“A large department store. We’re either at Bloomingdales or at Bergdorf. But I’m going to say Bloomingdales.” She grinned.
I stood there shaking my head in disbelief that she knew exactly where we were.
“How did you know?”
“Because we weren’t in the car that long and Bloomingdales is closer to your townhouse.”
This woman never ceased to amaze me and I found myself at war between feeling comfortable with her and wanting to run as fast as I could.
“So why are we here?”
“I thought you would like to have your makeup done and then we could get you a new outfit to wear to my parents’ house.”
“Are you serious?” She smiled as she turned her head in my direction.
“Very serious.”
“Ethan. I don’t—” She lowered her head.
“We’re doing this, Aubrey. I want you to be comfortable at my parents’ house. Now, the girl at the Chanel counter isn’t busy. Is that okay?”
“Chanel is fine.”
I took her over to the counter and a young saleswoman named Vanessa asked if she could help us.
“She would like to get her makeup done.”
“Do you have an appointment?” she asked as she looked at Aubrey.
“No, she doesn’t. We’re heading out for the day and she needs her makeup done.”
“I’m sorry, sir, but we do makeup by appointment only.”
I sighed as I pulled my wallet from my pocket and took out a hundred-dollar bill.
“This should cover the makeup session plus we’ll be buying whatever makeup you use. I do believe you work on commission, correct?”
“Yes, sir.” She smiled. “Please have a seat—”
“Aubrey. Her name is Aubrey and she is visually impaired.”
“Oh. Okay. Do you usually wear makeup?” she asked her.
“Yes. I wear it every day.”
“Great. I’ll go pick a foundation to match your skin tone and we’ll get started.”
While Aubrey was getting her makeup done, I pulled my phone out, stepped away, and called my mother.
“Hello.”
“Hey, Mom.”
“Ethan. You better not be calling to say you’re not coming.”
“I’m not. I’m calling to let you know that I will be bringing someone with me.”
“Oh. Who?”
“Her name is Aubrey.”
“Ethan! That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to meet her. How long have you been dating her?”
“We’re not dating, Mom. We’re friends. Her apartment building had a fire last night and she will be staying at my place for a couple of days. I thought since she was there, she should come instead of staying home alone.”
“Perfect. I can’t wait to tell your sister.”
“Mom, she’s not my girlfriend, so don’t go saying that she is. She’s just a friend of mine. There’s something you need to know about her before we come over.”
“What?”
“She’s blind.”
“Oh dear. Thanks for letting me know.”
“We’ll see you soon, Mom.”
“Bye, darling.”
Placing my phone back in my pocket, I walked over to where Aubrey was sitting and smiled as I looked at her made-up face.
“She’s all done. What do you think?”
“I think she looks absolutely beautiful.” I smiled.
“So you would like to purchase all the products I used?” Vanessa grinned.
“Yes, just put it on my account here.”
“Your name?”
“Ethan Klein.”
“Thank you, Mr. Klein.” She smiled and then turned to Aubrey. “Your boyfriend is a keeper. You better hold on tight to him.”
“He’s not my boyfriend. He’s my pimp.” Aubrey smirked as she got up from the stool and lightly grabbed hold of my arm.
I looked at Vanessa, who was standing there with a shocked expression on her face, and gave her a wink.
As we were taking the escalator to the next level where the women’s clothing was, I asked Aubrey why she said that.
“Because she shouldn’t just assume things like that.”
“True. But a pimp? Really?”
“Did you want me to say you were my gay best friend?” She arched her brow.
“I suppose pimp was fine.” I chuckled as I stopped at a rack of long dresses.
“You like long dresses, right? I’ve seen you in a couple of them. Here’s a rack of very casual looking ones. Perfect for a barbeque, I think.”
She took the fabric of one of the dresses on the rack and felt it between her fingers.
“This feels nice. What does it look like?”
“It’s navy blue with small white flowers all over it.”
I pulled it from the rack and held it up while she felt the neckline and ran her hands all the way down the dress.
“I’ll have to try it on. Do they have a small?”
I looked at the tag on the inside of the dress and smiled.
“This one is a small.”
“Lead the way to the fitting room, Mr. Klein.” She held on to my arm.
The sales associate opened up a dressing room for her and I took a seat on the chair that was sitting right outside. After a few moments, Aubrey called my name and I stepped inside to see how stunning she looked in that dress.
“How does it look on me?” she asked.
“It’s perfect. You look beautiful.”
“You’re not just saying that, are you?” She smirked.
“No. If I didn’t like it, I would tell you. I don’t hold back on anything.”
“How much is it?”
“Don’t you worry about the cost. I’m paying for it.”
“No, Ethan. You already paid for my makeup. I can buy myself a dress.”
“It’s going on my account, Aubrey. End of discussion.”
“Is everything okay in here?” the sales associate asked as she walked up.
“Yes. I’ll be buying that dress and she will be wearing it out of the store.”
