BLOODBURG Page 18

  No more than a few minutes had passed before Patience returned to the office. Only this time, she wasn’t alone. There were four tall, slender young men with scraggly beards, wearing old t-shirts and slightly worn-out jeans with her. Allie glanced uncomfortably at them, then down at their feet, surprised they were wearing sandals when the weather was no longer warm enough to.

  “Allie, I’d like you to meet some of my newest customers. This is—”

  “What’s going on?” Allie asked abruptly, interrupting Patience’s introduction of the four odd strangers.

  “It’s a new service here at the store! We’ll be holding prayer circles and healing rituals in the basement!” Patience said with a smile. “I dropped off some flyers at the art college last week and these are my first participants.”

  “Okay,” Allie said, feeling apprehensive. “I wish you would’ve told me about it first.”

  “It’ll be fine! I promise!” Patience chirped as she grabbed the key to the basement from the office wall and led the four men away with her.

  Allie wondered how they were going to manage to form a circle in such a cluttered and crowded basement. The last time she was down there, Allie could barely move a foot without tripping over one of the countless number of boxes of old clothes and junk stored in that dark and musty space. But, knowing her sister, Allie figured that if anyone could make it work, it would be Patience.

  Allie let out a long, irritated breath as she looked up at the wall clock, realizing it would be several hours before meeting Kevin for dinner. With her sister in the basement with a bunch of random hippies, Allie resigned herself to the fact that it was going to be a really long day.

  -17-

  The hours ticked by slowly as Allie did everything she could to avoid looking at the clock. There weren’t many customers, which made the day drag on. Allie even dozed off behind the register once or twice until a black limousine pulled up outside and broke the monotony.

  It was Katrinka, carrying Allie’s dress with contempt, like a limp corpse draped across her arm. She pushed the door open with her foot, trying to avoid brushing against the filthy doorway as she maneuvered inside. Katrinka glanced around the store, a distinct expression of distaste and judgment spreading across her face.

  Allie chuckled from behind the register. “I’m over here! I wouldn’t want to have to send a search party after you, just to get to me,” she called in a too-sweet voice dripping with sarcasm.

  “Here is your dress, Ms. McCleary,” Katrinka scowled, ignoring her jab. “Francois wanted me to wait for you to try it on to make sure it is a perfect fit and that you’re fully satisfied.”

  “Of course.” Allie smiled. She called to the back room, “Patience! Can you come out front? My dress is here and I have to try it on.”

  “Oh!” Patience gasped. “Of course! I’ll be right there!”

  Allie took the dress and met Patience at the curtain. Allie gestured to the register and whispered, “That is Katrinka…from The Premiere.” Allie smirked slyly. “I was wondering if you could make her feel at home and show her around the store while I try this on.”

  Patience was one of the friendliest people on the planet, but she tended to ignore personal space boundaries. She was always more than willing to offer up a hug or lead new customers around the store by the hand, which Allie knew would drive Katrinka absolutely mad.

  “Okay, sure thing!” Patience gladly agreed.

  “Thank you so much. Just be careful…I think there’s something wrong with her aura. Maybe you can help her with that, too?” Allie hinted. “Give her whatever you think she needs, and I’ll pay for it. Okay?”

  “No problem!” Patience clapped her hands and rushed over to Katrinka.

  Allie headed to the small dressing room, laughing to herself as she heard Patience latch onto Katrinka and begin dragging her around the store. Allie closed the door behind her and quickly slipped into the dress. It was a perfect fit. The black satin flowed elegantly off her shoulders to just above the knee. Allie smiled as she ran her hands over the painstakingly embroidered Cherokee roses. She gazed at herself in the mirror, thinking the dress was more perfect than any other she’d ever worn. It embodied her. It was sophisticated, yet still free-spirited, and she loved the way it made her feel.

  She stood in the dressing room, stalling to let Katrinka squirm for a bit. Allie felt a sense of satisfaction as she listened to the haughty woman try to fend off each of Patience’s suggestions and sales pitches.

