by Nina Loard
“What should I be thinking when it comes to Finn? He’s handsome and funny. Am I missing something?”
“No, I’m just up for some girl talk.” Why did I always become so defensive when it came to Finn? There’s no harm in asking if I think he’s attractive. I’m sure his effect on me has been obvious. It was just that everyone knew more about me than I did, and I felt the need to keep what little I was discovering about my past protected. Still, I did want to dish just a little.
“Well, he’s probably the most stunning man I’ve ever met. Does that satisfy you?” Bounce and Raven laughed and nodded their heads. “Ari’s uncle jumped to conclusions, and, well, accused me of being with Finn.”
“Are you?” questioned Bounce, a little too loudly in close quarters.
“No, there was a kiss, but no. He was just testing my memory.” Bounce and Raven smiled conspiratorially at each other longer than I thought appropriate in traffic.
Raven leaned with her elbow over the passenger seat and asked, “How did Gheorghe get this wrong idea?”
“I saw him at a meeting at my hotel. He thought Finn was staying in my room. What is the Tolerance for the People of Europe?”
“Leaders in various communities and sympathetic supporters. They are having a public relations crisis with Cherkev in custody.”
“Who’s Cherkev?”
“Mob kingpin who happens to be Roma. Drugs, guns, prostitution, violent crime. He apparently runs the largest network in western Europe. He’s being held on charges, but many think he’ll walk. It’s all over TV.”
I thought the Mob was a strictly American thing.
We pulled up to wait in the parking valet line at Harrods department store. Sheets of rain were coming down as we prepared for a mad dash to the doors.
“Whose car is this, anyway?
“We borrowed it from Finn, don’t tell him,” Raven answered as she collected the claim ticket.
“You just took it from him? How?” I asked them both after we shook off the rain and stepped into the Harrods Room of Luxury.
“He just leaves it at the house. He never lets me drive it. We needed a car and Derek was occupied. Don’t you like it?” Bounce seemed almost offended.
“Yes, it’s quite nice. I was just questioning its origin.” It shouldn’t have surprised me they would take what they wanted without asking.
Harrods was covered in sparkling white lights and decorated elaborately for Christmas. Surrounded by Gucci and Dior, we fanned out to browse. It was nice to be a part of something normal again. I started to look for some things for my family and friends. I had been considering, and swiftly decided in the moment, to go home for Christmas. I needed to begin planning my departure. Ari would be thrilled.
“Did you find anything?” Bounce was at my side, inspecting the same bin of designer sunglasses on sale.
“Listen, I think I am going to go home in a few days. Spend time with my mom at Christmas.” I floated the idea to see what type of reaction my departure would receive.
“That sounds nice. Just make sure you are back right after, because we’ll be leaving for Paris.” Bounce didn’t even look up, but kept hunting through the other stocking stuffers.
“I’m not going to Paris. Whatever is going on there is none of my business.” I stopped browsing and looked at her quizzically, trying to understand how she had made that mental leap.
“Of course you are. We discussed it earlier. It’s all decided.” Bounce turned to me, smiling as she lowered her Prada frames. She looked back in the mirror and frowned, moving onto the next pair.
“I’m not back, Bounce. I’m just getting to know you guys again.” I tried to break into her reality.
“Please, you were back when you got on the plane.” She put her arm around my waist and squeezed, moving to the next section of special holiday items. Her confidence was infuriating. Instead of arguing, I threw myself into shopping mode, finding a good pair of sunglasses for Cecelia. Jasper was more complicated, but I ended up with a Harrods tie. I figured he’d like the idea of it being from Harrods as much as the tie itself. Since they were priced well, I got Steve one also. My mother was the most difficult to shop for as she had everything she needed, so I was back to browsing.
I noticed Raven and a woman having words over a small tug of war involving a pink cashmere scarf. I was surprised to see Raven give up after only a minute. Eventually, I found a great pair of cashmere lined gloves for my mother in a dark red which I was sure she didn’t already have. They would give her some color to go with her everyday blacks, creams and beiges.
