Eighteen Graduates

Helena and Myka woke up the next morning to loud banging that sent the Brit shooting out of bed, whipping her bedroom door open and flying down the stairs to demand it stop.

It took Helena a minute to realize she passed Irene sitting on the small seating couch in the foyer.

"What the bloody hell is that?" Helena came back to ask of the noise on the other side of the door.

"Your new stove," Irene said calmly. She sat with her back straight, her feet planted firmly on the floor, and her hands folded in her lap. In her hands was a small red envelope.

"At this hour?" Helena said, pulling the sash around her robe tighter.

"It would appear so," Irene said.

"And it couldn't wait?" Helena asked -her hand firmly on her hips.

"Apparently not," Irene surmised correctly.

None of these answers helped Helena at all and she threw her hands up in frustration for wasting her time.

"Before you go in there," Irene said and Helena turned around. The woman held out the red envelope.

"What is that?" Helena said, not moving any closer to get it.

"It's a gift certificate for an all-inclusive weekend getaway for Leena," Irene said, still holding it out.

"And you can't give it to her yourself?" Helena demanded.

"It's not from me," Irene said.

This is what made Irene – Irene. She never hurried her answers to Helena, always took her time to reply to exactly what Helena asked - in hopes of giving Helena all the time she needed to figure out the issue.

It was an arduous task.

"Well then, who the bloody hell is it from? Where is my tea?" Helena asked, twirling around to look into the dining room where the table lay void of breakfast.

"I think she's probably waiting for the new stove to be installed before attempting to make you tea," Irene said.

Irene saw the news last night and called Helena immediately. When she was assured that both women were safe, she set out to take care of the aftermath – Leena coming into her kitchen today.

"Arrggh," Helena let out and marched into the kitchen. There was Leena, her back to Helena, looking over the manual for the next oven. "Good morning?" Helena tried, but couldn't be heard over the drilling and hammering. There were men replacing the back door as well. Helena tried again, but was drowned out. She finally screamed it – just as the noise ceased.

"GOOD MORNING!" Everyone in the room heard now.

"Oh Helena! Good, you're here! Oh I am so relieved you guys are okay," Leena said.

"What is…," Helena tried, but Leena was ready for her.

"This is the repair work that needed to be done this morning because the temperature mechanism on the prior oven melted when the flames shot out of the door last night while you were baking ….," Leena said and turned. She picked up the charred pan and plopped it on the counter top where it landed making a loud bang from the weight. "…...this."

Helena looked at the black contents in the pan and now all eyes were on her.

Myka came down the stairs and was actually relieved when she saw Irene in the hallway. "Is that Leena?" Myka asked.

"Yes, she saw the news last night, as we all did. I'm so thankful neither of you were hurt," Irene said, getting up.

"It was …a…small fire," Myka said, running her hand on her neck.

"Yes, thank God not everything Helena does is on a grand scale," Irene said as they both walked into the kitchen.

The large fans that ran through the night had pulled the offensive odors out of the room. Myka was pleasantly surprised that the room was being fixed so quickly. She wanted to attempt to clean some of it up last night, but Helena wouldn't hear of it.

"It was a recipe. And I shall speak to its creator straight away," Helena said in a very feeble attempt to pass the buck.

"Oh yes, here's the recipe," Leena said retrieving the stained paper. "The writing on this is practically illegible, except for this little tiny part here that says – 350 degrees. The fire chief said the dial melted at 545 degrees," Leena said worried, but informed.

"Well, I was …the mixer works!" Helena said, swallowing hard. Even though this was her house, she knew she was in Leena's domain.

"Oh good, that's good, because I'll need it. We have a lot to do to prepare for tonight. I just hope we can get it all done," Leena said and Myka noticed the emphasis on 'we'.

"Tonight?" Myka asked.

"Yes, the Fashion Institute of Technology interns' graduation ceremony? It was Helena's idea. It's on your schedules," Leena said. She had personally entered the info into their calendars.

"That was not my idea!" Helena said, looking at Myka for support. "If the morning headline reads – World Goes Insane – I shall not be at all surprised."

