White Chocolate Moments Read online

  "This is what I'm talking about:' Sam spoke patiently into Arcineh's upturned face, remembering his breakfast with Quinn that morning and determined to gain Arcineh's cooperation on this. "Getting along at this moment means taking Quinn with you:'

  "She doesn't even know my friends," Arcineh replied, managing to stay calm. "I don't think she'll even want to go:'

  "But we're going to ask her, and if she wants to, it's a done deal:'

  Somehow Arcineh knew she would not win this one. Sam had made up his mind that she was the problem, and Arcineh was still holding to her vow to never compete with Quinn. However, where her friends were concerned, she knew that boundary lines were needed.

  She waited patiently while Sam asked Quinn if she wanted to go to the mall with Arcineh and her friends, and to Arcineh's surprise, her cousin said yes. Arcineh stayed calm in the face of all of this, but while she and Quinn walked out to Hillary's waiting car, Arcineh made herself heard.

  "I put up with enough with Grandpa when you're here, Quinn, but I draw the line at my friends:'

  "I don't know what you mean," Quinn made the mistake of saying.

  Arcineh stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked her cousin in the eyes. Quinn had a hard time meeting Arcineh's gaze.

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  "We both know exactly what I mean. No games and no lies tonight. If you even attempt it, I'll humiliate you so badly in front of my friends you'll never want to show your face in Chicago again:'

  For once all arrogance and defensiveness drained away from Quinn. She nodded in sincerity and climbed in the back when one of the guys jumped out to let her in.

  Arcineh made the introductions, and Quinn, rising to the occasion, blended right in. In fact, they had a marvelous time. They shopped in the pre-Christmas throngs and then went to a restaurant for huge slices of cheesecake.

  For the whole evening, Arcineh had the old Quinn back. She was fun and bright and looked happy. Jordan, one of the guys along, seemed quite taken with her. And Arcineh could see why. She'd bleached her hair since the last time they'd seen each other, and it looked good. In Arcineh's opinion, her makeup was too dramatic, but somehow it suited her. Quinn even thanked Arcineh as they climbed the steps back to the house.

  "It was fun:' Arcineh said. "I'm glad you came:'

  "Jordan is sure cute:'

  "Yes, and he couldn't take his eyes off you:'

  "Does he have a girlfriend?"

  "No. Did he ask for your number?"

  "He started to and then remembered that I would be here:' "Did he invite you for the day after Christmas?"

  "He did:"

  The girls were at the door now, but Quinn stopped Arcineh with a hand to her sleeve.

  "Are you all right with that?"

  "Sure," Arcineh said, wanting to add that Quinn would have to remember what she expected, but she left that alone.

  The two slipped inside and found everyone in the family room. They joined them and talked about their evening. Arcineh didn't miss

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  the fact that her grandfather looked extremely pleased. She was glad for him but still wished there was a way to make him understand.

  "What time today?" Sam asked of Arcineh concerning her dance performance.

  "Two o'clock at the studio, and then we'll go to the community center"

  "All right. Make sure Geneva doesn't schedule anything big for you next week. I want you to go with me to Paris:'

  "Why?" Arcineh asked, her voice telling him she thought she was in trouble again.

  "It's almost April, and I've not seen much of you since Christmas. I want you to go:'

  "You could stay home more she muttered, and got the look. Arcineh lowered her eyes, knowing she'd been out of line.

  "Plan on the trip:' Sam was done being kind. "I thought you'd appreciate a bit of notice, but evidently not:'

  "Why am I going exactly? More languages?"

  "I hadn't thought of that:' Sam said, hiding his hurt that she didn't want to go. "But it's a fine idea. I'll make the arrangements:'

  Arcineh didn't reply. She was just rebellious enough not to admit that she'd enjoyed learning Italian and was still working on it in her mind. She didn't think leaving next week would be that much of an issue, but something inside of her didn't feel like going.

  Sam didn't check with her again. Her performance went well that afternoon, but she felt a bit off-step and was glad she was in the back row.

