“Doesn’t that sound like fun, Jon?” she asked.
“Sure. Sounds great.” His voice was monotone as he looked over and faked a smile.
∞∞∞
The next afternoon, Ava, Claire, and Arianna went back and forth between their apartments for approval while trying to decide on outfits and hairstyles. Finally, they gathered at Arianna’s, so they could take turns in front of the vanity’s mirror.
“What do you think it is?” Ava asked. “Aryl’s idea, I mean.”
“I don’t know. I tried getting it out of Caleb for a few hours last night, but he wouldn’t budge. I think he knows more than he wants me to believe he does,” Arianna said.
“Aryl won’t tell me either,” Claire added. “But I haven’t seen him this excited about something since we got here. I hope whatever it is really does work out.”
“Do you think it has anything to do with leaving the city?” Ava asked hopefully.
“I don’t know,” Arianna said. “All I know is I am going to thoroughly enjoy tonight because Caleb made it clear that money will be spent only on necessary things after this. I sure hope Aryl reveals his plan soon because life is going to be downright miserable after tonight,” Arianna said with dread.
They waited anxiously for the men to get home and hurried them along in getting ready. They dressed in clothing that they had had no reason to wear since moving, and they looked utterly elegant as they left the tenement and walked to the trolley.
∞∞∞
They ordered coffee and crepes in a small café uptown. Ava glanced at Jonathan repeatedly as he started to show signs of life in the cozy café. He talked more than he had in the two weeks since the attack and even laughed at some of Aryl’s jokes.
When they left the café, Jonathan slipped an arm around Ava and pulled her close to his side as they walked a few blocks down Broadway. They had been to many stage shows and motion picture premieres; they knew the area well.
Once tickets were bought, they walked into the elegant, mahogany paneled lobby of the Capitol Theater and stood before the marble staircase that led up to the mezzanine. Just as Arianna started to take the first step, Caleb stopped and gestured toward a man in a tuxedo at the other end of the lobby.
“Is that the guy you needed to talk to?” he asked Aryl.
“It is. Listen, you all go up and get settled. I’ll catch up. I need to talk to someone,” Aryl said and walked over to the manager of the theater. The others watched for a moment as he spoke with the man, shook his hand, and began talking animatedly.
“Maybe he’s investing in the theater,” Arianna whispered to Claire excitedly. Claire gave her a hopeful smile as they headed up the staircase to their seats.
Claire began to look around nervously when the theater had filled nearly to capacity and Aryl still hadn’t joined them. “Maybe you should go look for him,” Claire suggested to Caleb.
“Nah. You know how Aryl gets. He’ll be along,” he said.
The lights dimmed and just as the newsreel began, Aryl appeared, tapped Caleb on the shoulder, and leaned down to talk to him. “We need to go talk to this guy. This could be a good opportunity,” Aryl whispered a little too loudly. Caleb leaned over to whisper to Arianna that he would be back in a few minutes. She pouted and whined. However, when he told her it was business, she relented. Aryl apologized to Claire and kissed her cheek.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can. This is really important,” he pleaded.
“Fine. Hurry back or you’ll miss the whole thing!” she said. Neither of them said anything to Jonathan who was absorbed in the newsreel.
“Well, that worked out well,” Caleb commented as they headed back down the marble staircase to the main lobby.
“It did,” Aryl agreed. He introduced Caleb to the manager. They talked of meaningless things before Aryl commented that they were probably missed by their wives and had to get back. Someone called the manager’s name from across the room and he turned and waved, signaling he would be there momentarily. When he turned around, Caleb and Aryl were gone.
∞∞∞
Victor pulled on his gloves and adjusted his hat. His car sat parked alongside the road, and he tapped it twice as he continued down the street. The driver remained in the parked car near the entrance of the gentlemen’s club, so that anyone wondering Victor’s whereabouts, mainly Ruth, would be cleverly fooled. He paid his driver well for his silence and boredom.
Victor began walking the four blocks to his waiting mistress. He never saw the man who grabbed him from behind. With his hand over Victor’s mouth, he pulled him back into a dark alley. Victor’s arms flailed wildly as he tried to get away. A second man came from behind the dumpster. Victor couldn’t make out the face that stood before him who wasted no time in delivering two hard punches to his gut, ending Victor’s struggling.
“No,” the man behind Victor said. “Just the face.”
∞∞∞
“Where have you been?” Claire complained. “It’s half-over!”
“Sorry,” Aryl said, settling in his seat. “We just got to talking, you know.” He turned his attention to the show.
As they were leaving, they stopped to introduce Jonathan and the wives to the manager, and Aryl promised he would be in touch. The girls didn’t notice the manager’s confused expression as they left the theater. They hurried home, shivering as the temperature had dropped below freezing. They talked about what a great evening it had been, and Caleb promised they would do it again as soon as they had saved enough for Aryl’s idea. Jonathan’s mood was lighter in the theater, but as they passed the streetlamp where he was attacked, he returned to his previous depressed state.
