39: Pillars (Flashback)

*The Hudson residence was in a jubilant mood. It was the birthday of Samuel Hudson, the only son of the billionaire business tycoon Rick Hudson. The entire estate was heavily decorated and a variety of distinguished guests hailing from different backgrounds were invited. Most of them were celebrities of some field. People from media swarmed their driveway to sneak a peek at who the guests were. Media wasn’t allowed inside the party so they fancied their chances from outside the building. There were rumors of big names from Hollywood being invited and media guys were restless to get their hands on any candid photo of them. What they didn’t realize was that the actors or actresses were the smaller of the fishes in the vast sea of connections of Rick Hudson. He was well respected among the top tier persons of any business. Even government officials, including sitting Senators were in the list and were eager to show up at the party. Sandra Hudson enjoyed every bit of it. She had spent the entire month making arrangements and booking the best party planners in the country. Rick loved to see Sandra do her thing. She was the life force of the family. It was getting dark and the first of guests started to pour in. Ronald Mosely was the first to come. It had taken a lot of convincing to make Ronald treat himself as one of the guests to the party. He had been persistent on staying at the mansion and assisting Sandra in making the arrangements. Rick had given up but it was Sandra who had dragged Ronald’s wife into the discussion and convinced him to take the day off. The black sedan stopped in front of the gate and Ronald emerged from the back door, buttoning his navy tux. He paced to the other door, pulled it open and helped his wife exit the vehicle. Sandra was at the gate when they arrived. She practically jumped with excitement. Ronald had been a family friend and so was his wife. She ran out to welcome them. The couple wasn’t accustomed to such formality so naturally they were awkward. Watching Sandra in such a mood eased their nerves. The women immediately dived into their gossips while Ronald went inside to look for his employer. He was itching to get to work.

*As Ronald walked inside, he was dazzled by the makeover Sandra had managed on the interior. The gigantic golden chandeliers weren’t there when he had left a day ago nor were the ornate gold lined drapes that made the interior of the mansion look like a palace. As far as he could see was golden or red. The servants scrambled around as their superiors barked orders to them. The arrangements were complete but the planners were working on the final tweaks before vanishing from the field and spectating from the sidelines. Ronald found Rick explaining the security layout and formations for the evening to the security personnel. He seemed to be struggling at it. Rick caught him at the corner of his sight. Ronald was a sight for sore eyes and his employer was more than happy to see him. Rick wore a black pinstriped suit with a bright purple contrast. Everything other than the coat, pants and boots was purple. Ronald jogged closer to him. Rick repeated what he had been trying to explain to his men and Ronald attentively listened. After a brief silence, Ronald barked three code numbers and the men scrambled to their positions. They all placed themselves precisely where Rick had wanted them. Ronald felt his employer stare at him. He dutifully turned to see if there was more to be done. He found Rick looking at him with an ear to ear smirk.
*
*“Show off!”, he muttered and lightly punched him on the shoulder. Ronald smiled back but a bit awkwardly. He shyly scratched the back of his head. Rick enthusiastically grabbed him and walked with him around the heavily decorated expanse. The band had started to play. The rest of the guests had started to arrive. The first ones were the business partners and personal friends of Rick Hudson. They were an extremely goofy bunch that went overboard trying to keep up appearances. They had arrived in a group. They immediately looked around for the big man and found him. Rick saw them coming at him ready for a bear hug. He didn’t usually extend such courtesy but it was a special day after all. ‘Their trophy wives are probably feasting on Sandy’s brain right now’, he thought to himself. He cringed at the image of his wife tying to evade them awkwardly. Time passed and the bigger names on the list started to pour in. A senator and a congressman had arrived along with their protocol. They warmly greeted Rick and asked about Sam. Rick assured them that he was going to show up any minute now. Two movie stars joined the party with their families. They picked up their toddlers and made them shake hands with Hudson. Rick was pleased. Time passed quickly and it was nine in the night. Half the guests were scheduled to be somewhere else at ten. There were no signs of the birthday boy. Rick was getting cranky. He asked his wife about it and she was just as panicked.
*
*“Where is he?”, he asked Sandra in a whisper, masking his discomfort with the situation. Sandra didn’t have any answers.
*“He said he’d be here by eight”, she responded, looking at her watch. Rick wasn’t pleased.

*“Well it’s fucking past eight”, he mumbled as his foul emotions were beginning to show. They waited for another half an hour. The security officers of the congressmen and the senator approached Rick and requested him to relieve them. Rick shook his head in disappointment. It was probably the most humiliating occasion in his entire life. Dozens of high-profile guests who were still lower than him, shared blasphemous glances on his son ghosting his own party. He called his cell phone one last time and there was still no answer. He decided to cut and serve the cake without him. Hudson had always kept the family matters within the walls. There was no way the guests would ever forget such humiliation any time soon but it had to be done.
*