"Why?" Zelda all but yelped, her face turning red at such a prospect. "I mean, I could do with a couple of dresses and something to sleep in, maybe a toothbrush too. But he doesn't really have to do all of this. Really."
"Trust me," Mary said. "That's what I told him. 'What's the use,' I asked him. But Jimmy doesn't like having to explain himself when his mind's made up about somethin' or other, and for whatever reason, he has his mind made up about you." She turned around and sauntered over to the kitchen sink, grabbing one of her cigarettes from a gold case, slipping it between her lips, and lighting it. She took a long drag of it before turning around and eyeing Zelda with obvious scrutiny. "Listen, kid. Finish up, get ready, and let's go."
"Of course," Zelda said, nodding her head. She shoved her mouth full of food but a question crossed her mind and she couldn't help but ask it, despite her mouth being full. "Where is Jimmy?"
Mary narrowed her eyes in disgust at her lack of manners, but flicked the ashes in the sink and answered anyways. "Obviously at his job," she said, shaking her head once more. "You don't think money grows on trees, do you? Because if it did, no one would have no kind of problems anymore."
"It would also mean that the value of the dollar would go down," Zelda mumbled, taking her bowl to the sink.
"What?" Mary asked, stomping out her sink. "You know what? I don't care what you said. Listen, we gotta go, so grab your money and let's go. I've got to meet someone soon, and I'm not gonna let some blonde tart make me miss my meetin'."
What had actually happened, however, was Mary dropped Zelda off at the nearby shopping district and all but left her there. However, she couldn't help but feel a bout of relief surge through her body at the prospect of shopping alone only because she didn't want Mary breathing down her neck. The feel of the money in her pocket still astounded her, and she tried not to look so enchanted by the fact that Jimmy actually gave it to her so she could get herself some new clothes.
He had already done too much for her. How was she ever going to pay him back?
Zelda knew she couldn't continue to think about things like this, especially since she couldn't find the answer no matter how badly she tried. Instead, she turned her focus on shopping, and that was that.
After a few hours, Zelda was finished and ready to go. She wasn't exactly sure if Mary was going to come pick her up or if she was supposed to walk back to the apartment. Walking would no doubt take forty-five minutes, but after waiting an hour and a half for Mary to return, she realized that she was probably supposed to walk home. However, she had a few dollars left in her pocket, and decided to call a cab. She might have walked if her arms weren't filled with clothes.
In a manner of minutes, she was in a cab, and ten minutes after that, she paid the cab and was standing in front of the complex. After walking up the stairs and standing in front of the door, she tried opening it, but the door was locked. Zelda frowned and knocked, but after a moment of waiting, nobody answered. There was nothing more for her to do but wait.
When it started getting dark, Zelda felt her body try to relax, her head falling against the wall behind her, and her eyes slowly coming to a close. She really tried to maintain her patience as best as she could, and normally, she was an incredibly laidback person, but it was frustrating to sit around with these clothes, waiting. The people that passed looked at her oddly, and Zelda could swear that a couple of them were contemplating calling some form of security but something had stopped them.
It has to be the clothes, Zelda thought to herself. One look at the clothes, they realize I have money, and then they figure I locked myself out of the apartment.
It was another couple of hours when Zelda's stomach was growling quite noisily did she finally find some kind of reprieve in the form of Jimmy Lawrence. Upon seeing Zelda sitting there, he furrowed his brow over his eyes and tilted his head to the side.
"Zelda?" he asked her, bending down to help her up. "What are you doing outside?"
"Oh," Zelda said, grabbing the clothes and balancing them in her arms as best as she could while simultaneously trying to hide a blush from tainting her face. "Well, I mean, I guess Mary forgot to pick me up at the shop or something, so I took a cab –"
"You took a cab?" Jimmy asked, incredulous.
"- here," Zelda continued, as though she hadn't heard Jimmy's question, "and when I came up here, the door was locked and though I knocked, I got no answer, so I've been waiting for Mary, but she hasn't shown up yet."