∞∞∞
Aryl woke early to a loud pounding. He stumbled to the door and opened it to two policemen.
“Are you Aryl Sullivan?”
“Yes,” Aryl said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes.
“Sir, there was an attack last night, and it was implied by the victim that you might have been involved,” the first officer said.
“I don’t see how I could have been since I was at the Capitol Theater last night with my wife and friends,” he said calmly.
“Do you have proof of that, sir?” the second one asked suspiciously. “See, that isn’t far from where the attack happened.”
“Sure,” Aryl said and turned to dig the ticket stub out of his coat which hung on a nail by the door. He handed it to an officer. “If this isn’t good enough, you can talk to the manager of the theater. My friends and I spoke with him about investing in the theater before and after the show,” Aryl said with a yawn.
“This Mr. Smith will vouch that you were there the whole time?”
“Of course. Go talk to him.”
“Investing, huh?” the first officer said, glancing around the tenement with a mocking smile. “All right. We’re going to go talk to the others implicated and see if their stories match yours. If this Mr. Smith confirms you were there last night, you won’t hear from us again.”
“Fair enough. Say, who was it? Who thought I had something to do with this?”
“Victor Drayton.”
“From what I hear, he has plenty of enemies. Good luck finding the guy,” Aryl laughed and the policeman nodded knowingly.
“Yeah, but we gotta follow up first on whoever the victim implicates as a suspect. Particularly with an attack this vicious,” the officer explained. Aryl waved, closed the door, and turned to see Claire standing by the sofa with crossed arms and an angry face.
“Investing, huh?” she repeated the officer's comment.
“Yeah. Investing in a peaceful future,” he commented and walked past her to put on a pot of coffee and get ready for work. She spun around, out of patience.
“You really are playing with fire, Aryl. Going after some petty thug for this is one thing, but Victor Drayton is not someone you want to mess with. Especially since we are currently renting from him,” she said, infuriated.
“It
’ll be fine. Victor is not going to show his face around here for quite a while.” He wouldn’t be showing his face anywhere for quite a while. “And he certainly will think twice before messing with us again.”
“He didn’t mess with us. He messed with Jon,” Claire clarified. Aryl hurled her the angriest look that Claire had ever seen.
“When somebody messes with one of us, he messes with all of us. I thought you of all people would know that, Claire. Wasn’t it you in the park last week standing with Ava, even though it had nothing to do with you?”
∞∞∞
Caleb’s story matched beautifully and the timing couldn’t have been more perfect with Jonathan’s bruises having faded to the point where he simply looked violently hung over when he answered the door to the policemen. He also produced a ticket stub, and Ava insisted he was by her side in the theater the entire time. Jonathan figured out what really happened quickly enough and promised that his friends were in their seats near him for the whole show. The policemen left and found no reason to return.
Caleb insisted that everyone come over for dinner that night after work, and they each brought something to add to the table. Everyone except Jonathan was more talkative than at their last gathering for Thanksgiving. Their morale was slightly lifted from their evening out. Each one took turns suggesting ways to save money further, weekly meals together being one of the ideas. Jonathan sat across from Aryl and Caleb. He looked each of them in the eye for a few seconds. Caleb’s eyes narrowed slightly, and one side of Aryl’s mouth twitched. Their silent conversation went unnoticed by the rest of the table. Jonathan nodded once.
∞∞∞
Ava was unable to get to sleep. Every noise from the apartments, the sirens and screeching tires from the street jarred her every time she started to drift off. It was nearing the early hours of the morning as she stared at the ceiling, longing for sleep. Jonathan had been very restless all night. Grunts, flailing legs and talking in his sleep added to the list of things that kept her awake. Much to her relief, he finally settled into slow and deep breathing. She closed her eyes, grateful for the silence and began to drift off.
“Elyse,” Jonathan whispered and Ava’s eyes popped open. She propped herself up on one elbow, and he repeated the name quieter this time.
“Elyse.” he said again with a sigh. Ava kicked him under the covers. He snorted, mumbled, and rolled to his side. She stared at him for a long time waiting to hear him repeat the name during the hours left of darkness.
The next morning, Ava was up before Jonathan and sat, waiting at the table with her coffee. When he sat down across from her, her glare was set in stone.
“Morning,” he said, spooning some jam into his oatmeal.
“Who is Elyse?”
“What?” he asked, choking on a sip of coffee.
“Who . . . is . . . Elyse?”
“Where did you hear that name?”
“You said it in your sleep last night. Twice.” Honesty had worked with Ruth’s second visit, so he decided to take that approach again.
“She was someone I knew before you,” he said causally.
“Another one. When can I expect her to show up?”
“She’s not going to show up, Ava.”
“How can you be so sure? She must have left quite the impression on you for you to dream about her all these years later. I’m sure the feeling was mutual.”
“She just won’t.”
“Bet you thought Ruth wouldn’t show up either.”
“She won’t show up because she’s in Paris, Ava.”
“Oh,” she said, sitting up straighter in her chair, beginning to put the pieces together. “Was that who you were with when you told Ruth you were in board meetings?” she asked.
