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Chapter 6 Nikolas was glad Emily was back for many reasons. For one, it promised to make his work at L&B a lot easier. Ned could start booking concerts again. And maybe Zander was gone for good, and Gia would be out of danger. He had no idea when Gia had become a concern but she had. Like right now. He really didn’t think he was prepared to take Gia to the Grille tonight. It was too risky. He knew better than to fight with her, though. If he kept saying no, she might even try swimming to shore. Windemere was eerily quiet as he walked into the foyer. “Gia…. You here?”…. No answer…. He walked into the den where he usually found her reading by the fire…. She wasn’t there. Something was, though. On his Uncle Stefan’s desk, there was a clothing bag and a note. “Put this on, huh…. Okay, let’s see what getup she’s got me in…” It was a very nice Armani tuxedo. Looking at it closer, he realized it was his Armani tuxedo that was supposed to be in his closet at the cottage… “What the…” “Master Nikolas?” Looking up, he saw Mrs. Landsburry standing in the doorway holding a tray of cookies. “Yes, Mrs. Landsburry?” “Miss Campbell requested that you wait here when you are through dressing. She will be along shortly…. And Master Nikolas? “Yes?” “Miss Campbell seemed quite excited…. I hope everything is all right…” “Yes, Mrs. Landsburry…it is as far as I know…” “That’s good to know. While you’re waiting, these are some cookies which are quite good…” “Even if you do say so yourself, huh…” “Oh I didn’t make them, sir…. Miss Campbell did.” “Gia…she baked?” “Yes, sir. I believe she called them snickerdoodles. “ “Thank you, Mrs. Landsburry.” Mrs. Landsburry was right. The cookies were good. He ate 6 of them before he remembered he was supposed to be getting dressed. The tuxedo probably meant he was going to be spending a lot of money on Gia tonight. That was no big surprise. He was sitting by the fire reading the Russian novel Gia was working her way through. He never understood why anyone read in that room…the light was terrible. He guessed that reading by firelight probably did have its charms but he was sure that had been the reason that his Uncle had been forced to wear glasses occasionally. “You ready…? He wasn’t prepared for what he saw when he turned around…. Gia was standing there, leaning against the door frame with her legs crossed, in a red dress that sloped gently off her shoulders, and was slit high on the side. She wore stiletto heels with black straps and a silver necklace with a single ruby stone. Her hair was up with the exception of a single braid, and her lips were crimson. She twirled a small red purse… “Nikolas?” “What…oh…yeah…I’m ready…” “Looking sharp, there, Prince.” “Gia, is there something you’re not telling me?” “Other than we’re late for our reservation at the Grille, no…” “I mean the tuxedo, the dress…is it your birthday or something? Some special occasion?” “No, I just think if you’re going to do something you should do it right…” “How’d you get all this stuff, though without going into town…you didn’t go into town, did you?” “No, Nikolas, I didn’t. I made a list of what I needed and Mrs. Landsburry got it for me. I think she did a great job picking out a dress for me, don’t you think…” Nikolas thought that was an understatement… “Yeah, she did…So…. You ready to go?” “Let’s do it…” The meal at the Grille passed without incident. Gia ordered coco vin, and sent back the wine twice because it was the incorrect choice for the meal. Nikolas was surprised. She was right in every choice she made about the meal. He tried to steer her back to the launch to Windemere after the meal. She didn’t go for it. “What, you think I forgot?” “Forgot what?” “You’re taking me dancing, mister.” “Dancing? How are you going to dance in those shoes?” “You let me worry about that. You just be prepared to keep up. Now let’s get in that Jag and I’ll tell you where to go.” “Dressed like this?” “Nikolas….” “Okay, Okay…. Let’s go.” They headed into an area of town that Nikolas didn’t frequent, and he felt silly relying on Gia for directions. “Stop here…” “Here?” “Yeah, here…let’s go…” This was definitely not what he expected. There was no one here remotely like him. He felt so out of place. Especially in the tuxedo. People came up and said hello to Gia like they’d known her all their lives and they all seemed to like her. “Gia…what is this place…?” “What’s it look like…it’s a rest home.” “And why are we at a rest home?” “Because you said you knew all the old dances, right?” He couldn’t help but smile… “Yeah”…. “And you don’t see many cops busting senior citizen dances, do you…?” “No, can’t say that I’ve heard of that.” “Wait here.” Gia walked up to the bandleader who was wearing glasses so thick it was hard to believe he could see through them. She whispered in his ear and kissed him lightly on the cheek. Nikolas looked around the room and discovered he wasn't the only one out of place. A man in a dark suit stood next to the wall talking on a cell phone. He looked up and saw that Nikolas had seen him, and began to walk out the door. Nikolas tried to look over the crowd to see him better when he saw Gia returning. She was smiling when she came back to him…walking very slowly, looking down at the floor. “Gia, what did you….” He stopped talking when she looked up at him out of the corner of her eye. He could hear the first notes of “The Very Thought of You”. “Shut up and dance, rich boy…”
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