"Actually, I think we kind of did suggest or agree to it," Myka said, thinking back to how Helena had suggested it sarcastically, and Leena was smart enough to jump on it. "It will be fun."

Anything that Myka thought would be fun interested Helena.

Then Leena demonstrated some of the skills she picked up in her job as Helena's Resident Director. "If you're too busy, I can explain to the kids…," she said, eyes cast down.

"No, of course we can," Helena said - strained.

"Oh thank God," Leena said relieved.

"I don't know why you're thanking the Almighty when it is my schedule that must be rearranged," Helena said and caught the warning look in Irene's eyes. Helena could be pompous about a lot of things without reprimand, but not with the Lord.

"Leena, we're really sorry about the mess," Myka said sincerely,

"Oh, thanks Myka. I knew it was danger…eh….. was a tricky oven," Leena said, trying to retract her original thought. "As long as no one was hurt."

Helena knew that Leena was a fanatic about her kitchen and appreciated that the woman wasn't placing blame, but rather, was taking care of things and moving forward.

Now standing in front of Irene, Helena put her hands behind her back - and in the same moment, Irene handed her the envelope. Helena handed it to Leena.

"What's this?" the woman asked surprised.

"An apology. My apology – for not paying closer attention to ….the oven," Helena finally got out.

Apologizing before tea still left a bitter taste in Helena's mouth.

Leena looked at Myka who smiled for her to open it. "Oh Helena! Thank you so much," Leena said and hugged the woman who wanted nothing more than her morning beverage. "This is really nice, thank you. I will need it after tonight. There's so much to do," Leena said, choosing her words and timing carefully.

"Well good," Helena said trying to end the conversation, but added -"….. and if there's anything we can do to help…," - and meant order flowers or musicians.

"Really? That would be great. The kids would really love it if you were their commencement speaker," Leena said – taking Helena right where she wanted her.

"What a great idea!" Myka said, because the interns had just spent an entire school year with them.

Helena looked at Myka, then back at Leena. She saved the scowl for Irene as she conveyed yet another example of no good deed going unpunished.

"I'll help you work on it," Myka said, gently pulling Helena out of the room.

"I know what you did there," Irene said to Leena – just to let her know.

"I... have no... idea what you're talking about," Leena said, but then added - "OK, I did it for the kids, Irene, honestly."

Leena knew who she had to answer to in this house….or anywhere… when it came to Helena.

Myka went upstairs with Helena, telling her that it really was a good idea. "Think of the wisdom you can impart as they venture out into their fields," Myka said truthfully.

"I will tell them to be careful when hiring the house staff," Helena grumbled.

Myka kissed Helena to help her not be so cranky and sat her on the sitting couch as she went into the closet and chose an Armani Collezioni Kaleidoscope-print silk dress that was a mixture of blue, purple, white and black splashes of color throughout. It was perfect to wear to work and the graduation. Helena's mood instantly improved as she gazed at Myka dressing. Just staring at the tall, curly-haired, green-eyed beauty was enough to make Helena forget the world and think about how fortunate she was.

Then Myka took the Emilio Pucci satin and tulle panel dress in black and helped Helena into it. The dress hugged Helena's curves so well, Myka instinctively ran her hands over Helena's hips once it was on her.

"Do you need help with your speech?" Myka asked.

"I will need help walking if you continue to do that," Helena whispered back.

Myka secretly loved the power her touch had on Helena.

Helena insisted that Leena cut a piece of the dessert so that she could bring in to the resident Chef at Wells Corp to show her that something was wrong. Surely it couldn't have been just the heat. Leena would never have been able to do it without the help of one of the workmen who used the power saw to slice off a piece of the charred dessert. When they arrived at work, Helena got off on the 16th floor to present her evidence. Millie was already rushing at Myka, hugging her and thanking God that they were okay.

"Yes, we're fine. Thank you, Millie. The fire was contained in the oven," Myka explained.

Helena handed her the evidence that something was wrong with the recipe.

