Angel with a Blue Dress

One weekend we went to a breakfast café for brunch, and encountered my ex with a girlfriend at the adjoining table. Introductions were naturally awkward. I was however amused to see my onetime partner's bemusement at how Claudia and I interacted with such deep-seated affection and physical intimacy. I had renewed confidence that I had truly moved on.

Claudia had her fill of travel finally, and took a position in the Chicago flight attendant training school. She was quite pleased with the change. I was also tired of being a consultant constantly on the road and went to work for my largest client. We were so happy to finally be settled with each other.

Claudia and I found a beautiful old three bedroom apartment, converted to a condominium. It was full of exposed oak trim, with an oak fireplace mantel complete with vintage patina, and large, casement-style windows. The front room had a large bay window. We had ruthlessly weeded through our separate accumulated goods, keeping the best household items and donating the rest. The kitchen was nicer than in either of our prior apartments, and over time accumulated premium cookware. We still used the elegant stemware for nearly all meals, but most of it was moved to a display case.

One room now held the stereo equipment and a sofa bed for listening sessions and boarding the occasional guest. Claudia insisted that I have that room for the books and records. Our bedroom was graced with a solid oak queen size bed and matching dressers. The third bedroom held Claudia's studio space and my desk. She had taken up sketching and was becoming quite accomplished. We even talked about her eventually taking a booth at the 57th Street Fair. I hesitantly tried writing a couple of articles about music, and when those were published, Claudia encouraged me to write more. Her sketches and my photos dotted the walls. It was in every way our home. And soon we would celebrate our first Christmas together.

It was a very crisp November day. I strode into the lingerie boutique on North Michigan Avenue wearing my herringbone wool coat, a tweed cap, and jeans. I knew something of the territory along the Magnificent Mile, since I had often visited Stuart Brent's inimitable bookstore nearby.

I saw the sales clerk's eyebrows go up. I loved to keep these slightly pretentious types a bit off balance, because I invariably received better service when I did so. For all they knew, I might have just stepped out of my Jaguar rather than the Chicago Avenue subway stop.

She approached. "May I help you find something?"

"Certainly. I'm looking for a sexy, elegant, but fairly basic set, no garters, crotchless panties, or anything like that, for a woman who's five ten, on the slender side, natural blonde with blue eyes. I'd really like to get something that sets off her eyes."

"Do you know her bra size?"

"Yes, she's 32A."

"Oh! Well, um... " The clerk had a nice rack and was wearing a scoop neck, with an underwire or push-up as well. She also had way too much eye makeup and neon red lipstick, but that all came with the territory I guess.

I cut her off, smiling. "Maybe you'd like to see a photo of her." I reached into my coat breast pocket and pulled out a glossy black and white print.

Claudia had been on the sofa one Sunday morning, just lazing after breakfast. Her head rested on her hand as she idly flipped through the Sunday magazine section. Soft light was pouring in through the bay window. She was wearing a simple cotton robe, slightly open. I had been lounging on the floor and my Leica, loaded with Tri-X, happened to be handy on the coffee table. I set the exposure by instinct before swinging the camera up, bracing my arm on the table. She glanced up at the motion, then gave me an angelic smile as I pressed the shutter release. When I later saw the image come up in the developer in my borrowed darkroom, I instantly fell in love all over again.

The sales clerk stared at the photo, wide-eyed. "She's really quite beautiful."

"My thoughts exactly," I smiled. "Now, can you please show me some higher end sets worthy of her?" She did.

As she tied a ribbon around the box, she asked me, "Was that a professional photo?"

"I took that portrait myself," I replied, leaving the ambiguity hanging there.

She leaned over the counter, a bit more than necessary, as she handed me the shopping bag. "Maybe I could pose for you sometime?"

Some of these painted women were just a bit too obvious, I thought. I made another vague reply, just to mess with her. "These days I specialize more in natural scenery." I suppressed a smile at her puzzled look, turned and strode out of the shop. As the bell tinkled I heard her saying, "Please come in again!"

*******

Christmas morning came. Our decorated tree was in the bay window in the front room. The living room had a small pair of extension speakers, and Corelli's Christmas Concerto was playing now. We were lounging in our robes, sipping coffee and opening our gifts. We had nearly finished when Claudia pulled a flat box with a red bow and ribbon from far under the tree.

"This looks interesting, Michael." I just smiled at her. She opened the box and rummaged through the folds of tissue paper. Her face was wreathed in smiles as she held up the baby blue silk lingerie set with lace trim. "Oh, this is just lovely! But is this really my present, or is it yours?" Her eyes teased me.

"A little bit of both, maybe?"

Claudia giggled. "Then it's like a present you can unwrap again and again!"

She reached under the tree again. "I think there's one more box here for you, too."

This box was a foot long and maybe six inches on each side. I gently shook it but there wasn't a sound. I removed the wrapping paper, found the scissors and carefully sliced through the tape holding the box closed. All I could see was a lot of bubble wrap. I pulled the bundle out and began to unwrap it. The tall etched goblet gradually emerged from under the spiraled wrap.

"Oh my God, Chloe! Where in the holy hell did you find this?"

The pattern was Morgantown's Fontinelle. Three different dancing nude women were laid out in frosted cameos around the bowl. The stem itself had an encased ebony filament, a process patented by Morgantown during the depression. The glass was truly sophisticated and very, very beautiful. It was nearly inconceivable to comprehend that it was crafted during one of the darkest economic periods in our country's history.

"I found an ad in the depression glass newspaper that mentioned rare Morgantown stems. I knew you already have all of the Tiffin nude patterns so I wanted to find you something special. I called the woman and asked her if she had any nude etched stems. She had just one of these." Claudia was grinning now as she saw my awed appreciation for her gift. "I got a really good price on it, too."

"How??" I asked. "These are incredibly hard to come by. I've never even seen one at a show, only in my book." Even at a discount, this was likely the most expensive piece in our collection.

Claudia's smile got even wider. "Well... maybe I told her the story of why you bought those Sunrise Medallion goblets. I think she might have been crying over that, just a little bit."

I put the glass carefully into the display case along the wall, then returned and pulled Claudia up for a kiss. She whispered in my ear, "Should we wrap your other present in my present, and have a little Christmas morning interlude?"

I chuckled. "Let's save that treat for New Year's, so we can get a spot on next year's 'naughty list.' For now, I think my other present is wrapped just fine the way it is. I will truly enjoy unwrapping it." We turned and walked back to the bedroom, arm in arm. She leaned her head against me and smiled her beautiful smile.

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For readers familiar with Chicago, some of the places mentioned herein are long gone. Rose Records and Stuart Brent Books are now distant memories. Via Veneto moved to suburban Lincolnwood and finally closed in 2019. The iconic Billy Goat Tavern is still on lower Michigan Avenue, and now has several satellite locations.