Chapter Eleven: One Hand, One Heart
I followed Elsie down to where her Pacifica was parked, and suddenly thought of something rather important.
"Elsie, are we going to have enough cars to carpool to the hotel with?"
Elsie waved her hand and dismissed my worry. "Charlene is the only other person who knows where the hotel is, and she has a Pilot, so she's got enough room for five more people in her car, and I have room for four more in mine."
"Oh," I said with relief. Elsie was good at this whole planning ahead thing. I lifted my dress up carefully and settled into the passenger's seat of her roomy SUV. She got in the driver's side, and I looked at her with raised eyebrows.
"Can you drive in heels?" I asked skeptically. She shook her head and flung her shoes onto the floor.
"That is why I shall be driving barefoot," she replied frankly. We laughed together and she started up the ignition. "Oh! I almost forgot," she said digging around in the back seat for something, "here. This is for you." She handed me a CD and I smiled.
"You know I love you right?" I asked, looking at the CD label. "A mixed CD, eh? Let's see what you put on it for me," I said, sliding the CD into the player.
Elsie pulled into the busy New York traffic and waited in silence for the first song to come on. I heard the opening chords and squealed.
"NUH-UH! I LOVE YOU!" I continued, turning the volume up louder. Elsie and I had what we referred to as our song, and the first track happened to be none other than that song.
"Well, aren't you going to sing along Miss Scott?" I asked.
"Well my heart knows me better than I know myself, so I'm gonna let it do all the talking. Woo-hoo. I came across a place in the middle of nowhere with a big black horse and a cherry tree. Woo-hoo," she belted as we drove to the lab.
After our song ended, Elsie asked: "What do you think is going to happen tonight?"
I paused and turned down the music a little bit. "I think that your plan is going to work," I said confidently. She smiled and fixed her eyes back on the road.
"Well, you better pray that it does," she said simply. "because I am not going through all this effort to come back void of any results!"
I laughed at her. "You know that you are the best, right?" I asked for what seemed like the millionth time that week. Elsie chuckled.
"I know."
"Ooh, did you burn…" I began, and then turned up the CD player's volume and smirked. "You did put it on here!"
"Duh." Elsie stated matter-of-factly, and flicked her turn signal on, but not before being cut off by another driver. "God, I hate New York drivers!" she exclaimed with a frustrated sigh.
I just sat back and began to sing to her: "Like a comet pulled from orbit, as it passes a sun. Like a stream that meets a boulder, half-way through the wood. Who can say if I've been changed for the better, but because I knew you…I have been changed for good."
Elsie grinned. "You're a musical-theatre freak, you know that, right? You should be on Broadway instead of being a CSI." I merely shrugged my response, continuing to sing.
"How far away is this freaking lab, anyway? Oh wait, here we go," Elsie said with relief as she pulled up beside the lab. "We're here Sunshine," she added with a smirk in my direction, turning off the ignition, and thus ending my song. I pouted, but got out of the car and into the frigid night air.
"It's going to snow any minute," Elsie replied, pulling her sweater around her bare shoulders. I gripped my shawl and pulled it closer to my ears.
"I hope they all get here on time," I replied, glancing at the clock inside the lab.
"Well, Danny Messer is on time," Elsie noted, as the CSI stepped out of a cab. I gawked, mainly because I had never seen Danny dressed up before. He had taken my advice…sort of. He was wearing a tux, but no tie, so the top few buttons of his white shirt were left open. Elsie's mouth dropped as she saw him.
"You're drooling," I whispered in her ear as Danny shut the cab door.
"How can you work with someone so hot?" she whispered back hurriedly. I let out a small laugh under my breath before Danny came over.
"Well, I see that I am on time," Danny noted with a smile, before looking me over. "You look beautiful kid," he said, giving me a hug. I heard a forced cough from beside me.
"Danny, this is Elsie Scott. Elsie, this is Danny Messer," I said, making a formal introduction. Danny politely shook Elsie's hand and Elsie gave him her hundred-watt smile. I heard another cab door slam shut and looked up to see Hawkes walking over, two packages in his hand.
"Hey, Messer, forget something in the lab today?" he asked, handing the CSI a package. Danny looked at it and swore.
"I knew I left it in there," he replied.
"These are undoubtedly for you," Hawkes said with a grin and took the package from Danny's hand along with the one in his hand and placed them in mine. I smiled, and put them on the floor of Elsie's car. While Elsie was being introduced to Hawkes, Sid Hammerback stepped out of his car and waved at me.