Jimmy's brow furrowed even lower so now that it was on the brink of resting over his cool grey eyes. He grabbed his keys and unlocked the front door, opening it before turning to Zelda and helping her with the load of clothing. Maybe Mary was still out, which wouldn't be entirely unusual. He tilted his head in a nod, hoping Zelda understood she was to follow him into the bedroom so they could put the clothes in his closet, but upon walking into his room, the clothes ended up in a pile on the floor.
There, in bed with a sleeping Mary, was another man.
Zelda inhaled a sharp breath and wasn't sure whether she should step out of the doorway and give the trio privacy to handle their business, or to stay. She decided on the former, but Jimmy didn't even seem to notice that the door was hanging open or that Zelda could no doubt hear what was going on, even if she couldn't see it. He grabbed the man, gave him a sock to the face – which obviously woke up Mary – and before Zelda could even blink, both Mary and her lover were thrown out of the room by Jimmy himself.
Zelda stood frozen, unsure of what to do. In fact, she didn't even think she was breathing once Jimmy slammed the door shut and locked it. Mary knew better than to attempt anything, it would seem, and Jimmy at least had the decency for the adulterers to get changed.
But without even looking at her, Jimmy headed back into his bedroom and slammed the door shut, leaving Zelda to her own devices.
Chapter 5
It had been a couple of weeks since the Mary Todd incident, as Zelda was calling it. To herself, of course; Zelda would never actually bring up such a sensitive topic to Jimmy, and since he hadn't said anything about it, Zelda sure as hell wouldn't. She rationalized that if he wanted to talk to her about it, he would. Instead, they managed to get into some sort of routine; Zelda would wake up and fix some kind of breakfast, Jimmy would eat it, thank her, and go wherever it was that he worked. Oddly enough, Zelda still didn't know anything relating to his job except for the fact that whatever it was, it seemed to make him a good amount of money. Jimmy would come home at five or six, though sometimes he would be home later, and Zelda, no matter what time he walked through the door, always had something for him to eat, even if she was fast asleep by the time he arrived.
They had resumed talking, but their flirtatious repertoire had vanished, at least for the time being. Zelda seemed to understand why that was; Jimmy had walked in on his girlfriend in bed with another man. It was easy to understand that he wasn't exactly in any sort of playful mood. Interestingly enough, Jimmy never took what happened to him out on Zelda, and there were times when he appreciated the fact that she was with him. By that time, Zelda's bruise on her face had long since faded, and she was finally getting used to not being in St. Paul with Orval and being in Ohio with Jimmy. Their friendship was definitely a work in progress, but it was blooming nonetheless, and Zelda already knew she cared more about Jimmy than she ever had for Orval.
It was September 22, sometime in the afternoon, when Jimmy finally brought up a topic relating somewhat to what had happened to him a couple of weeks before. They were both sitting at the dining table, sipping on some tea Zelda had made. The weather in Ohio was finally starting to cool, but someone forgot to tell the sun because despite the cool breeze, it was still shining outside.
Jimmy looked at Zelda over the rim of his cup before taking a long sip of his tea. He had been thinking about her quite a bit these past few days. The woman sitting before him was definitely not his type; she wasn't that much of a talker, and she wasn't a dark beaut
y. But still, there was just something about her. Just because she was quiet didn't mean she wasn't friendly, and from their conversations they had shared, she was probably one of the smartest women he had ever known (save for the fact that she had let herself get tangled up with that ridiculous husband of hers, of course). And just because she wasn't exotic looking didn't mean she wasn't striking in her own, girl-next-door sort of way. He trusted her immensely, he realized, and all she really did was cook for him and ask him how his day was. Thankfully, she had refrained from talking about Mary and that whole situation. It was as though she could read his mind, knew what he wanted and what he didn't. Hell, she hadn't even asked him what he did for a living, and that was always one of the first questions women asked him, especially in this day and age.