At the jewelry counter, I couldn’t resist asking the sales person to show me an elaborate necklace with a platinum chain in a delicate filigree scroll. The large pendant was in the same design with a deep green emerald in the center. The sales person told me it was part of their vintage jewelry collection and was Edwardian in style. I admired its elegance as the small encrusted diamonds glittered against my skin.
“I need coffee. Are you ready already?” Raven stood in the middle of the aisle with several bags of things. I was delighted to see that she had actually made purchases. There was a strong chance with her that “shopping” meant something entirely different.
“Evy, are you ready? We need to go by the Food Halls.” Bounce waited for me to follow them. I took the necklace off and thanked the salesperson for her help. I was still annoyed that Bounce just assumed I was going to Paris with them, but there was coffee somewhere.
The Food Halls at Harrods were well stocked, to say the least. All the cheese, meat, and seafood you could possibly think to want, in stainless steel and glass cases with granite counters. An infinite selection of teas, coffees, chocolates, and delicate pastries — impossible to resist, I discovered, as I walked away from the counter still nibbling.
Bounce and Raven were over at the catering section. They were ordering several platters of food to be delivered to Ari’s house the next day. As Raven filled out the address, I saw the light bounce off a diamond tennis bracelet under her sleeve, one I hadn’t noticed earlier in the car.
“Raven, where did you get that?” I asked, taking her arm as we moved back toward the coffee counter.
“The stupid lady was not nice. That was my scarf. She didn’t deserve something so beautiful.” Raven stared at me like the angry cat that ate the canary, twirling the bracelet on her arm so I could admire it. I just sighed, unsure of what else I could do with someone like her. After refueling on caffeine and breaking out some truffles, Bounce bought some party supplies that she thought Ari would need.
“What is the party for exactly?” I asked, as she paid the clerk.
“It’s tradition. A lot of people take these two weeks off from work in London. Uncle Gheorghe always hosts a party at Ari’s house. It ends with a boxing match, some Gypsy thing. Anyway, Ari is the current champion and someone spars with him. It can get a little barbaric for my taste, but the party part is fun. You’ll see.” She took my arm and we made it out to the valet, past the pink scarf woman screaming obscenities at a young store clerk while she searched on the ground for something. Raven smiled to herself as I watched her pass.
Once on our way in Finn’s car, Raven asked, “What do you two want to do tonight?”
“I’m staying in. I need to make my travel arrangements,” I responded quickly.
“What travel?” Raven glared at me. I filled her in on my idea to go home for Christmas. She thought it sounded incredibly dull. “Evelyn, there is nowhere else to be but in Paris on New Year’s Eve. Stop pretending you can’t decide. It’s so tiring.” Raven dismissed us both and began texting on her phone. Bounce glanced in her rearview a few times, wondering if I was okay, I assumed.
“Raven, will you drop off the supplies and take the car back to Finn? I want to visit with Evy.” Without asking, Bounce invited herself up to my room when we arrived at the hotel. It felt like she needed to tell me something so I kept silent, though I really wanted to be alone.
“So, what else do you want to know? I’ll tell you anything I can to make you stay, well… come back. I feel like you are going to disappear again.” Bounce squared her shoulders, sitting across from me, prepared to offer up anything I wanted. There was a lot, but one thing in particular.
“Apparently, I didn’t fully confide in the others, but I must have told you. What did I feel for Finn?” I braced myself because I had avoided this knowledge for a couple of reasons.
“You loved him. I don’t know if you were in love or not. He was more wild back then and, of course, you were careful considering his past.” Bounce wasn’t surprised by the choice of topic.
“By past, you mean the art theft and pick pocketing?”
“No, his being a con-artist got to you. He told you about the women.” Bounce reminded me of the story of how Finn met Ari.
“He mentioned two. What are you saying? He cons women?” I guess I shouldn’t have been taken aback, but nobody had spelled it out for me.
