Midnight Excursions (Nanowrimo 2016)

Chapter One

                  

Derrick Grenier briskly walked down E 23rd street, glancing down on his watch. It was a quarter after seven. He was already late. He hoped to God that he was finally in the right place and cursed his sister, Darcy, for her terrible directions. He had just spent a good half an hour lost on the west side of the island, looking for the brownstone townhouse he had only seen in pictures.

He hadn't seen Darcy since she had moved to the city to be with her now-husband, John McKane. They had been seeing each other for five years then. The two had met in Saskatoon while John was on vacation. For a while, the family thought nothing of it. Darcy wasn't one for long-term relationships, not to mention, long-distance relationships. His sister has always thought them pointless. 

The whole Grenier clan was quite surprised when John had shown up to their Christmas party three years after the two had met. It was the first time Darcy had ever brought home anyone. Although even then, Darcy was vehemently against moving just for a relationship. She was hyper-focused with her career, she insisted, quickly becoming one of Saskatoon's leading surgeons.

Derrick had to give his new brother-in-law all the credit though. John never did give up on Darcy and somehow he had managed to convince her to marry him and move to New York all in the space of two weeks. It was a feat that finally got their father's blessing. Now, over a year later, Derrick will be seeing his sister for the first time and she was quite susceptible to kill him.

He should have just asked John for the address. Although Darcy had indeed agreed in moving to New York, Derrick had unfortunately forgotten how stubborn his older sister could be. Darcy remained adamantly against learning the directions to anywhere. It was her silent protest to having left Saskatoon. Of course, there was no doubt how much she loved John. It was just that she loved Saskatoon quite a lot too.

            Finally, Derrick crossed the street. He had reached a row of brownstones and climbed the steps of the third one. There were pots of daisies on the windowsill. A doormat that had the words, "Welcome to Saskatoon," written on it made Derrick laugh. Darcy certainly isn't quite ready to let the moving part go yet.

He rang the bell, peeking through the side windows inside. The foyer screamed Darcy with every bit of furniture touched by the Victorian antique design that Darcy raged over so much. He recognized the six thousand dollar beautifully restored chandelier that hung in the middle of the foyer from her old Saskatoon apartment. The chandelier highlighted the staircase that boast of handcrafted banisters.

A mahogany end table stood against the wall with a large wooden bowl that held what looked like several keys. All the guests must already be inside. Derrick cursed. Darcy's definitely going to have his head. Maybe New York wasn't such a great idea after all.

His eyes trailed to the end of the hall. There, a woman stood in what he assumed was the living room. She was of average stature with long dark hair. Her limbs were slim but, even under the covers of her knitted sweater, there was the form of the taut muscles of a well-disciplined athlete.

            She must be one of John's clients, Derrick thought. He did remember Darcy saying that some of John's clients will be attending the dinner party as well. Darcy had thought it would be good to get Derrick acquainted with some of New York's local athletic community.

John was a hotshot sports agent in New York and well-dominating the east coast side of the industry. It was one of the reasons why John just couldn't move to Saskatoon himself. His business wasn't as flexible to move since most of his clients were based in New York sports teams.

Derrick studied the woman. He didn't think he recognized her from anywhere.

He rang the bell again, wondering if they had heard it the first time. He glanced down on his watch again. It was now twenty minutes past seven. Darcy was going to have his head for dinner. She had yet another obsession in punctuality.