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Izzie squeezed her way between the crowded tables. She could barely pull out the chair. She set down her tray and wiggled into her seat. “Izzie Flanders,” she said. No one else looked in her direction. The others were caught up in conversations of their own.
“Zoe Danfield.” The fashionable student was holding her coffee mug with both hands.
“Nice to meet you, Zoe Danfield.” Izzie smiled and placed her napkin on her lap.
Zoe smirked. She would bet she and Izzie were the only two people in the entire room who would bother to put their napkins on their laps.
Izzie looked up. “What?”
Zoe set her cup down and pulled the napkin from her lap. She rolled her eyes around the room.
“Ha!” Izzie snorted. She decided at that very moment she wanted to be friends with this mysterious, chic woman who stood out from the rest of the scruffy students.
After they graduated, they both went to work for the City of Boston building department. The pay was decent but the passion and opportunities for them to truly blossom were nonexistent. Each moved on to other jobs: Zoe to a private corporation in New York and Izzie to start her own architectural firm. But after Izzie’s tumultuous legal battles, jail time, and a broken heart, she decided a change of scenery was called for and moved to Virginia. The two stayed connected over the years, and Izzie was forever grateful for Zoe’s support when she was doing time in the Graybar Hotel.
* * *
Friday came quickly and Izzie scrambled to get to Union Station in time to pick up Zoe. She remembered Friday was a busy day at Union Station, with Washington politicians rushing to catch an early train home or the shuttle to the airport. After much honking from other drivers, she found a spot on the other side of the taxi stand, put the car in PARK, turned on her flashers, got out and leaned against the hood. She kept an eye out for traffic police and the frenzied bicyclists turning in their bike shares before the meter turned over.
The crowds emptied from the station in waves, signaling a train arrival. Izzie stretched her neck and spotted her lanky friend with her signature black, chin-length bob and bold, black-rimmed glasses. She was wearing a chic pantsuit with a long, tailored jacket in hunter green with turquoise and gold trim. The chunky necklace over the ivory silk blouse made her look as if she’d stepped out of the pages of a fashion magazine. Izzie remembered Zoe always had an artsy flair for clothes. “Woo-hoo! Over here!” Izzie shouted.
Zoe gave a quick wave, advanced through the throng, and crossed over the taxi lanes. She gave Izzie a big bear hug.
“I’m so happy to see you!” Izzie exclaimed.
Zoe pulled away from their friendly embrace and looked Izzie straight in the eye. “Me too.”
“You’re looking smashing as usual.” Izzie grabbed Zoe’s overnight case and put it in the back seat.
“Thank you, my dear. I found a great seamstress off Seventh Avenue who can make exact replicas of couture. The only rule is we cannot use the same fabrics. Same style, but different colors and patterns.”
“Well, you certainly look ‘mahvelous,’” Izzie replied as she looked her friend up and down.
They climbed into her SUV and started with the usual small talk about the train ride and how the train couldn’t go as fast as possible because of the rickety tracks. “But at least it still got me here in less than three hours,” Zoe noted. “I remember the last two times I flew from LaGuardia to National, it took over four hours by the time I got to the airport, schlepped down the concourse, and then sat on the runway for over an hour. The flight was only forty minutes, but we had to circle National for another half hour. Then we landed, schlepped down another concourse, blah, blah, blah. It was so aggravating.” Zoe exhaled.
“And you are here now!” Izzie exclaimed.
“Yes, I am.” Zoe tilted her head to see the Washington Monument and the Capitol Building pass by.
Izzie treaded carefully with her next question. “So, what’s happening in your life?” Izzie noticed how tense Zoe seemed. Almost paranoid, but she didn’t want to overstep.
Zoe didn’t answer right away. She craned her neck to look over her shoulder. “This is where all the major decisions are made.” She shook her head. “My, how government has changed leadership. Or, lack thereof.”
Izzie furrowed her brow. “I totally agree. But don’t get me started!” She guffawed. She waited a beat, expecting Zoe to say something, but she remained silent. Izzie stepped on the brake and looked Zoe straight in the eye: “Is everything alright? I mean really alright? You seem a bit tense.”
Zoe took a deep breath. “I’ll tell you about it after we get settled.”
“You got it.” Izzie drove them the rest of the way to her house with the expectation of unraveling what was happening to her unraveled friend. The drive took about a half hour with Zoe remaining zip-lipped about what was really on her mind. Instead, she asked more banal questions. “How is Abner? Work?” All the usual queries.
Soon Izzie pulled into the large, circular driveway made of gray paving stones. Ahead was the old pickle factory she and Abner had converted into their home. The exterior of the building exactly matched the Virginia bluestone. “We had to cover those hideous green cement walls.”
“You did a fabulous job,” Zoe said with admiration.
Izzie parked to the side of the meticulously manicured sidewalk leading up to the five bluestone slabs that served as stair treads to the front entry. The custom-made double doors featured frosted glass inserts. Next to one of the doors was a four-by-six-inch box that matched the trim. A door popped open when Izzie tapped the front. Inside the box was a very intricate security alarm. Izzie punched a code into the panel. At the same time, a slight “woof” came from inside. Through the frosted panels Zoe could make out an exceptionally large dog, with noticeably big paws and lots of shaggy hair. The door clicked open and Rufus waited patiently, his tail wagging to the beat of his own drum.
Izzie bent down to cuddle her mutt. “Hello, my pal. Look who I brought home. Say nice to meet you, Zoe!” The dog gave another soft woof and held out his paw.
Zoe squatted to meet the dog face-to-face. “Nice to meet you, too. I guess you feel pretty safe here.”