"Happy birthday," he said, smiling as he gave me a kiss on the cheek. I mentally checked him off of the guest list, just as a sleek black Honda Pilot parked behind Elsie's car. Abbey and Charlene stepped out, holding presents, and looking extremely elegant, dressed in Prada from head to toe. They beamed and gave me hugs, before I proceeded to introduce them to my co-workers, as we all huddled in a circle, my back facing the building, as I was talking to Danny.
"This is Abbey Martin and Charlene Spalding. They are both reporters for the New York Times," I said, glancing at the pair. Hawkes and Hammerback struck up a conversation with the two women, just as I heard yet another cab open from behind me. Elsie poked me in the side and I ignored her, but hearing her sharp intake of breath, I could gather who was exiting.
"So, what exactly are we going to be eating for…"
Danny paused, mid-sentence and looked over me, straight ahead to where the cab had been moments ago. I resisted to urge to beam at that moment, and instead, fixed my eyes on what, or rather, who he was looking at, although I already knew. Lindsay had taken Stella's advice and had curled her hair at the ends, so that it fell in soft curls down to her shoulders. Her midnight blue colored dress fit her perfectly and accented her petite features.
I looked across the circle at Hawkes, who was watching Lindsay's arrival and Danny's transfixion with utmost enjoyment. Hawkes gave me a quick wink before re-entering a conversation with Abbey. Elsie merely pursed her lips to keep from bursting out laughing.
But I looked at Danny and watched his eyes, which were, at that moment, sparkling. Lindsay approached and Danny tried to remain nonchalant. Yeah, like that would work.
"Lindsay, you look gorgeous," I gushed as she stood in front of me. "Twirl, please." Lindsay laughed and gave a little twirl as her skirt fanned out slightly. I nodded approvingly.
"Aren't you glad that Anna convinced you to buy that?" Elsie asked with a smile. Lindsay nodded. "Hi, I'm Elsie Scott, by the way," she added, as somewhat of an afterthought. Elsie tended to forget to make formal introductions.
Danny cleared his throat and looked at Lindsay. "You look…"
He seemed to pause to find a word suitable. Lovely? Gorgeous? Beautiful? Perfect? Come on Messer, think! I shouted at him silently.
"…stunning."
The inner me nodded approvingly. That worked too. I watched Lindsay advert her eyes from his for a moment as her cheeks grew rosy, though I knew it wasn't from the near-freezing temperature.
"Thank you," she mustered up with a smile. Danny smiled back at her. I wanted to kick them. Stupid, myopic CSIs, I thought to myself recalling what I had said to Stella a while back. Speaking of my partner in crime, Stella stepped out of a cab, looking stunningly beautiful in her black dress. Hawkes and Hammerback gave whistles of approval as she drew closer to our circle. Stella merely grinned at them.
"Lookin' good Stella," Danny said with a grin. Stella nodded her head and looked at Danny.
"You clean up well Messer," she said, and I gave a little laugh. Stella complimented Lindsay saying that she looked 'exquisite and beautiful' which caused Lindsay to smile sheepishly. Approaching me, she nodded.
"And you, birthday girl, look like a gem," she said, hugging me and handing me a bag, which Elsie stuffed into her car. "Who're we still waiting for?" she asked. As if on cue, Flack appeared from a cab. Elsie nudged me in the ribs and I rolled my eyes at her. Flack, I have to admit, did look quite handsome in a tux.
"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, before proceeding to give me a hug. I introduced him to Elsie and the two struck up a conversation. The only person left to arrive was Mac.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned around to see none other than my boss wearing a tuxedo and a smile. "Happy birthday Anna," he said and, surprisingly, drew me into a hug.
"Can we get goin' now? I'm starved," Danny complained. I rolled my eyes at him and clapped my hands to get everyone's attention.
"Alright everyone! I need four people over here please, so that we can hit the road. And Charlene…" Charlene waved at everyone and proceeded to her car, "…can take the rest of you to the hotel."
In the end, Hammerback, Hawkes and Flack decided to ride with Abbey and Charlene, which left Mac, Stella, Danny, and Lindsay with me and Elsie. To my dismay, Lindsay separated from Danny and sat next to Stella in the row behind me, leaving Mac and Danny to sit in the back together. I swear, sometimes, the two of them reminded me of high-schoolers.
"I feel like I'm going to prom all over again," Stella said with an excited smile. The rest of the car laughed.
"Alright. Everyone buckled in?" Elsie asked, turning on the ignition.
"Yes," they all chorused from behind us.
"Then let's hit the road!"
