ENDING OF PREVIOUS POST:

Shana looked at Anderson. "Should I?" After he nodded, she continued, "Kosher or Kasbrut are laws telling Jewish people what to eat and how to prepare food. It's a way of staying connected to God by being aware of every bite we put into our mouths."

Emily turned to Anderson. "Are we Jewish?"

"No."

"Why not?"

When the buzzer on the elevator sounded, all heads turned.

"Saved by the bell." Jane laughed.

Philip brought over a wrapped package. "Wonder what this could be?" He handed the package to Shana. "It's for you."



TODAY'S POST:

Chapter 16 part 3

"It's Shana's dress!" Emily rushed to Shana's side. "I know it is. Let me see. Hurry, open it."

Shana released a slow breath before she opened the box. She partially lifted up the navy blue dress and blinked several times. "Oh my! I've never seen such a pretty dress."

Jane stood behind her. "Keep looking. There should be something else." She moved the bottom of the dress and the paper layer. "I thought these would go nicely with it."

"No, this is too much." Shana covered her mouth. "I can't accept either of these. They're beautiful. You must send them back." She held up the strand of pearls. "I can't, really, I can't." Her eyes met Anderson's.

"I think you'll be the envy of every woman at the party. I think you should try it on."

Jane stood. "Come on. I'll help."

Shana and Jane left with Emily closely behind.

Shana went into her bathroom to change. When she opened the door, Emily ran to her. "Wow! You're gorgeous." She looked at Shana's bare feet and then turned toward Jane. "Is Miss Shana old enough to wear heels?"

Jane laughed. "Yes, my dear, she is. They should have arrived with the dress. I'll check." She removed her phone and dialed.

After a few moments, Jane said, "They'll be here shortly."

"It's not necessary. I'm sure I can find some that will work. I brought three pairs of shoes with me." Shana checked the closet and then closed the door. "I guess nothing really goes with this dress, but I don't want any more presents. I'll never be able to repay all your generosity. I'm only a high school English teacher."

"Drew wants to do it. Don't worry about it."

"I'm under the impression he wanted nothing to do with the dinner party."

"That part is true." Jane laughed. "But the dresses for Emily and for you, he was one hundred percent behind."

"I just don't want to get too far in debt to him or anyone."

"My dear, you aren't in debt to anybody around here. I mean it." Jane patted Shana's arm. "Now, go change. We have a busy day ahead. We need to make this place glow." She took Emily's hand. "Let's leave while Shana changes."

Shana looked at herself in the mirror while she put the pearls around her neck. Pearl earrings would look pretty with this. She touched her Star of David necklace. "I wonder what the protocol is for wearing this with pearls. I've never taken it off since Grandma gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday. That birthday changed my life. I learned what it truly meant to be Jewish." She turned at the sound of a knock on the door. "Yes."

Jane cracked the door open. "Philip finished his European call."

"Tell him I'll be right out." Shana rushed to the bathroom to change.

*****
When Shana entered the den both Anderson and Philip stood. Anderson pointed to a chair. "Please sit. Did the dress fit?"

"Yes, perfectly. It's beautiful. Thank you." A pink tinge crossed Shana's cheeks.

Philip grinned. "Are you ready to hear what the Dorotheum art auction house proprietor had to say?"

"Of course. Did he speak English?" Shana folded her hands in her lap.

"He did, surprisingly well, now I think about it." Philip rapped a drumroll on the arm of his chair. "I need to build this up."

Anderson chuckled. "It's nothing, isn't it? Just out with it." He paused. "If you had something, you wouldn't do all the hoopla."

"Correct. I spoke with Erich Berger. He said he never auctioned that painting. He's faxing the receipts to prove it. They'll have the buyers' names blocked out, but the names of the paintings, costs, and dates will be shown."

"How can he remember back to 1995?" Anderson re-examined the receipt.

"He was an assistant back then, but they've archived all the artwork sold since the 70's. He searched by buyer, didn't find anything, searched by painting's name, didn't find anything, and then searched by artist. He still didn't find any record. Since the receipt is dated October 18, 1995, he's faxing everything from September through November just to make sure."

Shana leaned back in her chair. "Now what?"

"We wait until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. The lawyer I hired will be here and we ask him," answered Anderson.







*Please remember this is only part of a much longer chapter. I divide my chapters into three or four parts for ease of reviewing.*


Characters so far:

Shana Kohlberg -- a 25 year old high school English literature teacher -- she's trying to get her family's painting back

Anderson Sharp -- often called Drew -- 31 years old -- works part-time on Wall Street -- a billionaire from Texas oil wells

Dmitry Bezrukov -- one of three Russian men in black suits

Jeff Burk -- takes care of Anderson's cars and important security details.

Helen -- Anderson's cook

Jane -- Anderson's housekeeper

Philip -- Anderson's butler -- close friend and confident

Kyle -- Anderson's dog walker

Axel -- Anderson's lead German shepherd

Thor -- Anderson's second German shepherd

Romeo -- Anderson's third German shepherd

Aaron Kohlberg -- Shana's older brother

Ivan Kuznetsov -- formally Ivan Morozov, I accidently chose a real person, so I have changed it present day owner of the painting.

Patricia -- Anderson's ex-wife

Emily -- Anderson's five year old daughter

Isaiah Glassberg -- Anderson divorce/custody attorney.

Jeremy -- Jane's second-cousin twice removed, NYC undercover cop.

Hannah -- Shana's cousin, the same age. Married within the past year and just had a baby

Joshua Colton -- Art Museum's curator

Benjamin Kohlberg -- Shana's father

Maxwell Gaines -- Lawyer hired retrieve the painting

Erich Berger -- Manager of the Dorotheum art auction house in Austria