“Very good. Just follow me and I’ll ring you up and remove the sensor and the tags.”
I walked inside the dressing room and grabbed Aubrey’s other clothes.
“Do you need shoes?” I asked.
“No. The white sandals I’m wearing are fine.”
I led her over to the cash register, picked up a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote a note to the sales associate.
“My friend is blind and I don’t want her knowing how much the dress costs. Please do not say the total out loud.” I handed the note to her.
She read it and then looked at me with a smile.
“You can just put the dress on my account. The name is Ethan Klein.”
“You’re all set, Mr. Klein. Thank you for shopping at Bloomindales.” She nodded her head.
I had the valet bring the car around and we set out to my parents’ house.
Chapter 16
Aubrey
I was very appreciative of Ethan’s generosity and he made me feel special. The kind of special that I had never felt before. I was slowly falling for this man and I didn’t want to¸ but he was making it impossible with the sweet things he had done for me. I remembered his comment about never wanting a family and it made me curious as to why he felt that way. Did I dare ask him now? That probably wasn’t a good idea since I didn’t want to stir up anything before arriving at his parents’ house.
“We’re here,” Ethan announced as the car stopped.
“I’m a little nervous.”
“Don’t be. My parents are great people and they will welcome you with open arms.”
As Ethan helped me out of the car, my phone rang and alerted me that Ian was calling.
“Let me answer this for a second,” I spoke.
“Go ahead.”
“It’s about time you returned my call,” I answered.
“Oh sorry. I didn’t k
now you called. My phone got stolen last night at the club and I had to get a new one this morning.”
“That’s a bummer.”
“I know. I was just calling to see if you wanted to hang out today. A bunch of us are getting together in Central Park for a barbeque.”
“That sounds great, but I’m spending the day with Ethan. In fact, we just arrived at his parents’ house, so I’ll call you later.”
“Wait. What? You lost me at you were spending the day with Ethan. He called you?”
“Bye, Ian. We’ll talk later.”
After ending the call, I slipped my phone back inside my purse and lightly took hold of Ian’s arm as he guided me up to the house. It was a beautiful, warm and sunny day and perfect for a family get-together.
The minute we stepped inside the door, I heard footsteps coming from all directions.
“You made it!” a cheerful woman’s voice spoke.
“It’s about time, big brother.”
“Good to see you, son.”
“Everyone, I would like you to meet my friend, Aubrey Callahan. Aubrey, to the right of you is my sister Lila.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Lila.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Aubrey. Do you mind if I hug you? We’re a family of huggers.”
I gave her a smile and we lightly hugged.
“Standing in front of you is my mother, Nancy.”
“Aubrey, you’re gorgeous. Welcome to our home. It’s so good to meet you.” She hugged me tight.
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you as well.”
“And over to your left is my father, Joe.”
“Nice to meet you, Aubrey.” He hugged me.
“Nice to meet you too.”
Their home felt warm and inviting with a lemon scent that filtered in the air.
“Come on. Let’s go out on the patio and have some drinks,” Nancy spoke.
I placed my hand on Ethan’s arm as he led me outside.
“There’s a large step out the door,” he spoke.
I stepped down and he took me over to the patio table and pulled out a chair for me.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
“What can I get you to drink?” he asked.
“Whatever you’re having is fine.”
“I’m going to have a beer.”
“A beer sounds good.”
“Really? You drink beer?”
“Yeah. I drink beer.” I grinned.
“Two beers coming right up.”
When Ethan went off to get a couple of beers, Nancy reached over and grabbed my hand.
“You are the first girl Ethan has brought around since—”
“Mom, we aren’t supposed to talk about that,” Lila chimed in.
“Aren’t supposed to talk about what?” Ethan asked as he set the beer bottle down in front of me.
“The accident I had the other day with my car,” Lila spoke nervously.
“You were in an accident?” Ethan asked.
“Not really. I just backed up too far and hit the brick on the garage. I feel really stupid about it and I didn’t want it talked about.”
“You should. How the hell did you do that?” Ethan chuckled.
“Like I said, we aren’t supposed to talk about it, so drop it.”
I let out a light laugh.
“By the way, where’s Kenny?” Ethan asked.
“He’s on his way. Why? Do you miss him or something?”
“No. It’s just the two of you are like Siamese twins. It’s weird just seeing half of you.”
“Shut up, Ethan.” Lila laughed.
As I sat there and listened to the banter between him and his sister, my mind kept wandering to what his mom said about me being the first girl he had brought around “since.” But what really piqued my curiosity was that Lila said they weren’t supposed to talk about it. How long had it been? Two years? Three years? Was she the reason he said he never wanted a family? The more time I spent with him, the more questions I had. He was a very closed off man, that much I already knew, and I had a feeling that he wasn’t going to tell me anything about his past.
“Do you work, Aubrey?” Nancy asked.
“Yes. I teach English Literature over at Roosevelt High.”
“Wow. How wonderful. How long have you been teaching?”
