Chapter 15 #2
If only. I would have loved nothing more than to work alongside a man as talented as he was. To be under his tutelage would have been nothing less than an incredible privilege.
Before I’d met Nick, I had toyed with the idea of going to school for fashion design but ultimately never followed through on it.
Now, though, that felt like a million years ago.
Yet I couldn’t help myself from sidling up close to the store clerk who had been talking with him before he stepped away to help another shopper.
“Excuse me, but did I hear correctly that”—I angled my head and made sure my voice was no higher than a mere whisper—“he’s hiring?”
A smile crept across her face, and she leaned forward. “Yes. It’d be quite the coup for whoever he selects. Are you considering applying for the job?” she asked, her voice unnecessarily loud. “I’m not sure it’s something that’s posted publicly.”
My cheeks burned as if I’d spent the day in the sun.
Aside from my fear that someone might have heard us, I was also a little surprised that she herself didn’t turn her nose up at me.
Did she honestly think I could do the job?
I’d need something to do after Nick left me.
Certainly some sort of income. Our prenup wasn’t exactly generous in my favor.
Not that I expected Nick wouldn’t insist on defying its terms. “I—”
A throaty chortle came from behind that had me turning around to see Lilian and Maribel standing there, immensely amused. They might have been my good friends, but they were as judgy as they came.
Forget the blanket I had wished I had before. Now I wanted a ditch to crawl into if they’d heard me inquiring about a job.
“Candy,” they both cooed as soon as they spotted me.
Acting as if I hadn’t noticed them, I looked up and allowed shock to color my expression. Maybe I could both turn back time and speed it up. I wanted to wrap this up before Eloise came back from the bathroom and only further embarrassed me. It was possible I’d done enough of that myself already.
I gave them air kisses on their cheeks. I smiled cordially, acknowledging them each in turn. “Maribel. Lilian. So good to see you. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
Although, I should have known. They were as loyal to this store as I was. Not even a blizzard would have kept them away.
“Why, of course. Who turns down an invitation like this?” Maribel asked, a smile attempting to tug at the corners of her lips, but all the fillers she’d had seemed to be working against her. “Do tell what that woman was doing talking to you about a job.”
The clerk obviously saw this as her opportunity to take her leave gracefully as she had likely been trained to do around customers.
Maribel lightly chuckled, her eyes trained on me. “She must know we don’t work. We shop here. A great deal, as a matter of fact. Or does she not know who you are?”
My knees felt wobbly, like they sat on strands of angel hair holding me up.
Could it be possible that I’d faint here and now?
I sincerely hoped not, but I didn’t like this conversation, not one bit.
Or what she was implying. “No, of course not, Maribel. She was just being chatty, I suppose. Filling time with nothing more than idle nonsense.” My gut twisted as I wished that I had already been gone by the time they showed up.
Maribel shook her head and turned to Lilian at her side. “Such a shame not everyone knows their place.”
Lilian’s handbag moved to the crook of her elbow, her gloved hand jutting out as she tilted her chin up. “I should say so.”
I wasn’t surprised Lilian would agree with her.
Just as I wasn’t surprised by any of this.
I should have known better than to think I could have inquired about work.
The outside world only knew that I was Mrs. Crane, not that I would be legally separated in the blink of an eye really.
I narrowed my eyes and shook my head, playing along.
“Indeed. Anyway, I was just about to pay for my shoes and be on my way.” Far, far away from this floor and you two.
“So, you found something you like?” Lilian asked me pointedly, her eyes roaming the counter behind me.
I waved my hand. “Naturally. That’s like asking if a monkey likes bananas.
” A laugh erupted from me momentarily before I cut it off and turned to find Eloise.
It would be worse if she approached us and introduced herself as my sister.
It was best we left before this went any further.
“My sister is here somewhere. We should probably get going. We’re going to dinner. ”
“Your sister,” Lilian repeated coldly, raising a thin brow as she seemed to be considering something.
Something devilish, I was sure. “Oh, where?” She always was a nosy one.
She was also the gossip queen of the Upper East Side.
Her husband worked in insurance and was the best in the business, so she was lucky in that he tended to feed her obsession for knowing the happenings.
