by S E Lunsford
“I have to go to the bathroom,” I explained.
Nodding at me he went back to eating his food as I made my way into the other room.
Once I was safely in the bathroom, I turned to lock the door only to find that the lock had been removed. Taking a deep breath, I got myself settled on the edge of the closed toilet seat as time seemed to speed up. I carefully unfolded the note not recognizing the scrawling block letters written in blue ink as coming from anyone that I knew. They simply stated, “Tonight 11, be ready wherever you are.” The words burned themselves in my memory as I heard movement outside the door. I stood up quickly, pushing the note down into the toilet and flushed it quickly making sure the note disappered into its depths.
Carefully, I opened the door to find that Bob was seated on the far side of the bed looking outside. He slightly turned towards me as he heard me close the bathroom door.
“What do you think of this?” He asked.
“Think of what?” I asked in return as I slowly made my way over to him.
Patting the space beside him on the bed he encouraged me to sit down. I settled next to him following his gaze out the window.
“This,” he gestured widely. “This world and the changes we’ve made.”
The silence stretched out between us as I considered what to say.
“Answer honestly,” he commanded, looking over at me and pinning me down with his gaze.
“Well,” I said intertwining my fingers with each other. “I kind of liked it better before.” Glancing over at him I shifted uncomfortably not able to keep still because of the nerves that seemed to be firing all over my body. Reaching over, he put his hand on top of mine pushing down slightly until I was still.
“So do I,” he said softly.
The sun began to set as we sat that way, he lost in his thoughts as I tried to wrangle mine under control. Finally, he moved away, laying on his side on the bed his wings stretched out behind him.
“I’m going to get some sleep,” he said. “I suggest you do the same, it’s going to be a busy night.”
I nodded as I stiffly lay down next to him. The comforter was soft underneath me, I couldn’t help settling into the softness of it. As I listened to his breathing get slower and slower, I replayed what he said to me until my mind could no longer absorb the thought or the consequences of it. Finally, I closed my eyes thinking that I would just rest them for a moment.
Hushed voices woke me as I struggled to reorient myself without opening my eyes. Making sure I didn’t move or twitch at all I strained to hear what they were saying from the other room, only to find that they were too low for me to make anything out except that one of them was Bob and the other was someone else.
Holding in a sigh, I slowly opened my eyes glancing over to find that it was full dark outside with not much more light in the bedroom. Only one of the bedside lamps had been turned on. Staring at it, the wonder of seeing an electric lamp actually working bubbled up inside of me as I sat up. A red evening dress hung from the back of the bathroom door. Stretching as I stood, I glanced over toward the sitting area, before I padded over to the glittering red affair that reminded me of Jessica Rabbit. Looking down at my own extremely thin body that had lost its curves somewhere along the wayfrom Arizona to California, I felt my stomach drop at the thought that it was for me.
“You found it,” Bob confirmed my suspicions making me jump at the sound of his voice so close. Turning I saw that he had somehow made it into the bedroom without making a sound.
“Ever think of making noise when you enter a room?” I said turning to glare at him.
The woman behind him couldn’t hide her smirk even though she tried. She glanced over at him waiting to see what his reaction would be, a slight look of surprise crossing her elfin face as she realized he wasn’t going to do anything with my attitude.
“Not usually,” he replied good naturedly. “Sally here will help you get ready. There’s food in the other room. I’ll come back and get you in an hour.” With those words he walked out of the room, the door making a loud click behind him.
Her smirk gone, Sally and I stood in silence for a moment looking each other over.
“We need to get you ready,” she said curtly, looking me over as if that might be the worst job ever. She began to move around me looking me over more closely. Lifting up the ends of my hair, irritation crossed over her face. “We’re going to need to trim this but not too much,” she said to herself dropping my hair as if it contained a life of its own.
Sighing, I looked down at her. “Are you always this rude?”
Straightening up, she met my eyes with her own. “Look,” she said. “My job is to get you ready for the party
tonight. You aren’t the first I’ve had to do this with, and you won’t be the last.”
“I get that, but you don’t have to be rude about it,” I insisted.
She nodded. “Actually I do,” she said.
“Why?”
“Just sit down,” was her answer as she went to her bags on the loveseat.
Sitting down in a nearby chair, I couldn’t help but see more trays of food on the coffee table replacing the ones from earlier.
“What time is it?” I asked, trying to keep my mouth from watering at the scent of the food seeping out from underneath the silver covers.
“About seven,” she said, as she used her scissors to cut the air. “You know it’s so hard to keep these sharp now, they don’t give us any…,” she trailed off, glancing over at me.
“Keep still,” she said as she made her way over to me, her tiny frame settling in next to me as she lifted up the ends of my hair trimming it expertly.
“Were you a hairdresser?” I asked. “Before,” I added.
“Lord no,” she said chuckling. “I knew what you meant.” Stopping her trim of my ends she stared at me, the crow’s feet around her eyes just beginning to spider their way out from the corners, and the ghost of laugh lines around her mouth not quite disappearing into her flesh. “I can see why he likes you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Angel Bob,” she said with a smile. “He’s one of the only ones who doesn’t bring girls back here very often.”
