The Christmas Dress by Courtney Cole

Author:Courtney Cole [Cole, Courtney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2021-10-26T00:00:00+00:00

I’m sorting through the research still, an hour later, when Ellie softly pads into the room. She looks up at the grand domed ceiling, and then spins around.

“This was known as the Crystal Ballroom back in the Parkview’s glory days,” Ellie says softly. “Because of those.” She points up at the four grand chandeliers hanging above us.

I look at them, at the many droplets of crystal, flowing from tiered stack to tiered stack.

“Those are original,” I say needlessly. Ellie nods.

“As are the mahogany walls,” she adds. The walls are wainscoted in mahogany, in elaborate carved wood, halfway up the wall. Royal blue satin wallpaper, faded now, rises to the high ceiling, until the heavily carved trim at the top meets it.

“If I might say so, this room is more than a conference room,” Ellie tells me. “You’re underutilizing it. It’s too large, for one thing.”

“Now you sound like Sylvie,” I tell her.

“Well, it’s true. This room was beautiful,” she tells me, and the way she says it, so tenderly, gives me pause. “The chandeliers were the perfect shade of warm white, flattering to everyone. There used to be a Christmas tree in here during this time of year; it must’ve been twenty feet tall, at least.” She points to the area where it stood, her eyes moist.

I stare at her.

“Ellie, did you see it back then?”

She blinks.

“This was where Francesca hosted the Christmas party,” she tells me quietly. “I was standing in the middle with Frankie, in front of everyone, when it all fell apart. I ran out those doors over there, while everyone watched.” She gestures to the side double doors, and my heart leaps into my throat.

“It happened here? At the Parkview? Why didn’t you tell me?” I manage to squeak.

“I don’t know.” She sighs. “I guess . . . it seems sad, really, if you think about it. I was humiliated here, had my heart broken here, yet here I am. Living here.”

“That’s not sad,” I tell her. “But why did you do it? Why did you return here, out of every place in the city?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know, to be honest. To feel close to him, maybe. I don’t know if he’s living or dead. All these years, I haven’t known. But to know that he did walk in this room on that night, it makes me feel like I’m with him almost.”

That is sad.

But I don’t say so.

I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’ll restore this to a ballroom,” I tell her. “You’re right. It’s too special to be a meeting room or conference center.”

She smiles beatifically. “Thank you, Meghan,” she says softly. “I’ll hunt for the wallpaper manufacturer, to see if I can still get this print.”

Ellie changed the subject so deftly, that I almost didn’t notice, and then when I do, I let it go. Because it’s clear she doesn’t want to talk about her long-ago romance any further.

“Thank you,” I say instead. “Surely we can have it replicated if they don’t have it.

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