While Doug and Lily laughed at the unbelievable
articles, Andy turned to her mother again and demanded to know what she thought she was going to accomplish. Miranda watched
the exchange with narrowed eyes, prepared to leap to Andréa’s defense should the need arise.
“I don’t understand why you’re
taking her side!” said Mrs. Sachs when Andy had finished.
“Taking her side? What the hell is that supposed
to mean? There aren’t sides in this. You were dead wrong to talk to the press like that.”
“Why was I wrong? She treated you like dirt
under her feet for the entire time you worked for her and now you’re defending her? I was standing up for you!”
Andy was so furious with her mother she thought
her head might explode.
“I don’t need you standing up for me!
I don’t want you standing up for me! I don’t need anybody to do anything
to or about or because of Miranda! Miranda means the world to me: get used to that fact. Whatever happened in the past is
in the past. The future is all I’m thinking of and Miranda and the twins are going to be a big part of my future. That’s something else you need to wrap your heads around.”
Andy’s mom opened her mouth to reply but was
stopped by her husband’s hand on her arm. He looked at his daughter for a long moment before he spoke.
“Honey, are you trying to tell us something?”
“I’m not trying at all. I’m telling
you. Miranda and the twins are going to be in my life. They’re going to be around at holidays and vacations and birthdays
and every other kind of special days and ordinary days in my life. Those grandkids you keep pestering me about? You’ve
got ‘em; they’re ten years old and twins. They spent the afternoon here with me. I wouldn’t be counting
on a son-in-law, though. Looks like it’s Miranda and me. Is that clear enough?”
“But, honey, you’ve never… I mean,
you’ve always been with men, haven’t you? Isn’t this kind of sudden? What happened that brought this on?”
“I can’t explain, Dad. I just know that
the whole time I was working at Runway
it was growing inside me. I think I finally had to leave there so that I could find Miranda on my own terms. And no, I’ve
never been with a woman before. Neither has she. But we’re sure about this. It’s not some phase I’m going
through. It’s not something I’m going to grow out of. You’d better get used to that idea.”
“But…but…she’s our age!” sputtered Andy’s mom.
“I know. Isn’t that great? Don’t
ask me to explain it. I can’t. I just know that when I’m with her I’m happier than I’ve ever been.
And I love the twins. Simple as that.”
Andy’s father looked at Miranda as Andy grabbed
her hand and just stared for a long minute. Finally, to his dismay, he asked the clichéd question fathers have been asking
of prospective suitors since time immemorial.
“What are your intentions toward my daughter?”
Miranda was hard-pressed not to laugh aloud; only
the seriousness of his expression kept her from it.
“Mr. Sachs, I am…”
“I think under the circumstances you’d
better call me Richard,” he interrupted.
“Very well, Richard; I am not in the habit of explaining myself to anyone. It’s been years since I’ve needed to.
But because Andréa is every bit as precious to me as my daughters I will make an exception in this case. I will do anything,
spend any amount of money, utilize any influence to keep her safe and make her happy; just as I would for my daughters. You
will have to take the rest on faith, just as Andréa and I are doing.” She looked impassively at the Sachses.
Finally, Andy’s father spoke again. “Well,
you’ve certainly given us a lot to think about. But give us a little credit here. Anybody would need some time to come
to grips with something this big. Give us tonight to get a handle on this. We can talk again tomorrow. That’s not unreasonable,
is it?”
“No, Dad, it’s not. That may be the
best idea I’ve heard all evening. It will give everybody a chance to calm down and act like grownups.” It seemed
that everyone else in the room felt the same way and shortly goodbyes were being said and coats donned. Andy’s parents
paid close attention to the brief kiss Miranda and Andy shared as they said goodbye. Richard thought later that it didn’t
seem as untoward as he had thought it might; both Andy and Miranda were very comfortable with each other and, if he was being
completely honest with himself, he had never seen that loving look on his daughter’s face before.
* * * * *
The next morning, as the Sachses brought fresh bagels
and schmears to the hospital, Doug and a Whitehall team headed to Andy’s apartment to pick up some clothes while Roy
drove Miranda and the twins to Dalton. The girls hugged Miranda goodbye in the car and extracted solemn promises not to be
late to final tryouts that afternoon before entering the school building with their escorts. Once they were safely inside,
Roy and Miranda left for the Elias-Clarke building.
