Chapter 5
After shopping, they went to Lin’s to get ready. She laid a sheet on the carpet of the living room floor, and then they spread their makeup all over and made themselves into winter queens. When they were done, the sheet looked like something between a collage and a mural.
Mara stepped out of the dressing room wearing a waxed linen emerald green gown.
“Woooow,” said Lin.
“Darling, you look fabulous in that dress,” said Blair.
“Don’t use words like ‘darling’ and ‘fabulous’ because you sound like Poppy. You sound like a snob.”
Blair turned fuchsia. She looked like she wanted to stab Mara. Mara didn’t notice because she was checking herself out in the mirror.
Briefly, Lin thought back to the way Mara disregarded her at the Towers. Either Mara was oblivious to the effects of her words, or she just didn’t care.
“You look lovely, Mara,” Blair said with a subdued voice.
“Thank you,” Mara said indifferent and cold.
Later, they all stepped out into the icy, dark blue night: Mara in her waxed green linen, Blair looking like a snow goddess in a white sleeveless gown, and Lin in her sheer, light pink mohair.
“Why do we have to walk in this cold weather?”
“On this night, it’s tradition. Plus, isn’t it beautiful, tonight?” asked Blair.
Beautiful, it was. Not a cloud was in sight, the moon was full and bright; the starts twinkled. Suddenly, the Christmas decorations along Main and Blackthorn appeared regal.
Up and down the street tuxedoed gentlemen escorted their richly gowned ladies. Their hems all nearly touched the salted-snow ground, and the air was rent with the sound of clopping noises that came from everybody’s shoes.
“We all walk to the center of town, and then are taken by carriages to my mom’s house,” explained Mara.
Just as she said, in the middle of Blackthorn Street, in front of Mara’s Dress Shop, was a half-mile long line of enormous decorative carriages. They gleamed white and were fitted with snow white Irish Cobs.
The line of guests waiting to board was just as long. Every few minutes, a carriage left while another arrived, having dropped off a group of people only moments before.
“I wish the carriages would go faster. I’m freezing and we’re in heels. The longer we stand here, the shorter time I’ll be able to stand at the party,” Lin chattered.
“Tough it out,” said Mara with irritation.
“Mara,” yelled someone.
From ahead in the line, a white-blonde woman waived. She walked over with a man on her arm.
“Hi,” she said excitedly. “It’s been a long time!”
“Ashley,” Mara said. She tried to sound happy, but was doing a poor job of it.
She and the blonde hugged, and mouthed kisses cheek-to-cheek.
“You’ve met my husband, Michael.”
“Hello,” she said.
Mara’s mouth spread out in a wide clown-like stretch, as it often did when forcing a smile.
“How’s the shop?”
“Good,” she said.
“Did you get any new hats?” Ashley asked.
“No, but this is Lin. She’s the new curator with the society.”
Mara touched Lin’s shoulders as she said this, and then turned her back on them all and pretended to look out for the coach men.
“Hello.” Ashley hugged and kissed Blair on both cheeks.
“Good to see you,” Blair said.
The woman asked her a few questions in an attempt to reconnect. Then her friends called from up ahead; they turned and saw they were climbing into a carriage.
“Well, it was nice to see you again, Blair and Mara,” he said to her back.
Mara didn’t turn around.
“We’ll try to visit your shop, sometime,” Ashley said loudly and shrugged her shoulders.
When they finally walked off, Lin said, “They’re gone.”
Mara turned around. Her face was red. Blair was trying not to look amused by her discomfort.
“Well?” asked Lin. “What was that about?”
Mara watched Michael and Ashley join the other couple in the carriage.
When Mara wasn’t didn’t answer, Blair said, “Ashley and Mara went to school together. They used to be best friends until Ashley stole Michael from her. I wanted to put a hex on them but Mara forbade me.”
“Look, it’s alright. I’m okay, just let it go. It’s my fault anyway.”
“It’s not your fault that slut stole your guy! What is wrong with you? No self esteem, I swear.”
At the corners of her mouth was a smirk, but given the way Mara tended to treat Blair, it was easy to understand why Blair rejoiced in her cousin’s misery.
Eventually, they got a carriage with a couple and their kids, the Balkers. They owned the jewelry repair shop in the business district.
