CHAPTER 102 Pink
Joy
Cristos and I arrived at my boutique before nine-thirty in the morning. Like everyone else, I parked my
car in the parking lot, right beside Cristos’ Range Rover.
Since my motif was pink like the color of the signage of my shop, Cristos had no problem donning his
newly purchased pink cored dress shirt. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows and paired his pink
shirt with ck skinny jeans and ck leather pointed toe boots. I, on the other hand, decided to wear
one of my designs to showcase what I had to offer. It was a particr design that I had sketched while I
hid inside my room, just before we left New Salem. It was a sleevless whitece dress with a midlength
tulle skirt embroidered with pink outfit with dainty flowers. I adorned my dress with a slim salmon
colored belt and paired my light pink high heeled stiletto pumps and a matching pink leather shoulder
bag. My hair I styled in a neat bun behind my head with my favorite ded essory hidden beneath
small dainty pink flowers.
As Cristos and I walked towards my store, I noticed Xavier’s people had already set up therge
bouquets of pink and white roses on flower stands right in front of the storefront windows as well as an
arch made entirely of pink foil balloons above the ss door to wee customers to my boutique.
Last night, Xavier promised me he would handle everything so I coulde inte, including opening
the boutique. He made good on his promise. Everything was ready except for the appetizers and
refreshments.
Sebastian, who was busy cing a long white table in front of the store, turned his head at the sound
of my heels on the pavement. Just like Cristos, he was wearing a light pink long sleeved dress shirt, but
he had paired his with tight fitting gray cks.
“The woman of the hour has arrived. I’m guessing you didn’t get much sleep,” Sebastian greeted us.
“Chip, I told you toe here from the airport.”
“Virtue’s house was closer,” Cristos argued, cing a hand on his hip. “Plus, she needed my help in
picking her shoes.” Sebastian rolled his eyes as Cristos got into character.
“I asked you toe here because we needed your help to set up the decorations,” Sebastian scolded
him.
“Det l’ es wearing Armani Cristos whined. Sebastian scoffed at him, not caring what he was
CHAPTER 102 Pink
wearing. “Fine. What do you need me to do?”
“Well, I’m waiting for Bo to bring me a pink tablecloth, Sebastian said. “After we decorate the table, you
can help ce the sses and food for the townsfolk.”
“That I can do,” Cristos said, grateful he wouldn’t have to do any heavy lifting. “I have to admit the
complex is turning out to be like a scene from Barbie. I can’t believe there’s so much pink.”
“Isn’t pink suppose to be your favorite color?” Sebastian mumbled. Cristosughed.
“Yes it is, but on me not everywhere else,” he said, twirling around like a model. “Wait a minute.
Where’s the bubbly by the way?”
“Some are in the chiller at Bo’s while I ced a number of bottles inside a chiller in Virtue’s office. We
weren’t able to get a license to serve because you and Dan left for Chicago,” a familiar male voice said.
I turned to find Xavier wearing a light pink suit to my surprise. Xavier hated pink.
“Oh wow!” I eximed, stunned. “You look-”
“Like cotton candy? Yeah, I know. The guys back at Bo’s have been making fun of me since I stepped
out wearing this,” Xavier said, looking at what he was wearing. Cristos and I giggled. while Sebastian
looked at his own shirt in aghast. He didn’t want to be seen as a piece of
cotton candy too.
Content (C) N?v/elDra/ma.Org.
“Bo, I was gonna say dashing, sort of like Barbie’s Ken, but cotton candy works too,” I said, trying to
stop myself fromughing.
“And I thought we were friends,” he said, regretting he wore pink. “I’m going to head back and change.”
“Aw, it’s just for the day,” I pointed out. “Remember… on Wednesdays, we wear pink.”
“No, no, no… Just for this Wednesday. After this event, I am never wearing pink again,” Xavier said
gruffly. “You do know I’m only doing this for you, Virtue. You owe me.”
“You owe me too,” Sebastian piped up. I looked at the two of them astonished they would gang up on
me for wearing pink.
There was already a coup…. sheesh!
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CHAPTER 102 Pink
“I’ll take all of you out to dinner for helping me, I promised. “But for now, stick with pink and please…
wear a smile.”
“Easy for you to say,” Xavier said, sulking. “You look ravishing in pink.” Xavier turned to Cristos. “Chip,
although I can tell you’re wearing Armani again, I need some help with the food and drinks.”
“Hold on. Before I help you out, I’ll call Dan and get that license. What are you going to serve,
anyway?” Cristos asked.
“The usual finger foods. Pigs in a nket, fried ravioli, mini tacos, gourmet pizza rolls, fried mozare
sticks, vegetable sticks, tomato bruschetta and mini red velvet cupcakes with watermelon juice and
strawberry lemonade, Xavier replied. “My kitchen prepared
everything. Come on. It’s almost ten.”
