Second First Impressions Page 25

  She goes off to search in a cupboard for more tinsel.

  My phone pings; it’s my forum friends chat. I wouldn’t be surprised if they were messaging to ask me to step down as forum admin. I open the message and see it’s a link.

  ACTOR WHO PLAYS DAD IN HEAVEN SENT CHARGED WITH SEXUAL ASSAULTS DATING BACK TO 1990s

  I read through the article, and it seems that no one on set was safe from the actor who played Pastor Pierce Percival. I sit down in a chair by the window and stare at the green world outside.

  My pleasures in life are modest. A bath, dinner at the same time, and the uncomplicated, wholesome television show that parented me through the hardest years of my life. I had a childhood of bullying, loneliness, and wavering faith, but no matter what, I knew what time this show was on. And I think of little Teddy, sitting at his own television.

  Everything ends. I know that better than anybody. But I really need something to hold on to. I blink my tears into my cardigan sleeve, and on the pavement outside, I see it: a tiny, determined little lump, edging across the path. How do they keep moving themselves, despite the endless stretch of lawn ahead? They just do, inch by inch.

  I’ve got to inch my way out of this, too. “Mel, the tortoises are endangered. Surely that counts for something.”

  “It should,” she says, thinking. “But PDC will have some environmental assessor on their payroll to write a report that says it’ll be fine. You’re the only one who cares about those tortoises, I think.”

  “That’s true. I’ve got records for the last six years, showing how the population has grown with just the tiniest bit of care and attention.”

  “Oh, Miss Ruthie is looking determined. She’s decided she ain’t going down without a fight.” How I’ve missed Mel’s open, unguarded grin.

  “I wanted to thank you, Mel. You were the first person I ever met who took my side.”

  She’s puzzled by my wording. “How do you mean?”

  “You’ve always believed in me. I know the Sasaki Method was not about dating. Not really. It was you trying to get me to think about myself. To consider myself as a candidate for the human race. You made me be twenty-five. And I’m really, really grateful to you.” I put my arms around her and hug.

  “Whoa, whoa. You’re not about to do something crazy, are you?” she says into my shoulder.

  “Not something crazy. Something administrative. I’m going to make a call to my contact at the Reptile Zoo, and see what paperwork we need to lodge to get an injunction to protect the site. Let’s make things difficult for PDC. I should have done this years ago.”

  Mel squeezes me and we end our hug. “Years ago, you were under Sylvia’s thumb. What’s happening with the audit?”

  “From what I can gather, Sylvia altered each of my reports to show the site had thirty-nine town houses, before she submitted them to PDC. It’s why she never let me have any kind of independence. She skimmed the entire revenue from the fortieth house, thinking it was unlikely that the owners would set foot on-site. I never even noticed the website listed thirty-nine town houses. Duncan’s said she’s kept a second set of books for years.”

  Mel says, “I know she’s a family friend. Do you actually think she did it?”

  Sylvia was there the day of the church theft. She was at our post-fund raiser leftovers-and-lemonade celebration. She was trusted implicitly by my parents and able to walk wherever she liked on church grounds. She could have accessed a key. She was there when I told the congregation that I was a careless, foolish girl.

  Two months after that day, she took a vacation to Tahiti and sent my parents a postcard, and she’s been gaslighting me ever since.

  “Yes,” I tell Melanie. “I do think Sylvia stole the money.” Now I’ve got another call to make after I ring the Reptile Zoo. I’ll leave another voice mail for Teddy, asking him to forgive me for not being brave enough. When he calls me back, I’m going to tell him that he’s right. Providence has taken enough from me. It’s time for me to resume my life.

  Then after I make those calls, I’m going to call my father.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Knowing the Parlonis are without an assistant, I go up in the hour before the Christmas party. I find keeping busy is the key to sanity these days. If I let myself stand still for one second, Teddy’s voice rings in my ear.

  I called Always and Forever Tattoo Studio in Fairchild, and he’d answered the phone, sounding so unspeakably proud of himself that I had to hang up. He did it. I must love him a lot, because I’m so happy for him that I cry myself to sleep.

