Make a Wish
Make a Wish: Chapter 1
Prologue
9th august
2000…
As
Jade watched the sea of screaming faces she had but one thought - Cathy had
ignored her wishes yet again. Over the crowd that was now singing “Happy Birthday”, all Jade could think about was the home-cooked meal she’d wanted
with her closest friends, which Cathy had promised to provide. She hadn’t
wanted to make such a big fuss about her birthday. Especially not right now. She
had found out, the last in the world, that her boyfriend of 4 years, Jason, hadn't been exactly faithful to her. No one had been able to face her with the news and the
one time that Cathy, her best friend, had tried to imply it, she’d thought it was because of the
enmity that had always existed between the two. She had found out for herself
eventually. A surprise visit to his University dorm room along with their
mutual friend, Brad, had left her scarred and heartbroken.
That
was 2 months ago.
She
was still hurting and wanted her solitude. But still she smiled and laughed with
the people who had gathered to celebrate her birthday. She even had something
of a good time. Ryan, Cathy’s longtime boyfriend, came out with the birthday cake. It was shaped like
a giant cupcake with sugar frosting and candles. Jade didn’t have to count the
candles to know that there were 21 of them.
“Blow out the candles, Cher. Make a wish!”
Cathy called.
Jade
stared into the flames, thought ‘why the hell not?’ and blew out the candles.
Chapter one
5 years later…
They
were standing on the steps in front of the Institute of Advanced Science and
Technology while Jade tried to explain what the bioengineering of the human genome
and its probably outcomes could mean for the future of medicine.
Jason
and Brad looked at the small figure standing in front of them. She had been
determined to get them interested in whatever lecture she had just come out of
and of course she had been unsuccessful.
“Makes
no sense whatsoever. If the human genome carries all the important information
you say it does, why should we let anyone mess around with it?”
Jade
wanted to hit her head against a wall. Repeatedly.
Retired,
she sighed. “You both are hopeless. I give up. Let’s go, I have to get there
before she flips out on me.”
They
were about to leave when somebody bumped into Brad. He looked at the person and
recognition flared. They shook hands and exchanged pleasantries while Jade
watched. The man was a bit taller than Brad but it looked good on him. He had
an attractive smile, brown eyes and hair that just about needed the barbershop.
Brad made the introductions.
Jade
stuck out her hand, “Jade. Nice to meet you”. She had missed what his name was but he seemed to have thought as much because he said. “Drake. Pleasure’s all
mine.” He shook hands with Jason too. He
turned back to Brad to ask what he was doing here and Brad explained Jade’s insane obsession with biology.
“It
isn’t insane. It’s Science, it’s the future! The seminar was awesome. The woman is a genius. Her theory on vector transfer is
absolutely brilliant. Dr. Arundel is just… wow!” For lack of the appropriate
word, Jade slipped into a language she was more comfortable speaking. “Elle est incroyable!”
“Incredible,
huh? That’s one I’ll be sure to tell her.”
Jade
paused and watched him. “You speak French? And wait tell her?”
“Yes,
I do. Let me rephrase that, I have to.” When she looked puzzled he explained. “International
relations. I speak 6 languages. German-in-training.” At her slight nod he
continued, “She’s my mother.”
The look was back again. Drake had to admit that he liked when she
had that expression on. She looked, in her own words, “incroyable”.
“Your
mother? You are so lucky. The woman is a legend after all.” Then she said the
most unexpected thing. “Can she adopt me?”
He
had no response to that. She helped him, “As an honorary daughter of course. We
could discuss theories at breakfast and conquer the world by supper.”
He
laughed then and Jade felt herself flush. She’d been babbling.
“Yeah, I bet
you would.” he said. “I’m actually here to pick her up so I better go in. Will
you still be here when I get out?”
That was when
Jade noticed that Brad was looking at them both with amusement while Jason was
a little away, on the phone. She had forgotten both men were there. She was
about to answer when a fleet on V12 race-cars sped by.
“Woo hoo, those
are my show cars!!” She said, just as he whistled cheerfully.
He turned to
her then and it was her turn to explain, “I’m going for a car show and those
cars have the Madison’s logo on them. They’re part of the show.”
“Yeah? Sounds
exciting. I’m a car enthusiast. Where is the show?”
“At the
Nine’s.” She had a thought. “What are you doing Thursday night?”
“Nothing.”
“Well, I know
the person in charge of the show and I can RSVP you if you want.”
He looked like
she’d offered him gold. “Please and thank you.”
“Your mama raised
you well.” She smiled, took out her phone and dialed Jeanne Louise.
She picked up
on the first ring.
“Jade”. She
was in a mood. This could be bad.
“Jeannie
darling. How are you? And the preparations? Great, I hope. I don’t mean to keep
you, just wanted to RSVP for the show with a plus one.”
There was
utter silence on the other line.
“Jeanne
Louise?”
