Sunset At Sarsen Stones (What Dreams Are Made Of)

Chapter 8

Before Chrissy knew, the day of party arrived and she got dressed to attend the party. Alice had helped her style her hair in a swiss role at the back of her head, thus enhancing her facial features. A pair of pearl earrings were her only accessories.

Chrissy was worried that her mother might be upset that she was going for a party on Saturday evening instead of being with them but Mrs Smith as well as Alice were quite happy that she was attending a grand party in the Regency Palace.

Her mother could see the change in her appearance since the time she had started working at the hotel and was glad she didn't look stressed like she had been looking for a couple of months before the change. Chrissy had not told her anything but she knew there was something that had worried her deeply and now it was no longer there. Mrs. Smith was happy for her daughter and wanted her to enjoy life like any other girl of her age.

Chrissy reached the large hall named Celebrations at the hotel. She entered the place nervously holding a clutch purse tightly in her hand. A number of people were already at the party and her eyes immediately searched for a familiar face.

Most of the men were dressed in suits and ladies in exquisite gowns. They were holding drinks and chatting merrily. Some of the people were looking at her and she was worried if she had chosen to dress correctly. She hoped she didn't do anything wrong to embarrass herself and others. She went inside the hall, looking for a quiet corner or seat where she could spend the next hour or so before leaving inconspicuously.

When Linda tapped her shoulder she jumped, almost bumping into a gentleman next to her. She expected him to scold her but he just smiled at her and moved on with a disturbing look on his face. And she was pulled away by a cheerful Linda who was looking great in her off shoulder dark pink gown with a high slit up her thigh. The gown was bit daring for Chrissy's taste but Linda carried it very well as she was used to attending similar business parties. Linda took her to the other end of the room where drinks were being served and got her an orange juice as she said no for alcohol.

She was drinking small sips from the glass when she experienced a strong uneasy feeling. On turning towards the source of uneasiness, she saw a woman staring her with disgust. She didn't recognize the woman and was wondering why she would subject her to such a look, when somebody called her out as Susan. The woman gave her another look of displeasure, then turned and walked towards the person swaying her body in a red backless dress exposing her entire back.

It was then she remembered about that day in Nikloi Swaroski's office long time back. He had kissed her to avoid a woman named Susan. Was she the same Susan Malkovish who had seen him kissing her? It was such a long time ago, some time she wondered whether that kiss actually happen between the two of them. He certainly didn't act as if he had kissed her. But the look on that woman confirmed it did. Why else would that woman look at her with so much hatred?

Remembering that kiss suddenly made her extremely uncomfortable. She felt claustrophobic in the crowd in the room and at the same time lonely. Something was missing but she didn't know what. She turned to Linda to tell her she wanted to leave but Linda brushed her dismissal aside and said she would introduce her to other people.

They joined a small group which had the same young couple who had purchased earlier from her shop. They were sweet to her and through her she met few more people who were interested in doing business with her. With talks around her known subject she started relaxing and to her surprise even enjoyed talking to these prospective clients. One of the men happen to be same man she had bumped into earlier in the evening. His name was Henry Clark and she found him staring at her every now and then. She was quite embarrassed by the attention but didn't know what to say.