"You didn't try to eat this, did you?" Millie asked worried.

"It cannot be ingested," Helena said.

Millie looked at the remains, then at Myka and finally nodded her head. She wasn't sure what Helena wanted her to do with it. She went back to her desk and decided at the very least, she could use it as a paperweight.

Myka decided the world had annoyed Helena enough for one morning, so she took her upstairs where Eileen had prepared exactly what Helena needed. Myka sat with Helena in her office, while the woman practically moaned her descent into calmness.

"We need to get away," Myka said.

"Say the word darling, and I'll be there," Helena said, still making love to her tea. "Just bring tea."

Myka said they would talk about it over the weekend and kissed Helena goodbye. She promised to be back for lunch so they could go over Helena's commencement speech.

On cue, Eileen entered as Myka left and brought Helena her second cup of tea. It had been that kind of morning already and Eileen knew it just by looking at Helena's expression.

"How are you doing on the replacement for the director?" Helena asked.

"I have a luncheon meeting with a prospective replacement," Eileen reported.

"Good, have they done this kind of work before?" Helena asked.

"Oh yes, she's directed and produced some of the best shows," Eileen said because she had researched the woman's credentials.

"And we're on schedule with airing the show?" Helena asked.

"Yes, we are," Eileen confirmed because they had a few episodes in the can before the debacle of the former producer.

"Good. I look forward to it," Helena smiled.

Eileen started to leave. "Ms. Wells?" she asked.

"Yes?" Helena said.

"If I'm going to be meeting with people, I think it's time I moved into the office," Eileen said, having given it a great deal of thought and having discussed it with Claudia.

Helena looked up and smiled. "I believe it is."

Eileen broke out in a big smile as she left. Then she called to confirm her appointment with Ilene Chaiken.

There was a loud knock on Helena's door later that day that sent the Brit jumping as she sat at her desk. Who, she wondered, had gotten past her assistant? She yelled "vous pouvez entrer", but nothing happened. She said it again, but still nothing. Finally, she said "come in" and the door flew open.

"We have a lot of work to do," Pete said as he rushed in, his arms filled with equipment.

"What the devil is the meaning of this?" Helena said.

"Boss," Pete said, his hands on his hips after dropping the armload on the couch, "You are going to be playing in the New York Police Department softball tournament."

"Don't remind me," Helena said, wondering if she could get out of it. "I could buy all the tickets…," she thought out loud as Pete picked up a bat.

"Try this for size," he said, handing her the bat.

"Perhaps I can …," Helena tried, but Pete was being unusually bossy with her as he put the bat in her hands and told her how to stand.

"Okay, I'll take this to the townhouse. I'll get it set up in the basement so you and Myka can practice. Did she do sports?" he asked, very worried.

"She did fencing," Helena said, proud of anything Myka did.

"Yeah, not a real sport," Pete mumbled as he started to leave. "And boss?"

"Yes, Mr. Lattimer?" Helena said because she felt the world was acting crazy.

"Don't wear a dress, okay?" he asked seriously.

Helena had not yet connected it, but the Captain of the Police Softball team – upon hearing that Helena was playing for her team, sent Pete out on a mission. Jane Tierney never lost the softball tournament, and she wasn't about to this year.

Lunch time couldn't come fast enough for Helena because she knew that Myka would be there to help her. Everything was easier when Myka was in the room. The Wells Corp kitchen sent up a light lunch as Myka came back up.

"You know, the more I think about it, you're the perfect speaker for the graduates," Myka said, as she ate her almond and tangerine salad. "You know couture, you know business, and you're the smartest person I know."

"Guilty on all counts," Helena said.

"What will you say to them?" Myka asked, getting her pad and pen ready.

"I will tell them….," Helena said, getting lost in the green of the eyes that stared back at her, "…that clothes do not make the person, work isn't all there is to life, and take it from the smartest person they know - put their energies into finding their real true One," Helena said, staring at hers.

"That's a very short speech," Myka said – her body surrendering, her thoughts melting into emotions as she fell under the spell that was Helena G. Wells.