“Look,” Marina said, “if you’re going to open your front door again, you should brush your hair or something. Maybe change out of your pajamas. Not that you don’t look good; you do, kind of, but, I mean, I’m just saying ...”
Jada glanced down at herself. She was wearing her favorite sleeping shirt and leggings, which were actually an ancient pair of long johns, thermal underwear, top and bottom. The waffled cotton fabric had once been printed with cute blue flowers, but those had long since faded into vague blurs which, now that she was examining them, alarmingly resembled food stains. The knees and elbows were threadbare and had small holes. Plus, she wasn’t wearing a bra.
Well, wasn’t that just great? She touched her hair. She didn’t need a mirror to tell her, it was a rat’s nest.
This day just kept getting better.
“So,” Jada said, “I was just on television looking like a crazy cat lady. That’s what you’re telling me, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t that bad. But, you really might think about cleaning up before—”
“I’m not going back out there!” Now, who was sounding shrill? Jada glanced around the room, leaned over and tried to see under the bed. Mentioning a cat lady made her think of ... “Ms. Kitty. I don’t see her. You don’t think she got out when I opened the front door, do you?”
Marina snorted. “She’s hiding somewhere. No way she’d go out with all those people.”
“You’re right. Thank God she’s so anti-social. Ms. Kitty! Here, Ms. Kitty! It’s okay, girl. You can come out.”
“She’s fine,” Marina insisted. “Anyway, you’ve got other, bigger things going on.”
“I know I do. It’s just that none of that stuff makes any sense. A missing cat makes sense. I think I’ll stick to finding Ms. Kitty, if you don’t mind.” She slipped off the mattress and looked under the bed.
“Oh, Jada. I’m so, so sorry. This is terrible. You’ve obviously lost your mind and we’ll have to put you in a home for—”
“That’s not funny.” Jada stood up, took a deep breath and forced herself to watch TV.
Text scrolled along the bottom of the screen and there were insets that changed every minute or so. She tried to read and listen to the broadcaster at once, but she was so rattled she could only focus on one thing at a time.
The female broadcaster rambled. “The woman presumed to be Jada Howarth has yet to reappear. The front door remains locked and no can hear anything inside the house. Wait. I’m getting new information. Uh-huh. Mm-hmm. Official sources are now saying that the frazzled-looking woman we saw moments ago couldn’t possibly be Jada Howarth. Jada would most definitely not be in the little house. She’d be on her honeymoon, of course. Yeah. That makes sense. Whew! I don’t know about you, but I was a little worried there for a minute. I don’t mean anything against the lady inside there but Ian’s really hot and—”
Jada frowned and muted the TV. She read the screen, expecting to see, “Jada Howarth much less attractive, more frowsy than anticipated.” What she read instead, was far more disconcerting:
“Billionaire Ian Buckley and mystery woman wed in secret ceremony.”
“Marriage license names bride as Jada Howarth of Springer’s Glen.”
“Family and friends of Buckley claim no knowledge of marriage or Jada Howarth.”
“Unnamed sources say Sasha threatened to jump off bridge when given news of Ian’s nuptials.”
“No statements from Ian Buckley or his people.”
Jada gawped at the screen. So THAT was why there were so many people outside. They thought she’d married superman billionaire Ian Buckley. It made perfect sense.
“Okay, Marina,” she said. “Someone’s pranking me. Is it you? If it’s you, I’m going to kill you.”
“It’s not a prank. It’s for real. You’re trending on Twitter and are all over Google and YouTube. Don’t go to YouTube, by the way. The video of you at your front door is going viral as we speak.”
“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. How in the world would anyone think I’d married Ian Buckley? Or that he would marry me? Someone’s made a huge mistake and—wait a minute. Phone’s buzzing. I’ve got another call coming in.” She glanced at the screen and didn’t recognize the number. “I’m putting you on hold, Marina.”
“Okay, but—”
Jada cut her off and accepted the other call. “Hello?”
“Hello.” It was a pleasant-sounding female voice. “Am I speaking to Jada Howarth?”
“You are.”
“My name is Cathy Johnson. I’m one of Ian Buckley’s executive assistants. He asked me to call you to arrange a meeting.”
“Oh, you all are a laugh riot today, aren’t you? Are you with CGTV? How’d you get my number? Isn’t it enough that you’re outside crushing my grass?”
“I’m sorry, Ms. Howarth. I’m sure you aren’t accustomed to this kind of attention. I assure you I am who I say I am. And none of us in Mr. Buckley’s employ are in your yard at this moment.”
“Prove it.”
“Please, Ms. Howarth. That’s impossible.”
“Maybe.”
“I’m calling to set up a meeting between you and Mr. Buckley, ma’am. Can you be ready to leave for the city in say, ten minutes?”
Jada barked a laugh. “You’re kidding, right?”
“No. We sent a car to pick you up already and it’s nearly there now. How about fifteen minutes? Can you leave in fifteen?”
“Hold on. I’ll be back.”
“But I—”
Jada cut her off and put Marina back on the line. “You’ll never guess who I’m talking to.”
“If you say Ian Buckley I’m going to pee my pants.”
“Gross. No. It’s Ian Buckley’s assistant. She says they’re sending a car for me, that Ian wants to meet with me.”
Marina squealed, again. There were far too many squeals going on of late. It was like they’d reverted to tween-hood.
“Oh my God, Jada. This is so ... so ...”
“Ridiculous? Stupid?”
“I was thinking more like miraculous and predestined.”
“Listen,” Jada said, “I need to know what you think. If a car actually shows up, should I go? How do I know it’s really Buckley’s assistant I’m talking to?”
“Of course it’s really her. It makes perfect sense that he’d want to meet you. How else will you make sense of everything? Oh my God. You’re going to go, aren’t you? If you don’t want to go, I will. I can’t promise you not to try for Ian, though. I mean, I know he’s your husband, but if you aren’t going to nail down your man, you can’t blame me for giving it a try.”
“The entire world has gone crazy, and you’re the whacko leader, Marina. Fine. I’ll go. Hold on again.”
She switched back to Cathy. “Okay. I’ll go. But I’ll need at least forty-five minutes. I’ve got to shower and do my hair and stuff.”
“Can you make it thirty? I wouldn’t ask, but Mr. Buckley is anxious to speak with you and it’s almost an hour’s drive from there into the city. You could really help me out if you hurried.”
Jada didn’t know why she should care about helping someone she’d just met. Nonetheless, she found herself agreeing to hurry.
“Thank you so much, Ms. Howarth,” Cathy said in her perkiest voice yet. “And don’t worry about those reporters outside your house. You’ll be escorted safely to the car, okay?”
That was the first bit of good news Jada had heard all morning. “Okay.”
“The driver will call in thirty minutes. Wait inside for him and the others. He’ll tell you what you need to do.”
“Er, all right, I guess. Others?”
“That’s right. Thanks again, Ms. Howarth. Mr. Buckley will be pleased that you’re on your way. See you soon.”
She hung up before Jada could say anything else. She flipped back to Marina.
“I told her I’d go,” Jada said.
“I can’t believe this is happening. It’s