LOVING YOU BENEATH THE SURFACE

*KATE’S POV* The wetness coupled with dry air was signaling that winter was here and I couldn’t wait to throw on my winter collections that I had kept for the season. I have experienced several summers, springs, and autumns and now I am going to spend my last winter with Anthony in Las Vegas. Whatever lies at the end of the road, I knew not but I decided to trust in my confidence and that of my team. The struggle will definitely be over in less than twenty-four hours. It was as if I was opening the door to my future as I pushed the hall’s giant door open to see people running around to keep things in place in order to prepare for the big day. “Shift the ladder to the left side a little bit” “Take the pot of flower to the right side, it doesn’t fit in there” “The stage is too close to the audience, we have to arrange the chairs a little bit backward” “Test the microphone, we cannot afford to have any glitch” “Is the backstage connected to the right place? We can’t have any issues during the show.” It was another hectic day. I had missed this scenario happening in front of me. Everyone was extremely busy one way or the other. I stood at the side door and scanned through the hall. Everything was almost perfect. My hands slowly wrapped around my chest “It’s finally tomorrow” a tired sigh dropped from my lips. “It really is tomorrow. Another world will be unleashed right in this place”, Emerson remarked from behind, and I turned to face him. “Thank you for sticking here with me even though it’s so late already. You should have been home by now”, I pouted. “How can I be at home when you are here? We should both see this to the end” he stated, strolling forward to one of the chairs. “Anthony?” I walked forward too. “He wouldn’t come out of the room. I guess he will be there till the end of the show tomorrow” he responded, his hand running through the lines of the chair. I chuckled. “He will never grow out of this attitude. I can’t believe such a high-class designer is so scared of facing his own work getting exhibited” Emerson laughed at my words. “I couldn’t believe it at first, but I got to understand him too at some point. No matter how good you are, there are still some tiny doubts within and until you fight them, you can never be confident of your work” he stated, and I paused to process what he had said He was right! I was once in that shoes and it almost tore me down. “We are done for the day. There’s nothing left to fix anymore and you don’t have to stay here this late” the technical director said to me as he ran to where I was standing His voice had been the loudest in the hall all day. From the supervision of the lighting, sounds, arrangement of the seats and every other detail, he made sure everything was perfect. “Thank you for giving your best to this point. Let’s round it up tomorrow with no problem”, I complimented him and he raised up a fist in agreement before rushing out with his team. It had always been like that. Every season when we have to launch our new collections, we have hectic days and work to attend to since we strive for perfection so much. I knew it was so late and I should have been on my way home already, but I just couldn’t bring myself to leave while others were working hard to make the show a success. Just like every other day in the winter, everywhere was freezing cold so I had to dip both hands in my wool jacket to keep them warm as I rushed to my car. “I might freeze to death at this rate” I murmured, turning on the car’s heater with immediate effect. Gulping down a bowl of warm milk, I collapsed into my bed and snuggled into the blanket to enjoy the warmness on my skin and slowly, I drifted off to sleep after a great fight against the excitement that wouldn’t let me rest in peace. **** “Thank you for coming here today despite your packed schedule. As always, we are devoted to releasing only the top notch fashion on our runway. I trust you will enjoy the show today too”, I said into the microphone as the roar of applause filled the room. The curtain dropped and the lighting's colors changed to intensify the mood as the models hit the stage. I watched quietly behind the curtain to make sure there was no mistake as the models took their turns to display the various items assigned to them. “Let all the gods of the earth listen to me and be with this show till the end” I mumbled silently as my hands clutched the curtain tightly. I didn’t know that the tightness of my grip on the curtain was too much until I heard a snapping sound amidst the loud sound. In a flash, my eyes looked up to see whatever calamity I was about to cause and quickly stepped back before I ruined the event that was going smoothly and perfectly with my tension. Thanks to my sharp hearing, I was able to stop the curtain from ripping apart and decided to sit backstage instead of ruining the show. The last round of the models were sent out and the lightings were adjusted before loud claps and shouts filled the room. A sly smile crept onto my face. “It was a success, Well-done Kate” I said to myself before a familiar figure jumped in front of me. I should have been used to it but I was still scared. Anthony had managed to come out of his tension room and ran to the stage to give the final closure for the event. “I cannot believe we just pulled off another successful season. Honestly, I thought we weren’t doing enough even at the point of the final packaging but…” he paused, Oh no! Not the tears again.. “But…. Seeing how everyone loves the collection and it’s even sold out on our page, I realized that I have the best team ever. This win is dedicated to you all. Remember, I love you” he managed to finish his sentence before reaching for his pocket. “Oh my! I thought I had brought it along”, he suddenly panicked and the hall went silent. “I can’t believe he will be putting on that lame act again. I am so embarrassed on his behalf right now”, Emerson spat out beside me. I didn’t even know when he joined me behind the curtain. Suddenly, Anthony’s hands flew out of his pocket and rose petals sprayed everywhere, which made everyone burst into laughter. It was his signature move. “Thank you for showing us love. We will never forget it” Both Emerson and Anthony said it word for word and that made me snort. We all knew Anthony at that point and knew what his signature closing remark was. A glance at each other’s faces made us burst into our own laughter as the audience clapped on. Suddenly, I heard my name and rushed to the stage to meet Anthony, whom we thought was done with the speech. “For the past twelve months, we have worked together. The days we slept early and the days we didn’t sleep a wink, the days we sweated over the things to come up with and the days we cried over our work coming out well. She has been everything to me on this journey and I am sad to let her go because the project has finally ended this night. Thank you for sticking with me despite all my nagging. I hope and pray you fly high with your wings after this phase”, Anthony said to me, and I couldn’t hold my tears anymore. He shouldn’t have opened my tear glands with such touching words because I didn’t expect him to say all those words right there. I was caught unprepared. “Thank you for having me. Thank you for giving me the ability to work healthily and create the masterpieces I had always dreamt of. I will never forget this family”, I said in exchange, and he opened his arms for an embrace which I didn’t hesitate to give as the applause intensified amidst the audience. It dawned on me that I was finally leaving as I stared at the empty hall. Tears lingered at the side of my eyes as I managed to hold them tight and prevent them from falling. It was an emotional moment I would never forget. The project I came to Las Vegas for was finally done. I had worked with Anthony for four years and our partnership had finally ended after launching the items that went out of stock in just seconds. “We have really come a long way” I sighed, and turned to see my man standing in front of me, a big flower bouquet in his hand with a broad smile. “Congratulations babe. You did it” his voice boomed across and I didn’t know when I flew into his arms. He had previously told me he would not be able to make it anymore because something came up at his hotel but here he was, waiting for me with the warmest smile ever. I needed nothing aside from him. “Everything came out so nice. I can’t believe I am the lucky man who has the best designer as his lover” he whispered to me as he tried to hug me with the flower bouquet struggling in his hands. “You have the bragging rights! Brag about it well”, I told him and he nodded before I pulled out of his arms to save him from the flower struggle. “Thank you for coming despite all odds”, I whispered, and collected the flower from him. “I will always be there for you, I told you that and I will never go back on my word” he assured me once again before placing a sweet kiss on my lips.