“Mace.”
“You can make jokes, but this is serious, like life and death. I’d put you on a fucking plane and hide you on some island if I knew you’d be safe.”
“My passport is out of date.”
“See, you’re a pain in the ass. Since you won’t hide, keeping you close is my next best option.” He tilted his head like he did when we were young. “And, yes...Lorna, please, I need your help.” Lifting his burger, he said the next sentence quiet and fast. “And, I also think if things get hotter, I may insist you live with me for a while.”
“Say what? With you? In your tiny apartment near campus?”
“No, my living arrangements have changed.”
“What does that mean?”
“I can’t say. First, will you come to New York with me?”
My mind filled with thoughts of his request, yet they were filled with holes I couldn’t fill. I knew nothing about debutante balls, wealthy businesspeople, or politicians. “I suppose you’re going to tell me there’ll be royalty there?”
Snagging another onion ring, Mason shrugged.
“Are you serious?”
“Reid saw the entire guest list. I suppose it depends if they show. The Duke of Cambridge is pretty straitlaced. His uncle though, the Duke of York, has been known to—”
“Oh my God,” I interrupted.
“Will you come?”
“I have to be back to work on Sunday morning.”
Mason exhaled as his shoulders slumped. “What happened? I thought you said you had the whole weekend.”
“Long story, but I promised Jane I’d cover for her.”
Mason bobbed his head for a moment. “Okay. The ball is Saturday night at an estate in Bishop’s Landing. We’ll have a hotel room in New York. I’ll check, but there’s probably a red-eye Sunday morning that can get you back to Chicago in time.”
Suddenly, my heart beat faster, thumping in my chest. “Mace, I’ve never been on a plane.”
4
Friday morning, I stood beside Jane in the employee locker room as she pulled a long dress covered in a dry-cleaning bag from her locker. “I think this will fit.”
“Where did you get it?” I held on to the hanger and began to lift the bag.
“I wore it at prom.”
The dress beneath was black, floor-length with a slit along the side. There were crystal embellishments that crisscrossed over the bodice and along the spaghetti straps. My carry-on for the weekend was in the trunk of my car, complete with the crystal shoes. I could add this.
Relief flooded my circulation as I hugged my friend. “Oh, Jane, it’s beautiful.”
“You can’t even tell it’s five years old.”
“You can’t tell.” I ran the silky material through my fingers and looked to her with glassy eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Look at me.” She rubbed her hand over her enlarging midsection. “Wear it.” She lowered her voice. “And with the crystals, it’ll look good with those shoes.”
I sucked in a breath. “I have them packed. But shit, I can barely walk in them.”
“You have time before the party. Keep practicing.”
“You’re a lifesaver. I’ve scoured every thrift store on the South Side. I mean, Mason didn’t mention clothes, but a ball,” I exaggerated the word. “I don’t know what he thought I’d wear.”
“Hey, your brother is hot, but he’s a guy. Guys don’t think about shit like clothes.” She scoffed. “Most guys are only interested in taking them off.”
“Ladies, there are toilets to clean,” Anna’s voice rang like fingernails on a chalkboard as she entered the locker room. “Oh.” She came closer, eyeing the dress. “What is this?”
“A dress,” Jane replied dryly.
Anna grabbed the hanger from my grip. “Sleazy.” She looked from Jane to me and lifted her eyebrows. “Lorna, have you decided to make some extra money working the street corner, following in your mom’s footsteps?”
Jane snatched the hanger back. “It’s pretty and won’t look sleazy on Lorna.”
Anna laughed. “Opinions are like assholes.”
I shoved the dress into my locker, and after making sure it was hanging straight, I slammed the door. “And some people are only assholes.”
“Oh, Lorna,” Anna said, “you have the third floor. An old man croaked in 334. The firemen took him away, but you’ll need to scrub the mattress. He pissed all over himself.”
Exhaling, I turned and walked away.
Once Jane and I were at the elevator, she whispered, “Why do you put up with her shit? You could get a job anywhere else.”
“I keep telling myself that she’s jealous...and I owe her.”
“Damn, I mean, she should be jealous, but you don’t—”
The elevator doors opened.
I peered inside, thankful there were no mice or bags of half-eaten food. Together we entered and arranged our carts. I hit the buttons for floors two and three. “My mom was, or is, a cunt. As you know she lived with Anna’s dad. I lived there for five months and seventeen days.”
“Who’s counting though, right?”
“Right,” I said. “I always thought her dad was a creep. A year later, Anna had a kid. She was fourteen.”
“Yeah, she has three now.”
“The first one was her dad’s,” I said softly. “I know it because I walked in on them once. She’s hated me ever since.” The elevator stopped on two. “She hated me before, but after that...”
The elevator doors opened.
Jane’s eyes were wide. “Fuck. That isn’t your problem. I don’t want to lose you, but you could work anywhere.”
“So can you.”
She ran her hand over her growing midsection. “Right. Who will hire me?”
“I guess I feel I owe her for not telling someone what he was doing.”
Jane turned once she was out of the elevator. “Girl, your debt is paid.”
The elevator closed and took me up to three.
At nearly seven at night, my phone dinged with a text message from Mason.
I’LL MEET YOU WHEN YOU LAND AT LAGUARDIA.
I texted back.
SEE YOU SOON.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I’d hoped Mason would fly with me, but apparently, he and his inner circle flew to New York on Thursday. It was something about being prepared, chess, and fires.
Removing my apron, I entered the quiet locker room. Unsurprisingly, Anna’s desk was empty. She rarely stayed past six p.m. As I opened my locker, my heart seized and circulation dropped to my toes.
Tears filled my eyes as a wave of nausea weakened my knees. I reached out to the lockers for support.
The dress that Jane had graciously allowed me to borrow was no longer hanging on the hanger. I didn’t need to lift the pile of rags to know what happened, but I did. With more tears accumulating in my eyes, I lifted the black material. The skirt was now shredded with long vertical cuts. Beneath the remains of the dress was a note.