When they finally arrived at Mara’s parent’s house, Lin was even more aggravated by the sight of a ten foot wall of stone steps they were to take up to the Blesswell property.
“You grew up here?” asked Lin.
“Yes, but it’s more impressive than it looks, and we usually drive around to the back rather than go up all these steps.”
Mara bent over and started unbuckling her heels as did Blair.
“What are you doing?”
“We can’t possibly go up all these steps in heels.”
Lin looked around to see that, indeed, all the ladies were bent over to undo straps and buckles, and slipped off their shoes.
Barefoot and twenty minutes later, they panted over the last stone step to a large green hedged yard with stone statues. Strands of strung up lights twinkled all about the property while lit up water fountains glowed shiny against the dark blue night.
They walked a cemented path several yards into a white columned walkway where Mara’s parents stood before a large double door entrance and greeted them.
Next to her parents stood Lucas, the kid from class who tried to flirt with her.
“Hi, Mother,” said Mara and they hugged. “Hi, Dad.”
“Hello Blair. You’re Lin?” asked Mrs. Blesswell.
“Yes. Thank you for inviting me.”
“I’m Maxie, this is my husband Rich, and this is Lucas.”
Rich bowed to her, and Lucas said, “Hello, Ms. Helewise.”
“Hey, little cousin,” exclaimed Blair, who stepped up and gave him a tight hug.
“I didn’t know you were cousins with that nightmare,” Lin whispered into Mara’s ear.
“Don’t hate,” she replied. “If he gives you a hard time, let me know. I’ll whack him in the head for you.”
They continued past the front landing with more stone benches, over the threshold of the house and into a large white entrance hall with pinkish-white marble floors. Two men stood near several large coat racks and several large white couches.
Lin and Mara checked their shawls, sat on the sofas and put on their shoes. After, they took a right into a hallway that was the size of Lin’s apartment and lead them into a ball room that was larger than any room- anywhere she’d ever seen.
Directly across from the entrance was a large five foot high fire place, and the flames were roaring magically high. More pinkish-white marble floor shone under the large glittering crystal chandelier that hung down from the ceiling.
Statues and plants were placed variably along the walls, as were hung paintings. On the right, there were tables of food and drinks, and on the left were couches and tables.
Hardly anyone was there yet, so Lin, Mara and Blair were nearly first to the food tables where they grabbed glasses of wine and plates.
The middle of the room was completely bare for dancing and walking, and against the wall furthest from the room’s entrance, a huge band was setting up.
The band began the evening by playing classical, jazz, and a couple of
oldies tunes. Just when Lin said she wanted to throw up, Mara informed her that as the night progressed, the music would get better, as the older people would begin to leave.
Lin watched Michael and Ashley come in with the other couple from the carriage. She watched them get plates of food and drinks and sit. Mara and Blair watched them too.
The room gradually became louder and louder as more people came inside.
A few minutes into their meals, they were joined by Sally and Billing who arrived together; although pretending they were friends as usual. Lin wondered why when it was so obvious that they were together. As usual, they didn’t touch or say much, but the way they looked at each other gave away their real relationship.
Sally cleaned up well. Instead of scraggily hair and a sweaty face, she was matted and polished with pink cheeks, lips and perfectly straight hair down her back with a pair of ivory combs neatly placed at each side of her temples.
Her dress was not as fancy as others, but it was a nice, basic black ankle length gown. Billing, instead of a tux, wore a shiny black shirt with black khakis and matching loafers.
Noticing Lin staring, Sally said, “We’ve done this so many times that we don’t need to get all dressed up anymore.”
“You still look amazing, the both of you -which is what I was, actually, thinking.”
Sally smiled.
The tables filled up quickly and they were joined by two strangers whom Lin didn’t recognize. Both had sour expressions on their faces, which was a complete contrast to everyone in the room who, for the most part, seemed to be enjoying themselves.
The woman, who had a face like the Wicked Witch of the West, was short with long unkempt black hair and an oversized black dress that pilled white balls in the front. Her man had sunken eyes and hadn’t shaved.
The two bickered in whispers, and as they got closer to the table, the woman said, “Shut up, shut up, shut up,” in a hush tone.
“Good evening,” she said and they sat down with plates and started to eat. The two ate in silence.
