THE ONE FOR BLAIR

CHAPTER FOUR

Blair woke up to her mother crying again. She stepped out of bed, wondering when it would all end. Ever since the loss of her sister, her mum had been crying nonstop. She wasn’t eating much either and she had closed down her cafe indefinitely. Blair was truly worried about her. Knocking at her door, she let herself in without waiting for her mum to respond.

“Mum, you’ve been crying for the past three weeks now, please. It's okay.”

“It’s never okay,” her mum said, wiping her tears.

“I know, but look at you,” Blair took a seat beside her, “You’ve lost so much weight Mum, I can’t bear to see you like this.”

Michelle sniffled. She knew her daughter was right, but it wasn’t easy losing a child.

“I eat though,” she said eventually.

“No you don’t. When was the last time you ate something that was an avocado?” Blair asked her mum, looking around at the few peels of avocado that were lying around the trash. It was so bad that she couldn’t even go to the trash to throw the peels away. Blair shook her head.

“Get up,” Bliar said as she started picking the dirt from the floor in an attempt to tidy up the room. Her parents had stopped sleeping in the same room ever since her sister's death, and it silently broke her heart. Her dad had moved into their guest room and Blair was so sure his room wasn’t as messy as this. Still, she couldn’t blame her mother. She loved Marie and they had a special connection.

Blair was more distant from her parents, and until now didn’t really know half of what was going on in the business.

“I have a work-out class today at eleven. Would you like to join me?” Blair asked her mum, who had gotten up, much to Blair’s satisfaction.

“I couldn’t possibly,” Michelle said, shaking her head while trying to fold some laundry that was stacked on her bedside. “You go and have a good time.”

“I will, but I need you to move your body, Mum. Get some sunlight, go outside. You have a garden, for goodness’ sake. Just do something to brighten up your face. You look so pale.”

Michelle nodded.

“And eat something. I’ll go down now and tell Jin to make you some breakfast. Wouldn’t you like some pancakes with your favorite syrup?”

Michelle’s face brightened up just a little bit, “I would. And you’re right, I'll tend to the crops outside too. They must be starving or dead by now.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to bring them back to life. I just need you out of here, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Good, I'll have to stop by Darlington’s shop for a dress. Jason has an event he’d like us to attend. It’s going to be our first event in the public eye and I need to look good,” Blair said.

Darlington was a friend of the family and a personal friend to Michelle as they had known each other for a very long while, even before she got married to Pete.

Michelle nodded, picking her phone from the bedside table, “I’ll give him a call and tell him you’re coming.”

“I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear from you. You two have a lot of catching up to do,” Blair said, smiling. She admired their friendship greatly. She also loved that her mum’s best friend was a fashion designer and creative. They contrasted each other but at the same time, were a perfect match.

Michelle smiled a sad smile. She knew her daughter just wanted her to feel better again, but it would take a while for that to happen. Regardless though, she welcomed the effort. “What event are you attending? Is it the charity gala sponsored by Elmwood?”

Blair nodded, “That’s the one.”

“Oh, I read about it in the papers today,” Michelle said, dialing Darlington’s number. “I’m sure he’ll have something perfect for you.”

“I hope so. Jason was quite specific in his text,” Blair said, rolling her eyes.

“Text? I thought you guys communicated through email.”

Blair chuckled, realizing how little her mum knew about the whole arrangement.

“We did, still do. Sometimes, though, we text. He says it’s easier and less formal.”

Her mum nodded, “I guess that would be easier for you, takes away some of the tension.”

Darlington picked up his phone immediately and Michelle got into a conversation with him about Blair coming in for a dress. He was pleased to hear from his friend and begged her to come to his shop as soon as she could. Michelle laughed for the first time in a while at his dramatics and told him she would pay him a visit when she could.

“See? Didn’t that feel good?” Blair asked.

“It did. Darlington is a clown. Anyway, he’ll be expecting you. I told him you’d be there around one this afternoon,” Michelle said to her daughter who was heading out the door.

“Alright. Thank you! I’ll tell Jin to bring you some breakfast,” Blair said before shutting the door behind her.

“What? A charity gala? How do you feel?” Martha asked her friend over the phone. Blair had just finished her session at the gym and was driving to Darlington’s boutique. She decided to call her best friend and fill her in on the news of the event coming up. The gym had helped clear her head, but for some reason her mind kept drifting towards the thought tht she would never see her sister again. She needed to talk to someone and Martha was just the person for that.

Blair laughed, “Surprisingly, I'm not too nervous. I just want to find the right dress. Men like Jason Lee are very picky people.”

“He seems like one. What kind of dress does he want you wearing?”

“Well, if I remember his text correctly, he said a elegant black dress. Or red, but he prefers black,” Blair said, recalling their very brief conversation some days ago.

“Okay, that shouldn't be hard to find, you have an amazing physique.”

Blair blushed. “I just hope the night goes smoothly. I don’t want any surprises or scares.”

“Like what?” Martha asked.

“I don’t know. I didn't really attend events with my dad, that was Marie’s thing. So I really don’t know.”

“Look, you’ll be fine. Granted, a lot of unforeseen circumstances occur at events like this, but that’s because they’re poorly planned. You’ll be fine,” Martha said in an attempt to comfort her friend.

Blair sighed and Martha could tell she was slightly worried.

“Nothing will go wrong. Aside from being a rich man with money, your husband to be is a ruthless scion of an empire,” Martha stated. “He won't let anything bad happen.”

“So, he’s a mean, rich man. How refreshing,” Blair said, rubbing her temples. She couldn’t believe this was her new life. She missed painting in her room and not having to worry about the family this much. She thought about Marie and wondered how she was able to pull it all off and still be there for her. Marie was gifted, that was the truth. Blair thought of how outspoken and open-minded her sister was and how she herself strived to be like her, but some people are just good at it. Better at it than others.

Blair was sure her sister would know just the right thing to say to all the prestigious men and women she would meet today. Blair, on the other hand, was struggling with names, trying to recall which Mr Peter not to shake, because apparently he didn't shake hands. She shook her head, begging the heavens that the gala night would go well.