  I find the front door of the Parloni town house unlocked, but it doesn’t affect me like it once might have. The sisters are dressed and ready, practicing their dance moves in their living room. Achingly slowly, they step out a box on the carpet. It’s the slowest waltz I’ve ever seen.

  Each woman is dressed in a lovely prom gown. They are strappy affairs, and the vibrancy of the fabric is juxtaposed with their loose, wrinkled skin. Aggie looks unwell, barely moving her feet as Renata steps around her. I have a strange feeling I’m interrupting something I shouldn’t. What is this piece of bad history between them, connected to their prom, all those years ago?

  “Your chaperone has arrived,” I call to them, breaking the moment.

  “Good, you’re here. Come get dressed.” Renata points at a hanging garment bag with CHANEL printed across the front. “I went down to your thrift store again.”

  I gape at her. “You found this at the thrift store?”

  “Of course not,” Renata booms. “Boy, she’s gullible. No wonder Sylvia fleeced this place right under her nose.”

  “Who told you that?”

  “A little bird told me.”

  Dammit, Melanie. It’s not right to gossip. I unzip the bag. Inside, it’s ivory feathers and satin edging, and a price tag I’m too afraid to flip over. “I don’t understand why you did this for me.”

  “It’s a thank-you,” Aggie says, just as Renata says, “It’s a goodbye gift.”

  “How did you know?” I have my resignation letter typed, printed, and signed. After the Christmas party, I’m going to send it to Rose Prescott and help her find a replacement. I’ve got somewhere I need to be, and some risks I need to take. “I can’t accept this dress.”

  “You will take what I give you,” Renata snaps. “And you will say thank you every day until you die. Thank you, Renata Parloni, for changing my life. Honestly, she’s the most difficult girl I’ve ever met.”

  Aggie pats Renata’s cheek. “She doesn’t understand. How could she? Just let her alone.”

  I don’t know why she’s so annoyed. “I’ll borrow it. Thank you very much.” I think that’s the best compromise I can broker at this point.

  “The salesgirl said you can’t sit down in it. You’ll bend the feathers if you do,” Renata yells as I go into the spare bedroom to strip down and carefully pull the magical dress down over my head. I would have loved for Teddy to have seen me in this, but when I walk into Always and Forever, I will be wearing my cool-girl cardigan. The one with foxes and mushrooms on it.

  “I’ll zip you up,” Aggie says from the doorway.

  “Are you unwell?”

  “Just an acute lack of youth.” Even pulling the zip causes her to grunt. “There. You look how I feel on the inside.” A faint smile touches her mouth. “You know that you’ve done something extraordinary tonight, don’t you?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. Melanie did all the work.”

  “You’ll be helping us set something right.” Aggie pulls my ponytail out from the neck of the dress with care. “Thank you for taking the dress. It means a lot to Ren that you did. We never had children. But you, dear Ruthie Maree, are the closest we ever got. You and Theodore. We’re going to leave the door unlocked tonight. In case he comes back.”

  I exhale and nod. I pull my hair tie out and my hair tumbles around my shoulders. “Shall we go?”

  “We’ll be along shortly. You go
ahead.”

  It’s eerie, walking through Providence in my miraculous swan princess dress. The air buzzes with the sound of electric mobility scooters. Weaving side to side, the residents dodge the tortoises. I open the rec center doors, switch on the sparkling lights and mirror ball, and the walls fracture into every color, spinning around us. My phone has a text from Mel: Running a bit late, just hit play on the playlist. I do, and the first song is an old one. I hear voices whoop in excitement.

  My residents stream in, dressed to the nines. Some have dates. Some have brought their families. I get to hug each one hello, but also goodbye. When they find out I’m leaving, they’ll say it’s a shame. Once they find out I’m running away to try to recapture the heart of the tattooed boy who cleaned the gutters shirtless for the Parlonis, they’ll give me full endorsement.

