Her Wolf

“If this is the sign you’re sending me, Mom, I didn’t think it’s a good one,” she said out loud, to no one in particular. “Unless it’s a sign telling me that I’m not going to find what I need in a stack of folders that were chosen by someone else.”

The carpeted floor was plush against Catherine’s knees as she lowered herself down to begin picking up the folders and the scattered papers that had spilled from them. She allowed herself the freedom of scanning over the labels attached to each of the brown bundles to see if anything stood out to her and they were just what she expected.

“Diagnostics Wing at the Children’s Hospital, Habitat for Humanity, Help for Homeless, Breast Cancer Research at the University of Denver… all things I have seen before.”

As Catherine moved to stand to her feet, she caught sight of a white envelope from her peripheral vision and her brows furrowed. In a beautifully elegant and what appeared to be twenty four karat gold ink, there were two words scrawled across the ivory parchment.

“Catherine Goldberry”

The silence in the room thickened as Catherine looked towards the journal that was still sitting on her desk and a dim smile caused the corners of her mouth to twitch. “If this is something from you, Mom, I’m not sure that even my raging emotions are going to be enough to distract me from how fancy the lettering is.”

The weight of the paper itself was heavy and a clear indication that the letter was no joke. Only someone who wanted to give off the best impression would send something in an envelope that was worth keeping instead of being discarded in the trash like so many others.

Catherine ran her thumb beneath the folded edge of the envelope to tear it open with a clean line. It was an invitation and one that would undoubtedly take her breath away.

“With honor and respect the Colorado Conservation of Endangered and Rare Wildlife request the pleasure of your presence at a dinner to celebrate, fundraise and save the Snow Drift National Park and Forest.

Location: Denver Museum of Contemporary Art

Date: June 10th, 6:00pm.

Dress: Formal

Information: $500 a plate dinner with dancing and open bar. This invite is inclusive of a plus one.”

“The Snow Drift National Park and Forest?” Catherine questioned internally as she set the invitation on her desk alongside the other organizations that were waiting for her assistance. “Wait a second…”

Catherine’s eyes widened as she raced towards the safe that was located behind a portrait that was painted by her mother when she was a child. Her heart was beating wildly while punching in the code that would open the door.

“It can’t be the same place. It can’t be. That would mean that… no, it can’t be.”

Her words were coming out a mile a minute and as the safe door swung open, Catherine exhaled a deep breath of air. She felt her body grow relaxed as she noted that all the contents remained in place. There weren’t gold bars, or stacks of cash stuffed inside like you might find in the safe of a standard rich person. Catherine held on to the things that truly mattered to her: the memory of her parents.

With ease, she pulled out another leather bound book that was full of pictures of her childhood and she flipped through to the middle of the bind. “Oh my God,” she said breathlessly, the pad of her finger grazing over the photo that was staring back at her. “It’s the same place.”

“God, I miss you.”

The anguish in Catherine’s voice was enough to tug at the heart strings of even the most calloused of man and her lips quivered with the urge to cry under the circumstances.

A knock at the door sounded and caused her to pull from her reverie and slam her safe shut.

“Come in,” she said.

“Miss Goldberry,” Jessica replied in a dulcet tone as she hesitantly stepped foot into her boss’ office. “I’ve been sent to let you know that the board meeting has been scheduled for three this afternoon. Is there anything that you will need cleared from your schedule in order to make that time uninterrupted for you?”

“No,” Catherine answered flatly.

“Alright Ma’am. I’ll have your chai latte waiting for you for the meeting.”

“No, Jessica. That’s not what I meant.”

Jessica’s brows knitted together in confusion and it looked as if she were afraid of asking Catherine to explain herself. Jessica had been Catherine’s assistant for nearly three years and more often than not, Jessica knew what Catherine was thinking, but this appeared to be an exception.

“I want you to clear my schedule completely and I want you to cancel the board meeting and reschedule it for Monday morning. I have a last minute engagement that I need to attend tonight,” Catherine said.

“Ma’am?” Jessica spoke up meekly. “Is this something for Glacial or something personal?”

“I suppose it’s a little bit of both,” Catherine replied as she helped herself to a bottle of water from the mini fridge she kept in her office. “I received a formal invitation to a dinner from the Colorado Conservation of Endangered and Rare Wildlife. The dinner is this evening and it’s the first thing that has really spoken to me. I’m going. So I need you to clear my schedule, let the board know that something has come up, call in my RSVP and advise them that I will be attending alone because my assistant failed to deliver the invite on time and I’ve only gotten it now.”

The tension in the room thickened and Jessica lowered her gaze to meet the floor and her thick, red hair acted as drapes that shielded her face from any sort of penetrating stare. Her cheeks flamed red and though her blush helped with concealing it, her fair skin betrayed her.

“I apologize, Miss Goldberry,” Jessica murmured beneath her breath and Catherine smiled. “It must have gotten mixed in with the folders. I’ve been pulling together a collection of them for a few weeks.”

“It’s all right, Jessica,” she replied, taking a step towards her assistant and giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “I will have my cell phone turned on for the remainder of the day, but please do as I asked and please have my car brought around. I need to get home and find something to wear.”

Jessica’s eyes lit up with excitement as Catherine’s last words registered in her ears and she held out a hand to request a moment from her boss before she left the room.

Within a matter of moments, Jessica returned to Catherine’s vast office and held in her arms a white garment bag that was stamped with the name ‘Elie Saab’ in the top right hand corner and Catherine pursed her lips.

“What’s this?”

“It came for you this morning, Miss Goldberry,” Jessica replied as she worked the zipper down delicately, being careful not to snag the delicate material. “There was an email in my inbox that said to thank you for the products that you supplied for the Elie Saab fashion show and that this was her way of saying thank you. Maybe it’s a sign that you’re supposed to attend this dinner tonight.”

Catherine stepped forward to help Jessica pull the garment free from the bag and her mouth fell open in surprise when her eyes rested on the beautifully crafted piece. The strapless dress had a miniature sweetheart neckline that was constructed of woven black satin and would fit like a corset. The skirt portion of the dress flowed easily with the breath that it took away. It was a satin, color gradient effect made of black, blue, purple and white and came with a simple slender black belt to secure around the waist.

Attached was a note.

“Wear this with a dark, plum lip and some classic old Hollywood waves in your hair and you’ll look even more stunning than usual. Thank you for all your help – E.”

The smile that tugged harshly on Catherine’s mouth caused her cheeks to hurt and Jessica beamed with pride over having delivered such good news. Catherine worked quickly albeit carefully in order to get the dress back in its protecting bag.

“Get my car around front, Jessica. I’ve got a dinner to prepare for.”