  Eventually, Allie gave in and went to save Katrinka. When she emerged, Patience gasped and shrieked as she ran over to her sister.

  “Oh…my…Goddess! You look absolutely amazing!” Patience shouted. “Give me a twirl.”

  Allie slowly turned around, flushed with excitement as she batted her eyelashes at Katrinka, “Tell Francois it’s absolutely gorgeous! It’s perfect. Thank you.”

  Katrinka forced a tight smile. “I’ll be sure to pass that along,” she replied through gritted teeth and fled the store.

  “Strange,” Patience said, shaking her head. “Her aura was completely off, yet she wouldn’t try on a single thing.”

  “I’m sure you did your best, Patience.” Allie laughed. “She’s just not used to being downtown here with us common folk.”

  “Yeah, she’s more uptown…and uptight. Anyway, we’ve got more important things to talk about. I mean, look at you in this dress! Oh, I’m honestly a little jealous, hon.”

  “It’s really not a big deal,” Allie said, trying to reassure both herself and her sister that this was just another date with a guy who’d already proven himself to be untrustworthy. Allie didn’t want to overthink the situation, but it was hard not to give in to Patience’s fuss over her. “Let me get out of this dress before I ruin it.”

  “When you’re done with that, why don’t you take off? It’s been slow. I can handle it.”

  “Are you sure?” Allie called back.

  “Yep…go on. Take the rest of the afternoon off and at least try to catch a nap or something before tonight.”

  “Thank you, Patience,” Allie beamed.

  Back in her own clothes, she walked to the front of the store with the dress bag. Patience smiled brightly as Allie walked over and wrapped her free arm around her sister, giving her a quick hug.

  “You better call me after your date. I want to know everything! Good or bad. Promise?” Patience demanded playfully.

  “I promise,” Allie replied with a long, happy sigh, grabbing her purse and heading home.

  ***

  Allie was restless, lying in her bed. She tried to take a nap but couldn’t fall asleep. Staring up at the fancy dress hanging on the outside of her closet door, Allie felt anxious. She was excited about seeing Kevin again, but she still wasn’t sure if she could trust him.

  Am I deluding myself on purpose? she wondered. Can we even have a real relationship, since it was built on a lie? What happens if he suddenly remembers everything like I did?

  No matter how she analyzed it, Allie couldn’t change what had happened, and overlooking the issues just seemed wrong to her. Instead, she accepted that whatever was meant to happen would happen, and to leave it at that.

  As evening fell over the city, Allie slipped into the dress and pinned her hair back, then called for a cab. If nothing else, ignoring the rest of the world and enjoying a nice evening out was her reward for everything she’d dealt with over the past week and a half.

  You know what? Allie thought as she slipped on her shoes. The chaos and craziness can wait until tomorrow. She smiled and tossed her cell phone onto the nightstand and headed out to meet the cab that was already waiting in front of her apartment building.

  ***

  When she arrived at the restaurant, Allie was flushed with excitement to see Kevin pacing just outside the front door. He was dressed in a navy suit jacket and tie, his hair was neatly combed, and his shoes were shined. She could tell he’d
taken the time to look nice for their date. When he saw the cab stop at the curb, Kevin’s face lit up as he rushed over to open the back door.

  “You look amazing!” he said, taking her hand.

  “Thank you,” Allie replied, blushing at his display of chivalry.

  “That’ll be sixteen-fifty,” the cab driver blurted, breaking the moment.

  “I got it!” Kevin said, tossing the driver a twenty.

  They walked into a sea of people waiting for tables in the foyer. Kevin gave the hostess his name. She smiled and said, “Right this way.”

  Allie felt the glares from the crowd behind them as the hostess led them to the back section of the restaurant. Red velvet ropes on gold posts enveloped a small round table. Allie was thrilled, yet taken aback by the effort Kevin had put into the evening, and she wondered if this could be something real, after all.