A string of
French curses flew from the earpiece. “You do not RSVP with a plus one at the
last minute. There’s so much to do, to prepare. You know better. I am not paid
nearly enough for this…” More French curses.
Jade put her
hand over the phone and said to Drake, “She’s thinking about it… Fingers
crossed.”
But she could
tell from the amused look on his face that he had heard ever word. She listened
to hear Jeanne Louise ask who the ‘plus one’ was.
“A friend of
mine. I don’t think you know him though.”
“Him?”
“Yeah” but
Jade knew where this was headed. “I’ll get you his number if you want.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah!”
“Okay fine.
But you’ll have to talk to Johnny. He’s doing the seat allocation and we had a
bit of a... misunderstanding earlier so he might not listen to me.”
“Misunderstanding?”
Jade could just bet that there had been French and Polish curses alike involved
in this ‘misunderstanding’.
“Yeah. Call
him on Skype though. You know how he gets when he starts working. He probably
has no idea where his phone is.”
“Okay, thanks
again Jeanne Louise.” She hung up.
Jason was done
as well and had rejoined them.
“I’m sorry
about that guys but I’m going to have to make another call.” She turned to
Drake.
“Anyway you’re
in. And don’t worry about Jeanne Louise. She’s harmless! She’s actually smaller
than I am.”
He mumbled
something about those being the ones to watch out for and Brad burst out
laughing. But said aloud, “Thank you.”
Jade nodded as
she got her laptop out of her bag and turned it on. Drake watched as she made
the call. Everything about her was graceful and petite. Even her laptop, which
he was sure he could hide in his two palms. Without turning from her task she
asked, “Speak any Polish?”
“No.”
“Shame!”
It took longer
than a ring but Johnny finally picked up.
“Hey, hey
girlfriend! How are you doing?”
Jade smiled.
Knowing Jason and Brad were probably moving away at this very moment. Johnny
was homosexual... and very eccentric. And that seemed to scare them both. She
remembered a time when Jason had told her that he hadn’t wanted her to be
friends with Johnny anymore. It’s a good thing she hadn’t listened. Look at
where they were now.
“Hallo
beautiful! Ooh I love the haircut. Very you.”
“Oh! This
scruffy thing?” Another thing, Johnny was as humble as they came... sometimes.
“You should see what I have planned for the show.”
“Really? Fab!
Talking about the show I have a plus one and I was told to contact you.” She
didn’t mention Jeanne Louise’s name, it would put her in the middle of their
lifelong rivalry.
“A plus one?
Ooh! You’ve been holding out on me, tell me more. Who is he? What does he look
like?”
Jade knew that
they wouldn’t move on if she didn’t answer so she sent Drake an apologetic look
and went on, “His name is Drake. He’s very good-looking. Speaks 6 languages but
regrettably no Polish.” Then added thoughtfully. “He looks like a cross between
Paul Walker and Apollo.”
“That good? Oh
honey! You always did know how to pick ‘em. Well, except...”
Jade knew who exactly Johnny was about to mention so she quickly deflected.
“Thank you so
much Johnny! We’re kind of in a hurry right now but I will call you as soon I
can.”
“You’re with
him, aren’t you?” He made an excited sound. “Okay, okay, call me. Make sure you
do. My love to the hybrid! Kisses!”
“Kisses!” She
called out too as she hung up.
“Paul Walker
and Apollo?” This from Jason. He gave Drake the once over.
“Yeah, don’t
you think so too?” She winked at Brad then turning to Drake she said, “Well that’s
that.”
Cutting off
his ‘thank you’ she continued, “So Thursday, 9th August, 8pm at the
Nine’s. Okay?”
“Yes of
course.” He paused. “Can I have your number... and why don’t I pick you so
we’ll go together? I am your plus one after all and it’s the least I can do
after you got me into the show.” He said
it with laughter in his voice and eyes. Jade hesitated then said, “Sure. I’ll
send you my address but here’s my contact.” She called out the numbers and
turned to the other guys. “Can we leave now? I promise you Mama will have my
neck if I’m any later than I already am.”
Drake,
“Speaking of mothers...” and waved them goodbye as he jogged up the remaining
steps. Jade watched him till he reached the top and smiled as she turned to
follow the guys to the car park. Jason hadn’t missed a thing. He slowed down
until she caught up and asked, “9th August.. That’s your birthday.”
“Thanks for
pointing out the obvious. Why?”
“I just
thought you’d have other things to do that night.”
“I’m almost 25
years old. Celebrating my birthday now just reminds me of how close to 30 I
am.”
“I’m glad
you’re going to be out that night and sorry about not making the show. I really
wanted to go. Blame the old man.” This from Brad.
Jason, “You
knew about it?”
“Yeah, of
course.” It was true. Brad loved cars as much as Jade. They’d planned to see
the show together but then his father had asked him to fly over. He was leaving
the next day.