  And then on Tuesday, just as he'd said they would, they flew to Paris. Arcineh sat in a hotel room for three days with a French teacher who was nowhere near as congenial as Sarafina had been,

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  but she did learn some French and found she liked it almost as much as Italian.

  Sam was even busier than he had been in Rome, but he made up for it at the end of their trip by allowing Arcineh to shop. She did her level best to buy everything Paris had to offer, and Sam teased her all the way home about not taking her again, saying he just couldn't afford it.

  Arcineh took the teasing in stride and enjoyed the attention when she arrived back at school and every girl she knew had something to say about her new clothes. When Sam got home that evening, Arcineh actually remembered to thank him for the trip and the shopping.

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  Chapter Eight

  "Are you busy?" Arcineh asked of Sam on Mother's Day 1995. "No, why?"

  "Can we go to the cemetery?"

  Not in the three years since Isabella's death had Arcineh requested such a thing. The years had somehow flown by. Arcineh was halfway to her fifteenth birthday, and Sam could not have said where the time had gone. For a moment he looked into eyes that reminded him so much of his son that he ached to see them.

  "Grandpa?" Arcineh questioned softly, not calling him Sam this time.

  "Yes," he said simply, drawing his mind back. "Right now?"

  "I just need to grab a jacket:' Arcineh began to turn away and then stopped. "And can we make a stop on the way home?"

  "Where?"

  "I want to get flowers for Vi:'

  "She would like that:'

  "I should have done that last year. I thought of it but didn't" Sam nodded.

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  "OW' Arcineh stopped, remembering something more. "I spent my allowance on a purse, so I'll need to borrow some money" "Your entire allowance on one purse?" Sam clarified.

  "And some shoes."

  Sam stared at his granddaughter, knowing he'd created this monster but still not willing to live with her.

  "We'll go to the cemetery," he said, his voice holding no rebuke. "And we'll get Violet whatever you like, but sometime very soon we'll visit the subject of your spending:"

  Arcineh had known he would say this and did not argue. All she wanted to do right now was get to the cemetery. For the first time in her life it was important, and yet she was scared. She just wanted to go before she could change her mind.

  "Did you order this?" Arcineh asked as she looked at the large ornate headstone that held her parents' names. Dark gray marble with a beautifully etched picture of a river and trees, and then their names in lovely script with the dates they were born and died. Between them rested a heart, their wedding date carved inside.

  Arcineh touched it all very gently, not noticing that her grandfather hadn't answered. Sam was so choked up at the sight of this, remembering the day they'd been buried, that he thought his throat would burst.

  Not until Arcineh turned to him with swimming eyes did he feel as if he could openly cry. He broke down, hugging Arcineh close when she came to him, both of them awash with fresh grief.

  Arcineh didn't know why she had wanted to come. It hadn't helped at all. Mother's Day had not meant anything to her the last few years, and she wished she hadn't tried to change that.

  "I want to go:' she sobbed. "I just want to get flowers for Violet and hug her."

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  Sam did not argue. The lovely lawn and spring flowers that bloomed all around were lost on
Sam Bryant. This was a place of death. A place of hopelessness and of no return. He sincerely wished that Arcineh would never want to come again.

  "Sam," Arcineh said in the car after nearly an hour. Traffic was awful, and it had taken a long time for Arcineh to stop crying. "Yeah?"

  "What happened to Grandma Bryant?"

  "She left:' he said simply.

  "Why?"

  "A lot of reasons, I suppose, but mostly because I worked all the time and she was alone

  "But what about my dad and Aunt Tiffany?"

  "Your grandmother wanted a new life. She couldn't do that with two children."

  Arcineh looked over at her grandfather's profile. He was still a handsome man. He never seemed lonely, but Arcineh now wondered.

  "I have no idea where she is," Sam went on thoughtfully. "I couldn't even tell her about Trevor's death:'

  This never occurred to Arcineh's young heart. She felt cold with the thought that someone she loved could die and she wouldn't even know.

