Shattering Glass

[Prologue]

I have always known exactly who I am, what I was going to be, and how my life would turn out. Oh sure there were a few variables, but by the end of the week I’d be on track again and the hurdle would just be a figment of recollection.

Of course it always seems to be the way of things that when you believe you have everything finally figured out something manages to go wrong. I had factored that into my life from day one. I knew that if I didn’t allow spontaneity its few minutes of fame in my life all my plans would be for nothing. So I went with the flow but I was content in the knowledge that if the water started to get choppy I could just climb the rope ladder to the helicopter.

But who am I kidding? Life has never been fair, and I have the funny feeling it never will. Plans go out of the window, and as I’m about to tell you, my window must have been a real prize; stained glass, antique finish, and dazzling rose patterned, and not the kind that opens either. My plans didn’t just go out the window, they went through it.

I’m a rather social creature. My family and friends are the air by which I breathe and they mean the entire world to me. I have one beautiful sister who has babied me since the moment I was born, and one darling brother who has always been there with an adventurous smile and a protective arm.

My sister, Marie, married her high school sweetheart two months into college. Lucy was born about three years later. Lucy is my life and breath- even more so then my collection of family and friends. Sometimes I think that I mother her more than Marie does, and trust me- Marie spoils her. So, Marie and Brice have been married for eight years and Lucy is turning into quite the intelligent gossiper I always knew she had the ability to be. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely cannot withstand the presence of a person who is empty-brained, doped-up, and ignorant. Lucy is extremely aware of the world, she knows about every political conflict, and every crease in the family fabric. She’s an absolute masterpiece, if I do say so myself.

My brother, David, is a freelance photographer. At first my parents believed he was destined for failure with that occupation, but then he started rolling in the big bucks. Apparently he’s quite good at taking model photographs, because within two years or graduating from the Pratt Institute for Arts in New York, he was being sent all over the world.

David hasn’t had much in the way of permanent romance, though. He adores the single life with its various ups and downs. He’s dated several models, but the pressure always seems too much for them, and he tends to call me when he’s done with them. I’m not sure why me, but then again I have heard a few too many people ask the question “why me?” and end up regretting it for me to continue along that trail of thought. All I know is that David calls me for two reasons: he’s just broken up with another Claudia Whatever-her-name-is, or he is mean drunk and yet still conscious enough not to drive around in his Porsche.

So here’s the dilemma. At the time of my shattering window episode I am in a stunning relationship with a hit singer, the lead in a band called “Tango with Oranges”. He’s handsome, a gentleman, and absolutely head-over-heels about me, which I return with the utmost passion. His real name is Alex Jones, and I’m expecting him to ask me to marry him at any time.

Of course I’ve been waiting for that since I was approximately three years old, so I’m not overly worried if it doesn’t happen within twenty-four hours.

I am a major fashion designer. I’ve had two shows in Milan, Paris, New York, three in Toronto, Tokyo, and Sydney and I’m researching and dreaming about the upcoming Winter season. My label is one of the most famous in the world, and my publicist is talking about getting a reality show on prime-time television. I, of course, am overwhelmed, flattered, and ready to take on the world.

Let’s see, what else? Oh, okay, I remember. It’s Lucy’s sixth birthday. Brice had to fly to Germany a few days ago for some kind of meeting, after all he’s quite the businessman himself, so I arranged for a few of us to take Lucy to her favourite restaurant. David wasn’t sure he could make it, apparently some kind of photo opportunity may or may not require his presence, but he’d definitely call her. I’ve invited Marie’s best friend, Lily, who Lucy loves, and that just leaves me.

Now, for that shattering rose window I promised… enjoy, I don’t know if I will.