Mirror Mirror

Chapter 1

Sarah Gillard looked at her reflection in the mirror, running a comb through her still damp hair.  She had been blessed with beautiful features, an oval face, a narrow chin, straight nose and high cheekbones, and her slim body looked great in just about anything.   She had a mop of bright red hair, falling in wisps until just below her shoulders. Tying her hair into a neat ponytail, she glanced down at the newspaper on the desk. Her emerald eyes sparkled as she caught sight of an item advertised in an auction.  Not taking her eyes off the page, she reached for her phone and dialed. 

 An hour later, Stephen was waiting outside.  Leaning against his little yellow convertible, he flashed Sarah a cheerful grin when he saw her.  She’d called and told him to hurry over, which he did, albeit a little late, knowing full well that Sarah hated not having her own way.  He was tall and well-built, with midnight hair and coal black eyes.  He didn’t care in the least what anybody thought of him, with this stunning woman at his side, or the rusty yellow convertible idling noisily on the quiet street.

They had been friends since junior high, and they shared a special bond that nobody could understand.  Everyone thought it was a case of oil and water where they were concerned, but their friendship worked anyway.  She was a wildcard while he was level headed and calm, but he was the only one who never questioned her behavior or tried to control her, and she welcomed it.  She was a victim of circumstances, like himself-and he had accepted her for who she really was. 

Stephen had been raised as an only child by his widowed mother.  His father, Edward Anderson, had died in a boating accident when Stephen was eight.  They had lost everything after that day. Stephen had learned early on in his life to do without most things rather than add to the already heavy load his mother carried.  She worked two jobs to make ends meet, but still found the time to give him all the love he needed, and then some. 

Sarah on the other hand had everything laid out for her on a silver platter.  As a substitute for love, she never had to ask twice for anything.  Both her parents had refused to compromise their careers to raise their two children, only to take one of them with, to an early grave. Sarah was fifteen at the time, and was sent to live with her only known relative, Aunt Ruth.  She was a miserable old woman who refused to die and fought hard till the very end, eventually losing to cancer.  That left Sarah alone, at eighteen, in an up-market two bed-roomed town house, and more money than she could spend in two lifetimes. 

Sarah climbed into the front seat of the car, and swung her long legs up and inside in one swift motion, rolling her eyes at Stephen.  He had long since gotten used to her expressions, and knew exactly what that look had meant.  

He smiled as he shut the door for her, then slipped on his sunglasses, hopped in, and in one easy movement, pulled away from the curb.

The sun was shining again after three solid days of rain.  Everything looked alive and fresh.  Sarah draped a silk scarf over her head to keep her hair intact and turned to Stephen.  She tried to look angry, but didn’t quite make it.  “You did that on purpose.  You’re late, and you have the top off.”

He couldn’t suppress the grin.  “Come on, it’s a beautiful day.  Enjoy it, and while you’re doing that, you can tell me where we’re going.” 

“An auction.”  She pulled out a slip of paper from her purse.  “I came across it in an ad earlier and it starts at noon.  You can see I’m all dressed up, can’t you?”  He glanced at her and shrugged.  She was wearing an expensive, knee length, turquoise silk dress with silver heels and a slim silver necklace.  She dressed like that every day. . . But curiosity got the better of him.  “Show me the way.”

As he followed the directions Sarah gave him, she filled him in on all the details that he was waiting to hear.  

There was one piece in particular that she was after.  It was a seventeenth century handcrafted item, and one that she just had to have. 

She told him all she had read, including that the piece was very valuable, and that she was prepared to pay anything for it.  This, Stephen had to see, for nothing had ever caught her attention like this had.