The Tchaikovsky Affair by Marie Swift Page A

in the Philharmonic together, Shannon had never known Stacey to care about anyone else. She wasn’t surprised that Jackie had been the one to break her of this trait.
    “ Mmhmm. Well, thank you for letting me know,” Shannon smiled at Stacey, before remembering the cause of this problem. “I’m not sure there’s anything I can do, though,” she added, her smile fading.
    “Well, I think you should try,” Stacey replied, before standing and leaving the room.
    Shannon sighed and looked at Hayley for encouragement. Hayley simply shook her head in silent support of Stacey.
     
    *              *              *
     
    Jackie let out a long sigh as she flopped back on her bed. She was so grateful that she finally had the day off. She planned on doing nothing more than moping around and sleeping. She toyed with the idea of watching a romantic comedy and eating copious bags of popcorn, but eventually decided she wasn’t that much of a masochist. She ran her index finger under her eyes to get rid of the slight wetness and sat back up. Looking around her barely used apartment, she sighed and could feel the heavy drops pooling at the bottom of her eyes once again. She dug into her purse and pulled out her phone, quickly pressing the 2 to call the second person on her speed dial list.
    “Daddy…” she whimpered slightly at the sound of her father’s soothing greeting.
    “What’s wrong, sweetheart?”
    “Daddy,” she said again, her voice still plaintive. “I don’t know what to do.”
    “What’s wrong? You can tell me, Jacinta,” he urged again. Though her father had not been pleased in the least when he had found out his daughter’s sexuality, he had eventually come around. Luis Ortiz was a proud and pious man, but more than that he was a loyal man, and Jacinta was still his little girl.  Hearing his usually vivacious daughter sounding so dismal and despondent tugged at his heart and threatened to break it.  In that moment, Luis couldn’t remember why they had ever fought about Jackie’s sexuality; all he wanted was for her to be happy. 
    Jackie told him the cliff’s notes version of the story, leaving out certain parts that weren’t exactly father-approved and ending with the painful events of the past week.
    “Oh, darling ,” Luis said softly. “You must really like her.”
    “I think…I think I love her, Daddy.” As Jackie said these words, she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She hadn’t actually entertained the notion that she could be in love with Shannon up until this point, but having said it out loud, she had no doubt that it was true.
    “I think I have a plan, Jacinta,” he said and Jackie could almost hear the glint in his eye.
     
    *              *              *
     
    Shannon adjusted her blue satin cocktail dress for maybe the twentieth time since she arrived at Sardi’s. She glanced at her watch and rolled her eyes. Of course they were late. Shannon took a deep breath and contemplated getting a drink from the bar before subsequently deciding against it. The last thing she needed was alcohol to provide her with loose lips.
    “Excuse me. Are you Ms. McClintock?” a middle-aged woman asked her.
    “Yes, t hat’s me! You must be Mrs. Henderson,” Shannon said, offering her hand for a handshake and plastering on a painfully sweet smile.
    Taking h er outstretched hand, Mrs. Henderson smiled warmly at the younger woman. “Yes, but you can call me Betty. This is my husband George,” she said, placing her hand on his shoulder.
    Shannon shook his hand as well, when she noticed another couple walk in the door. After the three introduced themselves to the Thompsons, Lorie and Joe, the group was seated. They ordered wine and appetizers and engaged in some light small talk. Shannon wanted to roll her eyes at the insincere pleasantries, but refrained, ever the polite and professional woman she was raised to be.
    “So, Ms. McClintock, I