But Zelda? There was something about her, something he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Do you believe in love at first sight, darlin'?" he asked her once he had finished drinking the warm liquid, setting the cup on the table and looking at her levelly.
The question took Zelda off-guard, which was probably why the blush staining her cheeks had such an immediate effect on her face. Of course, she believed in love at first sight. That was exactly how she felt about him, however ridiculous that sounded, however impossible it might be to actually attain that sort of relationship with him. She didn't want to explain her reasoning behind her answer, and yet she wanted to be as honest as possible. So how to answer then?
"Yes," she said after a long moment of debating, nodding her head a couple of times. "I mean, I believe that there are too many forms of love to not include a type of it. And there are so many subcategories that it gets even more complicated. Scientists and poets each have their own take on love, and who's to say either side is wrong? And plus, you can't tell someone how they're feeling. Love doesn't work that way."
As Jimmy listened to her and watched her speak, the smile on his face only deepened. There was this pent-up passion in her, he could tell. The way her velvet eyes sparkled, that mouth spoke... It was mesmerizing, at least to him, to watch her speak on topics she loved.
When she realized Jimmy was staring at her with an enigmatic look on his face, her face only reddened even more, and she took another long sip of her tea. "Sorry," she said after she had finished swallowing. "If you get me started on something like that, I tend to ramble."
Without warning, Jimmy leaned forward and clasped his hand over hers, his pale grey eyes suddenly intent but his expression soft. "Never apologize for who you are, doll," he told her, his tone serious.
Zelda felt herself smile at his contact, and even more so when he didn't remove his hand immediately. She brought her eyes up to Jimmy's, and said, "But above everything else, I truly believe that everything happens for a reason, no matter if we don't exactly know what that reason is just yet."
Jimmy nodded his head in agreement. "I do, too," he said.
Things were silent for a few moments. Zelda was the first to break their contact by sliding her hand from underneath his and placing it in her lap, her mind swimming with different thoughts, her heart beating much like a drum in one of the songs she had danced to back when she was a taxi dancer. Though the silence wasn't awkward, Zelda felt compelled to fill it with something, at least to prevent Jimmy from hearing just how loudly her heart was beating.
"I'm sorry," she said quickly, and then stopped, hoping to control her voice, to slow it down. "About Mary."
Jimmy frowned, but he didn't look displeased at the topic being brought up. Instead, he focused his eyes on what was left of his tea, before leaning over the table. "I've come to terms with it," he replied as nonchalantly as his demeanor would allow. There was a familiar ache buried in his chest, and yet, he knew that his feelings for Mary were fading quite easily.
Zelda watched his face as studiously as she could without being accused of staring at him. Even though he tried to be casual about what had happened to him, it was quite clear, at least to Zelda, that the man before her – whether he wanted to admit it or not – was a romantic at heart, and seemed to want some sort of stability in a woman, to find his other half as they say.
"Well," she murmured, trying to tear her eyes from his face but finding herself unable to do so. Upon hearing her voice address him, Jimmy's eyes looked up and locked into hers. "Whoever the lucky girl is, whatever girl on this planet who is your soul mate, your other half, whatever you want to call it..." Babbling, Zelda. Get on with it! "She's out there waiting for you just like you're waiting for her. And you'll meet her someday soon. I promise."
What a promise, and yet somewhere deep inside of her, Zelda knew that what she was saying was true.
Jimmy nodded subtly, but said nothing, and for whatever reason, began to lean over to the table so he was closer to Zelda. The young woman held her breath, wondering if Jimmy was actually going to kiss her at that moment, and subconsciously, her tongue darted out to moisten her lips. Jimmy's eyes descended on her mouth, and they widened a fraction before he tilted his head slightly to the side and murmured her name in a husky voice.
Without any formal warning, her eyes slowly closed and she cocked her head forward, waiting for his lips to finally touch hers.
