|
The Tessarae Inn |
|
Consequences in Blue Notes
CHAPTER 6 Blair dressed carefully then checked herself in the mirror until she was satisfied with her appearance. She was wearing the bright red suit she wore during her pregnancy. With her now flat stomach the three-quarter length jacket draped beautifully and there was no way anyone would realize she had a money belt under the jacket. Her hair was styled, her nails were polished, and her lips were tinged with color. She grabbed her purse and coat then took a deep breath. She was ready to face Todd. She listened to the rhythm of her heels hitting the hardwood floor and picked up her pace. She had to appear confident and self-assured. She was worried last night, when he slipped into bed next to her and wrapped his body around hers, that she wouldn’t be able to pull it off. She didn’t fight him or move away. And despite her resolve, she memorized his body and how it felt, its warmth and hardness, how he smelled, and the softness of his lips as he pressed them against her neck. She let herself drift into sleep with him holding onto her for dear life. What did it matter? Nothing had changed. And she suspected he knew that because when she woke up, he was gone. Todd must have heard her coming because just as she hit the bottom step he walked out of the living room. He couldn’t hide the surprise that danced across his face, but there was something else in his facial expression that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She stared at him for a minute then broke her gaze. She didn’t have time to try to figure out Todd. “Are you going somewhere?” “Shopping.” “Blair, look. I don’t think this is the time. We need to talk. There is so much we need to clear up.” “We can do that later. I feel like getting out. I’ve been in that room for three days. I need to get out and spend some of your money. Where’s Starr?” “They’re at Viki’s.” “Good. I’ll get her lots of surprises that will make her happy when she comes home.” “Rae Cummings wants me to bring you in today. She said something about anti-depressants and an evaluation.” “This morning?” “Well, no, this afternoon. What did you tell her anyway? She was looking at me funny.” For just a moment, she felt her resolve waver. There was a part of her that wanted to strike out at him, but she steadied her nerves. “I told her that you lied to me.” “Is that all?” “Wasn’t that enough?” “Blair, come on. We need to talk.” “I need to go shopping.” “Okay, fine. I’ll go with you.” “No. I want to do this alone. I need to get back in touch with myself. I don’t need a babysitter.” He glared at her for a few seconds then his face softened. “I’ll call Fred at the limo service. He can take you around and keep an eye on you.” Blair tapped her fingers on her left sleeve then said, “Fine.”
She rubbed her fingers along the leather of the limo and smiled pleasantly as she looked at Fred in the rearview mirror. She was thrilled that Todd hadn’t disappointed her. He reacted exactly the way she thought he would. “Where to, Mrs. M?” “Let’s start at Dominique’s and work our way to every other classy shop in town.” Fred grinned at her. She worked furiously at creating the image of a rich society woman on a shopping frenzy. By the time they hit the fifth store, she and Fred both were exhausted but she pretended otherwise. Fred seemed relieved when she suggested he take her by the bank so she could get some cash to take them out to lunch. Lunch was something Fred could relate to. At the bank, she made quick work of withdrawing five thousand dollars from her joint account with Todd. Any amount higher would have automatically raised a flag and the bank would have alerted Todd to confirm the withdrawal. She knew Todd well enough to know that he was having the accounts in her name monitored for any withdrawals. At the restaurant, she invited Fred to eat with her. They enjoyed Renee’s special lobster salad and laughed and talked like old buddies. When she excused herself to go to the restroom, she walked out of sight and watched as Fred made a call on his cell phone. He was talking to Todd. When she saw Fred throw his head back and laugh, she knew her plan was working. Todd didn’t suspect a thing. In the restroom, she quickly transferred the money to the money belt and then closed her purse. It was hard as hell not to slip in a picture or two but the break had to be clean. She returned to the table and asked Fred if he was ready for round two. This time they went to the mall. She bought several pairs of shoes and toys for Starr. By the time she reached The Gap, Fred was begging to just sit outside. She shopped quickly—a charcoal gray sweater four sizes too large, denim jeans, socks and a knit skull cap. She danced out of The Gap and then headed straight for Antoine’s where the staff took lessons in how to be snooty and demeaning. She breezed in and went straight for the most expensive dresses. She grabbed three and pretended to be