The outer office was bustling with activity when
Miranda stepped off the elevator. To her surprise, all of the staffers gathered
around her assistants’ desks asked after Caroline and Cassidy and seemed sincerely happy they were safe. Several even
asked after Andréa, and it was several minutes before Miranda found herself settled behind her desk as usual. Her morning
coffee was waiting and the first scalding sip of her latte sent a wave of warmth and contentment through her. The girls were
back in school, she was back at work and Andréa would be coming home tomorrow. The nightmare of the past forty-eight hours
seemed to be fading. Setting her Starbuck’s cup down she turned her attention to the messages on her desk.
Emily came in after a few minutes to verify the
twins’ evaluation meeting with the trauma counselor. After agreeing to a time, Miranda thought for a moment and asked
Emily to arrange for Andréa to be included in the preliminary meeting. She had been shot and nearly killed during the kidnapping
attempt; it was a safe bet she would have some issues to deal with as just as the girls would. Once the appointment was confirmed,
Miranda sat down with Nigel and Emily and sketched out her plans for clothing Andréa that afternoon. Both agreed with her
ideas and set out to make sure everything would be ready on time.
The rest of the morning was spent in catching up
with department heads and a half hour with Nigel and Emily coordinating London Fashion Week plans and meetings. They ordered
in lunch and ate their salads during an editorial staff meeting while they locked down the next issue and laid the framework
for the one after that. By 12:45 pm, Miranda had finished her call sheets, met with every department and tended to the editorial
tasks of the magazine. She headed to her private bathroom to change for tryouts with a clear conscience as Emily put together
the items on her final list and checked over the clothing for Andréa.
The twins had begged Miranda to dress casually ‘like
all the other parents do’, but jeans and hikers were most definitely not her style. Instead, she opted for classic black
Donna Karan slacks and turtleneck with Prada’s version of insulated wellies and a bright Hermès scarf for a splash of
color. Her outerwear was a fur-lined Burberry pea coat and matching fur-lined gloves. To complete her ‘Dalton Lacrosse
Parent’ ensemble, she carried a large Coach tote with everything a good lacrosse Mom should have: a red Burberry umbrella,
stocking caps and mittens for the twins in case it got colder during practice, a bottle of ibuprofen and a large thermos of
Starbuck’s peppermint hot cocoa to warm everyone up when they’d finished practice.
As their boss dressed, Emily and Nigel went over
the clothing that had been delivered and altered for Andréa. Once satisfied with the garments, they quickly folded them and
packed them in another large tote for Miranda to take to the hospital. When Miranda emerged from the bathroom, Nigel caught
his breath and had the temerity to whistle.
“Miranda, I think we need to do a spread about
Manhattan Sports Moms and include you. You look terrific!”
“Thank you, Nigel; I just hope my daughters
think so too. They pleaded with me to dress casually like the other parents, although God knows what the other Dalton parents
would consider casual. I only hope they won’t start demanding I dress in Dalton school colors for their games. At any
rate, we’ll lend a bit of style to this afternoon’s festivities. Is everything I asked for ready?”
“Yep, we just checked it all over again. Once
I had the pieces down in the Fashion department it occurred to me that the closures ought to be offset somewhat so I had them
move the Velcro on the turtleneck. The closures will be on different parts of Andy’s arm now.”
“Good thought, Nigel. Thank you. I should
have thought of that myself. Did that Columbia parka arrive?”
“Yes; it’s a little bulky so I ran it
down to the car and Roy stowed it in the back seat. It’s waiting for you.”
“And the color?”
“A Himalayan 3-in-1 in brick and grey. The
size is correct as well.”
“Thank you, Emily. I realize it probably wasn’t
easy to locate one on such short notice. I’ll leave my cell phone on during practice, but once we go back to the house
I’m shutting it down until we finish dinner. When I get Andréa settled back at the hospital I’ll turn it back
on and check for messages. I don’t believe anything will go down in flames this afternoon, but if it does, I trust you
two to deal with it. Hopefully, I’ll speak with you tomorrow, no sooner.” Picking up the bag of clothing for Andréa,
she wished them a pleasant evening and headed for the elevators.
