The Night They Met

Sarah Haj-Hariri

The Night They Met

Isabelle twirled in front of her oversized mirror, admiring her sparkly, red dress and her long, curled, brown hair

“Isabelle! Come on! The car is going to turn into a pumpkin if you don’t hurry!”

Isabelle’s best friend, Maureen, was always in a dramatic rush. She did everything she could to save time and arrive early. For example, she had cut her blond, curly hair short just to save time. This annoyed Isabelle, who liked to take her time, and she hated to arrive early, especially for parties. Tonight, was a New Years Eve party at their friend Kelsey’s huge home in Westport. Isabelle glanced at the clock, and it was 8:50. The party started at 9:00, so they could arrive at 9:20.

They had to park far down Kelsey’s street, because there were already dozens of cars parked on the side of the road. Maureen was panicking.

“I think I’m going to hyperventilate Isabelle! You always make us late. OH, look at that new Ferrari! And that Bentley! Why are most of Kelsey’s friends so rich? After she inherited all that money, she became fast friends with all these millionaires.

“Shhhhhh! They might hear you!”

“Oh, right! I think this party will be over the top though!”

“I just cannot get over this mansion that she bought. I expect great things at this party! We need to find some men.”

Two men, wearing tuxedos stood at the end of Kelsey’s driveway.

“Ladies, welcome. We could have parked your car. We tried to signal to you.”

“We thought we needed a little walk. Thank you though,” said Maureen, completely embarrassed.

Isabelle marched up the steps slowly, because her heels were very high, and the steps were steep. There must have been twenty steps.

When Maureen and Isabelle entered the house, another man, dressed in a tuxedo, handed them each a glass of Champaign. Isabelle could see the ballroom at the end of the front hall and walked slowly so that she would not slip on the marble floor. The second she entered the ballroom, she saw him. He was staring at her from five feet away. He was handsome with beady, dark, laughing eyes, and they mesmerized her. She felt as if she knew him from somewhere, but she didn’t. She took a sip of her champagne, forgetting that it made her crazy, and he walked over to her.

He was debonair, on the short side, and his dark hair matched his eyes. He made her nervous, because she was attracted to him immediately. This never happened to her, as it was usual that men approached her, and she felt nothing. But this was different, her heart was racing.

Barton was not looking for a woman on this New Years Eve. He just wanted the year to end. A year in which his house burned down, but he had bought the mansion next door to Kelsey. Perhaps the fire had been a good thing now that he was approaching the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Should he ask her to dance first, or should he offer her more champagne?

“Hello, I am Barton Reeve,” he said with a big smile.

“I am um, um, um, am Isabella,” she stammered and smiled.

“How do you know Kelsey?”

“She was my next-door neighbor for years. She is a good friend. And you?

“It’s kind of a long story,” he shook his head and rolled his eyes. “She is my neighbor, but only because my house in Allen burned down.”

“What?” she asked, “What happened? I hope nobody was harmed.” She was feeling calmer now, and full of empathy.

“My housekeeper brought her son with her one day. He found a box of matches unfortunately. He is only three years old. He went down to the basement to play with them, figured out how to light them up, and was thrilled. Then he decided to see what would happen if he tried to hold them to a large box that I had some old coats stored in, and a fire started. It was slow initially, and then it spread to other boxes that had old papers in them, and it became out of control. He tried to throw cups of water on it, but the fire was still growing. He finally ran upstairs and hid behind a sofa. His mother was on the second floor and could not smell the smoke initially. But when she did, she found her son, and they ran out of the house. The neighbors called the fire department, but they took a long time. Tremendous flames had reached the first floor and damaged the structure of the house, and it caved in. So, here I am.”

“Sometimes good things come out of disasters though,” said Isabella. “I mean, I am terribly sorry about your house, but I am pleased to meet you. She glanced down at the floor, noticing his $5,000. Shoes. But she couldn’t have cared less if he was wearing flip flops.

“Shall we dance?” he asked.

She sensed a very strong chemistry as he placed one hand on her back and the other on her arm, twirling her around the dance floor. While dancing, she learned that he was a bowling champion, currently ranked third in the world. She debated lying to him so that he wouldn’t think her life was boring, but she told him the truth. She was a Nurse who worked in Neurosurgery their local hospital. He was fascinated.