“How do you know about that?” he asked quietly.
“I confronted Ruth.”
“When?” he exclaimed, finally looking at her.
“Over a week ago. I went to the park and confronted her. Arianna and Claire showed up to support me, and that was the last thing Arianna said to Ruth. That you were with someone else when you told Ruth you were in board meetings.” Jonathan looked clearly shaken, and he cursed Arianna under his breath.
“Yes. I was with Elyse,” he said, digging deeper into his proverbial grave. Just him saying her name made Ava’s blood boil, and she resisted a violent urge to hurl her plate across the room.
“Well, part of me is relieved to know that Ruth never meant that much to you.”
“Of course, she didn’t.”
“But someone else obviously did. You’re still dreaming about her.” She seethed with jealous rage. He opened his mouth to argue but couldn’t.
“I didn’t mean to,” was his pitiful reply. “It was long before you, Ava. I haven’t even thought about her in ages.” He desperately wanted this whole conversation to end and be forgotten. She didn’t say anything else but sat stewing with crossed arms as he left for work silently.
∞∞∞
Ava walked down the hall and pounded on Arianna’s door. Ava pushed her way past and spun around on her heels.
“You were in Paris with Jon. You saw what went on. Tell me about Elyse.” she demanded. Arianna looked suddenly as if she wanted to crawl under the table and hide.
“Well? I’m waiting,” Ava said impatiently.
“Why do you want to know, Ava?” Arianna asked cautiously.
“Jon dreamt about her last night. He said her name. I asked him about it this morning, and he told me about her. I just want to hear it from you,” Ava said convincingly, so that Arianna wouldn't see through the lie.
“Sit down,” Arianna said hesitantly. She poured both some coffee and sat across the table from her. “Where do I begin?”
“Try at the beginning, Arianna.”
“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “You know that Jonathan’s more wealthy clients overseas threw enormous parties for him when he visited three or four times a year. They were always regal events with the most famous and important people attending,” Arianna started. “Well, every luxury was provided. Elegant suites, exotic food, expensive wine . . . beautiful women.” Ava felt her face flush with anger. “I can’t say anything about the trips before I came along, but I went every time that he and Caleb went, plus the few times when Aryl joined us.”
“But you can tell me about the trips you did go on with them,” Ava insisted.
“Elyse was one of the women provided for the parties. She was one of at least a dozen women from the most elite and respected brothels. Real high priced entertainment.” She waited for Ava's reaction, but she showed none. “Well, Jon spent some . . . time with Elyse. Since she was a regular at the parties, I guess you could say he got to know her.” Arianna was getting more uncomfortable telling the story, and Ava could hardly hear her through the pounding of her heart in her ears. Her hands were shaking in her lap. She told Arianna to go on.
“Well, Jon worked it out with the brothel owner that she was not to be available for any other clients. She was to be reserved just for him when he came to visit.”
“He what?”
“M-Maybe Jon should tell you the rest,” she said nervously.
“No. You will tell me the rest. Right now,” Ava demanded. Arianna was not used to being put on the spot or being ordered what to do, but she obeyed.
“He paid the brothel a large sum of money in exchange for Elyse being reserved for him. And he saw her every time he visited.”
“Every time?” Ava asked, thinking specifically of the last time he went to Paris, alone.
“As far as I know. Of course, after you came along, we never heard another word about her,” Arianna tried to reassure her.
“But you never heard that he ended his agreement with the brothel either, did you?”
“Well, no, but that almost goes without saying. You have to understand, Ava. Once you came along, there were no other women on earth as far as Jon was concerned. And you may not like to hear this, but he did ha
ve needs and a life before you.”
“I know that,” she growled, even though she didn’t like the idea. “But he should have told me about this. After all, he’s still dreaming about her. He must have really loved her.”
“He didn’t love her, Ava. She was supporting her family and trying to save to go to a women’s college one day. He was trying to help her out is all.” Ava thought back to Ruth’s statement about his pity for her being the reason why he took care of her, and she thought her head would explode with rage. It explained why he was so distant, showed no interest in her, and spent his evenings staring at the fire. He was thinking of this woman now that he had grown tired of her, and she refused to believe that he hadn’t loved Elyse.
“What about Caleb and Aryl? Did they have whores on retainer, too?” she said, clearly disgusted.
“Caleb and I were married before he ever came to work for Jon. I was with him during all of his trips. And Aryl’s stories are not mine to share. However, I will say he didn’t do as Jon did and actually tried to talk him out of it.” Ava’s eyes flashed up to Arianna, turning her anger on her.
“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Ava, that was another world, another time long before you.”
“Apparently a lot happened before me. How dare you call yourself my friend!” Ava stomped out the door, slamming it behind her.
∞∞∞
Later that evening, the tired and cold men trudged up the stairs. Jonathan opened his door to a torrent of screaming and crying that caused Aryl to stop on the stairs and look back towards Jonathan’s door. Aryl’s head fell, worried for his friend, but was too tired to intervene.
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