Meanwhile, the mood in Andy’s hospital room
was considerably lighter than it had been the night before. Being able to spend the morning with their daughter and talking
honestly with her about what they had discovered the night before had given the Sachses a chance to accept the idea of Andy
and Miranda as a couple. Andy told them how hard the twins had worked at their lacrosse and Doug had added his take on the
relationship as well. Between the two of them Andy’s parents, while not wildly enthusiastic, were at least beginning
to accept the facts and willing to meet Miranda and the twins halfway. Andy figured that was the best she could hope for at
that moment. Time would make everything easier. For everyone.
Doug was watching her closely and noted that she
started to get nervous as the clock neared 1:30 pm. Doug knew from Andy’s many war stories of Runway that Miranda was always early and as the time ticked down to
the appointed hour Andy seemed to fidget more and more. Finally, at 1:23 PM, Miranda walked in the door carrying her two totes
and Andy’s new parka.
“Good afternoon, everyone. Did you have a
good morning?”
Andy’s face broke into a glowing grin as Miranda
slipped out of her jacket and began to unpack the tote of clothing for her. To Andy’s surprise, her mother moved to
Miranda’s side and offered help. Miranda pulled out articles of clothing and showed her how the Fashion Department had
altered them for Andréa’s use. Barbara Sachs was impressed. Coupled with the jeans and hikers Doug had brought from
Andy’s place that morning it appeared they had her completely outfitted.
Realizing that Barbara Sachs would want to help
her daughter and feeling a touch uncomfortable with that level of intimacy so early, Miranda handed her the underclothes and
ushered Richard and Douglas out into the hallway. They chatted for a few minutes before Miranda stuck her head back in the
room and asked how things were going.
Laughing, Andy told her “I think we can use
another pair of hands!”
Barbara Sachs had gotten Andy into her underclothes
and socks and had the jeans gathered around her feet and ankles. She and Miranda pulled them up and got Andy settled with
the jeans unzipped and while Barbara dealt with the hiking boots, Miranda brought over the items Runway had done up for Andy. She held a navy turtleneck from Dolce
and Gabbana and a classic blue oxford cloth button-down collar shirt by Ralph Lauren. Both were in men’s sizes to provide
some extra room and arm length to accommodate the surgical dressings. The Fashion department had slit the entire left side
of the garments up from the tails to the armpit and then down the arm. They had then finished the cuts and stitched in Velcro
closures along the entire length of the new hems. The resulting garments could be slipped on easily over Andy’s injured
shoulder and closed around her left arm without moving the shoulder joint.
Barbara and Miranda had Andy fully dressed in short
order and then it was simply a matter of tucking in the shirts and zipping her jeans. Miranda called Richard and Doug back
into the room and the group began to gather coats. Miranda discovered a cashmere scarf for Andy that Nigel had included in
the bag with the fur lined gloves. She draped it around Andréa’s neck with a small smile and a twinkle in her eye. If
her fingers lingered over her lover’s neck and upper chest a few moments longer than was strictly proper no one appeared
to notice. Andréa’s answering smile was reward enough. She bundled Andy into her parka, zipped it up and she and Barbara
refastened the shoulder immobilizer. As a final touch, Miranda had brought a knit Kangol beret to keep the shorn part of her
skull warm. To everyone’s amusement, Andy demurred and opted to wear her Northwestern Lacrosse ball cap instead. It
was but a moment’s work to pad her stitches and pull her ponytail through the back of the cap and her head was covered.
Andy’s father cleared his throat and asked,
“Do you think you’ll be finished with dinner and back here in time for us to see you again tonight?”
Andy hesitated. “I… I’m not sure
what the plans are, Dad. I could call you later…”
Miranda never did know what prompted her to cut
in. “If you don’t have plans for the afternoon, why don’t you join us? And we’d be delighted to have
you join us for dinner of course.”
The initial look of surprise on Richard’s
face was quickly replaced with one of gratitude. “You’re sure it won’t bother your daughters? These tryouts
are important and we wouldn’t want to make them nervous or anything.”