“Imagine that! You are so brave!”

She loved his touch as they continued dancing, but her feet were beginning to hurt.

“Would you like another glass of champagne?’ he asked.

“Yes, I would love one, thank you.”

“Go grab that little table over there, and I will be right over.”

When he returned, he told her that there was a small bowling alley in the basement. She did not want to bowl in front of him, but she wanted to see him toss a couple of bowling balls. She told him this as they finished their drinks. Then, they descended to the bowling alley.

“The champ is here! The champ is here,” called out a man’s voice. Suddenly, everyone down there was asking him to bowl a few balls and give them some tips.

“No, no, its my night off everyone! What do you think Isabella? Should I, or should I not roll a couple of balls?”

“Maybe just a couple,” she said. But if it really is your night off, then just wait until another time.”

“Alright, someone get me a bowling ball!”

A man in a tuxedo handed him a bowling ball and handed her another glass of champagne. He wound up in a funny way by bending his knees low to the floor, barely taking the bowling ball back, and letting it go very slowly. The bowling ball was headed down the right side of the alley, and then the massive spin on it centered it, hit the front pin, and knocked all the pins down. Everyone raised their glasses and drank, including Isabella in her excitement.

Someone handed him a second bowling ball, and this time he used an entirely different style. It was smooth, fast, and did not have a spin. It went straight down the middle and knocked all the pins down. Isabella placed her glass on a table, he walked over to her, and she hugged him and kissed her cheek. He kept his arms around her and looked into her eyes.

“You are beautiful,” he exclaimed. I must get your phone number and program it into my phone right now before someone else steals you away.” As he was taking his phone out of his pocket, a fire alarm sounded loud and clear. “Oh, I normally wouldn’t get out of here, except now I take fire alarms seriously. Let’s meet outside. Please, you go first.

Isabella ran up the stairs, her thoughts racing. She could barely run because her feet still hurt, and she had been drinking too much Champaign. There must have been at least 100 other guests jammed in front of the front door, and a heavy smoke was filling up the house. Some of the men began to open windows and men and women were jumping out, allowing some to exit through the front door.

She couldn’t lose him without giving him her phone number, she thought to herself. What could she do? Was he making his way up the stairs yet? She thought about waiting, but the smoke was becoming thicker. So, she did the only thing that she could think of. When she got out the front door. In her haste, her cheap, right shoe fell off at the top of the cement stairs, but she kept running. She was sure that he would remember it, because he had told her how he admired her heels. She ran down to the street with the others and waited.

Then she saw him, running out the front door and gagging from smoke inhalation with dozens of other men and woman. To her horror, he tripped on her shoe, and as if in slow motion, fell all the way down the cement stairs. She began to run toward him with her arms outstretched, and a younger woman with long, blond hair cut her off, learned down, and started kissing him.

“Ladies, step back please,” shouted a fireman.

“I am his wife,” shouted the younger woman. “Please, help him.

Isabella could see that this woman was crying. Wife?

“We’ll get him into Neurosurgery and get x-rays right away maam.” And off they took him.

His wife turned to Isabella, gave her a mean look, and ran over to the house across the street.

The following day, Isabella had to go to work. What if she ran into Barton’s wife?

The briefed Isabella on the situation.

“There was nothing technically wrong with him, however he could not remember his name, his profession, his wife, his address, and everything. His wife told us that they live across the country and demanded to take him home. He continued to insist that he did not know her, but she managed to get a limosine and take him out of here. He was protesting. Oh, he left a note for you and asked that his wife not see it.”

“For me?”

“Yes, and he was adamant that you get it.”

She felt a heart stabbing pain as she read it.

Dearest Isabelle,

I do not remember anything except for your beauty and where you told me you work before my alleged fall. I don’t really remember my wife, but I have a notion that I was about to leave her. I have no choice but to leave with her now. I want to see you again someday.

Fondly, Barton Reeves

And that was it. They never found each other again, and she lived her life with desperation and despair for a long time. She drove by his old house the next day and saw a “For Sale” sign hanging. And she always remembered that New Years Eve, holding onto those brief moments of fun and excitement.