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35. marble floors and sunbursts

A/N when I say present day down in this chapter I mean the present day in the time of the fiction, hopefully it doesn't confused anyone. Hope you enjoy this chapter x

New York, 2 years ago.

The day was cold and the leaves were turned, blowing in the wind like a shower of gold. James Riley felt excited and afraid. He had come from Charlottetown in Canada to New York for the first time on a steamer. The sight of the shining towers and buildings reaching for the cold blue sky took his breath away. He could never have dreamed structures so grand and tall and it was almost impossible to imagine real people building them.

James had work on the docks arranged to begin that week but his first day was free to find a room to rent and get used to the city. He quickly immersed himself in the bustling markets and the churning bubble of the inner city. There was so many sights to see, so many new foods and smells and cultures and rules. He had never been somewhere so big, so complicated and busy.

It was at the end of his first day in New York when he saw her... She was a blissful picture of caramel skin and coal-black curls, her pale blue dress dancing in the wind as she hung off the tailor-shop balcony surveying the market. Her smile was a ray of sunshine on the crisp autumn day. James froze gazing at the girl and time seemed to slow. He'd never seen anyone like her before and nobody so beautiful.

James felt a rush of excitement in his heart. He needed to know her, he felt it was of paramount importance. Her sparkling hazel eyes found his by some miracle and she smiled a dimpled, freckled smile which shone a type of light into his life that he'd never known. The precious moment was torn from him as the crowds swept him up and when he regained control of himself and looked back she had gone inside.

James chanced to meet her the next day after his long and gruelling first day of work. He returned to the same place where he saw her, in the middle of a busy street in front of the tailor's shop. The wonderful girl came out with a sign to place in the window. She stopped when she saw James and recognition danced in her eyes. He said nothing, no words coming to him as she approached.

"You need a new coat to match his new city. I can tell you're from out of town just by looking at you." She said. James grinned. "You're far too handsome to wear such shabby clothes, come in."

That night he went home with a beautiful dark blue coat and he left behind his heart.

Her name was Jasmine Grace Lorella and she was the daughter of a very rich tailor named Mason Lorella. James quickly saw that Jasmine Grace was a joy to everyone who knew her. She was smart, savvy and sweet and she had his heart from the first time they met. James discovered that Jasmine was born out of wedlock and had a black mother so she had experienced hatred and ignorance so she solemnly vowed to treat everyone with kindness.

James met Jasmine every night after they both finished work for two weeks, treasuring nights of laughter and stolen glances by the beautiful docks, watching ships and people and winding through the small markets, with Jasmine teaching James about New York. They learnt a great deal about each other and the more they learnt the more deeper they fell. After only a month they were head over heels in love.

It was after three months when he finally met her family, invited over to dinner. Jasmine's step-mother was disproving and keen to put Jasmine down at every opportunity. Her father Mason was strict and he'd worked hard to reach the top. He knew his only child marrying a poor man would not help raise his station in the slightest. Mr Lorella told Jasmine that she could not marry James as he had no money and no prospects.