Annihilate Them

by Christina Ross

  “Because I’ve been conflicted about all of it,” she said. “He’s still pressing me into getting married. But what does that look like if his parents aren’t on board? For me, it looks like total disappointment. They see me as this weird woman who writes about zombies—and since they’re devout Christians, they can’t wrap their heads around the fact that their only son is in love with that person. Tank couldn’t give a damn, but I do. I want them to accept me before I marry Tank. I want them to root for us.”

  “Lisa, I hate to break this to you, but you can’t expect them to. You also can’t give up your own happiness because of their prejudices.”

  “That’s what Tank says,” she said. “But I know that he thinks the world of his parents—he knows that he’s their good son—so where does that leave me? I’ll tell you where that leaves me—as the person their son shouldn’t marry.”

  “Because of the books you write?”

  “Yes!”

  I reached for her hand when she said that, and squeezed it. “Have they even read your books?” I asked.

  “I doubt it.”

  “Then that’s on them. Because the whole undercurrent of your books is about more than just the loss of humanity. For those characters who haven’t been turned, your books also are about holding on to one’s religious faith. And it goes beyond that. Some of those who are turned struggle with their faith. You write about it in such a way that it’s a metaphor for what’s happening in our culture today. If they read your books, they’d see that.”

  “They won’t be reading my books anytime soon, Jennifer.”

  “Then to hell with them,” I said. “You can’t alter minds that refuse to change. We both know that. Tank knows that—that’s why he’s been pressuring you to marry him. So, marry him for God’s sake.”

  She took a deep breath and then let it out. “I certainly didn’t expect our little trip to Martiniville to turn into this.”

  “Well, it has. And I’m going to leave it at this, because I don’t want to contribute to your angst beyond what I’m going to say to you now. So? Here I go. Lisa, you must know that life is finite. I found that out just a few days ago, when Alex and I were nearly mowed down by terrorists who killed and wounded many of our friends—as well as people we didn’t know. In the wake of that, please listen to me now—do you want to end your days with the regret that you didn’t marry Tank because of how his parents might view you? Come on! Life is fleeting. After what happened the other night to those poor people, I can tell you that for certain. So, to hell with what his parents think. What you need to think about is your own happiness. And Tank’s happiness. The fact that he’s been pushing you to marry him after your Christmas with his parents says it all to me. He doesn’t give a shit what they think—and neither should you. You seriously need to reevaluate this.”

  “As I said earlier, you and I don’t see each other enough,” she said.

  And when she said that, her eyes became bright. I could sense a conflict within my best friend that I hadn’t even known was there, and it destroyed me.

  “Our lives have changed over the past few years, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t turn back the clock,” I said. “We need to start talking more. We need to start finding the time to be with each other more than we have been. Yes, life is insane for both of us right now, but we need to bring it back to us. I had no idea that you were in this kind of state. You must know that you always can reach out to me.”

  “But you’re so busy.”

  “I’m never that busy. And I swear to God, I will never be too busy for you. All I need from you is one text or one call—and I’m there. That will always be true for me, and I hope that it will be true for you. Because trust me, I’m going through my own shit that I haven’t even shared with you.”

  She furrowed her brow at me. “What shit?”

  “I can’t get pregnant.”

  “But you will—you have to believe that you will.”

  “I’m trying,” I said. “But I’ve got to tell you, Lisa, it looks bleak.”

  As the time passed, we discussed my concerns. Lisa listened to me and tried to calm my fears—and it felt good to have my best friend at my back. I saw Blackwell every day, but Lisa? My best friend since I could remember? We maybe saw each other once a week, and generally that was at dinner with Alex and Tank, where I couldn’t be as open as I was being with her now. That needed to stop. We needed to put our careers aside and make time for us. I felt ashamed that I’d allowed myself to be sucked into the world of Wenn and had neglected my friend, and I knew from what Lisa said to me that she felt the same about her own habit of holing herself up in her office and writing her books.

  “Then, it’s done,” I said. “Twice a week, we meet for lunch. Just you and me—no one else.”

  “Done,” she said. “Because I’ve missed you.”

  “As I’ve missed you.”

  “Fine. So, let’s just leave it at the truth,” she said to me. “Three years ago, we got in my old car, Gretta the Jetta, and left Maine to come here to make something of our lives. I’d say, that at this point, we’ve done that. But our lives can’t just be about our careers, Jennifer. They just can’t be. We need to make time for ourselves again—and we will.”

  I went to lift my glass to hers at that moment, but found that it was empty—as was hers.

  “Damn,” I said.

  “Here you are, ladies,” the bartender said as he came toward us with fresh martinis. “These are from Tank.”

  “Oh, my God,” I said.

  “Could his timing be more on point?”

  “It couldn’t be.”

  Lisa looked at the bartender. “Thank you,” she said.

  “It’s his pleasure,” the man said.

  “I know it was,” Lisa said with emotion in her voice. “That’s just who he is.”

  “As with Mr. Wenn, he asked me to send his love to each of you.”

  “Of course he did,” Lisa said more to herself than to anyone else.