But before any of that could happen, the door to the apartment burst open and three policemen walked in, heavily armed and decidedly angry.
Zelda jumped back, her heart clenching in terror.
"Step back, miss," one of the officers said, addressing Zelda. He seemed to be looking at her suspiciously, which was absolutely ridiculous, considering she didn't do anything wrong. Was this Orval's doing? Was he claiming that Jimmy had kidnapped her, because that was so obviously untrue.
But then the two other officers confronted Jimmy, pushing him against the table and searching his person.
"Well, well, well," the officer that had addressed Zelda said, arrogance lacing his tone. "We finally got him, boys. The elusive bank robber, John Dillinger, has finally been arrested." He glanced over at Zelda. "You too, sweetheart. You're coming with us."
Zelda didn't even realize she was being handcuffed given the fact that it was brought to her attention that Jimmy Lawrence wasn't Jimmy Lawrence at all, but the notorious criminal, John Dillinger.
Chapter 6
John Dillinger. Jimmy Lawrence was John Dillinger.
As Zelda was being handcuffed – yes handcuffed, because apparently, just her mere association with the bank robber was enough to provoke an arrest – she couldn't help but wonder at the truth in the sentiment, couldn't believe she hadn't seen it before. But once the name had been said, she saw everything. Those snake-like eyes, that infamous smirk. His fit physique. The reason for that wad of cash Mary had given her to buy clothing for herself.
She had spent stolen money! Oh God, she was going to prison, wasn't she? Zelda couldn't go to prison! She loved her freedom too much. That, and there wasn't any dancing in prison.
Forced into the back of a squad car, Zelda continued to think. Jimmy – John had been placed in the backseat of another car, just to ensure that there was no way they could formulate some sort of escape plan. Though Dillinger wasn't that big of a crook, Zelda read the newspaper enough to know that he was wanted for small bank robberies.
What else did she know about him? Think, Zelda, think.
She vaguely remembered he had been released from some prison in Michigan for an attempted robbery. His partner managed to get free, but because Dillinger was new to this whole life of crime, he pleaded guilty, thinking that honesty also meant leniency. But the judge wanted to make an example of him, so he got the maximum years, and was released nine years later. Of course, this sentence didn't exactly seem fair, especially since he didn't learn his lesson. Obviously.
Without warning, Zelda started to laugh at herself. Out of all the men she could have gotten involved with, all the men she could be attracted to, all the men she could be on the brink of falling in love with, it had to be some lowly criminal. It was just her luck.
One of the policemen glanced back at her, before shaking his head at her action and turning back around. Zelda couldn't hear what he had said about her, but she found that she didn't particularly care.
She was arrested, for chrissake! She couldn't believe that she had been arrested.
Well, it made sense why Dillinger didn't give his real name. Was everything else fake? The dancing they shared together? Why would he bring her to this apartment, especially if he was on the run from the police? Wouldn't she just be extra baggage? Wouldn't he realize that she could possibly be arrested? Did he even care?
And yet, Zelda found that she didn't exactly mind all that much. Well, of course she minded that she was being arrested, but the irony of her situation was too darkly amusing to her that she couldn't help laughing at the ridiculousness of it all.
The policemen took her to the station and placed her in an interrogation room. She hadn't seen Jimmy – John – she needed to remember his name was John, not Jimmy – since he had been arrested right in front of her. She hoped he wasn't hurt, hoped he would be okay. Yes, she knew that any sensible woman would be upset that she had been duped by a criminal, especially when her feelings were involved. But somehow, the fact that Jimmy wasn't really Jimmy didn't exactly bother her. He had never actually told her what he did, and he was always polite, always respectable, a true gentleman. In fact, John Dillinger was more humane than some of the men she knew, including her own husband.
So really, while she did feel a small amount of betrayal, Zelda wasn't offended. And crazy as it seemed, she wanted to remain in his social circle, wanted to write to him in prison, whatever. She didn't want to let him go just yet.
Come Away with Me Page 3