“How come I
didn’t know then? I wasn’t asked.”
“You never
showed any interest,” Jade answered. “So I didn’t see the point.”
Brad and Jade
had maintained their friendship over the years. Unfortunately that meant that
she had to see more of Jason as well - one of the curses of having mutual
friends with your ex. But they worked around it and after a while, both she and
Jason had had to learn to accommodate each other.
Not much was
said on the drive home. They dropped her off and she went in to face the music
that was her mother.
**
Dr Rachael
Arundel didn’t normally eavesdrop on conversations. But she’d heard this person
practically singing everything she’d just said word for word, adding a few more
really good points. She’d had to see who it was. Outside her window were two
young men and from the sound of it, a very exasperated girl who went on to
discuss possibilities using her hands in demonstration. Dr Arundel was impressed
and she didn’t impress easy. She’d watched too as her son had joined the party.
Tall, like his father, he’d towered over the girl in question. Jade, she’d
said. She was a pretty little thing with brains too from all indications.
After Jade had
made the taking-over-the-world-by-supper joke, Rachael had decided that she
liked the girl. And if Drake hadn’t asked for her number, she would have called
out to him to do so. But apparently the boy knew a good thing too because he
did. She watched him come up the stairs, saw as Jade stopped to watch him and
Drake, as he smiled behind her back. Rachael smiled as well. Things were about
to get interesting. She took her coffee cup back to her chair just as Drake
came in. With a grin, she noted.
“Mother.”
“Good day?”
She asked.
“Yes, I guess.”
He answered as he quickly moved to the window to watch the car park. Drake
searched until he found what he was looking for. For a moment though he
couldn’t believe it. Then he burst out laughing. He didn’t know what had
happened but Jade was hitting Jason with her bag. The same bag that was filled
with encyclopedia sized books and her laptop.
“Something
amusing going on out there?” Rachael moved as if to get up but Drake held her
back.
“Nothing
mother... It’s just a good day as you said.”
“Hmm... I bet
it is.”
“By the way, I
met a big fan of yours outside. She seemed fascinated by your work.” He was
leaning on the wall now with his ankles crossed. “She asked if you would adopt
her as an honorary child.”
Rachael picked
up her coat and bag as she pretended to consider it. “Well, of course I would.”
She couldn’t help but tease him. He was hers after all. “We could discuss
theories at breakfast and conquer the world by supper.” She added, waited for
his stunned expression before walking out the door, laughing.
**
Duchessa
Eleonora Ricardo-LeGrande was not a very patient woman. And right now, she was
almost at her limit.
“Quit
fidgeting dear. She should be here shortly”. The duchess turned to her mother,
who was sitting on the opposite settee, her legs crossed at the ankle, tilted
slightly to the right. The dowager duchess was the epitome of elegance and
grace. Even at 74, the woman could control everyone with a flick of her
fingers. Nora watched her mother’s face, so like hers and wished she could ease
her frustration out on her. Next to her mother was her younger sister, Bella,
who for the life of her looked like she was having the time of her life.
As if on cue,
Jade burst into the room. “I’m sorry.
Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry. I got held up and it took longer than I thought.”
“Jade Chérie
LeGrande.” Yeah, Jade thought, she was in trouble.
“Do you have
any idea how long you’ve kept us waiting? I thought you would know better.”
“I know I’m
late but it couldn’t be helped.”
“I told you
about this meeting weeks ago. If you were more responsible you would have made
plans to prevent these kinds of inconveniences.”
“Yes, of
course it’s my fault that my car picked today to act up. And I did tell you then
that I had a seminar I couldn’t miss today. Not exactly my fault that you don’t
listen.”
“I don’t listen??” Nora replied with
indignation. “You’ve made a habit of this. You are always late. Just like with
the Henderson event, isn’t that right, Bella?”
“I’d like to
stay out of this one.” Bella said.
“The best
thing I did was move out of here.”
“Enough, all
of you.” She’d barely raised her voice but that was all the room needed to go
silent. Donatella Ricardo could calm a storm if she chose. Now though she
focused on her daughter and granddaughter.
“Jade dear,
come give your Nonna a kiss and have some tea.” Jade kissed her gran and took
the empty seat beside her.
“Hey Zia!” She
grinned at her aunt.
Nora took the
minute to calm down.
“Now…” She
said. “Can we get started?”
At everyone’s
nod, she continued.
“I had Rafe
take Jacques out of town today so we could discuss his 50th birthday
plans. I have booked the Queen Victoria for the 27th of November as
arranged. I must reiterate that this must remain a secret and kept from Jacques at all
costs.” She shot a look at Jade at that and Jade rolled her eyes at the implication.
---
- Incroyable - Incredible (French)
- Duchessa - Duchess (Italian)
- Nonna - Grandmother (Italian)
- Zia - Aunt (Italian)
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