The Stranger in the Mirror(27)

“What about the club—did you get to see if they remembered her there?” Gigi asks.

Ed shook his head. “It closed four years ago.”

Another dead end.

“Maybe we can find out who owned it. Get in touch with them and get employee names,” I suggest, although I know it’s a long shot.

“Well, that’s the thing. I had the same idea, so I did a little research,” Ed says, and I can tell he has more bad news. “The guy who owned the bar was a Connor Gibbs. He owed a lot of people a lot of money when he closed the place, and I don’t think they were very nice people.” He stops and strokes his mustache again. “Seems he had a bad car accident after that. He died a day later.”

“So we know nothing. Except that I was a stripper and worked for a gangster. I’m sorry I ever ran into that guy in the restaurant.” I put my elbows on the table and rest my head in my hands.

Gigi comes around to my side of the table and puts her arms around me. “Don’t worry, honey. This isn’t the end. We’re going to find out more, I promise.”

“I don’t want to know anything else,” I cry into my hands. “I don’t want to know.”

She shakes me gently. “Look at me.”

I put down my hands and face her.

“This might not be you. And if it is, so what? What’s wrong with being a dancer? You needed to earn a living. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

“I know that. But honestly, Gigi, can you imagine the reaction Gabriel’s parents will have when they find out?”

I’m serious, but she starts to giggle, and then Ed joins in, and soon we’re all in hysterics at the thought of the proper Olivers reacting to the news. As tears of exhaustion and mirth fill my eyes, I look at Ed and Gigi and think how much I love them.

“Okay,” Gigi says, “let’s get cooking. We’re having breakfast for dinner.”

Gigi mixes up the pancake batter while Ed lines the bacon up in a baking pan, and I crack the eggs into a large glass bowl. I love how Ed always pitches in, even when he’s been on the road for a long stretch. Gigi’s a terrific cook, and he acts as sous chef/comedian/practical joker. She pretends to get annoyed when he’s too rambunctious, but I think she secretly loves it. I set the table while Ed and Gigi stand at the stove together, talking and giggling like kids, and I wonder if the time will ever come when I’m that lighthearted. Theirs is the kind of marriage I so want to have, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to be that kind of partner for Gabriel.

“Bacon’s done,” Ed says. “I’ll do the eggs now.” He pours them into the frying pan and grabs a wooden spoon from the utensil holder.

Gigi hands me the dish with bacon to take to the table. As she brings over the pancakes, Ed’s phone rings.

“I’ll get this in the other room,” he says, looking at the number. “You want to take over, sweetie?” He tosses the wooden spoon to Gigi before he turns to go.

It’s like the spoon is moving through the air in slow motion. I scream, cowering, and put my hands up to protect my face and head. I see a man in my mind. His eyes are narrowed, his cheeks a fiery red. He’s yelling, his face contorted in rage, just inches from mine, his black eyes blazing as he bangs the spoon on my head over and over and screams, You stupid bitch! How many times do I have to tell you I don’t like runny eggs? Why can’t you get that through your thick head? I don’t know why I don’t just kill you.

“Addison!” Gigi shouts, and I feel her hands on my shoulders, shaking me. “What is it?”

I look at her, and for a moment I don’t know where I am. “I . . . uh.” I drop onto a chair, still seeing that face in my mind. Who is that man?

“Honey?” Gigi pulls a chair out and sits next to me. “What happened? Did you remember something?”

“Oh, Gigi, I’m so scared.”

“It’s going to be okay,” she says, trying to comfort me.

It’s never going to be okay, I think, and look down at my wrists. Is this man the reason I tried to kill myself?





??23??

Addison




The closer the exhibition at the gallery gets, the more apprehensive I feel. The photographs I’ve chosen tell the story of where my life has been for the last two years, ever since I came to Philadelphia. The more I explored the city, the more I came to love the grand old buildings and beautiful green spaces. One night, as I strolled through Fairmount Park, I looked up to see the Strawberry Mansion Bridge in the distance, colorfully lit up, its lights shimmering on the waters of the Schuylkill River. It took my breath away, and all I could think of was how I wished I had my camera with me. The very next night I set up my tripod and with my wide-angle lens began my nighttime odyssey, over the next month moving on to other bridges that span the Delaware River as well. I titled the exhibition Journey into Light because crossing a bridge is a journey from one shore to another, and if you’re traveling in the dark, you can’t know where you are going or what is on the other side, but the lights—the lights are what keep you safe and show you the way. It hasn’t escaped my attention that the bridges are a metaphor for my life—traveling from an old shore to a new one. One day, I hope, I’ll remember how to make the return trip.