  “I have never in my life seen anything so beautiful,” Mrs. Whittaker tells me in the doorway. I can’t tell if she means the glittering room, or my dress. “If only I had a date. I bet you can’t tell looking at me, but once upon a time, I had plenty of options.”

  “Three boyfriends at the same time. Yes, you told me. And I’m in awe. I’m hopefully about to get just one boyfriend, but he’s a special one.” Electric, dazzling, beautiful Theodore Prescott. Please hold on for me. I’ll be there soon.

  It’s only when the room is mostly crowded that I notice the Parlonis are nowhere to be seen. I’m just walking to the door when they step in, and they are hand in hand. Now that I am in love, I understand everything.

  The Parlonis are not sisters.

  How have I never noticed the way they look at each other? The hands folded together, the times I’ve walked in to find them leaning together on the couch? They walk in together, backs remarkably straight, heads held high.

  Renata looks around at the room, eyes defiant. I know now what their old wound was: they couldn’t go to the prom with each other, and it’s been carried around on their relationship like a scar.

  If they were expecting a scene, they don’t get it. If they were expecting judgment or disgust, there is none. The Parlonis are glanced at and then forgotten in favor of the refreshments. I walk over to them as they halt underneath the mirror ball that has somehow transformed the entire world tonight.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” Renata used the word gullible earlier to describe me and I feel it now. “Didn’t you trust me?”

  “She finally gets it.” Renata smiles, and in this light she looks about twenty years old. “My beloved wins yet another bet.” She lifts Aggie’s hand to her mouth and kisses it. “I owe you twenty dollars.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?” I ask again.

  Renata replies. “Your father is a reverend. At first we didn’t say, because I didn’t want to find out that you’re a jerk. And it’s just easier. People have assumed we’re sisters our whole lives. But not anymore.” Renata looks around the room. “This feels like what I thought it would. Even if I’m old.”

  I smooth down a feather on my dress. “But you know I’m not a jerk. I really did think you were sisters. Did Teddy know?”

  Aggie says, “He knew the first day.” Both smile. “We weren’t trying to keep a secret deliberately. We’ve just lived this way for a long time. It hasn’t been . . .” She can’t think of the word. I think it hasn’t been easy.

  Renata gives me a look. “It’s our business. But times have changed. And your prom was just in time.”

  “You should get married.” I hope I haven’t overstepped as they carefully exchange looks. Then they smile.

  “You’re starting to get it,” Renata tells me. There’s approval in her eyes. “You’re starting to realize that life is too short. You’ve got to find that person you love.”

  “I think I lost him.”

  Aggie speaks. “Then find him.”

  “I’m so glad she’s not a jerk,” Renata says as they walk to the dance floor. Her shawl slips from her shoulder and I see her tattoo: AGATHA FOREVER. It’s perfect.

  Together, they step into an easy waltzing shuffle. Other couples join them, and soon the dance floor is a slow-motion, creaking sway. There are walking frames. Some dancers sit down periodically to rest. It’s the tamest, sweetest little party. I take the box of corsages that Melanie handmade and begin to tie them to frail wrists. Tonight, everyone feels twenty-five.

  Tonight is a miracle.

  I lean against the wall, just watching, and a woman walks in. She’s tall, powerful, and would be chosen first for a school sport.

  “This is actually quite lovely,” Rose Prescott says as she sets down her overnight bag against the wall next to me. “You’ve got a nice taste level. I was just coming up to let you know my father is arriving in the morning. I wanted to go through the audit findings here, seeing as though he’s always going on about how important that is.” Rose isn’t one to say something like, thanks for the invitation.

  “Melanie says that you’ll recommend that the site be developed once the tenancies expire.”

  “It’s what we do. Surely you’ve realized it. Don’t be looking so accusing,” she adds defensively. “And don’t take your anger at my father’s son out on me.”

  “Why don’t you ever call him your brother?”

  “Because I don’t want a brother.”

  “He loves you so much he’s got a rose tattooed on himself. But you’ve probably never spent enough time with him to notice it. He’s been heartbroken since he was a kid that you don’t want anything to do with him.”

