The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender(16)

When the doors to the theater finally opened, Viviane and Jack quickly made their way inside — marveling at the walls splashed with oceanic scenes and the usherettes and doormen dressed in nautical uniforms. Jack examined the innovative push-back seats, throwing Viviane an occasional Can you believe these? look, to which Viviane smiled back. Jack had an eye for things new and shiny. Viviane took off her coat and shoved it into the seat behind her. The theater smelled like fresh paint and new carpeting, like expectation and hope. Viviane leaned her head back and breathed deeply, taking in all at once the wet, salty smell of the theater popcorn, the heavy musk of perfume, the sharp spice of cologne. And the light scent of soap and Turtle Wax — Jack.

To say Viviane had a keen sense of smell was an understatement. She could detect what people had eaten for dinner from a mere whiff of their breath. Not even the strongest toothpaste could hide the sharp tang left by onions and garlic, the buttery aroma of chicken noodle soup. The smell of unwashed hair was unbearable to Viviane, as were infected wounds and cooked meat. But her strange talent went even further. She could tell when a woman was pregnant — even before the woman herself might know — just from the way she smelled: a combination of brown sugar and Stargazer lilies. Happiness had a pungent scent, like the sourest lime or lemon. Broken hearts smelled surprisingly sweet. Sadness filled the air with a salty, sea-like redolence; death smelled like sadness. People carried their own distinct personal fragrances. Which was how she could tell when Jack was near, and how she knew that the two conspiring heads in front of her belonged to best friends Constance Quakenbush and Delilah Zimmer. They were classmates of Viviane’s and Jack’s. As if on cue, the two girls tossed a synchronized glance at Viviane, then went back to another round of furtive whispering.

Viviane shifted in her seat, trying not to overhear what they must be saying. Why would she even want to, for that matter? It was obvious to everyone that Constance had her eye on Jack and wasn’t about to let anything get in her way. Even, or perhaps especially, Viviane. For the most part, Viviane wasn’t concerned — after all, beneath the fumes of her excessive perfume, Constance smelled like sour milk and cat urine — but she wouldn’t be concerned at all if Constance wasn’t so goddamn pretty.

At seventeen and a half, Jack was a good-looking young man with an angular jawline, thick, unruly eyebrows, and a lock of wavy dark hair that fell in his eyes due to a favorably situated cowlick.

Viviane, for her part, was attractive. The particular components of her face were nothing special — just a pair of brown eyes, a nose, a set of lips — but Jack thought her beautiful, and that was enough, for Viviane and most everyone else. Most were content to leave the two of them alone, free to follow the blissful path fate seemed to have set before them. Everyone, that is, except for Jack’s father and Constance Quakenbush.

Constance turned around again, bouncing a little as she did, her long blond hair swinging prettily across her shoulders. She threw Jack a bright smile. “Hi, Jack,” she said.

Jack looked up, distracted. He blinked twice before offering an awkward “Oh, hi, Constance.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t say hello earlier,” Constance said. “I didn’t know you were there.”

Viviane rolled her eyes.

“Delilah dear and I were just trying to decide which Hollywood starlet I look like the most,” Constance continued, “Veronica Lake or Rita Hayworth.”

“A blond Rita Hayworth,” Delilah interrupted, turning around and giving Viviane a smug look. Delilah wasn’t nearly as pretty as Constance, but her drab looks and constant need for approval helped her play the part of Constance’s sycophant perfectly.

“Naturally, when I realized you were sitting behind us, I thought, well, surely Jack will know. You always have the answer to everything,” Constance purred. “Delilah thinks Rita Hayworth, but I’m not so sure.” Constance leaned toward Jack. “Did you know Veronica Lake’s real name is Constance? Isn’t that spooky?”

Jack stood and brushed off his knees before sitting back down. “Not really,” he said. “I am pretty sure there was a Sicilian queen named Constance sometime in the twelfth century.”

Constance and Delilah shared a delicious glance. “Really?”

“I bet she was beautiful,” Delilah gushed.

Jack shrugged. “Actually, Constance of Sicily wasn’t married until she was thirty. Some say that the reason was because she was so ugly. No one wanted her for a wife.”

Constance’s face fell, and a glorious shade of red bloomed from her chin to her hairline. She turned around after muttering something about the movie starting. Delilah shot Viviane a dark look. “It’s a lie,” they heard her whisper. “I bet her name wasn’t Constance. Bet it was Viviane.”

Jack draped his arm across Viviane’s shoulders.

“Well, Constance is right about one thing,” Viviane said, leaning into him.

“What’s that?”

“You certainly do have the answer to everything.”

Jack gave Viviane a sideways glance, a playful smirk on his lips. “Are you calling me a know-it-all?”

“Who me? Never.”

The film was Week-End in Havana and starred not Veronica Lake or Rita Hayworth, but the exotic Carmen Miranda. After the movie Jack drove Viviane to their favorite spot: the town reservoir.