The woman held her fork with a backwards hand, like a child, and disgustingly shoveled the food into her mouth. The man wasn’t much better as he downed his glass of wine in a single gulp, and then pulled a flask from his pocket.
Lin looked around the table to see that Mara, Blair, Sally, and Billing were watching the two just as interestedly. Judging by the repulsion on their faces, Lin assumed they didn’t know the strangers.
The band started playing some Frank Sinatra tune and people started to dance. Mara watched Ashley and Michael move across the floor, hand-in-hand. Michael threw glances at Mara every so often.
Sloppily, Lucas danced with a girl from the academy. The girl had a most annoyed look on her face when, suddenly, she tore herself away from him and walked back to a group of girls.
“Oh, look! There’s Golden and Poppy Craig,” said Blair whose eyes followed them across the room. Mara gave Blair a disgusted look but Blair was oblivious. “They look amazing! The best dressed, here.”
A man in a white tuxedo approached them and asked Mara to dance. Although she didn’t mind Blair, she had a tendency to blabber on about things that were uninteresting.
An hour passed, during which she tried her best to stay awake. The younger crowd that sat in a group of tables in the corner looked like they wanted to kill themselves.
Blair talked about her ambitions to become the best jewelry designer the world had ever seen. Not only did she want to run all of the Blesswell Jewelry boutique lines, but she wanted to become a household name. Then she talked about how Mara was a slut in high school, and how she didn’t have any friends. Lin wondered if Mara knew that Blair spoke of her in such ways.
She almost excused herself for the evening, but then in walked Milton. Easily, he was the most gorgeous. His black hair, which had been smoothed over, was shiny and matched his black tuxedo perfectly. A white gleam, from the reflection of lights hanging from the ceiling, seemed permanently affixed to the top of his head.
Despite having told herself for weeks that she hated him, at that moment, she fell in love again.
He stood at the entrance for moment and scanned the room. Then he saw some people he wanted to greet, and made his way across the room.
Hoping to get closer to where Milton was, so he’d notice her, she said, “Let’s get some more champagne.”
“Okay,” said Blair.
They moved across the room and stood by the tables.
A DJ set up a table on the platform next to the band members, who were packing up, thankfully. He started playing a mixture of classic rock and eighties pop music. Just like Mara said, some older people left the dance floor while middle aged people moved into their place, including Milton who danced with the same brunette she saw that night on their date. Her jaw clenched at the sight of them.
She watched Milton as she sipped, and Blair continued to twitter on and on, oblivious to the fact that Lin no longer paid attention to her.
She was thankful when Mara abandoned a group of old high school friends and joined them by the buffet.
“Hey, are you guys having fun?”
“No one’s asked us to dance,” said Blair.
Twenty minutes later, they were seated at their table again. A woman named Pinky joined them. She and Mara talked about fashion and accessories, as Pinky was a designer of purses and semi precious jewelry. Lin was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol, and was trying hard to keep her eyes open.
A man in a white tuxedo came up and asked Mara to dance.
“Wow, she is a hot piece, isn’t she?” asked Lin jealously.
“That’s because she has a reputation. They all think she’ll hook up with them.”
She was gonna ask if her reputation was the result of high school, as she’d mentioned earlier, when Mara stood back and slapped her suitor across the face. His glasses flung across the floor and slid away beneath one of the buffet tables. The man ran after them.
Blair busted up laughing.
Mara walked back to their table.
“What happened?” asked Lin.
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she said and left the hall.
“She has a history of making bad choices when it comes to men. She’s not like that anymore. I suppose you could say she’s learned her lesson, but it’s almost like her past still haunts her,” Blair explained.
“What sort of bad choices? Mara never likes to talk about herself.”
“Well, take George, for example,” Blair motioned to the man in the white tuxedo who was down on his knees, looking for his glasses. “The town knows he’s a jerk; everyone knows he can’t stay faithful, yet Mara still fell for him. Then there was John, Marc, Brandon, Golden…,”
“Wait,” Lin interrupted. “She had an affair with Golden Craig?”
“Yep.”
“While married?”
“She was seventeen. That’s why she and Poppy hate each other.”
Over in another corner of the room, Lin saw the man from the bar, Markus Lancaster, Poppy’s father. He sipped casually on a glass of wine as he danced alone on the spot in a shiny tuxedo and black house slippers instead of shoes.
