“I don’t want to fall behind.”
“Li, you found those workbooks in a dumpster.”
“Not in a dumpster!” His face flushed pink. “They were fifty cents each at the library in Long Beach.” He added: “I found the economics textbook in the dumpster.”
“You’re an odd duck, Li.” Travis sighed and unlocked the liquor cabinet. “So did you kick Ms. High-and-Mighty out of the dining room?”
Li scribbled radicals across the page. “Not after she asked me about dying. I went back and tackled the dishes.”
“So she’s just sitting there toasting suicide, eh?” He pulled out a bottle of gin and raised it in a mock toast. “To death, Charlegne! Hopefully it doesn’t hurt much.”
“I can’t believe you just said that.”
“Hey…It’s no skin off my nose if she’s thinking of offing herself. Besides, what would it hurt if the world loses one person, particularly one as self-entitled as Charlegne Jackson?”
Li’s smoky blue eyes fumed. “You’ve never lost someone, have you?”
Travis thumped the bottle he was putting away onto the counter. “Oh God, Li. Don’t go off on your damn father again.”
Li slammed shut his workbook and slid off the barstool. “You know what…Maybe I will go to bed. I certainly don’t want to upset you by talking about my dad.”
Travis seized his friend’s wrist. “Oh, okay…I’m sorry if I upset you. There. All better?”
A frown pinched Li’s mouth. “All I’m saying is that losing one person affects many people. Yeah, I know. I talk too much about my father. But, when he died, my family lost more than financial security. My mom lost the man who hitchhiked across the country to attend her college graduation. My sister and I used to play Knights and Castles with him for hours until we got too big for the cardboard castle he built us. Dad was taken from us.” Li dropped his eyes to his workbook, and the radicals began to look like little houses. “Every day I work my butt off to be a better son for him.”
“Even though he’s dead?
“He’s still my dad, dead or alive.”
Li sat down again and pored over his sums.
“Sometimes, Li, you drive me up the damn—”
“Shut up, Sally! I’m feeling fine! I don’t need to go to bed!”
Aaron Brent kicked up a new rage outside Temptations, his voice shredding the midnight hush.
“Aw damn,” said Travis. “I thought I got rid of him.”
“We should make sure everything’s okay. If he’s as drunk as you painted him, things will get ugly.”
“Somehow, risking my life wasn’t on my itinerary tonight, but if you insist…”
Travis and Li left the lounge and watched Aaron sway as he stormed toward them. His bullfrog face bulged with blood, and he occasionally stopped to support himself on a wall. Sally Brent crept after him.
“You there!” The drunken man wagged a fat finger at Travis. “Bar Jockey! Get me a double Scotch on the rocks! Nah…Screw the rocks! Get it to me straight from the bottle!” He wobbled on his feet.
“I cut you off hours ago, Mr. Brent.”
“Ha ha! You’re a lousy comedian! Get my drink or I’ll sue your ass!”
“I’m sorry, but we do have rules.”
“I can get you some coffee,” Li offered.
Aaron rounded on him. “Shut up, Food Boy! I don’t need coffee, dammit!” He swung his arms wildly, grazing the wall with his knuckles. He turned around, as if deciding to seek service elsewhere, and collided with his wife.
“Christ, woman! Do you have to follow so close behind me? You’re like a damn cat, creeping about on your toes!”
Sally crumpled with apologies. “I’m sorry, Aaron…I was distracted…I wasn’t thinking where I was going…It was an accident…I’m sorry….”
“You damn well don’t think! Someone ought to smack some sense in you, woman!”
“Aaron, honey…”
“SHUT UP!”
His hand made sharp, dry contact with Sally’s cheek. It sounded like a whip crack. Sally stumbled backwards, her hip clanging against the glass railing surrounding the Atrium, an ugly red handprint branding her pale face. Her soft blue eyes drowned in tears.
Li strode forward, face alive with fury, but Travis pulled him back. “Don’t do something stupid, Li. Get security.”
“YOU ASSHOLE!”
Li’s heart jumped to his throat. Charlegne was there, seething with rage. The Ice Queen had melted. The woman framed in the dining room doorway breathed energy and life. She was passionate and vicious. You could feel the blood burning through her body. A hot blush filled Li’s face and neck. He could hardly believe this was the same woman.