“Well, yes. He got to know some women who helped him out. A few gave him money to go pursue different things who never heard from him again. Sorry, I thought you got more of the story. Anyway, we’re talking about when he was still a desperate teenager. By the time he got his money stolen by that woman in Italy, he was grown and into other things. Long before he met you.”
“So, I told you I was into him, but I was being cautious? Please tell me, and I promise I won’t ask any more about it — was I sleeping with him?” I actually held my breath, not sure what I was afraid of.
“If you were, you didn’t tell me. Finn was into you, clearly, but you were slower to commit. He was trying to convince you to let him show you the coast of Italy. Then, we did the Scotland job and you were gone. It was hard on Finn, I told you that. He’d be gone for weeks at a time, alone on his boat. He hardly ever smiled when he was here. Nothing was fun for a long time. He must have cared for you very much. We all did.” Her voice took on a sad cadence and made me want to change the subject. It had been hard to see what could have kept me from getting into bed with Finn back then. I understood it a little better now.
“What about Ari? Were we really close before?”
“That’s more complicated. You respected each other. Sometimes your friendship would bug Finn and then it would bother Ari that Finn was jealous. It was amusing at the time. Now, there is some real anger behind it. Hopefully Finn gets it out of his system. He loves Ari, really. I can’t believe he would leave because of all this.”
“What do you mean by leave?” I asked.
“When he found out the truth of what Ari had done, Finn told him he’d give him a chance to make it right or he’d be gone on the next high tide. Today, it didn’t seem like Finn was happy with Ari’s treatment of you. I’m not sure what will happen now.” Worry crinkled her forehead as she grabbed one of the throw pillows, hugging it in her lap.
“Okay, so tell me about the Scotland job. I won’t tell anyone you did.”
After some hesitation, she said, “Ari was hired by a friend of his who deals in diamonds. With the slow economy, he was sitting on tons of stock and losing money. He convinced Ari to rob one of his vaults in Edinburgh. He hired you as his personal assistant. You went in before we did, gathering information on the other people there and the facility — basic office work. A couple weeks later, we went in and stole what was contained in the vault. After, you were terminated a week later for engaging in an extramarital affair with the boss. His wife caught you — all fake, of course. Ari held onto the goods and his friend got a big insurance payout without losing any stock. Brilliant, if you can get away with it.”
“Obviously, there is a lot I don’t understand about what you just said.”
Bounce smiled and continued, “Several months later, Brinks and I lifted one of those rent containers and put the diamonds in a warehouse outside Glasgow so his friend could recover them. Anyway, you got paid for your participation on the day you were due to leave Edinburgh and that is the money we can’t place.”
“The affair with the boss, that was pretend… staged for the wife?” I was getting tired of trying to verify who I had and had not slept with, but it was sadly necessary.
“Yes, he figured better an upset wife than an investigation. She stayed with him anyway, so no harm done.”
“No ideas then as to where I would have put the money?”
“No, every place we could think to look turned up empty. All we know is Ari gave you the money after he got paid in Edinburgh and then he went off on his own cover. I’m sure it will come back to you.” I took a moment to picture what she had described. Something about the money was giving me a bad feeling, like a final exam you forgot to study for.
“Just one more question, and then I’m going to have too much to eat and drink and watch a movie. Did I tell you why on earth I chose to participate? It’s the thing I’m struggling with the most. I didn’t have to help.” I cradled my face in my palms, trying to squeeze the reason out.
“I can’t put it as well as you did, but you wanted to help because you felt we needed you. It’s the same reason for all of us, more or less. There are jobs we could do and quiet lives we could live now. Still, here we are, wanting to work together. It feels wrong to let Ari do something without my help, like I am putting him and the others at risk. When you would hear us talking about something, you wanted to know how you could help — more for the group than the money. Go home and be with your mom, but come back to us and go to Paris. You’ll remember more, I promise.”