  When they were seated, a petite Italian woman appeared. “Good evening,” she said in a pleasant Mediterranean accent. “My name is Marissa, and I am your dedicated hostess.”

  “Dedicated…as in…we’re your only table?” Allie gaped.

  “Yes, miss. You are our special guests,” she smiled, placing menus on the table before them. “Please look at tonight’s specials. I will return with your champagne.” Marissa bowed and rushed off toward the kitchen.

  “Kevin?” Allie asked nervously.

  He eyed her over the top of the menu.

  “When I said fancy, I didn’t mean you had to go this far.”

  “You don’t like it?” he asked, grimacing.

  “No, no, no. It’s amazing! I just didn’t expect this kind of treatment.”

  “To be honest,” Kevin began sheepishly, “they said they were booked solid for the next two weeks…until I mentioned the bank robbery…and who I was. Suddenly, they could squeeze me in. It was kind of cool.”

  “So, you used your fifteen minutes of fame to pull this off?” Allie asked, flattered that he’d used his fleeting fame to make an amazing night for her.

  Kevin blushed slightly. “I guess you could say that. I just wanted it to be something special for you.”

  Allie quickly returned the blush. “I wondered why the crowd at the door was so angry.”

  Kevin laughed. “Yeah, that’s why I waited outside for you.”

  “Well, those people probably get to do this sort of thing every other night. They probably take it for granted.” She smiled.

  Kevin returned her smile.

  “So…tell me again how you wound up in Bloodburg.” Allie blurted before she could catch herself. She had no idea if the simple question would have a disastrous effect on Joseph’s memory block at the bank.

  Fortunately, before he could answer, the hostess returned with a bottle of champagne a tall gold ice bucket. “This is our finest champagne; our owner’s favorite. He offers it with his compliments for your special occasion,” she said, slowly pouring into Kevin’s glass flute and drawing it back, waiting for him to taste it.

  Kevin stared at the fizzing inside the glass like a deer in headlights. Allie nudged his foot under the table to get his attention. He took a sip, contentedly smiling.

  “It’ll do just fine,” he commented nonchalantly, putting the glass back down on the table and giving Allie a playfully snobbish glance.

  Allie covered her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. He was adorable.

  “I’m glad you like it, sir,” Marissa replied, filling both glasses to the gold rims. “Have you decided on your first course?”

  “What would you suggest?” Allie chimed in.

  Marissa smiled, composing herself before speaking, “We have a wonderful garlic hummus served with our house made parmesan-infused pita. We have a delicious bruschetta topped with fresh tomatoes, onion, and garlic.”

  “Sounds delicious!” Kevin said, trying to be confident, yet Allie could tell he felt like he was out of his element. “What do you think, Allie?”

  “How about one of each?” Allie replied.

  “Absolutely,” Kevin said with a small sigh, thankful Allie had chimed in.

  “Excellent!” Marissa nodded and turned away.

  Kevin took a few large gulps of his water, trying to keep his composure.

  Allie could see the small beads of sweat forming on his forehead. “It’s okay, Kevin. You’re doing fine,” she reassured him. “Stop worrying so much. I’m here, right?”

  Kevin nodded as he mopped his forehead with a napkin. “I know. I just want to make a good first impression, you know?”

  Suddenly Allie was jolted back to reality. “What do you mean, first impression?”

  “You know,” Kevin muttered as he started to rub the side of his head, “I wanted our first date to be special. When you gave me your number at that coffee shop, I was so surprised that you were even interested in a guy like me. I didn’t want to screw this up.”

  Allie watched Kevin wince in pain. She wasn’t quite sure how much of the truth he still remembered, since Joseph had either completely wiped or altered his memory. They’d been on their first date the night she got mugged in the alley and first met Joseph, but she knew the memories were trying to bleed through.

  “You okay?” Allie asked sympathetically.

  “Just got a headache out of nowhere. It’s nothing,” he answered, quickly drinking more of his water.