“Oh,” I thought of what the other girls said.
“No matter what the others say,” she said smiling again as she resumed her trimming.
“Did you just read my mind, because…..” I trailed off.
She shook her head. “The girls always talk, they don’t know as much as they think, most of the time they’re cooped up in the rooms, and there’s only a few of them, that well,” she stopped trimming. “That are around for a while.”
The sound of the scissors filled the room as I absorbed that little bit of information, and I wondered who Sally had been before all of this. She was thin, but not malnourished, and she didn’t have any visible scars on her bare arms which meant she might not have lived on the streets running from the creepers. My gaze followed her arms up to her shoulder where her flesh was hidden from view by her purple tank top, she moved slightly which was just enough for me to see the tip of a green leaf that tattooed her skin. Her eyes followed mine.
“Not my finest moment,” she commented. “Just one of those nights.” She went over to her bag pulling out a makeup kit. “Don’t worry,” she seeing the look on my face. “It comes off and Angel Bob doesn’t like too much make-up not like the others. He says he still wants you,” her voice faltered as she pulled out foundation, eyeshadow, blush and powder. “To look like you.”
“How many others have there been?” I asked surprised at how soft my voice was.
“For Bob?” She asked carefully, dropping foundation onto a sponge and beginning to smooth it over my skin. I looked up slightly nodding. “You’re the third.” I let out a sigh, my body relaxing and releasing tension I didn’t know the question held. “Now, the others,” she rolled her eyes. “They go through girls like I don’t even know what.”
“Wha
t do the others like their girls to look like?” Shimmying in my seat, I folded my hands together wondering if the other girls were going through the same process I was.
“Well,” she said, stopping and holding her brush in the air. “Let’s just say heavily made up and scantily dressed.” I glanced over at the red dress and she began to laugh. “Believe it or not, that’s pretty conservative for these guys, but I don’t think he’ll mind if you put on a little something to cover yourself up even more if you feel uncomfortable as long as it fits in with the dress as a whole.” I nodded.
“I’d like that.”
The brushes were feather light on my skin, as I closed my eyes and let her work. The room was quiet with the familiar hum of electricity, but my stomach wasn’t. It released an overlarge growl that made her laugh.
“Here,” she said. “Eat something before it really starts yelling at you.”
Picking up a plate, I lifted off a lid seeing meatloaf, mashed potatoes and beans, one of my favorite meals. There was still steam wafting off of the food even though it had been sitting there for a while. Letting the flavors of the meal settle on my tongue as I chewed I couldn’t hardly believe I was eating such a meal again. When I slowed down, I noticed that Sally had been watching me the whole time perched on the edge of a chair.
“Don’t you want some?” I asked, gesturing to the abundance of plates and food.
She shook her head. “It’s not a rarity for me.” Looking me over again she took a deep breath exhaling slowly. “When did he pick you up?”
I stopped chewing, the thought of being surrounded by the creepers on the roof of the parking garage making the meat loaf turn to buckshot in my mouth. Carefully I put the plate down as she kept her eyes trained on me. “Not long,” I whispered. “A couple days, maybe.” I tried to figure out how many nights it had been and was surprised to realize that it was just the day before.
“That’s how it is around them,” she commented wryly. “It’s like no time has passed but it seems like a long time, most of the girls haven’t even been here as long as they think they have.”
“Including Felicia?” I asked.
“Well, she’s been here longer than most,” she said with a smile. “Her angel actually has feelings for her, but that’s no something for public consumption.”
“There’s another girl,” I said as she resumed working on me. “A small blond girl.”
Her brush stopped. “What about her?”
“Is she new?”
“Yep, look up,” she said a mascara wand in her hand.
“Who is she?”
“Look,” she said stopping and glaring at me. “Sometimes it’s best to just let sleeping dogs lie, or whatever the saying is, forget about her. Bob likes you, just keep close to him tonight and you just might make it through to morning.”
An hour later, I perched carefully in my seat the red gown smoothly fitting my body, my hair a glistening brown sheath draped over my shoulder. Sally stood back to survey her work. She nodded to herself, a look of satisfaction crossing her features.
“See, it worked perfectly,” she said gesturing to the black chemise she had slid over my body before I shimmied into the dress. It filled in the plunging neckline looking like it was a part of the dress.
“Thanks,” I said, trying not squirm. “I’ve never worn anything like this before.”
“I can tell. Just make sure you walk carefully, and, I can’t say this enough, stay near Bob.”
The way she kept repeating that made me more and more nervous as the time passed. From the way the small blond girl downstairs was dressed up, and now myself, I had assumed that we were just going to a cocktail party of sorts, but now, I wasn’t so sure.
“You want to see yourself?” Sally asked.
My stomach clenched at the thought, but my curiosity overrode any other feeling as I nodded. Handing me a mirror, Sally watched me intently as I scrutinized my face and hair. Actually, I scrutinized someone else’s face and hair because I couldn’t recognize the woman in the mirror with her very angular jaw, high cheek bones and make up that accented both. The red lipstick and hair that wasn’t full of zombie goo hastily pulled up in a crisp ponytail was odd, to say the least. Blinking I was sure the woman would disappear, but I found her wide dark eyes staring back at me when I took a second look.
