Then all she could hear was the ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, and ‘can you believe it’ from the crowd. That was not enough to judge from.
“Now, let me explain the rules to you, Adel,” Tony said. “You have three guesses and twenty ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” Adel muttered. She was ready to strangle Tony for putting her through all this torture.
“Then shoot!” declared Tony.
Wasting time thinking is only going to prolong this charade, she decided.
“Is it someone I know?” she asked the first question that popped into her head.
“Yes” came the reply.
“How long have I known the him?” she asked.
“Only yes or no questions, Adel” Tony reminded her.
“Is the person male?” she asked.
“Yes” came the reply.
“Does Ope know the person?” she asked.
“Yes” came the reply.
“Is the person a Nigerian?” she asked.
“No” came the reply.
Not a Nigerian? And Ope knows him? Who could it be? She wondered.
“Does everyone know him?” Adel asked the crowd. Maybe it was the student Dean from school. Ope had seen enough pictures from her school to recognize anyone he saw in the hall.
“Yes” came the reply.
“Did he go to St. Mary’s?” she asked.
“No” was shouted back at her with such intensity, she became flustered as to the identity of the mystery guy.
“How many questions left, Tony?” she asked, about ready to give up.
“Fourteen, coz” Tony replied.
“Is he a black Canadian?” she asked.
“No” was chanted in reply, and she took that to mean he wasn’t black or Canadian.
“Is he an American?” she asked.
A resounding ‘Yes’ was given to her.
“Is he a model?” she asked, remembering the only American she had met recently. The guy had talked so much about his ‘career’ just rising off the ground, he had reminded her of Joey in Friends, acting career that never ever happened.
“No” came the reply.
“A musician then?” she asked jokingly, and was surprised she got an affirmative answer.
No it could not be Daniel Belfield. They could never go that far! Could they? They could not even reach him.
“Does he sing rock?” she asked.
“No” came the reply.
“Blues?” she added, and smiled when she got another affirmative response.
“Is it Daniel Belfield?” she asked in a hushed tone. Only Tony heard her and replied, “Is that your first guess?”
“Yes” she replied.
Tony repeated her question to the crowd and watched her smile as the crowd shouted a “Yes” to it.
“The very first guess and she is lucky!” proclaimed Tony. “Dan, could you help her with the blindfold?”
As he removed the covering from her eyes, she blinked at the bright light surrounding his face. She just stared at the superstar before her. He was the only musician that she bought everything he published. His was the only celebrity life she followed with diligence. She had often been teased that she must be waiting in vain for Daniel Belfield to find her.
“Hi,” was all she could manage.
His smile grew wider as he bent to her face and planted a kiss fully on her lips. Her eyes widened. He stood by her side and smiled at the crowd, which was still hooting with pleasure at his gesture.
“The charming Prince has just awakened the sleeping beauty,” shouted Tony above the din. “Don’t you agree?”
The noise increased. Adel looked everywhere but at the man beside her. She was sure she’d wake up from the dream soon but was hesitant to pinch herself to prove otherwise.
“You may leave now, Adel,” Said Tony, as the din began to lessen. “And don’t forget your present. Try to keep it to yourself too, for the rest of the night.”
Adel didn’t know whether that was a good idea. Now that I’ve gotten my wish, how do I act? Was the question bugging her at the moment.
She led him into the garden at the back of the hall. It was well lit and already sweet scents had begun to rise into the air.
“So,” she began, on reaching the beautifully carved fountain in the middle of the garden.
“Are you a look alike or dress up? Or are you for real?”
“I bet you’ve been ruminating on how to ask me that question without hurting my feelings,” came his reply. She knew her answer instantly, recognizing his voice. He was the real thing after all, though how her family had managed it she didn’t know.
“How did they find you? How did they kidnap you? Did they blackmail you? Or how much are they paying you?” she asked.
“Nothing,” he replied, his voice sounding incredulous at her insinuation. “You thought I couldn’t have come except I was paid?”
“Well, I know your time is money, Daniel” she answered.