Blair continued on and on about Mara’s love affairs while Lin pretended to be interested. Sure, she was interested at first, and yes, she started the conversation, but as Blair delved into the darker parts of her life, it felt like a betrayal, to Mara, to listen.
Lin’s eyes were starting to literally droop when Lucas walked up and asked her to dance. He was the last choice in the world, but no one else seemed interested.
The music they danced to sucked big time. Some eighties tune she’d never heard before. Then out of nowhere, a Nirvana song blasted across the floor. Middle aged people left the floor and younger ones move into their place.
The music was just what Lin needed to get her blood moving. For a few minutes during the song, Lin actually started to feel like she was having
fun, but then Lucas grabbed her butt and tried to pretend it was an accident.
“I think it’s time for you to sit until you learn the proper way to dance with a lady,” said Milton, who’d appeared behind Lin.
Looking unashamed, he said “Yes, sir” and walked off with a smirk.
“Wanna dance?” he asked.
“I was wondering if you would show up,” said Lin, pretending as though she hadn’t noticed him come in.
“I had a few things I needed to take care of at the school.”
She slipped her hand into his, and he led her in a circle. Lin tried to think of something to say, but the music was too loud.
The song came to an end.
“Want to sit for a moment?” she asked.
A new song had begun.
“Pardon?”
“Want to sit down?” she said louder.
Milton was looking at something behind her.
She turned and saw two men yelling at each other. One was the strange man who’d sat at her table earlier, and the other was Markus Lancaster.
Milton excused himself so he could diffuse the fight, but then the lights flickered on and off. People shouted on the dance floor, “Oh, come on!” and “Booo.”
The lights in the room continued to flicker. Strange shadows across the ceiling caught her attention. Looking up, she saw several black figures fall, fast, down from the ceiling as though they surfed on the air.
A few people shrieked and dove out of the way.
The figures dropped black bags to the floor and quickly lifted upward again and disappeared into the ceiling.
Within a moment of the figures disappearance, the bags began to shriek, scream, and explode. Through flickering lights, and white streaks of smoke and sparks, Lin saw what appeared to be rockets exploding and flying out in every direction from the bags.
She put her hands over her ears to try and mute out the sounds.
Sulfur choked and burned her eyes. She tried to see where Blair and Mara were, but everyone was screaming and running about. In between flashes of light, she saw Milton run off the dance floor, and bend over to help a woman who been directly hit. Her back was on fire.
Lin realized there could be a bottle neck effect at the door, so she got out of there as fast as she could.
On her way to the door, she saw Poppy Craig get hit in the face by a wild rocket. Several others got sprayed with bright, hot, lit powder.
Outside on the front landing, Lin stopped and grabbed her knees and tried to catch a clean breath. Other people were doing the same.
“Is everyone alright?” asked a young woman.
Feeling crowded as more people rushed the landing, Lin backed away down the walk way and waited.
From inside, people screamed and cried. Then two men came out and said everything was under control, and that no one was seriously hurt.
“Did you catch the guys who dropped those bags?” asked someone from the crowd.
“They disappeared, but Deputy Dennison is looking for them. It’s safe for everyone to come in and get their things. Ms. Blesswell has been badly burned, as have several others. Let’s be respectful, and call it an evening.”
She ran back inside, determined to find out if Mara and Blair were okay. Lin shoved and pushed against all the people, but a servant insisted that she go and would tell her nothing. Finally, she gave up and got her cloak from the coat check.
“Are you okay?”
Milton, suddenly, appeared behind her.
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Come on,” he said. He grabbed her hand and guided her out of the house by her elbow.
Down the hundred stone steps, they walked. They paused halfway to take off her shoes.
“Mara told me to make sure you got a carriage.”
“So she’s okay, then?”
“Yes, she’s just tending to her mother.”
Once at the bottom, he said, “The drivers will be down in a moment, as will other riders. I must go back up.” He kissed her on the hand and said, “Watch your back.”
He helped her up into a carriage and left.
When fifteen minutes had passed and no one arrived, not a passenger nor a driver, she stepped out of the carriage. It was there she saw the figure again.
This time, she wasn’t frightened or angry.
“What do you want?” she asked calmly.
She didn’t find out because the carriage driver finally appeared with a group of people in tow.
Running Scared