  Emotion flares in her eyes. “It’s complicated.”

  “Working here, I’ve realized that it doesn’t have to be. And that life goes by quick. One day you and I will look like them.” I nod at the crowd. “I think it’s time we both make peace with a few things.”

  “Teddy said he’d be here, didn’t he,” Rose says like she’s making one last pitch to change my mind. “He promised you, I bet.”

  No, he didn’t. I’d hoped. “He did. But if he has somewhere more important to be, I understand.” I see a tall man in the doorway and my heart leaps.

  But then Rose says, “Oh, there’s my dad.”

  Jerry Prescott walks up to us, pulling a carry-on suitcase. “I just got into town, thought I’d come and see what all the fuss is about. This is amazing.”

  He turns around us, smiling at the slow-dancing seniors on the dance floor. His gaze does catch on the Parlonis and their romantic clinch, but if he’s surprised he recovers well. “I want to congratulate you on a fantastic year of hard work, Ruthie, despite everything that’s happened.”

  “Don’t congratulate me too soon,” I reply glumly. “Rose has bad news.”

  “Oh, yes. She briefed me quickly on that.” Jerry’s face grows serious. “Did she tell you that we never believed you were involved? The matter is now with law enforcement. Sylvia is disembarking in Noumea tomorrow morning, and she’s going to be met by police. It looks like she was embezzling from the previous owners of Providence, too. Since she’s been working here for over fifteen years, we’d say a loss of $400,000 is conservative. If only I’d taken a tour with you, like you offered, the day I arrived here, we might have picked it up sooner. Forty little town houses.”

  Rose sighs like she’s beaten. “I already know what you’re going to say, so I’ll just agree and say that from now on, I will personally walk every site we ever buy.”

  The mirror ball turns, my eyes are dazzled by a starburst, and when they readjust to the dark room, I see a new silhouette in the doorway. It’s another man I don’t recognize. He’s tall and dressed in a suit that looks like it was made for him. He’s got a sharp, edgy haircut, the sides shaved close to his head and some length on top, shining blue-black in the scattered disco ball lights.

  It’s Teddy. He’s come back, and—

  “He got a haircut.” Both Jerry and Rose gasp in unison.

  Teddy spots us now and begins to walk over. The Parlonis see him and begin to make their way over to us, too.
>
  “My, my, don’t you look sharp,” Jerry exclaims, clapping his son hard on the shoulder. “You wouldn’t be out of place in PDC corporate headquarters, would he, Rose?”

  Teddy’s eyes are only on me. “I came back. I’m not too late, am I?”

  I gesture around us. “I’d say you’ve got perfect timing, like always. Where’s your beautiful hair?” He’s so handsome and grown up, I stare at his polished leather shoes. It seems that Fairchild has changed him in a way I didn’t anticipate. Now, the half-full packing boxes in my living room are terrifying.

  He steps to stand beside me, and the warmth of his palm on my shoulder is a relief. “I did what Dad said to do. I got a haircut. I’m here to tell you that you win. I’m ready to grow up and be what you want me to be. Add me to the payroll.” He’s not speaking to me. His eyes are only on Rose.

  “Wait a minute,” Rose interrupts, but Jerry holds up a hand.

  “What do you have in mind?”

  “I’ll do whatever business course you want me to do, then I’ll start work for PDC at the bottom of the ladder. In exchange, I want you to leave Providence how it is.”

  “I’ve just completed an evaluation that shows this place isn’t a great deal for us,” Rose says. “Once we give Ruthie appropriate back pay, the position is even worse.”

  I interrupt. “What back pay?”

  “Sylvia has been paying you under the minimum wage for six years.” Rose explains it like I’m a tad simple. “Haven’t you ever wondered why you make so little?”

  “But that’s because I have accommodation here.”

  Rose sighs like, Oh Ruthie. “As part of my review, I also looked at your duties. You’re performing a role much higher than your duty statement. We’ll work out what all this means, but I’m sorry that you were taken advantage of. We’ll do what we can to make it right.” Rose looks at her father, who nods.