flustered. She gave Fred her purse and several of the packages told him to keep an eye on them. Fred was annoyed but also distracted. He was flirting shamelessly with one of the clerks, who seemed interested despite her high stepping, phony, glossy veneer. Blair smiled. Things couldn’t be working out better than if she planned it that way. In the dressing room, she carefully hung up her red suit then dutifully tried on each dress just in time for the salesclerk to peek in and ask if she needed anything. After the third peek and see session, Blair figured she was safe. The willingness of the clerks at Antoine’s to lavish attention on a customer was limited at best. She quickly changed into the clothes she bought at The Gap. She removed her earrings and other jewelry and slipped it into the pockets of her suit. She slipped on the moccasins she bought and, finally, pulled the skullcap over her head and slipped on a pair of sunshades. She stared at her image in the mirror for a few seconds. She barely recognized herself but everything came down to the next few minutes. She didn’t have time to linger. She eased out of the dressing room bay area and into the main store. No one was looking in her direction. Fred and his lady of interest were almost wrapped around each other. The clerk who was helping her was talking to someone else. Blair began to finger several dresses when one of the other clerks noticed her. The clerk rushed over as if there was an emergency. “Can I help you?” the clerk intoned with great insincerity. “I don’t know, Missy Clerk. This stuff looks pretty expensive. How can you people justify charging these prices?” Fred glanced over toward her then looked away as if he found her lack of money distasteful. “Maybe this isn’t the store for you. May I recommend the discount mart down on the other end of the mall?” “Are you saying I’m not welcome here?” “We are here to serve customers not street urchins.” Street urchins! This was going better than she imagined. She gave “the –whatever-and-fuck-you” sign then slowly strolled out of the store into the main mall area. She pretended to window shop at the next several stores then strolled at a leisurely pace toward the main entrance to the mall. Outside, she found the bus stop and took a seat on the bench thoughtfully provided by the mall management. A bus to downtown Llanview arrived twenty minutes later and she hopped on board. The bus cruised slowly toward the roadway. She glanced back just in time to see Fred rush out of the mall door loaded down with packages and talking on a cell phone. She caught a glimpse of red and realized he had her suit. She smiled and turned away. At the main bus terminal, she bought a ticket to Richmond, Virginia. From Richmond, she would catch a bus somewhere else. She had no delusions about Todd. He was going to come looking for her but she wasn’t going to make it easy for him.
The trip proved surprisingly hypnotic. She closed her eyes and listened to the sound of the tires rolling along the asphalt and tried not to think about what she was leaving behind. The bus stopped in DC and there was a major shuffling of passengers—some getting on while others got off. A woman in an electric blue silk dress caught her attention. Her dress was wrinkled so much that it seemed as if she slept in it and her makeup, which had been applied with a heavy hand, was smeared. Naturally, the woman chose to sit next to her. Blair noted that the woman smelled of booze and cigarettes but she didn’t care. She had seen, heard, and smelled worse. The woman leaned over toward her at an exaggerated angle and said, “I’m going home.” “That’s nice,” said Blair. She hoped that would be enough conversation to satisfy the woman. “Got my tail between my legs because that man near about broke my heart in two. I’m going home because my heart can’t take it anymore. Got my tail between my legs. Going home.” “I don’t have a home.” “Now, that’s some sad shit, but there’s no need of lying about it. Some man broke your heart, too. I can see it in your eyes. You got haunted eyes. That’s why I sat here.” “I don’t want to talk about it.” “Suit yourself.” To Blair’s amazement, the woman shut up, leaned her head back and closed her eyes. A few minutes later, however, the woman started singing in a soft but surprisingly good voice. “Love-e-e-e brings such misery and pain. I guess I’ll never be the same…” Blair folded her arms across her chest. She wasn’t running home with her tail between her legs. She was flying—flying away from the pain, soaring above the betrayal, reaching for the clouds. It had taken her three damn days and a lot of scrubbing and effacing of her memories to give her the strength to get out of that bed but there was no going back now. She was flying free. “Since I fell for you-u-u-u,” sang the woman. Blair closed her eyes and imagined that she was spreading her wings. She ignored the tears in her eyes because they didn’t mean anything. She was free.
|