Her eyes narrowed with all kinds of new suspicions. I could practically hear her thoughts. She was oblivious to the noise around us. “How did you get Ken Dolan to hire you so quickly? I’m sure he had many applicants for that job. I can’t believe he did it based solely on Mrs. Winston’s recommendation.”
“She didn’t actually recommend me, Naomi. She arranged for my interview. It was really up to me.”
“Well, how did you do it? What did you promise?”
“Efficiency, dedication, and loyalty,” I said, emphasizing loyalty.
“You’re a fool if you bought into any promises a man makes, even a man like Ken Dolan,” she said. She looked around and then turned back to me. “I just decided. I’m not returning to the Winston House for dinner with those boring people. I’m going to the Quincy Seaport Club. I still have a membership. If you were dressed properly, I’d bring you along.”
“Thank you for bringing me here,” I said. “I know you did it out of pure kindness.”
She pressed her lips together, pulled back her shoulders, and mumbled “See you later” before marching away, her high heels sounding like small hammers driving hateful nails into the mall’s tile floor.
Maybe I was too hard on her, I thought as she rounded a corner and disappeared. My experiences with other women aside from Mrs. Fennel and my sisters was very limited. Other girls my age relied on those experiences, whereas I kept reminding myself that I had to rely solely on my instincts and my perceptions, which were sharper and keener and went deeper than those of ordinary young women but still left me at some disadvantage.
And then I thought perhaps I was wrong about that. Truthfully, I had no disadvantages when it came to comparing myself with other girls. Perhaps in my determination to flee from who and what I was and was meant to be, I had blinded myself to a greater reality and ignored an insistent realization that I was more capable, stronger, and less vulnerable than any other girl my age or even older. I vowed to stop belittling myself. I was behaving no better than Liam, soaking in self-pity. Get over it, Lorelei. You’re on your own, I told myself.
I did look for new shoes and also made sure to get myself a warm jacket so I could return Naomi’s to her. It was clear that I would be beholden to her for anything. I concentrated so much on what I was doing that I lost track of time and had to rush out to find a taxi. It was too late to cancel dinner at the Winston House. I thought I would just go right to the dining room after I put my packages in my room.
But as it turned out, that wasn’t going to be as easy as I thought.
9
My arms were full of bags when I stepped out of the mall to look for a taxi. The sky was partly cloudy, but I could sense oncoming showers blowing in from the east. A chill hung in the air, but that made it sharp and clean. All lights were brighter, all sounds clearer. I felt a healthy surge of energy building in my body. It reminded me of how tight and firm I had been when I had been attacked by the fake lawyer in the back of the SUV. Like some primeval creature always depending on her instincts and that magical sixth sense, I felt something threatening nearby and slowly began to look around myself.
There were three teenage boys on the corner to my right, smoking cigarettes and talking. They all paused to look my way. They didn’t know I could hear them despite the distance.
“I wonder what she has in her bags,” one said.
“If you have to wonder what she has in her bags, you need help,” another teased, and they all laughed. I could see they were just about to start in my direction.
I looked for a taxi but saw none. For a moment, I debated going back into the mall. I didn’t want to have any physical confrontations on my second night there. Just before I turned to find some way to retreat, I heard my name called out and saw Jim Lamb hurrying down the sidewalk toward me.
“Jim?”
I looked back at the boys. They hesitated and just watched us.
For a moment, I thought he was either unable or unwilling to explain his presence. The fact that he was actually standing in front of me seemed to overwhelm him.
“I’m surprised to see you,” I said, hoping to help him along. He smiled.
“Yes. I happened to be here and saw Naomi
leave by herself a while ago. Of course, I remembered you were supposed to be shopping with her. I looked for you inside but didn’t see you, so I thought you might not have come here with her after all. I was just getting into my car when I saw you come out. I imagine you want to return to the Winston House.”
“Yes.”
“Do you have a car picking you up?”
“No. I was looking for a taxi.”
“Look no more,” he said. “Here, let me help you with some of those bags. Did some shopping, I see.”
“Yes.” I looked back at the boys. They headed for their corner, looking like cowardly coyotes searching for easier, unprotected prey. “Cutting it close for dinner, aren’t you?” I asked Jim.
He nodded, embarrassed that he had looked so hard and long for me. “Don’t worry. We should still be there in enough time. Not much traffic in that direction. Why did Naomi leave you here?”
“I think she was bored. She was going to some seaport club.”