  At that moment, my cell went off in my clutch. “That’s probably Alex,” I said. “Or Blackwell. Either, or.”

  But when I retrieved my phone, I saw that it was Kate Stone who was calling. I looked at Lisa. “It’s Kate. I should take it. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not. She’s just four days away from her gala—she might need you. Answer it.”

  “Kate,” I said into the phone. “How are you?”

  “Stressed out of my mind. Have I caught you at a bad time?”

  “Not at all. What’s wrong?”

  “The timing of this event,” she said. “I’m feeling that it’s too soon, particularly after what happened at the Witherhouses’ the other night. I’m thinking that I should postpone it, but before I do, I wanted to talk it over with someone other than Ben and Laura. Naturally, you came to mind. I want to see if your opinion matches theirs. So, what do you think, Jennifer? It’s too soon, isn’t it? I should hold off.”

  “I disagree,” I said firmly. “I may have only been in this city for three years, but what I know is that this town backs down to no one—even terrorists. Instead, it moves forward and its people rise up. That’s what you need to do, Kate. If you move the date of your gala, those terrorists will only win again. But if you stand firmly against them, they lose. I say that you stay the course.”

  “This is our biggest fundraising event of the year,” she said. “What if no one shows? What if they’re too frightened to come?”

  “Are you serious?” I said. “Trust me on this—they’ll be coming, and here’s why. Many of the people who were at the Witherhouses’ when those bastards opened fire are going to want to talk about their experiences with their friends who weren’t there. What I don’t think you realize is that your party is about to become the party of the year, if only for that reason alone. These people are going to want to mix and talk, and likely console one another. And because of what happened—because of the mood it evokes—I think that they’
ll be in a more giving spirit than they might otherwise have been. So, listen to me—don’t cancel anything. I think you’d be making a terrible mistake if you did.”

  “Have you been talking with Ben and Laura?”

  I smiled when she said that—Ben was her fiancé, and Laura was her best friend. “No, I haven’t been talking with either of them.”

  “Are you sure? Because they’re saying the same thing.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “All right then,” she said. “The consensus is that the gala goes forward. Thanks for hearing me out, Jennifer. It means a lot to me. So, I’ll see you on Saturday?”

  “Lisa and I just bought our gowns today, and our men are ready to have fun. All of us can’t wait.”

  “Love you,” she said.

  “Love you, too. Call me if you need my help in any way—I’m always here, and I’m always willing to drop anything to help.”

  “You’re the best.”

  “I’m just your friend. So, we’ll all see you on Saturday. Give Ben and Laura a hug and a kiss from me, and get on with the rest of it.”

  When I clicked off my phone, I looked at Lisa, who had a concerned look on her face. “Kate must be going through hell wondering what to do.”

  “Do you think I gave her the right advice?”

  “Absolutely, because those motherfuckers can’t win again,” she said with a surprising shot of anger in her voice. “They almost took my best friend from me. And I say fuck them for that.”

  We looked at each other for a long, meaningful moment before we touched glasses again. And as we did and I felt our long-standing bond grow even closer, Janice Jones walked into the bar.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “WELL,” I SAID AS I took a longer pull from my martini than I’d otherwise planned. “Shit just got interesting.”

  “What do you mean?” Lisa asked.

  “Janice Jones just entered the bar.”

  “Like hell she did.”

  “She did. She just walked past us.”

  “Is she alone?”

  “Yes. Well, at least for now she is. She might be meeting a friend for all we know. Either that, or in this crowd, which is filled with business men, she might be seeking a new friend...” I took a breath to calm my nerves. “You know, I’ve always known that, after all these months, we’d somehow come into contact with each other again after what Rowe did to us and to her. And here we are now—in the same bar together. Jesus.”

  “Do you want to leave? We can always leave, Jennifer.”

  “No,” I said as I watched Janice move toward an empty table to the far left of us. She was every bit as beautiful as I remembered her to be—and just as stylish. Her blonde hair was swept up into a chic chignon, she was wearing a pair of wool, straight-legged pants, on her feet were a pair of sexy Manolo Blahnik pumps, and as she removed her red overcoat before sitting down, I noted that she was wearing an elegant Monili keyhole sweater in vanilla that I owned myself. There were daytime diamonds at her ears, neck, and wrists.

  I didn’t know how Janice Jones was making a living now, but I did know through Blackwell’s influence that with the jewels alone, she was wearing a thirty-thousand-dollar outfit. So if a friend didn’t join her? I knew exactly why she was alone—she had hopes for catching a man.

  “Everything happens for a reason,” I said. “I don’t believe in coincidence. But you already know that about me.”

  “Did she see you when she walked by us?”

  “If she did, she did a damned good job of concealing it. But, no. To be fair to her, I don’t think she saw me at all.”

  “Well, this is uncomfortable,” Lisa said.

  “Why is it uncomfortable?”

  “Because of what she did to you and Alex when you visited her in Vegas. She was terrible to you. She tricked you and threatened you, for God’s sake.”