Everything she said made sense. I had only been with them briefly, but already I felt like I was changing back into the real me as opposed to becoming someone else. Ari was an enigma and I barely knew Brinks, but I did already care for them. I was even starting to miss them and I hadn’t booked my flight yet. The thought of leaving Finn had bothered me before, now it extended out to all of them in one way or another.
“Let me go home and then we’ll see. I just need to clear my head. Do you want to stay and watch a movie with me?” Being alone didn’t feel as crucial all of a sudden.
“Absolutely, let’s get some room service.” Bounce snagged the menu and we made our selections. Half way through, someone knocked on the door. Bounce and I looked at each other and decided to stay silent. Thirty seconds went by and we heard the key slip into the door lock. Finn poked his head into the entryway.
“Seriously, you just break into my room?” I jumped off the couch, less annoyed than I sounded.
“Technically, I have a key. And please, do not get all moral on me after the earlier joyride in my car. Oh, good evening, Bounce.” He pretended to be delighted to see her, his voice dripping with sarcasm. Clearly, he didn’t appreciate her car theft.
“Yeah, I knew Raven would betray us. Hi.” Bounce kept watching the screen.
“Why are you here anyway?” I couldn’t be too upset with him; he was so attractive standing in my hotel room. Then I remembered that was his stock in trade. I also noticed swelling in the cleft of his magnificent chin.
“Raven’s out. Brinks is held up with Sir Ari, and Bounce texted me, letting me know you were watching movies. I figured it was okay to stop by.” I glanced over at Bounce, who had a suspicious look on her face. She was encouraging a friendship with Finn, probably thinking that would make me want to come back. She was a genius, but I was already way ahead of her.
“I heard you got to vent your frustration earlier today.” I stepped closer to him to take a look at the one apparent wound.
“Yes, it was grand. However, his response didn’t feel quite as nice.” He tilted back his head to show me the extent of it. After my examination, he took a seat next to Bounce and slapped her on the knee. “Did you tell her about New Y
ear’s Eve?”
Bounce responded, “Yes, she’s considering it. She’s going to go home for Christmas first.”
“What? When?”
“As soon as possible. I’ll go back to Newport and then drive up to Boston. I haven’t spent a Christmas with my mother in a few years.”
Finn struggled to hide his disappointment. “But, you’re going to come back for New Year’s?”
“I’ll think about it. So, you’re really considering stealing from the Louvre?” It felt impossible to me and I was worried for them. Apparently, I had taken my side in the moral dilemma posed when your friends are burglars.
“We didn’t really get into it,” Finn answered in the vaguest way possible. “But, it will be more interesting if you come with.” Finn took off his jacket, grabbing himself some pizza. “At least let me get Kelly to fly you back? Let me know the day and we can make the arrangements if he is free.”
“He would do that?” I asked.
“Kelly runs a private service. He and Ari go way back. If we need him, he flies us. No questions asked. Something about Ari’s dad and them growing up together in Scotland. We pay him, but he’ll only accept money to put toward the cost of fuel.”
“Good friend,” I mused. Ari seemed to be surrounded by people who wanted to help him, no matter what. We finished the movie, the pizza and the wine. Finn caught me looking at him and smiled. My heart missed two beats and then took off, soaring. It was so not a good idea to like him, even less of a good idea now that I knew more of his story. It didn’t give me reason to think he was conning me now, but it was just enough to slow me down. I had liked him kissing me. He had starred in a couple fantasies since then when I couldn’t sleep. I was totally into the idea now as he kept his eyes on me, heavy with passion. It was definitely time for everyone to go.
“I’m getting tired. Finn, if Kelly can take me that would be really kind of him. Let me know what the fuel charges are approximately, I’d like to contribute.” I stood up and watched them both slowly do the same. “Wait, Bounce, take the dress and your jewelry. Thank you again for your help last night.” Bounce followed me back toward the bedroom. I turned to her before she left my side. “Thank you for tonight as well. It’s all hard for me to understand, looking back this way without a memory, but I can see why I loved you so much.” I hugged her briefly. She hugged me back with much more commitment.