“It doesn’t look like me,” I said, handing the mirror back.
“That’s what they all say,” Sally said with a laugh. “But, I can assure you it is you, just a little enhanced that’s all.”
Just as she finished speaking, the doorknob turned and Bob walked in, stopping when he saw me. His mouth curved in a satisfied smile.
“You look beautiful,” he said causing a different sort of clenching in my stomach as he watched me. “You outdid yourself Sally.” He turned towards her as she began to make herself busy repacking her things.
“Thank you,” she said in a whisper as she began to pick up her bags.
“But, there is one more thing,” He said softly. Sally froze, every muscle in her back tensing as she turned to look at him barely concealed fear deep in her eyes. She took a deep breath and forced herself to smile at him. Tilting her head she took another deep breath and waited.
“A head covering,” Bob said. “She needs a head covering.”
“Of course,” she replied. “I’m so sorry. I ….” She trailed off, confusion joining with the fear fueling the search in her bag. Bob watched as she began to dig frantically in her bags coming up with nothing. “I’m sure there’s one in here somewhere,” she said beginning to search through them again.
“Sally,” Bob’s voice halted her search as she turned to face him terror clearly painted on her features, and sweat beginning to gather at the base of her neck. “You don’t have one, I do.” He lifted up a black silk veil that was embroidered with red doves at its edges.
“Oh,” was all she said as her shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Sally,” he said taking a step towards her and holding out the veil which she took with a barely concealed tremble in her hand. “Not all of us will hurt you.”
She barely looked at him as she made her way over to me, spreading the veil over my head and gently settling it so draped over the length of my hair. “You need some bobby pins,” she said keeping her voice steady as she went to one of the bags and brought back a few pins, using them to anchor the veil to my hair making sure the pins couldn’t be seen.
“There,” she said to me, her eyes beginning to swim with tears. “You look beautiful.”
She turned back to her bags leaving me confused in her wake as she quickly closed her them and hung them from her shoulders.
“Be quick,” Bob said his face stark as he watched her walk towards the door. “You need to be locked in your room before long.”
“I will,” she responded, before she looked back at me. “Remember what I said.”
“I will, and thank you,” I said to her back as she left the room making sure the door was closed behind her.
Bob settled on the sofa looking out the window at the darkened sky, then back at me lacing his fingers together.
“I imagine she told you to stay near me,” he said drily.
I nodded, feeling my hair resettle itself softly.
“Then I don’t need to say more?”
The question hung between us.
“What is tonight?” I asked, watching his eyes flit back outside as he absorbed the question.
“It’s a get together,” he said, standing up and holding his hand out to me in one fluid motion.
Tottering before I found my balance I clasped onto his hand hard. He began to laugh. “With those shoes on, I image you straying too far from me isn’t a question.”
“I guess not,” I replied, cursing my ineptness in walking in the three inch heels. “But, you have to remember I’m used to more survival friendly footwear.”
My statement made him chuckle even more, “Survival friendly footwear
, I’ll have to remember that.”
Chapter 9
We walked into the main foyer of the hotel where most of the other women were wearing heels much higher than mine and gripping the arms of the angels they were with tightly as they made their way outside. Glancing around, I saw Edward busily serving drinks to angels and their women. He barely glanced at me as he smoothly made his way over to us carrying a silver tray of champagne flutes filled with the bubbling amber liquid.
Bob took one glass handing it to me, before he took another. The cool glass felt good on my fingertips, but I hesitated before taking a sip. Bob held up his glass to toast with mine, before he took a sip. Trying not to glance at Edward I lifted the glass to my lips seeing him nod his approval before I took a minuscule sip, feeling the cool tangy drink sit for a moment on my tongue before I swallowed.
“Would you like some champagne?” Edward said as he moved to the next couple. I saw Felicia reach out and grasp a fluted glass before she raised it slightly to me and took a sip. He hair was covered with a light blue veil that matched her dress. Looking out over the crowd I saw that only a few women had veils. The rest of the women’s hair hung in waves or straight sheathes down their backs, some of their angels taking a moment here or there to pet their hair or entangle their fingers in it.
Looking over at Felicia’s angel, I could see why she was so attracted to him. He was classically beautiful, looking like something that Botticelli would have coaxed out of marble and given wings to. Not only that, but he looked down at her with a warmth and caring that was so rare in this group. I tried not to shudder as I kept my thoughts on the straight and narrow, trying to corral them so they didn’t go down the dark paths that these angels I’m sure could walk.
Looking around again, I saw that the angels of the women who wore the veils generally looked at them with fondness and that the other angels largely ignored them. Those women with uncovered hair were subjected to leering glances and the occasional lewd comment as they walked through the crowd, something the angels they were with didn’t object to. The longer I watched, the more seriously I took Sally’s warnings. I took a slight step closer to Bob.