Page 97 of XX Love Affair
Christmas
The holidays in New York were everything Helena dreamed of when she looked at old postcards in antique shops or watched vintage movies from days long gone. A dusting of snow covered the ground, but it didn’t halt socializing and commerce like it did back in Olympia. Nor were people afraid to step out in their stylish Christmas coats, finely made mittens, and decadent scarves that wrapped three times around their faces. Helena was happy to match that festive look as she stepped out of the taxi in front of Eustace’s Manhattan home.
Delia wrapped her arm around Helena’s as they entered together, the doorman sending a greeting to deaf ears. They bypassed the front desk, where someone who was more than willing to take the holiday shift stared at a game of solitaire on their computer. The elevator operator said hello to Delia and complimented Helena’s outfit. The bag Delia carried, containing a Christmas present for her father and stepmother, crinkled against her leg as she and Helena took one corner of the elevator to let on other riders.
Helena wouldn’t let anyone know, but she was nervous to finally meet some of Delia’s family. It’s exciting, though, isn’t it? Christmas in Manhattan, complete with a view of Central Park, was the sort of thing adolescent dreams were made of. Helena wasn’t the type to openly admit it, but it was also wildly romantic. Every time she thought of it, she hid her girlish grin behind her sleeve and played it off as a soft cough.
She was about to mingle with a new crop of people who would, with any luck, take her seriously as Delia’s girlfriend. The news had been official since that past September, when Helena threw herself into freshman college life complete with a busy soccer season that ensured her scholarship. The season had been dull, lasting long enough for the school to make it to the playoffs but choking before the semifinals. Every time her teammates wanted to party or commiserate, Helena bowed out to focus on her homework and study groups. She had to not only stay on top of her academics to remain on the team, but she had to work around visiting Delia or being visited a couple of times a month. With so little time in their schedules during the soccer season, that sometimes amounted to spending a whole Sunday in a hotel room and nothing more.
Helena loved it, though. Sometimes, knowing that Delia’s visit was only a week away kept her going. And sometimes, they had enough time to go out on a proper date before one of them had to be back on a plane. For Thanksgiving, right after Helena’s soccer season ended, Delia came for the whole weekend with the promise that her girlfriend would go to New York for Christmas. Helena’s parents did not fight their only child wanting to spend Christmas elsewhere.
My first proper break since late August. She was happy to spend the next two weeks until the second semester simply being someone’s girlfriend and nothing more. Not to mention, the lack of a sport to play. Helena would have more time to relax at school when she wasn’t doing schoolwork. She forewent a proper job and instead teased Delia for sending her a stipend under the guise of sugar baby jibes. It was enough for her to afford some luxuries for her dorm and to have some spare change for going out with other girls in her classes. Because that was a thing Helena gradually warmed up to now that the world didn’t feel like such a stifling place.
Helena. Friends. What was the world coming to?
“They’re going to love you,” Delia reassured her girlfriend as they stepped into the penthouse hallway. “By that, I mean my father will adore you. I’ve been talking you up so much these past few months that pictures of you aren’t cutting it anymore. He’s all but demanded that he finally get to give you a hug.”
“A hug?”
“A hug. He’s a very touchy-feely man.”
Helena was treated to the full power of Eustace Benoist the moment they entered the penthouse, where the usual catering staff with silver platters and delectable finger foods offered them their body’s weight in cucumbers and tortes the moment they entered and removed their coats. Nobody cared that Helena was twenty and having a glass of Champagne. Least of all Eustace, who wore a red velvet suit with an emerald green tie and pocket protector.
Sure enough, he was a hugger.
“Look at this beautiful young woman!” His voice boomed across his home, where guests Helena might never see again looked at her with coddled curiosity. “Was there any doubt that my darling Delia has such stunning taste?”
Helena received his compliments – and a gentlemanly kiss to her hand – with grace. “Thank you. It’s lovely to meet you as well.”
The casual Christmas party was spread through the penthouse, where Helena had her choice of eating from a buffet alongside other guests or enjoying the crispy city view from the balcony. The main front bathroom was done up in tinsel and peppermint potpourri, while the tree in the living room sported vintage ornaments that Delia’s stepmother Emma claimed came from Italy and Germany, with a little Dutch influence as well.
“This comes from both Helena and me,” Delia told her father as she passed over the bag of gifts. “Something we both picked out together. One-of-a-kind goods from the Northwest.”
What she didn’t mention was that they were chosen almost a month ago, when they spent the last three days of Thanksgiving weekend on the Washington coast. Where we only made time to leave our cottage for the sole purpose of saying we did. Picking out Christmas presents from the local gift shops only gave an extra excuse. Helena was tasked with knowing what affluent New Englanders now living in New York would like from a humble Port Angeles shop.
“You girls shouldn’t have.” He kissed Delia on the cheek and offered Helena a smile. “I believe Emma knows where your gift is, Helena. She’s the one who picked it out. I’m afraid I’m absolute rubbish at knowing what a young lady would like. Ask my Delia here.”
“I dunno, you did a handsome job covering both my birthday and Christmas presents.”
“Yeah, well…” Eustace allowed his demeanor to cloud for a single second. “When my baby girl is in legal trouble, I can’t help but step in, no matter how much it costs.”
Helena knew that was directed at her as well. Ultimately, the agreement between Delia and her father wasn’t any of the girlfriend’s business, but Helena found a way to be grateful that Delia stayed out of jail when Irene inevitably pressed charges for that punch.
The Benoist legal team went up against the Feist squad, hashing out behind closed doors what kind of agreement would spring forth between the two coasts. Naturally, Irene was wronged and out for blood, but Delia wasn’t the type to go down whimpering.
In the end, Eustace paid off a lump sum to go away. Not that she was released from any responsibility whatsoever. Helena won a restraining order against both Irene and Josh, and the time to pay the legal piper arrived when Irene was once called in for an “interview” with the FBI field office in San Francisco. More evidence had been presented against her and Josh’s involvement in Candace Lister’s human trafficking ring, but Helena didn’t hold a lot of hope that they would see legal repercussions for being the dirtbags they were.
Not that it mattered. Whether Irene’s life was ruined or not played no part in Helena moving on and attempting to find a decent groove in her life.
No looking over her shoulder. No defending herself to the crowd of public opinion. And no parents breathing down her neck, making her feel shackled to the youth she’d rather leave behind as soon as possible.
Being comfortable in her skin was paramount for Helena to grow into a glowing woman, her therapist told her. Because that was a thing now. With Helena being in one place for more than a few weeks, Delia arranged therapy. Helena thought she’d hate every moment of it since her parents had forced her into it shortly after the Mr. Smith debacle, but Delia was better at picking out someone who would meet Helena where she was instead of pushing her toward an ideal that did not realistically exist. The thirty-something woman let Helena get things off her chest, including modern inconveniences in her life like school and soccer. There was no pressure to talk about things she didn’t want to, like Mr. Smith or Irene, and no push to take medications she wasn’t interested in yet. Maybe one day. Let’s see how this all goes.
Indeed, who knew where life would take her a year from now?
Helena found Emma in the guest room, her black sweater dress enunciating her eye-catching jawline and her dirty blond hair pulled back into a tight bun. They greeted each other with minimal fair as Emma realized why Helena was there. When she handed off a small parcel to be opened the next day, Helena realized that Delia’s stepmother had been staring at her.
“You know…” Emma placed her hands on her hips and smiled. “I’m not surprised that you’re still around. When I heard Delia was dating someone like you, I had a feeling it would stick. At least for a few years.”