  “I get migraines like that, too,” Allie lied. “Just sit back and close your eyes…breathe slowly for a few minutes and it’ll go away. Don’t worry, I’ll still be here when you open your eyes again.” She laughed.

  Kevin smiled and closed his eyes, breathing slowly for almost three minutes, leaving her in awkward silence as Marissa returned with their appetizers.

  “Wow!” Allie gasped. “That was fast.”

  Marissa leaned in, speaking softly. “These were for another table, but the patrons were being really rude. The manager suggested I bring them to you instead.” She smiled slyly. “They can wait another ten minutes.”

  Allie laughed.

  Marissa winked at Allie. “Have you decided on an entree? Or should I just leave the menus?”

  Kevin forced a smile though his pounding headache. “How about we hold on to the menus and play it by ear?”

  “Of course,” Marissa said politely. “Enjoy your appetizers. Please let me know if you should need anything.”

  “Actually,” Kevin chimed in. “Could you bring us a pitcher of ice water?”

  “Absolutely,” Marissa replied before heading back to the kitchen.

  “You okay?” Allie asked sincerely, knowing exactly how he was feeling.

  “Yes.” Kevin grimaced. “I don’t usually get headaches, I’m sorry.”

  “Not a problem,” Allie offered. “Let’s just eat our commandeered food and enjoy the moment,” she said with a giggle.

  Kevin chuckled as he held up a piece of bruschetta. “To the middle class, finally getting theirs first,” Kevin whisper-shouted.

  Allie flashed a beautiful smile as she held up her piece, softly touching it to his in a mock toast before taking a big bite. “Oh my God,” she mumbled as she chewed. “That is so good!”

  Kevin nodded as he stuffed the rest of his piece into his mouth. “Yes…yes, it is!”

  They noshed on the appetizers and Allie did her best to keep the conversation away from anything that could trigger Kevin’s hidden memories. But now and then, she could tell she asked one question too many, pushing his memory and causing his headache to return. She kept up her chatter, trying to distract him with stories of her own life in the big city, making sure to steer the conversation away as quickly as possible.

  After the appetizer plates were empty, they ordered another plate of each instead of opting for entrees and steadily drained the rather large and expensive bottle of champagne.

  Their date was progressing better than Allie’d hoped. In fact, it was one of the best nights of her life. They had so m
uch in common, and there was a strong chemistry between them. It was like they’d known each other for years; as if fate had placed them together at the perfect moment. But, as the night wore on, Allie noticed something strange happening in the restaurant.

  It was barely eight o’clock on a Friday night, and the previously-crowded restaurant was almost empty. She did her best to focus on the conversation with Kevin, who was oblivious to his surroundings.

  Normally, if a date was overserved, she wouldn’t hesitate to find out his true intentions. But now, as she watched the last couple get up from their table, leaving her and Kevin as the only patrons, Allie had an uneasy feeling as several well-dressed men entered the restaurant, the last subtly locking the door behind him. She thought the suits they wore were like those of Joseph’s victims that night at the warehouse.

  “Kevin?” she interrupted him as her heart pounded anxiously in her chest. “Who exactly did you say you were when you made our dinner reservation?”

  “I just told them I was one of the brothers that stopped the robbery…you know, played up the celebrity aspect. Why?”

  “Hmmm,” Allie replied, slightly distracted. “Marissa?”

  Marissa emerged. “What may I get for you? Another bottle of champagne?”

  Allie forced a smile. “Oh, no. I think we’ve had enough. Could we please have the check?”

  Marissa smiled. “There’s no check. It’s on the house…the owner insisted.”

  Allie took a long, deep breath, nervously exhaling slowly as she watched the well-dressed men casually sit at a table close to her and Kevin. “M-May I ask who this gracious host might be?”

  “Mr. Palencio. This is one of his restaurants,” Marissa smiled. “He was so excited to hear of your boyfriend’s heroics that he wanted to come and congratulate him in person. He should be here shortly. Dessert?”

  “Do you have an-any cheesecake?” Kevin asked, his words slurred from the many glasses of champagne.