Summer at the Lullaby

The toast of early summer

Theresa watched the glitter on the water, the beach glowing with the warm, enveloping lights of the party. The clear glass tumbler was a magnifying glass on that perfect world, she had ordered the service specifically to allow her guests to hold their glasses gracefully, which would not have hindered their amused flirting with the local boys. 

The intense scent of orange blossom contributed to her vague daze, her breath was missing as after a run: "Breathe Tess, breathe" she kept repeating to herself. She still felt warmth on her cheeks and neck, her heart pounding, her belly twitching with her emotion. That kiss had been unexpected. Always wanted and desired, because her lips had recognized it, there was no doubt, it was identical to what she received of her in her dreams, but it came at the worst time. "Definitely the wrong time."Neighbors, friends and local personalities had been preparing for weeks: Hackman's party was the event that marked the beginning of summer, the tourists would soon arrive and with them cocktails, business deals and handshakes, the work for anyone in Theresa's father's business to do. Bill Hackman was what the most elegant families considered a noveau riche, an adjective usually used with a derogatory term, but which here simply represented a fact: a restaurant boy who, with effort, commitment and a good dose of luck, had succeeded to build a small empire between the big hotel and a Parisian brasserie in what was once a good place only for fishing. 

Today that village boasted elegant villas, celebrities and spendthrift families on vacation. Bill Hackman had made everyone's fortune by becoming who he was. He was therefore well liked and esteemed, in this the courteous character of the man certainly helped. That's why nobody, absolutely nobody, would ever miss his traditional early summer party. He gently stroked the long string of pearls that adorned her thin, delicate neck. About her She was a girl with gentle manners and her grace exalted the beauty of her that her mother had given her. Luckily the woman had neglected to pass on to her daughter even that "sharp pain" of hers, as she called it, which had struck her after giving birth. An evil that after years of therapy had had as its only cure a long vacation in the north, precisely in New York, the city where she had fled from Paris just before the "things of the world" became unsustainable. A vacation that had lasted for five years.

Yet Dauphine Aubry, that was Mrs. Hackman's maiden name, never failed to send Theresa dresses and jewels of infinite beauty, wrapped in papers trimmed with gold and silver flecks, perfumed with sweet-leaved roses, like the clothes she had left in the wardrobe. 

"A pearl, a tear" Evelyn had ruled when that wonderful necklace had come out of the elegant black satin handbag.

 Unlike her closest and oldest friend, the sight of the jewel had instead brought back a happy memory for Theresa: Diego's dazzling smile, perfect white teeth that revealed themselves in a hopeful smile whenever they met in hotel, each with its own business ."Theresa...Theresa...Tess! I mean!"It was the voice of her father Bill to wake her from that pleasant torpor. It was necessary to compose oneself and not give an idea of what had happened on the stairs a few moments before.No one should have understood that, as she climbed the pale marble steps to check on the work in the kitchen, Tess had literally felt invaded by that scent of warm spices and sugary fruit that emanated from Diego's skin. That perfume that had taken possession of her and had stunned her senses for several months already. From the first day she saw him leave her father's office, she was proud to have landed the chef job at the Lullaby.

It had all been so fast.

Although she had tried, she could not remember how she had found herself in front of her young man, she only remembered being frightened and, risking losing her balance, she had involuntarily placed a hand on her chest. The well-defined shoulders, the strong arms from which she had dreamed too many nights of being held by them appeared so before her eyes, so close that she found herself noticing a small mole at the height of her neck... time to look up and those arms had wrapped around her body, gently pushing her against the wall, her lips had softly found their way to part in a perfect kiss. 

Tess had met other lips in her life, even before becoming officially engaged to William, but she had understood that she had never really been kissed, not before that moment.

"Tess then!"

"Coming Dad, Coming"

She looked up looking for a breath of wind that could reach her from the bay to refresh her and bring her back to reality.

"Here I am, good evening Mrs. Davon, happy to see you again Mr. Davon."

"Did you get my invitation to tea tomorrow dear?" 

She pronounced "tea" in English, pushing on her and in a really funny way. Mrs. Davon had the same gentle, mild eyes as William. Peaceful and transparent like the water of an Alpine lake, the kind you saw on postcards once sent by customers traveling around Europe. Beautiful eyes, yet expressionless and monotonous.

"Yes of course ma'am, Eve and I won't miss it"

Mrs. Davon raised her eyebrows. What news was this. Why call that slob Evelyn Campbell when it was clear that that meeting served to define some precise rules on Theresa's entry into the Davon house. The boys were to be married when William returned from military service at the end of the summer. That half European had to become a good American hostess. This was certainly not the occasion to chat about anything in the company of strangers.

"Lord, don't say anything else and swallow the pill," Tess begged. "Eve will come with me and we'll end up talking about nothing." Tess felt a sudden warmth go up to her neck, it always did when she was upset. Usually her ears turned red like a pepper and there was no way to get them back to normal. She touched her left earlobe to get an idea of the situation.

"Therese, dear, where is my, er, your ring?"

Tess twisted the back of her hand with a quick snap, holding out her fingers, her ring wasn't there. The engagement ring that for countless generations the Davons have passed from mother to son, and therefore from fiancée to fiancée, was missing from her hand.

Gone. Definitely fell on the stairs, also lost in a kiss.

"Tess sweetie! Here I'll give you your ring back otherwise everyone will think I'm engaged, and who marries me anymore, right Mrs. Davon? A brother could have done it to William, I would have gotten engaged and Tess would probably have played the ring at cards, right honey?"

Eve had arrived with a head of disheveled blond curls, her eyes laughing at her as if they were a child, after one of the usual pranks. She held the rose gold ring between her fingers, with a large amethyst and two small diamonds on either side of her, with her arm stretched in the air, as if it were a toy stolen from her little brother. She was beautiful. This thought every living and inanimate being present at the evening. As beautiful as crazy. At least according to Helbony's standards.

"Evelyn, do you realize? Tess! How could you pass my ring to a stranger." thundered Mrs. Davon. So those placid and banal eyes knew how to bring out a not indifferent grit. At least that was what many of those present thought.Tess sheepishly took the ring from her friend and quickly slipped it on her finger...wrong.

"Ring finger Tess, ring finger would definitely be better," Eve giggled.

It was clear that the friend had seen everything, or at least she had guessed. Therese nodded to William's parents and her father, took Evelyn under her arm, and literally fled the hall.