“What’s the matter, Lilith?” Gerhardt asked his friend. She looked very glum.
“Our annual Heart and Stroke ball isn’t going to come off this year, I’m afraid.”
“Why not?”
“Well, the banquet hall where it’s usually held is closed for renovations. We are scrabbling to find another place but no luck. So, it looks like we will have to skip this year.”
“You can’t.”
“We don’t want to but if we can’t find another place and in a hurry, we will have to cancel it.”
“Have it here.”
She stared at him. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s for a great cause.” He was thinking of Helena who died of heart disease and hypertension.
“Having it here is a bloody brilliant idea, Gerhardt,” she exclaimed. “Thank you. I’ll call my secretary, Lexie and tell her that we’ve found a place.”
“And I will let my housekeeper, Mrs. Davies know that we will be having a ball here next month. She will in turn, inform the rest of the staff and then let me know if we need to hire more people.”
“I can never thank you enough for doing this, Gerhardt.”
“If Helena were here, she would have done the same thing. She loved charity balls.”
“It has been almost two years since she passed away. How are you really doing?”
“I’m doing fine. I still have moments when I miss her and wish that she were still here.”
“I know what you mean. I still miss Bob and he’s been dead for nine years.” Bob was her fiancé. He died a month before their wedding.
“Bob was a great man.” He had been his best man. They had been more like brothers than close friends. He visited his grave every year.
“Yes, he was and Helena was an angel but they will forever live in our hearts.”
“Yes, they will.”
“Now, I feel like a game of pool,” she said smiling as she stood up.
“Let’s shoot.”
“Let’s make a wager.”
“Okay, what do you want to put on the table?”
“If I win, you’ll be the MC at the ball and if you win, I will be the MC.”
“You’re on,” he said with a smile.
Notes to Women 