“Actually one of your friends is my cousin,” he stated.
“Who?”
“Trevor Dallas” he replied.
An image of the shy, quiet Treve, who no one really noticed, appeared in Adel’s mind.
“You are Treve’s cousin?” she exclaimed in disbelief.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Is something wrong with that?”
“No. No” she replied. “It’s just that it could never have occurred to me that Treve was Daniel Belfield’s cousin.”
“It’s almost an impossibility, I know,” he said wryly.
Wondering what he meant by the statement, she quickly added,
“Treve’s one of my very good friends and its just that he has never mentioned the fact that Daniel Belfield was his cousin in the whole six years we’ve known each other. Not even by accident.”
“I understand. I’m sure you would not too, if you were in his shoes” he responded. “Most people usually preferred others liking them for themselves, and not because they were related to some celebrity.”
“I get your point.” She muttered.
“So he not only talked you into attending my birthday party, he also convinced you somehow to be my ‘present’.” She stated.
“That was the mystery part, which I didn’t know until five minutes before I was called on to the stage.”
“So both of us had no idea what they were up to, up till the last minute, right?” she stated.
“Exactly”
“Hope you weren’t annoyed,” she muttered. “My cousins can be very irritating sometimes.”
“It was all fun, Adel,” saying her name for the first time – she had been almost sure he could not remember. “I enjoyed it because for once the press didn’t have any idea where I was and what I was doing.”
“I’m glad to hear that.” She stated.
“If I had any doubts as to going along with their plan, when I saw you, it all melted away,” he whispered, leaning closer so she alone could hear.
His behavior didn’t surprise her. She smiled. If she had needed any more confirmation that it really was Daniel Belfield before her, she had it now. He was a renowned flirt.
“Thank you for going along with it anyway,” she replied, taking a little step back from him. “This is the best birthday I have ever had, so far.”
“I’m glad I was part of it,” he said moving closer as she inched further away.
She walked towards the rose bushes and bent down to admire the closed blooms as she asked, “Is Isabelle also in the party then?”
That stopped him in his tracks, as he was about to get to her side. Isabelle Chowdin was his Swedish girlfriend of two weeks. He had flown to Alberta with the Supermodel a few minutes after he broke up with his girlfriend of two years, Sandra Eaton. Adel had not yet forgiven him for that crime.
“No,” he confessed. “She’s visiting with some friends in Quebec at the moment.”
She noted the little quiver in his voice and decided the balance was in her favor.
“When will she be back?” Adel asked sweetly as she straightened. “I would so much love to meet the dumb blonde that you thought was better than Sandra.”
“So you are one of those who feel I should not have ended my relationship with Sandra,” he said, ignoring her insult.
“I don’t understand why you want to end it after so long. Two years is the standard courtship time before marriage and I was saving up to attending the wedding, wherever it might be. Then in comes Barbie doll, spoiling everything!” she said vehemently.
When he didn’t say anything in reply, she turned to really look at him. She could not read his expression.
“Daniel, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I know its none of my business and I’m not the best person to ask about relationships. Forgive ….”
“You are wrong.”
“What?,” she asked, confused.
“You are the best person to ask about relationships. Trevor told me” he stated.
“That’s a big compliment but I still feel …”
“He told me about Ron and Jess.” He interrupted again.
“He did?” she muttered. “Well that was just nothing. Anybody could have done tha…”
“And David and Cynthia.” He added.
“He did?”
“And Mr. and Mrs. Fidel.”
“He must have added his own ingredients to the pot, Daniel,” she declared. “All I did was listen to both of them, most times not without pestering them first. And I made them see what they were missing. That’s all I did. There was no magic to it.”
“Well, I want, no, need your help. Do whatever you do but please help me get her back.” He said vehemently.
“Who do you want back? I must warn you that I am the wrong person for the job as I am biased towards Isabelle. I could not possibly help you patch things up with her if things have gone awry because I cannot let …”
“I want Sandy back,” he said hoarsely.
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