  “But in the end, she did the right thing, didn’t she? She surprised all of us when she gave that press conference—and right in our time of need. She knew what she was doing that day. She timed it to the moment. She knew that what she had to say about her relationship with Rowe would destroy him, and that it would be enough to rid him from Wenn’s board. I’ve always wanted to thank her for what she did, and now is my chance.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I think it’s time for me to extend an olive branch. Are you OK sitting here alone for ten or fifteen minutes?”

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll be right back.”

  I reached for my martini, slid off my chair, and started to weave through the crowd toward Janice, who looked up at me in surprise and with parted lips as I approached her. She hadn’t seen me. The truth was right there on her face.

  “Janice,” I said as I stood in front of her with an extended hand. “It’s nice to see you again.”

  “Is it, Jennifer?” she asked.

  “I wouldn’t have come over if I’d thought otherwise. Do you mind if I sit down with you for a moment?”

  “Why would you want to sit down with me? Especially after how I treated you and your husband when you visited me in Vegas?”

  “Because of what you did afterward,” I said. “I’d like to thank you properly. If you’d prefer that I leave, I understand.”

  “No,” she said. “Please, sit down.”

  I sat down next to her and noticed that no one had come by to offer her a drink yet.

  “Can I offer you a cocktail?” I said. “It’s the least I can do.”

  “You’re being very kind...”

  “I think you know why. What would you like?”

  “Just a glass of champagne.”

  I turned toward the bar, held up a hand, and caught the bartender’s attention. He arched his eyebrows when he saw me and I said very slowly so that he could read my lips, “A glass of champagne?”

  He nodded at me at once, and turned to fill a flute.

  “It must be incredible being you,” Janice said.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Hold up a hand, and the world bends to you.”

  “The world hasn’t always been kind to me, Janice—far from it. It’s only within the past three years that things have gone well for me.”

  “By marrying up?”

  She was on the defense. I got that. I’d essentially just ambushed her. So? I just kept my voice steady and told her the truth. “Actually, by marrying the love of my life.”

  And when I said that, her shoulders seemed to slump a little.

  “When I was with Stephen, I thought that I’d met the love of my life,” she said.

  “I’m sure you did. You were together for two years, weren’t you?”

  “We were.”

  “And he promised you the moon...”

  “He promised me the universe.”

  “I’m so sorry,” I said. “After that day we met in Vegas, I saw how much you loved him. And how far you were willing to go to protect him. I’ve done the same for my own husband. What you did for Stephen that day? I got it then, and I get it know. You were doing your best to protect him.”

  “I was.”

  “The reason I came over now is because I wanted to thank you for what you did when you gave that press conference. It made all the difference for my husband. I don’t want to take much of your time. I just wanted to personally thank you for what you did, because what you did took guts.”

  A server came over with Janice’s glass of champagne and placed it in front of her.

  “Cheers,” I said as I lifted my martini to her. “Cheers to you, and thank you, Janice. I mean that. I know what you did couldn’t have been easy for you.”

  “It wasn’t, but what else could I do? He threatened me with my life.”

  “If that’s the case, then you did do the right thing.”

  “I guess I did.”

  She touched my glass with hers, and we sipped.

  “I’m curious,” she said. “How was life always not so kind
to you? You know my story. You know that I used to be a stripper, which sure as hell wasn’t my goal in life as a young girl. But shit happens, doesn’t it?”

  “It does. As for me, I was born to abusive parents who are alcoholics. My father used to beat me when I was a child. My mother would look on, but because she was either drunk or because she didn’t care, she never intervened. She’s in prison now, and I have nothing to do with either of them. I was born into poverty and abuse. Despite how people perceive me now because I happen to be the wife of Alexander Wenn, I didn’t exactly have the easiest or safest of childhoods, Janice.”

  “I didn’t know that,” she said.

  “Not many do—not that I’m ashamed of it. As you say, shit happens. But I think that you might agree that what we’ve gone through in life has made us into the strong women we are today. My friend Lisa and I got out of Maine as quickly as we could. We came to Manhattan with next to nothing in the bank, and it took me four months before I finally landed a job here. I was pretty much down to my last dime when Wenn hired me and I met Alex.”

  “Who changed everything,” she said.

  “He did. And he’s a good man. He’s my best friend. If he were here with me now, he’d also be thanking you for what you did.”

  “When I gave that press conference, I was scared out of my mind.”

  “Why wouldn’t you be? You likely still saw Stephen as a threat.”

  “I did.”

  “And yet you triumphed over it.”

  She smiled grimly when I said that, and then shook her head at me. “Have I?” she asked. “After what I did to him, many people in this city still treat me as a pariah.”

  “I’m sorry about that.”

  “Don’t be,” she said. “I knew what I was doing that day, and I also knew that there would be social repercussions. I think that until the day I die, I’ll always be seen as the stripper who broke apart a family and ruined a marriage. And now Meredith is dead,” she said. “What’s to become of their girls?”

  When she said that, her eyes became lit with tears, which she immediately blinked away.

  “Stephen didn’t tell you that he was married when you met and fell in love with him, did he?”