Charlegne stormed to the couple, her loose, blond hair whipping behind her. Her chest and neck flushed red and heaved with every word she barked. Her voice could cut diamonds. “You disgusting beast! How dare you hit her! How DARE you lay your hands on her, you son of a bitch!”
“Lay off, lady!” Aaron retorted. “This has nothing to do with you!”
“The hell it doesn’t! You just decide to hit your wife or whoever she is in front of me! If you lay your hands on her like that one more time, I’ll do more than just notify the captain!” She turned to address Sally, who shrank away with huge teardrops dangling off her lashes. Charlegne’s tone softened. “Come on, dear. You need some coffee.”
She moved to take the woman gently by the arm, but the husband grabbed Charlegne’s wrist with a shaking hand.
“I’m not letting my wife go with someone like you, Barbie!”
Charlegne whirled around, wrenched her arm from his grip, and slapped him hard across his swollen face. Aaron staggered back, bloodshot eyes wide with alarm, a booze-bloated parody of his wife earlier. Fury quickly supplanted the shock.
Charlegne stepped toward him, her voice calm, cold, firm. It was the deadliest sound Li had heard yet. Like a razor-sharp icicle inching towards a beating heart. “NEVER touch me like that again. I’ll see you ROT in jail if you lay a hand on any woman. Mark. My. Words.”
She took Sally by the elbow and led the woman away. The air seemed to freeze when she turned her back to him. Aaron’s face darkened to a mottled purple. He pounded a fat fist into his open hand. It made a thick, meaty thump.
Li pulled away from Travis.
“Mr. Brent?” he said, struggling to keep his voice calm. He wanted no more incidents like this. “Let me get you a cup of coffee.”
“I’ll kill them,” Aaron croaked. “I’ll kill them both and shit on their corpses…”
He stumbled in the direction of the elevator.
Li needed help to walk to the crew’s quarters. His feet had swollen until he could no longer tie his shoes. Travis, having secured the bar and lounge, supported his friend.
“That was one hell of a show,” Travis said. “The Ice Princess extends a hand to a lowly serf. Talk about a change of heart. Or more like the purchase of one. I didn’t know they sold working hearts at Saks.”
Li seemed unfocused as they entered the elevator. “Did you notice anything peculiar about the situation?” he asked.
“Other than Charlegne showing genuine human concern? Not really. I pegged Aaron Brent as a wife beater from the first ‘Dammit, Sally.’”
“There’s something I’m supposed to remember about Sally Brent’s face.”
“I really don’t remember it…except for the big bruise she’ll have later.”
Li winced from both the pain in his feet and the memory. “I’ve seen it somewhere before. OW! Don’t make me lean on that foot!”
Travis corrected his stance. “Sorry, dude. You really took a pounding today, didn’t you?”
Li chewed his lip. “It feels like my feet are broken.”
“They might be. You’ll need to take these shoes off. Hopefully you don’t have a stress fracture.”
Li redistributed his weight, grimacing as his foot touched the floor. “I’d hate to see Paul’s face if I di
d have a broken foot.”
“It would look like fury and ecstasy had sex on his face. Almost there, Li.”
The elevator reached Deck Three, the dregs of the ship. They dismounted and hobbled down the passageway to the sleeping quarters.
“Why can’t I get her face out of my head?” Li asked himself.
“A secret love that will become a borderline obsession?” Travis pushed open the door to the quarters with his hip. “The only thing I recall was that handprint.”
“Something about her eyes…”
“Look, Li. You’re stressed and exhausted. Take off those shoes, go to your bunk, and go to sleep. No self-assigned homework. Paulie will ride your ass hard tomorrow.”
Li tried to stifle a yawn. “If he doesn’t kill me first…”
“Charlegne will take care of that. You’re her favorite now.”
In the cabin, Li trundled to the restroom before going to his bunk and collapsing on the flimsy mattress. His feet throbbed. The man in the top bunk stirred.
“Yo, Li,” he said. “Don’t flop on the bunk. I’m trying to sleep.”
“Sorry, David.”