Miranda’s laughter swirled lyrically with
Andy’s. “I assure you, Richard, being shy around strangers is something my daughters have never been accused of.
Please join us.”
Richard and Barbara’s smiles soothed any remaining
qualms Miranda may have had and the group headed downstairs for the cars. On the way, Miranda suggested to Doug that he call
Lily and invite her for dinner as well. He whipped out his cell phone and extended the invitation before the elevator arrived
to take them to the ground floor. Lily eagerly agreed and got directions to the townhouse.
It took a couple of moments to sort out the car
arrangements but in short order their small convoy pulled out of the hospital loading dock and headed for Central Park. Miranda
kept watching Andréa for any signs of post-traumatic stress, but she seemed only excited to watch the twins as they pulled
into the 97th Street Traverse and turned right to the North Meadow fields.
Miranda was relieved to see that Dalton had taken
some security measures because of Wednesday’s events. Several mounted Park Police were visible immediately around the
lacrosse field and a half dozen uniformed security guards patrolled the parking areas. The Priestly security contingent piled
out of their SUVs and spread out as Miranda, Andy, Doug, Richard and Barbara climbed out and headed for the practice field.
As they emerged from the cars, a largish group of paparazzi began snapping pictures and shouting questions from where the
police had them barricaded across the street. This time, Andy’s parents took their cue from Miranda and ignored the
shouting and lights from cameras.
As they approached the field, Andy searched the
field until she found the twins and pointed them out to her mother. The moment she did, the girls caught sight of their rooting
section and began grinning and waving wildly. Their Whitehall guards had pulled a bench up close to the edge of the field
for Andy to sit on. Cara was already there and rose as the others arrived. Richard and Doug made sure the women were seated
then took up flanking positions behind the bench as the players spread out on the field and began their warm-ups.
As soon as the preliminary calisthenics had begun,
several of the Dalton parents came over to their bench and introduced themselves, expressing their relief that Caroline and
Cassidy seemed unharmed from the ordeal and that Andy appeared on the mend as well. Everyone who gathered around had been
deeply frightened by the events and Andy’s presence seemed to help ease their fears. One of the parents informed Miranda
that Dalton had taken the precaution of having security present at all extracurricular activities for the remainder of the
school year. The parents supported the decision, but despaired of the necessity for it. Miranda explained as much as she could
that it appeared the kidnapping was an isolated incident and would most likely not be repeated. That too appeared to calm
the uneasy parents.
Andy cleared her throat loudly and remarked loudly
that practice was beginning. Her pointed comment caused most of the people standing around them to laugh. ‘She’s
a coach all right!’ was the general consensus as the group expressed final congratulations on the safe recovery of Caroline
and Andy’s safety and broke up to watch practice. Caroline and Cassidy waved enthusiastically again as they jogged past
the bench which caused Andy to grumble to no one in particular.
“They should be focused on practice, not us!”
Miranda looked at her in amusement and Barbara leaned
across her daughter to comment, “She’s always taken sports very seriously.”
“I’ll be sure to remember that,”
replied Miranda with a smile.
Practice continued and halfway through Andy had
enough of inactivity. She rose and taking her father and Doug with her moved to the sidelines where she had a better view
of the drills the team was working on. Barbara was surprised when Miranda asked her a question about what was going on and
she answered as a veteran of years of after-school lacrosse practices. They discussed the game in general and Barbara had
to smile when Miranda asked her the most common question of every sports mother.
“Do you every get over being terrified they’ll
get hurt?”
“Nope. You’re going to have to learn
to deal with it. Because it doesn’t get any easier. I nearly had a heart attack during the national championship game
when Andy took a charge from a Virginia defenseman and it knocked her back six feet. She jumped back up and blood was dripping
off her chin. She’d caught the basket right in the face and split her lip wide open. She never missed a step, just kept
spitting the blood out up and down the field.”
Miranda gave her a wry smile. “So I can expect
her to be sympathetic if one of the girls gets hurt?”
“Not a chance. You’re on your own, Miranda.
Andy will tell them to suck it up.”
“I was afraid of that.” Even Cara laughed
at her resigned tone.