I slipped my handbag onto my wrist, signaling that I hoped we were done here. “We’re not sure.”
Clacking her tongue at me, Maribel shook her head. “Candy, my dear, that’s no good. How will you get into a nice restaurant without reservations?”
“Eloise—”
She shot her hand up at me, her fresh set of acrylics catching my eye. “You must join us. We have reservations just us girls. We’d love it. Right, Lilian?” Maribel insisted.
I knew there was little chance I could turn down the invitation, especially if I didn’t want to cause a rift. Swallowing hard, I knew what I had to do, even if that meant sitting down to a multi-course meal with them and my off-the-cuff sister.
* * *
Nursing my gin and tonic, I listened intently to Maribel go on about someone we had once known. Someone who had been part of our inner circle of friends a lifetime ago. I didn’t care about the tedious facts she was boring us with. Just the notion of how this woman’s life had changed.
Now she was a divorcee.
Like I’d soon be.
Shunned from our group.
Like I’d soon be.
Nothing more than a name that was spoken about in hushed tones, as though out of fear they’d catch the unfortunate circumstances of her life.
I didn’t want to think about it, not any of it, but it would have been silly for me not to. Jeez, I needed a paper bag. My mind was racing like a sports car on an open road, playing out my fate like I knew exactly how this was going to go down. Probably because I did.
Things would be vastly different come January. Everything I’d worked so hard for would end, cease to exist. As would I, at least to these people and this life I had become accustomed to. All because of a piece of paper.
I’m divorcing you. Nick’s words haunted me, spiraling and expanding into larger-than-life script in my head. How could this be happening to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?
As the waiter left with the empty plate from which I had enjoyed a seasonal salad with leafy greens, candied pecans, and acorn squash, my stomach rolled over.
“You look positively green,” Lilian noted, taking a sip of her martini. She pointed to my face. “Are you feeling okay?” She scrunched her face up like she feared whatever I had might be contagious. As usual, she was only worried about number one—herself.
Plastering a phony smile on my face, I nodded.
Unless an arctic blast blew through the Caribbean, I wouldn’t be sharing exactly what I’d been feeling or thinking.
Not with these women. “Yes, just a touch nauseated. It’ll pass.
Please, go on.” And turn your attention from me while I sit, sulking over my inevitable destiny.
Eloise reached out, a hand touching my arm. “If you want to leave, we can go home.”
When I looked over at her, I saw compassion and warmth in her eyes. Sometimes I wondered if I was worthy of being her sister. She deserved to be related to someone who hadn’t become the way I had.
The thought was fleeting, though, and I placed my hand over hers, tapping it. Hopefully that was the urge she needed to remove her hand from my arm. It might have been touching, but it was also unnecessary.
Before I could open my mouth to respond, she went on. “I’ll just have them pack up my scallops in one of those foil swan things, and we can be on our way. Would you want them to pack up your fire-roasted salmon too?” She waved her hand, tsk tsking. “Who am I kidding? Of course you do.”
Lilian gasped, a hand flying to her chest. “Leftovers?” She looked aghast. “Really?” she asked, her expression contorting into one of utter disgust.
“They aren’t leftover. We never took a bite. It’s more like to-go,” Eloise explained, as if that made all the sense in the world. And maybe it did, but it wouldn’t to these women. That much I could guarantee.
That feeling washed over me again, and I feared I’d go from green to greener in a few seconds flat.
I laid my hand on Eloise’s wrist in hopes that would silence her.
“No, it’s fine. I’m okay. Thank you anyway.
” My expression remained stoic, just as it needed to so that these women didn’t get their jollies out of watching this unfold.
Maribel didn’t say a word, which was very unlike her. Maybe a cat had gotten her tongue. We could only be so fortunate. She did make a point to shake her head, though.
While the waiter served our entrées, Lilian homed in on me. She wasn’t going to quit, was she? “What is going on with you, Candy? First, talk of a job, and now, leftovers. Are you and Nick in financial trouble?”
She would have loved that, wouldn’t she? These ladies weren’t the type to kick a person when they were down, but they would certainly walk around them. With a very large berth, of course.