Li sat up, fiddled with his shoelaces, and began the painful exercise of removing his shoes. He gasped when the first one came off. After slipping off the second, he discarded his socks. Blisters speckled his red, swollen feet. His toes looked like dumpy thumbs.
“Oh Jesus, Li.”
David, a deck attendant, crept down from the top bunk. Ever the officer, he looked ready for action, not a lock of his clipped, brown hair out of place. He switched on the overhead light and gazed down at his bunkmate’s mutilated feet.
“What the hell did you do?” he asked. “Walk on broken glass?”
“I work for Paul McCaffrey.”
“That’ll do it.” David extracted a needle and a rag from his belongings. “We need to lance those suckers before they get infected. Put your foot up.”
Li did what he was told. David repeated his earlier question, and Li shared the story, all the way through to Charlegne rescuing Sally Brent.
“So she finally found a heart,” David replied. “Let’s hope the Wizard doesn’t renege on the deal.” He pricked a particularly nasty blister and washed Li’s foot with the wet rag.
Li flinched. “Everyone says that she’s some kind of heartless monster. I didn’t get that impression at all.”
“What impression did you get? Hold still.” He uncapped a disinfectant spray.
“I’m not sure yet. She seems like a deeply unhappy woman. Her makeup was too perfect. YOW! You could have warned me it would sting!”
“I did. I told you to hold still. Hold this rag on your foot but don’t wipe.”
Li wrapped his foot. “Why do you have all this stuff?”
“Li, I’ve been working for the Howard Line for eleven years. You pick up a few things. I used to get nasty blisters too, but I learned quickly. Let me take a look.” The rag fell. “Okay. Looks fine. Let’s do the next one.”
“I wonder why she was thinking about death.”
“Who knows? I don’t understand creative people. Come on, don’t dawdle. Get your foot up here.” Li did so, biting his lip until it threatened to bleed. David set to work. “You must have caught her in some weird creative state. Maybe she’s designing a collection of funeral wear.”
“I think she remembered something. She kept playing with this little ring.”
David wiped another burst blister. “A ring?”
“Yeah…this tiny diamond one. Didn’t look that expensive. Why would she have that?”
“Women like jewelry, Li.”
“No, that can’t be it. From what I saw, it looked almost worthless. Charlegne Jackson would own the most expensive jewels. This ring was out of character.”
“I’m going to spray your foot now.” The young waiter closed his eyes and bit his lip harder. David dispatched with the disinfectant. “There. All done.”
Li opened his eyes. “Thanks a bunch. I feel loads better.”
“I’m still worried about that swelling. You better get Doc Innsbrook to check it out.” He picked up the cast-off dress shoes. “What’s your shoe size anyway?”
“Ten-and-a-half.”
“That’s it then. These shoes are a size too small. Why do you have them?”
Li mumbled.
“Well THAT was certainly helpful. Speak up, kid.”
“They were all I could afford. I got them at a thrift store. They didn’t have my size so I had to make do.”
“That explains those ratty old sneakers under your bed.”
Li’s eyes focused on his sore feet. “I can only afford one pair of shoes a year.”
David stood and removed a perfectly shined pair of dress shoes from under the bunk. He handed them to Li.
“Take them. They’re too big on me.”
“No, I’ll be fine. Really. I couldn’t take them from you.”
“I’m not letting you walk out tomorrow with shoes that’ll hurt you. Take these or I’ll force you to sleep in them.”
Li hesitated, but then accepted the shoes. “Thanks. I really have nothing to give you in return. If there’s anything I can—”
David raised a hand, cutting Li off. “Don’t worry about it. We’re bunkmates. Just promise me that you won’t rock the bed in the middle of the night.”
“I promise.”
“Good. Now get your butt in bed, kid.”
The cabin door opened and Marisol, one of Li’s fellow servers, walked in with her sharply-taloned hands on her hips.
“Sorry to wake you,” she said, checking her reflection in her acrylics and not sounding sorry at all, “but there’s a room service call. A cup of Oolong tea to Verandah Deck 5. Charlegne Jackson. She asked specifically for you, Johnson.” She pivoted on her heels and flounced away.
David turned to Li. “Do you want me to—?”