  "Are you all right?" Sam asked.

  "I think so. Are we almost there?"

  "Yes, there's a place that will have just what you want."

  And he was right. Even on Sunday, Arcineh found a beautiful bouquet for Violet. That lady was surprised speechless when Arcineh walked into the kitchen with it. Arcineh didn't care. Violet's loving arms around her were all the thanks she wanted.

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  "Starting the second week of your summer, you're going to come to my office three days a week and work:'

  Arcineh was so stunned by Sam's words that she couldn't say a thing.

  "You'll be filing, typing, and anything else Carlee wants you to do. You'll be quiet, and work hard, and I'll pay you well:'

  "Why?" Arcineh finally managed.

  "You've got too much time on your hands during the summer, and you need to understand that money doesn't grow on trees:'

  "I was going to keep working on my Italian and French:' she argued. She had gone overseas twice more with him in the last year, and her languages improved each time.

  "You can't do both?"

  "What kind of summer is that?"

  "The kind you're going to have:'

  And that, Arcineh learned, was the end of that. She had one week off to do as she pleased, but on Monday morning, June 12, feeling as though she was still asleep, she climbed into her grandfather's Bentley and went with him to start her first day of work.

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  Sam watched the male interns waiting to get on the elevator and had enough heart for them to feel sorry. They knew he was standing nearby, but not looking at Arcineh was nearly killing them. And she was worth a second glance. She didn't go overboard with her makeup or wear the high heels that she loved, but her hair, face, and clothing always looked together. And she was beautiful, all biases aside.

  Sam had not considered her effect on the office when he suggested that she work with him. At times it amused him, and at other times he felt concern. For the first few weeks, he kept a very close watch

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  on Arcineh, but she seemed preoccupied with doing her job. This pleased Sam--it pleased him very much--but it was a curiosity to him as well.

  He was under the impression that most young ladies were looking to hook a man, or at least practice their flirting skills, but Arcineh didn't seem to fit his mold. She would deliver packages or files to some of the best-looking men in his office and not seem to give them a second glance.

  Arcineh, on the other hand, affected them very much. Sam had been forced to turn a laugh into a cough when one of the newer men poured coffee on his pants simply because Arcineh walked by the break room.

  The elevator arrived, and Sam pulled his mind back to the business at hand--not just the marble business, but also the one of keeping an eye on Arcineh.

  Arcineh loved Carlee. She was bright and fun and she treated Arcineh like an adult. She included her for breaks and lunch, and when Arcie got to work with Carlee, the time flew.

  "I've got some advice for you:' Carlee said when August was half over.

  "What is it?"

  "If you ever go searching outside of this office for work, you'll have to remember some things if you want to get hired for the right reason."

  Hanging on every word, Arcineh listened carefully.

  "You're a very beautiful girl, which means if you dress as nicely as you do, in clothing that accentuates that, some men may hire you so they can look at you or try to get away with something.

  "At the same time:' Carlee went on, "many women won't hire someone who looks like you because they'll see you as competition!'

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  "Is that all true?" Arcineh asked, finding it hard to believe.

  "Yes. The best secretaries and office workers blend into the background. Sometimes it's the safest way."

  Arcineh looked into Carlee's large blue eyes and saw that she didn't have a bit of makeup on. Arcineh realized at the moment that more than one time that summer she had wished Carlee would do a little more with herself. Suddenly she knew this was just the way Carlee wanted it.

  "What if you meet a man and you want to catch his attention?" Arcineh asked.

  Carlee smiled, thinking this one was much too bright for her own good.

  "You're 15, Arcie." The secretary's voice was gentle. "I'm not about to tell you that. If by 20 you don't have it figured out, come back and see me."

  Arcineh smiled at her. "You promise?"

  "Yes, but I don't think it's a promise I'm going to have to keep:'

  Arcineh didn't press Carlee, but her own question stayed on her mind for a long time that evening. Indeed she fell asleep still thinking about it.

