‘Shut up.’
Just saying.
Mary rounded the sofa and finally sat down.
Outside, as the day faded into night, a few menacing clouds began gathering above the harbor. She observed them for a while, hoping that enough of them would cluster together to produce some rain, maybe even a heavy downpour.
Mary loved the rain. She had done so since she was a little kid. To her, it had always been easier to hide in the rain because her stepfather didn’t like standing in it for too long, so he’d give up before he was able to find her… and if he couldn’t find her, he couldn’t hurt her.
But Mary had always loved standing in the rain. To her, it was like a magic coat that not only protected her from her stepfather,but it also washed away the blood, it rid her hair from his whiskey breath, it cleansed her skin from his awful smell, and it hid the tears that she always tried so hard not to cry. She also loved falling asleep to the sound of rain – thunder or no thunder. To Mary, the constant drumming of raindrops against windowsills, rooftops, trees, whatever, had an almost unearthly calming effect. Rain also helped her think, and that was exactly what she needed to do right then.
She stretched her legs, and put her feet up on the coffee table. She’d be lying if she said that she hadn’t thought about Thomas since the exhibition on Thursday evening. She wasn’t the only one who had left an impression that night.
Mary gazed at the note that came with the painting before allowing her eyes to settle on the invitation – no phone number, no email, no way of getting in touch with him.
‘Smooth and clever,’ she said to herself.
And you know what that means, right?
Mary finished her glass of wine.
That’s right – we’re going shopping.
Thirty-Five
Wednesday turned out to be a beautiful cloudless and sunny day, with the temperature reaching 60°F. That daytime beauty seeped into the evening, with a postcard star-filled sky and a bright full moon that reflected off the San Francisco Bay like a trail of diamonds.
Mary arrived at the Legion of Honor at 7:10 p.m., and as she stepped out of her cab, she had to pause for a moment to catch her breath. The Legion of Honor building looked like something out of a fairytale, with imposing Ancient Greece-style white pillars that flanked a grandiose arched entrance, reminiscent of the Arc de Triomphe. The large, round water fountain at the front of the building greeted every arrival with a kaleidoscope of colors that changed to the sound of Vivaldi’sThe Four Seasons.
‘Wow, this really is something else,’ Mary whispered to herself, as she started towards the building, which was tinted a beautiful shade of purple, via several spotlights that sprang out of the front garden. A red carpet guided every arrival up the long ramp that led to the arched entrance, where Mary was greeted by a young man in a white tux. He checked her invitation before offering her a glass of pink champagne and ushering her into the wide, open courtyard, where laser lights projected a show of images against the main building, this time, to the sound of Mussorgsky’sNighton Bald Mountain. This was what Mary imagined arriving at the Oscars would be like.
The paintings and works of art were being exhibited inside the building, but there were several guests hanging around the courtyard, mingling, chatting, smoking and enjoying the laser show. Mary sipped her champagne while her eyes circled the small crowd outside; Thomas didn’t seem to be amongst them.
‘Canapé, ma’am?’ a waitress asked, walking up to Mary with a tray full of colorful hors d’oeuvre.
‘No, I’m alright for now, thank you.’
As the waitress walked away, a new group of guests walked through the arched entrance and into the open courtyard. That was when Mary finally realized that all the men seemed to be dressed in tuxedos, and all the women were in very expensive-looking evening dresses – some quite extravagant in style.
Mary had spent a whole day in town searching for dresses, and despite the urge to spend a small fortune on a couple of designer numbers, in the end, she decided on a front-of-the-store, bean-paste, split-thigh, double-shoulder strap dress that truly accentuated her now slender and toned body. For shoes, she picked a black pair of ankle-strap sandals, with stiletto heels and a stylish bow detail over her toes. She complemented the look with a satin shawl over her shoulders. Her jewelry was simple but classy, and her makeup had never been more on point.
‘Wow,’ Mary heard a male voice say from behind her. ‘You look… breathtaking.’
Mary turned to face Thomas, who was also dressed in a black tuxedo that seemed tailor-made, not a rental, but with a red bowtie that matched the handkerchief that just peeked out of his breast pocket. His longish hair wasn’t tousled carelessly like when they first met – it was slickly combed back over his ears. His eyes, as they met Mary’s, also seemed a little different… brighterperhaps, as if right then they’d acquired a somewhat ‘happy sparkle’. The bowtie, though, was slightly lopsided.
‘Oh, hello,’ Mary said, surprised. ‘I didn’t see you there.’
‘I was just in the gents, trying to fix this… thing…’ He pointed at his bowtie. ‘No matter how many times I’ve tried, I just can’t get it to stay straight. I’ve watched at least five YouTube videos on how to tie a bowtie and just look at this.’ He pointed at his neck before shaking his head. ‘I really have no idea of what I’m doing wrong.’
Mary smiled. ‘Yeah, it’s definitely not straight.’
Thomas breathed out a mixture of frustration and embarrassment. ‘I knew I should’ve gotten one of those with an elastic band.’
‘May I?’ Mary asked, nodding at the bowtie.
‘You know how to tie a bowtie?’
‘I can give it a shot,’ she replied, matter-of-factly, handing Thomas her champagne flute. ‘Could you please hold this for me?’