After Sebastian tested the sound system I had Lou install yesterday, he and I prepared the pink ribbon
for the ceremony, the tes, sses and utensils while Cristos and Xavier ced the appetizers we
were going to serve on the long table amidst the growing crowd of curious onlookers. It was rtively
quiet until a small group of privileged middle-aged women pushed their way through the crowd. I
nced at Cristos and we both rolled our
eyes.
pull
“Bo, oh my gosh, you look stunning in your suit, Norma Martin gushed. “Not most men can
that look off. Chip always looks great in pink, but seeing you in this makes me want to
eat you.”
“And there goes the cotton candy image inside my head,” Sebastian muttered under his breath. Cristos
averted his face, snickering at Sebastian’sment. As hard as he tried, he couldn’t stop himself from
laughing. I elbowed him in the ribs to get him to stop..
Xavier, hearing thement, shot Sebastian a dirty look before quickly turning his scowl into a
weing smile.
“Ladies! So nice of you toe,” Xavier greeted the four women who were all wearing something pink
in their outfits. Xavier suddenly took my arm and pulled me towards his friends. “Ladies, I would like to
introduce you to Virtue Sullivan, owner of Simply Virtue Boutique. Sullivan, I want you to meet Norma,
Linda, Morgan and Charlotte. They were some of Cynthia’s closest friends.”
I smiled at them, however they didn’t smile back. Instead, they looked at me from head to
toe.
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CHAPTER 102 Pink
They reminded me of the stics from the movie “Mean Girls”.
“Sullivan? Norma asked, smirking at how Xavier called me. I think Xavier decided it would be fun to
address me by my fake surname so it would appear we had apletely tonic
rtionship.
“Yeah. That’s herst name, right? I like how it sounds. Makes her one of the guys, Xavier said,
yfully punching me on the arm. “Right, Sullivan?”
“Next, you’ll be calling me Sully, Bo,” I answered dryly. “Just stick with Virtue.” I turned my attention to
thedies who were still staring at me. “Anyway, it’s really nice to finally meet all of you. Bo always
speaks fondly of you.” I checked my watch. “It’s almost ten. If you can wait patiently, our guest of honor
should be arriving shortly.”
“Is it a celebrity?” Linda Jacobs asked excitedly.
“Well, if you can call our mayor a celebrity, then yes,” I answered. She frowned, clearly disappointed,
but Norma Martin had an opposite reaction.
“Sure, he’s a hero,” Norma said, smiling. “He saved me during the fire.” Liam obviously had Norma’s
loyalty. She was the one I had to befriend.
“And he shielded me from the explosion,” I replied. “This town has a wonderful mayor. He’s willing to
sacrifice himself for his constituents.”
“Amen,” Norma replied. “And here hees right now… with his entourage.”
I turned to see Liam’s ck BMW, Dan’s silver Subaru and Jack’s RAM pickup truck enter the parking
lot one after the other. As I scanned the vehicles, I noticed Noah’s pickup parked at
the end.
Noah is here, but where is he?
I quickly scanned the crowd, but I couldn’t find any sign of him.
The crowd parted to allow Liam through. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a pink tie for the
asion while Dan was wearing a dark pink short sleeved silk shirt, white chinos, and ck leather
shoes. Jack, on the other hand, had his uniform on. Well… he was on duty.
Liam greeted me with a warm smile on his lips. He quickly kissed me on the cheek which drew the
attention of the crowd. They began to murmur among themselves while Xavier’s
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CHAPTER 102 Pink
“You look absolutely stunning,” Liam said while his eyes quickly roamed the length of my
body.
“Thank you, Liam,” I replied. “You look really handsome too. And… you have a pink tie on.” I reached
up and fixed his tie. We stood still for a moment, staring in each other’s eyes like a couple in love. I
heard the clicking sound of several smartphones. Our public disy was
news.
“It was a gift and has been hanging in my closet for some time waiting for the perfect asion, Liam
said. “Bo, Chip, Dom… It’s good to see you’ve been helping Virtue with the preparations.”
“The least we can do for our new neighbor, Sebastian said, extending his hand to Liam. Liam grabbed
it and shook it enthusiastically.
“By the way, Dan has the license you requested. You can serve champagne, just don’t allow minors to
get their hands on a ss,” Liam said while he shook hands with Xavier and patted Cristos on the arm.
After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Liam turned around to
address the crowd.
“It’s nice to see everyone here. How are you folks doing?”
While Liam did somest minute brown-nosing, I quickly picked up the microphone I had left on a small
table Sebastian had set up for coupons and flyers.
While I prepared for my speech, I noticed a head with golden colored hair at the end of the crowd.
There, standing beside Jack, was Noah. Both of them had scowls on their faces.
I guess Noah told Jack.
“Hey, Virtue… honey..,” Cristos said, interrupting my thoughts. “Let’s start.”
I nodded my head and positioned myself beside Liam. I nced at him and noticed how ufortable
he looked. His face was flushed and he was sweating profusely.
He’s scared I might refuse his proposal.
“Liam, are you okay?” I asked as he wiped the sweat off his brow with a handkerchief. I ced a hand
on his cheek to calm him. His lips moved upward into a small smile while he slightly nodded his head.
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