  Sam took Arcineh to her first day of tenth grade, hoping that he'd done the right thing. He'd decided he could fit in one more trip to Paris before Labor Day, and Arcineh had asked to go along. Sam was so pleased by her willingness, he didn't see what followed next. She hit every shop she could find, including a hairdresser who taught Arcineh how to straighten her naturally wavy hair. The look was stunningly different, and even Sam had not been able to stop staring at her.

  "Do me a favor," Sam said when she moved to get out of the car. "Let them down easy:'

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  "Let who down easy?"

  "The boys who ask you out:"

  "Sam:' she said with a smile, "I've been going to school with these guys for years. There's no one new."

  "Only you."

  Their eyes met, and Arcineh saw what he meant.

  "Lean over here so I can kiss you:' Sam told her. Arcineh added a hug to the kiss Sam put on her cheek and then slipped from the car. She thought a few people might look at her hair and new clothes, but all but dismissed what her grandfather had said. Arcineh swiftly learned she'd been naive. Nothing could have prepared her for what the next few days would bring.

  "It makes me so angry, Vi. What am I supposed to do about it?" "Go over it with me one more time Violet requested. "Slowly this time."

  "Okay, it's like this. Brody Hammel came back for his junior year looking amazing--tan, skin cleared up, tall, and muscular." "Okay."

  "Both Hillary and Daisy have mad crushes on him, but he asked me out."

  "And they're both mad at you?"

  "Exactly:'

  "What did you say?"

  "About what?"

  "To him when he asked you out?"

  "I said no! I don't want all my friends mad at me."

  Violet looked at her lovely familiar face and wished there was a

  way for the girls to know that their friendships with each other were

  important. It was a sad fact that most boys came and went. "Did you want to say yes?" Violet asked next.

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  Arcineh frowned. She hadn't even thought about it.

  "I don't know. I've known Brody for a long time, and all we've ever been is friends. I don't think he really wanted to ask me out--I think he just thought we'd look good together:'

  "
How do you know that?"

  "Oh, something Bryn said. Maybe she doesn't know, but it sounded like something that might happen. The boys at school can be so shallow:'

  "How much do you wish you had a boyfriend?" Violet asked. "A little bit. Usually I don't feel I have time for one:'

  Violet couldn't argue with that. Arcineh's summer had been full and had gone by very swiftly. The school year would be even worse.

  "So what will you do?" Violet asked in her wonderfully practical way.

  "For the moment, be glad it's Friday:'

  Arcineh grabbed an apple from the always-available fruit bowl and left the kitchen. Not many minutes passed before Violet heard the beat of music.

  "Be glad it's Friday and get a little dancing in too:' the housekeeper said to herself, continuing her work on dinner and wondering what the rest of the school year would bring.

  Quinn had not planned on fighting with Arcineh. In fact, the last few times they'd been together, she had been fairly content, but when the family visited in October for Arcineh's fifteenth birthday, Quinn took one look at her cousin and thought she might actually hate her.

  She didn't care that Arcineh's parents were dead; Quinn wished hers were dead all too often. All Quinn could see was the perfect person Arcie was--smart and beautiful, with all the money any girl could want.

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  Quinn found it easy to forget that Arcineh had worked all summer and hadn't complained. She knew her cousin got good grades but never believed she had to work for them.

  Quinn's tortured thoughts set the entire weekend on edge. Even Sam noticed her quietness, thought she might be struggling with her self-image again, and decided not to give Arcineh her gift until the family had left after the weekend.

  However, this drove Quinn and Austin crazy, and in turn, they nearly drove Arcineh out of her mind.

  "Just tell me Austin said for the fifth time on Saturday morning. "Are you deaf, Austin?" Arcineh asked. "I don't have it yet. If I knew what I was getting, I'd tell you:'

  Austin clearly didn't believe her, and Arcineh had had enough. "You only want to know so you can taunt Quinn. You're so pathetic, Austin."

  Austin turned and left, his face showing how angry he was and also how close Arcineh had come to the mark.