Stay(71)

His voice is husky when he answers. “Of course.”



* * *



“If I’m wearing a fabulous outfit and no one’s around to see it, is it still fabulous?” Lulabell stands in front of a mirror in the back of Miss Con-Cleaneality.

We’re ready to head over for the final night of the Lady Liberty pageant. She’s dressed in orange hot pants and a silky yellow blouse. On top of it all is a shaggy, multicolor faux fur coat made of black, orange, red, and yellow pelts.

“Yes.” I nod, feeling underdressed in my dark skinny jeans and black, scoop-neck tank. “You look amazing. I look like I just rolled out of bed.”

“Here.” She hustles to her office and returns with a bright yellow blazer. “Put this on.”

I do as she says, and she rolls up the sleeves. “The heels help,” I note, checking out the improvement in the mirror.

“You just needed a pop of color.”

Her shoulders drop, and she hits me with those puppy-dog eyes. “I’m just getting you plugged into the fashion scene here. What will you do in Seattle? You’ll be surrounded by flannel and Uggs. Grunge.” She shivers. “It sounds cringey.”

“I don’t know. There’s a lot to be said for comfort clothing.”

“I swear to God, if you come back smelling like patchouli, I will never speak to you again.”

The way she says it actually makes me laugh, which is a first for this hell of a week. “I promise. No patchouli.”

“And the doctor said it’s okay for Eli to travel?”

Nodding, I recall our meeting with Henry’s partner earlier this week. “He’s on his second week of no seizures. They did an MRI, and all the results came back very positive. He’ll meet with the neurologist in Seattle Dr. Rourke recommended in a few months, but as long as he’s resting, he can take a road trip.”

“Well, that’s disappointing.” She sees the expression on my face and quickly adds. “That the doctor said you could leave, I mean, not that Eli’s doing great. I’m glad Eli’s doing great! Come, we’re going to be late for the big show.”

We’ve been working the preliminaries all week. We’ve seen girls come and go, and through it all, I’ve made friends and learned so many hair and makeup shortcuts, tricks, and tips. I’ve picked up business cards from industry professionals, and an Elite scout even told me to call their Seattle office about a job. It’s been an amazing experience. I’m being paid very well, and it’s gone a long way toward bringing me out of my “whore” humiliation. I can take care of my son and me without Stephen’s money. I’m not a whore.

“Eli’s staying with Stephen again?” We’re walking into the backstage area. My heart is a lead weight in my chest, and I’m sure Lou can see it. “How’s that going?”

“Fine. Stephen loves him.” Which I believe is true.

“And?”

I know what she means. “I talked to Eli about moving and how he’ll get to see his uncle Ethan, his aunt Patrice, and all his cousins. He’s sad to leave New York, but it’s a better situation for him, a better environment. He’s only known Stephen a short time.” Lou’s watching me, the doubt growing in her eyes. It frustrates me. “It was never real, Lou.”

“It sure looked real to me.”

“Maybe things aren’t always how they look.” I grab my smock, pulling it over my head.

“Then again, maybe they are.”

The music rises, and I don’t have time for arguing. Or second-guessing.





28





Stephen


“If they tap here,” The young guy on my oversized iMac monitor taps his phone’s face. “It takes them to the search function, and from there, they can see all the doctors in their network who are available in any given location.”

The kid walking us through the beta version of my healthcare app looks like he might be sixteen. I wonder if he’s ever faced a medical emergency in his life.

“It also works for pharmacies?” Remington interrupts my thoughts.

We’re on a three-way video chat with Remi in Oakville, me in Manhattan, and Skippy the computer programmer in Seattle.

“Yes, sir. Just tap right here…” The man-child shows how he set up the app to work exactly as I specified.

I lean back in my office chair scowling as I watch him. I should be pleased he follows orders so well. Instead, I’m annoyed.

It’s been a month since Emmy moved to Seattle…

The week before she left, Eli stayed with me during the days. It was at my request, as I’m pretty sure Emmy was swamped packing boxes. Even though he’d been released by the doctors, Eli didn’t need to be doing any heavy lifting.

He sat at the coffee table in the middle of my office reading about ocean mammals while I studied code and diagrammed my newest application.

At one point, I looked over to find him studying me, that little gray beanie covering his scars.

“What’s on your mind, Bart?” I teased, calling him by his pirate name.

His nose squinted. “Mom says Seattle is surrounded by water. She said we might see whales there.”

“It’s true.” I thought about the Pacific Northwest. “It’s pretty rugged country.”