where you were?”

“Not quite. Let’s just say he got
creative and showed up on my doorstep.”

“Well, I don’t care how he got
there. I’m glad he did.”

She smiled at his words. “I’m
glad, too. Take care of yourself.”

“I will, my darling. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

After breakfast, Mitch
and Chella dressed in ski gear
and hit the slopes for a day of skiing. The gondola trip up the mountain was
gorgeous. It was a complete sea of white with sprinkles of people and trees
that represented color here and there. They gradually reached the mountaintop
and the town below disappeared. The plateau views were a sea of green and white
against the blue-backdrop skies. The red gondolas that glided up and down the
cables added the only pop of color.

Their ski lesson went well,
interrupted occasionally by bursts of laughter from Chella as she fell time
after time. Mitch was an experienced skier and took on the role of instructor
for a few hours before they headed down the first beginner slope. Chella had
gotten the hang of things, and as the day went by, they increased the
difficulty level with each run. After a myriad of mistakes, successes, falls
and jokes, they called it a day and headed back to the house.

They put on holiday music and
played board games and cards after dinner. A midnight fireworks display would
dazzle over the valley. Mitch pulled Chella into his arms, and they held each
other close. They moved as one to the music surrounding them. The feel of her
bare skin against his palms encouraged Mitch to roam his hands over her
shoulders. Chella slipped her hands around his neck kissing him softly on his
lips repeatedly.

At 11:59 p.m., he held Chella’s
hand and led the way to the fixed glass windows. He encircled her in his arms
as the last ten seconds counted down, and they kissed as the fireworks erupted
over the mountains.

Mitch kissed Chella lightly near
her ear and whispered, “Will you marry me?”

Astonished at Mitch’s words,
Chella said, “What?”

Mitch’s response was to present a
beautiful princess-cut, platinum diamond solitaire in a black suede box.

“Will you marry me?” Mitch asked
again.

“Mitch… it’s beautiful… and I
love you… but I can’t.”

“Why?”

“You know why. I can’t marry you,
at least not until this is over. We will both end up regretting it if we do. If
these people know you and I are in a relationship, you and your family will
always be at risk, and I can’t have that. I’m sorry.”

She walked to the sofa. “I only
want what’s best for you. I didn’t refuse because I wanted to hurt you.”

“Chella…”

“Until all the players involved
in this fiasco are behind bars for good, I can’t think of a future that goes
beyond a few weeks to a month. I’m sorry.”

His shoulders hung low. He stared
at the floor, only occasionally looking at her while she spoke. She felt his
disappointment, and she knew her response hurt him. For her, the alternative
was much worse.

“Mitch, I’m so sorry I can’t tell
you what you want to hear right now.”

He sat on the sofa beside her.

“Say something,” Chella said
after a few minutes of silence.

He closed his eyes, massaging his
temples. “I just need time to think.”

“Do you want to be alone?”

“I think I’ll turn in early.
Maybe we can discuss this tomorrow.”

“Under the circumstances, I
really do feel it’s best.”

“I heard you.” He kissed her on
her forehead then walked away.

Her reasons for declining his proposal
were legitimate, but she wasn’t comfortable with the fact that she had caused
him pain. In a matter of minutes, she witnessed all the life sucked out of him,
and the hurt was written all over his face. She wasn’t quite sure how to fix
things.

She wasn’t certain what room he
had returned to. Since they had made love, they shared a bed again. After this
turn of events, he may have returned to his old room. Chella switched off the
lights and summoned the courage to return to her room.

Mitch was not in her bed.

Hours later, Chella
was awoken by Mitch’s hand shaking
her shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” Chella asked.

“I have to go. Charlotte called.
Emily’s been admitted to the hospital. She had a seizure. I’m going to catch
the first flight out from Denver to Vancouver.”

“Is she going to be okay?

“I have no clue. Charlotte called
me as soon as it happened.”

“Be safe. Keep me informed.”

Chella got out of bed and helped
him gather his things. Within minutes, she was helping him out of the garage.
She said goodbye with a quick kiss on his cheek. No I love you, no cute
pleasantries they usually exchanged. She hoped it wasn’t as serious as he made
it sound. Maybe he had used it as an excuse for him to get away from her.
Because if it was life-threatening, even indirectly, she still felt responsible
for Emily being in the hospital in the first place.

She didn’t sleep after he left.
She was worried about Emily, worried about Mitch, and worried about the hurt
she caused him. By four o’clock the next afternoon, she still had not heard a
word. Things were more uncertain between them now than ever before. She wasn’t
sure whether she even had the right to call him and find out what was going on.

By eight, Chella was ready to
pull her hair out. It had been over fourteen hours since they last spoke. She
called him but it went straight to voicemail. She left him a message telling
him that she was thinking about him and Emily. She had not eaten all day, so
after fixing herself a cup of soup she snuggled up in her favorite seat by the
window, cell phone in hand, and prayed he would call. Near midnight, her phone
went off. It was a text message from Mitch.

Mitch
Mariani

Sunday
January 1, 2012

11:56PM

All is
well. I arrived safely in Vancouver. Emily is doing better. She’ll be in the
hospital until tomorrow, back to Santa Monica on Wednesday. You probably won’t
hear from me for a few days. I need time to think. Take care.

She quickly responded to his
message saying,

Chella
Noon

Sunday
January 1, 2012

11:58PM

I’m glad
to hear all is well. Please know that I’m thinking about you both. Send Emily
my love.

After reading Mitch’s text
message ten times, she wondered what her life would be like without him. The
thought scared her. Had she made a mistake? She said what she thought was
right, but her good intentions might have cost her the man she was in love
with. Honesty would pay off. She hoped.

Five days later, when she had not
heard from Mitch, she started to worry. She had put herself in an even more
difficult situation than she was in a month ago. Then, she knew where she
stood. Now, she didn’t feel like she had the right to even call him.

Later that Saturday, Detective
Carter called, and told her that he was granted a search warrant to get into
Jade’s apartment. They would be conducting the search within minutes of his
call, and they were hoping to get the evidence they needed to secure an arrest.

Chella played a waiting game.
There were so many unknowns. Most of all, she wanted to find out how involved
Jade was in all these events. It was the first week in January, and she prayed
that later that afternoon, she would have some clue as to where her life was
heading.

After she ended the call, she
searched for a condo in San Diego again. She liked living in a house these last
few weeks and wanted to consider that, but in the back of her mind, she heard
Mitch scream in disapproval. She shopped with heart, not even bothering to take
notes. She imagined herself in a place she could call home—a real home where
she could feel safe and secure, as she had for the past six weeks. A home like
she had with her parents all those years ago, maybe with a small garden and
beautiful ocean views. One she might be able to have a family in some day.