“This is my second year.”
“That’s amazing. Good for you, honey.” She patted my hand. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some things prepped for dinner.”
“May I help with something?”
“No, honey. You’re a guest in our home. You just sit there and relax. There’s not much to do.”
The one thing people didn’t understand about the visually impaired was that we were capable of doing everything that those with sight could. I often wondered that when people told me just to sit and relax, if it was their way of not trusting me. That was the biggest obstacle in my life since I lost my sight. People believed that because I couldn’t see, I couldn’t do. It was their non-belief that fueled me to do everything I could and more to the best of my ability all these years.
“Ethan, come in the house with me. I got a new set of golf clubs the other day that I want to show you.”
“Sure, Dad. I’ll be back, Aubrey,” he spoke to me.
“Okay. I’ll be here.” I smiled.
“So, how did you and my brother meet?” Lila asked.
“We met at an art gallery where my best friend was having her first art exhibition. He asked me out and I told him no. Then he asked my friend, the artist, for my number. She refused to give it to him but told him where I go on Saturday mornings.”
“Where do you go?”
“I go to Shakespeare Garden in Central Park to read for a couple of hours. I was sitting there the next morning and he claimed he was taking a stroll.”
Lila let out a loud laugh. “My brother? Taking a stroll? You didn’t buy that, did you?”
“No.” I smiled. “I invited him over for dinner and we had a nice night. Then last night, we ran into each other again at his friend’s party.”
“And now you’re here meeting the family,” she spoke. “Interesting.”
“Interesting?”
“You’re the first girl we’ve met in nine years. You must be pretty special to him.”
“I don’t think so. We haven’t known each other that long. He didn’t want me to sit home alone all day since I’m staying with him until I can get back into my apartment. Are the two of you close?” I asked.
“We used to be. But he doesn’t come around much and hasn’t for years. Ever since Sophia, he’s changed and not in a good way.”
“Sophia?”
“Shit. Listen, you have to promise not to tell him that I told you. We aren’t allowed to talk about it and if he catches us, he’ll be so pissed off and who knows what he’ll do.”
“I promise I won’t. You can trust me.”
“Sophia was his girlfriend who passed away in a terrible accident. I’ve said too much already. Let’s go inside and see if my mom needs any help.”
“Sure. Okay.” I got up from my chair.
Finally, I knew a little more about him. A tragedy that struck his heart and a hurt so deep that it still affected him all these years later.
Chapter 17
Ethan
My parents and Lila liked Aubrey. In fact, I was pretty sure they fell in love with her the moment they met her. I knew they would and I knew this could cause a potential problem for me. The problem was that my mother wouldn’t leave me alone about her. Lila and Aubrey went outside while my mother asked me to stay back and help her for a moment. But I knew damn well she didn’t need help with anything.
“Aubrey is a very nice girl, Ethan.”
“Yes. She is.”
“It’s incredible to me that she’s a teacher. She’s a very strong woman.”
“Yes. She is.”
“She’s very sweet.”
“Yes.
She is,” I spoke because I knew exactly where this was going.
“So does this mean that the two of you will be spending a lot of time together?” she asked innocently.
“No. It does not. I already told you that Aubrey and I are friends and nothing more.”
“But you brought her home to us.”
“Because I didn’t want her staying at my house all alone. That’s the only reason, Mother.”
I walked over and clasped her shoulders.
“We’re just friends. Please don’t read any more into it.”
“Ethan—”
“Friends, Mother. Now drop it,” I spoke as I walked out to the patio.
I knew this would happen if I brought her here because my mother couldn’t understand that I wasn’t interested in any type of relationship, so I shut her down quickly. When I walked outside, I took a seat next to Aubrey. Not too long after, Kenny showed up and dinner was served. After we ate, Kenny, my dad, and I all shot some golf balls and bullshitted about life. Every time I glanced over at Aubrey, which I found myself doing more than I should have, she was laughing, smiling, and enjoying the conversations she was having with my mother and sister. A feeling stirred inside me that was getting harder to control. It was getting late, so I asked Aubrey if she was ready to go. After saying goodbye to my family, we climbed in the car and headed back to the city.
“I didn’t know your dad was a chief technology officer for a company on Wall Street,” she spoke.
“He was until he had a heart attack a few years ago and decided to retire. He said the stress and the demands of the job just weren’t worth it anymore.”
“You must get your technology smarts from him.” She smiled.
“I guess so.” I smiled back.
“How did you get to owning your own company at such a young age?”
“I’d always been a tech geek, so to speak. I always looked at technology and thought if I could make whatever it was I was interested in better, I would. I started web designing when I was fifteen, coding when I was sixteen, created and sold two video games to Nintendo and an app worth a lot of money to Apple by the time I was twenty. I did what any twenty-year-old would do after scoring his first few million and traveled for a while. When I was twenty-one, I started Klein Technology. I rented a space, hired some staff, and here I am nine years later.”