Li shook his head. “We both know that won’t go over well. Hopefully it’ll be quick. I’m going to steal your shoes for this.”
“By all means. I’m going to bed. Try not to make too much noise when you return. We both have morning shifts tomorrow.”
It took Li nearly fifteen minutes to get his new shoes on, limp to the elevator, head to the beverage station on the Verandah Deck, make the tea—Of course, there wouldn’t be any ready—and carry it gingerly to the stateroom. His back popped as he set the tray down in the passageway. His knuckles rapped on the door. “Room service.”
The door snapped open before he could turn to leave. Charlegne, dressed in nothing but a silk excuse for a bathrobe, stood there, soft, gray pouches under her eyes. Behind her, Steven Danforth lay on the bed, naked as he was on the day he was born.
CHAPTER 6
Breakfast
“That bastard! Is he hung-over or something? How can he say that my Hollandaise is too eggy? The sauce has egg yolks in it!”
Li tossed Mr. Brent’s barely licked plate of crab cake eggs benedict onto the pass-through. Chef William flung the food into the trash and barked at his cooks for a third refire. Li, armed with a full carafe of coffee, swept out of the kitchen and returned to the Captain’s Table.
“You seem much more relaxed this morning,” said Rosemary Hale, accepting a fresh cup.
Li smiled, this time genuine. “I have new shoes today.” He wiggled his toes in David’s dress shoes.
Rosemary forked through her poached egg. “I haven’t seen Charlegne this morning. Do you know where she is?”
“No, ma’am.”
The stress lines around her lips softened. “Perhaps she’s sick in her stateroom.”
“We’ll send a steward to check on her, if you wish, Mrs. Hale.”
“Oh…no rush…”
“Food Boy!” Aaron screamed from across the room. “Where is my breakfast?”
“Duty calls, Mrs. Hale. I’ll be back shortly.” Li returned to the kitchen, retrieved the corrected breakfast plate, and rushed to the Brents’ table. Aaro
n’s face flushed scarlet and sweat percolated on his forehead. Sally had a large bruise stamped on her cheekbone.
“You take too long! What will it take to get some decent service on this godforsaken ship? Where’s my food?”
Li placed the amended dish before his customer. “Will there be anything else, sir?”
“Where are the potatoes? A decent breakfast has potatoes!”
“The crab cake benedict doesn’t come with potatoes, sir. It comes with grilled asparagus.”
“Blech! Rabbit food! I want potatoes!”
“Might I suggest the bacon potato hash on the side?”
“Hmph! It’ll have to do! But don’t screw this up!” He began plowing through his crab cake.
Li turned to Sally. “And you, ma’am? Would you like anything else?” Like a divorce attorney, he added inwardly.
Sally flinched and directed the traffic of her scrambled eggs around her plate. “No…No, I’m fine.”
Chef Will scowled at this new request. “Oh for the love of God! Didn’t you tell him what came with the crab? You did? Then he’s just being a bastard.” He massaged his temple. “Luis! Fire a potato hash on the fly! And Johnson, answer the room service line. I hear it ringing.”
Li hooked the receiver with his index finger and balanced it between his shoulder and his ear. “Room service. How may I help you?”
The woman on the other end snapped at him. “Quail egg amuse-bouche, whole wheat toast, and black coffee to be sent to Miss Jackson’s stateroom. Verandah Deck 1.”
“The amuse-bouche is reserved for the dining room and is only given at the chef’s discretion.”
The woman seemed to snarl at him. “Are you perfectly willing to risk your job and livelihood by defying Miss Jackson’s direct orders? Do you need a reminder about who you are serving?”
Li felt a headache start to brew between his eyes. “Very well, ma’am. How would you like your egg cooked?”
“It’s not MY food!”
“Very well. How would Miss Jackson like her egg?”
“Sunny side up. And make sure you send that Lenny boy or whoever he is.” The other end clicked off.
Li couldn’t see how anyone could survive on just a thimbleful of food. But it wasn’t his job to reason whys or wherefores. “Sunny side up quail egg amuse and whole wheat toast for Cabin V1!” The chefs called back the order. Luis handed him the completed hash for Aaron Brent, which Li knew would be returned for something as stupid as the wrong color plate.
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