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JEWEL
My father’s parole had been denied.His attorney, an old family friend, called me to patiently explain how, yet again, it was impossible for Dad to get parole. When James Weston’s name came up to the parole board, influential victims came out of the woodwork to rehash their suffering. I couldn’t blame them, considering my father was guilty of ten counts of various levels of fraud. I listened while Jack rattled off the various types—mail fraud, wire fraud, investor advisor fraud, securities fraud—until I couldn’t take it anymore and cut him off. Being reminded of his guilt didn’t make it any easier to swallow. And there was no doubt of his guilt. He wasn’t only guilty of ruining the lives of his victims; he’d ruined mine and Mother’s as well. We were the unintended victims, and I continued to suffer from his absence, from his imprisonment.
Dad even called me.
He was resigned to the idea that he was destined to remain under lock and key, whereas I’d always held out hope. It was dashed every time, and still, I didn’t seem to learn my lesson.
I was getting off the phone with my father when Suzie, one of the girls who lived in my residence hall, waltzed in, sashaying back and forth in a revealing outfit. I lived in a double room with Sofia, but all first years lived together in various halls in what was called the Quad.
Flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder, she cocked her hip and asked, “What do you think? Too much?”
Suzie had recently been accepted into a sorority at Columbia University. Not only was she all about Greek life, but she wanted to share it with the rest of us living on her floor.
“There’s a party tonight at Delta SigorDSig, and you must, must, must come!” she insisted. “I’m not taking no for an answer. And to get you in the partying mood, I brought a little something.”
From behind her, she pulled out a bottle of frozen Tequila. Her other hand jiggled a saltshaker that looked suspiciously like the ones in the food hall.
Plopping them both on my desk, she fluffed up her perfectly coiffed hair.
Uninvited, she took a seat, licked her hand, sprinkled salt on it, gulped down a shot of tequila, and lapped at the salt. After a slight shudder of her narrow shoulders, she handed me the bottle and saltshaker with a grin. “Come on, Jewel, live a little. It’s Saturday night!”
The door swung open wider, and in stalked her roommate, Jenny. Swiping the bottle from her friend’s grip, she shook it and said in an exasperated tone, “Jesus, Suzie. This isn’t even yours!”
“Oh, come on, Jenny. I know you’re an only child and a little princess, but you gotta learn to share.”
“I can share if you’d only ask instead of grabbing things out of my fridge,” she huffed.
These two were snarky and a little ditzy, but they weren’t snobby or cliquey, like some sorority girls could be. They lived to party, and if they weren’t at a Greek party, they were at another party on campus or hitting a club downtown.
With a nod in my direction, Suzie said, “Jewel’s coming with us tonight.”
Jenny halted mid swing of the bottle to her mouth and shrieked, “Yay!” with the little happy dance she did when she was excited. “A few other girls will be coming as well. This will be fun! Brooks Hall is gonna represent, yo!”
The news about my father’s parole hung around me like bad mojo, and I was grateful for the distraction they offered. If it wasn’t for them, I would’ve moped around all weekend, what with Sofia visiting her family and Cat being away in the Hamptons with Luca.
In the past, I counted on Cat, but that was when we lived together at school. Now, I didn’t feel comfortable interrupting her time with Luca to ask her to spend it with me. During the week, Cat and Luca were at their penthouse in the city, but come the weekend, they either escaped to his mansion in Westchester or the Hamptons. After the drama they’d been through recently, I couldn’t blame them for wanting to bask in each other’s company and recharge. I couldn’t complain since Cat and I managed to meet up every day she was on campus. I was still adjusting to not having her around, and at times like these, I missed her the most.
Suzie walked to the door and shouted in the hallway, calling a few other girls in my room for an impromptu preparty party.
Jenny handed me the bottle of tequila. I hadn’t eaten much at the food hall because I was nervously anticipating Jack’s call, so the first shot went straight to my head. I grabbed an energy bar and tore off a bite, hoping it would soak up the alcohol. I didn’t drink heavily, but if there was a night to do it, it was tonight. Uneasiness tickled the back of my neck as if I was doing something wrong, and I instantly knew where the feeling came from.
Nicu.
I sensed his disapproval even in his absence. With his possessive Neanderthal nature, I strongly suspected he wouldn’t approve of me getting drunk and going to a frat party with these girls, no matter how nice they were. That feeling of being taken care of swooped in again, making my belly flip-flop. Even though I was an adult, I hadn’t had someone looking after me in a long time.
Suzie shot to her feet and pointed at me. “I have the best outfit for you tonight.” She rushed out and came back holding a black satin dress with red piping down the front and cutouts above the hips.
“Oh, no, I’m not wearing that,” I immediately replied.
She shook the dress and fluttered her fingers at me. “Why not? It’s hawt, girl, and you’ll look incredible in it.”
“Ugh, no, thank you,” I muttered.
Her brows gathered in confusion. Propping a hand on her hip, she demanded, “Give me one reason why not.”
“It’s too revealing. You can pull it off because you’re skinny, but I have hips,” I replied with a slap at said body part.
“It doesn’t fit me right, because I don’t have hips. I look like I’m wearing a smock, but with that hourglass shape you have going on, you’ll look like a sex kitten. It will fit you purrfectly.”
