Ginger Fox Part 2
I find Baby in the living room, talking with Aunt Charlote. The tall blonde has her back turned, filling a glass of vodka for herself and her aunt. When she turns to me, her big smile with red lipstick lights up her face.
“Where have you been that I didn’t see you all day?” Baby hands the glass to her aunt and walks toward me.
Her hand stretches out, fixing my hair and then looking at her fingers, noticing the sand on them.
“I was at the beach and you didn’t invite me?” I shrug, putting my fingers in my pants pocket, tilting my head just a moment to glance at the lady, who is distracted with her drink.
“I ended up sleeping all day. When I woke up, it was already late, so I went for a walk on the beach.” I turn my face back to her. Baby raises her glass, bringing it to her lips, nodding in agreement.
“Were you talking to Tom?” she asks quietly, stifling a laugh. I confirm with a nod toward the door for her.
“Someone stayed in the library until late.” My eyes widen at Aunt Charlote’s voice. “Where did you go after you left there?”
Baby turns to face her. Aunt Charlote lowers her glass, her eyes fixed on mine.
“Actually, I got carried away with the book...” I respond, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. What else could she know about what I did last night? “I went straight to my room.”
The old lady raises her eyebrows, her painted face and sagging forehead increasing the lines of expression that time has brought, giving me a look of someone who has lived long enough to know when someone is lying.
“Don’t you feel ashamed interrogating people, aunt?” Baby finishes her drink in one gulp, heading to the bar and setting her glass on the counter. “Don’t mind her, Gim. This mummy stays up all night listening to what happens in the mansion.”
I smile to hide my nervousness, breaking my gaze with the lady’s, keeping my eyes fixed on the floor.
“Also, how do you expect me to sleep with the damn sounds of pigs being slaughtered echoing through the walls?” Baby stops walking, staying by my side.
Aunt Charlote knows about Lorane’s affair. I wonder if she knows with whom the woman is involved.
“She wasn’t in the mansion last night,” Baby replies seriously, adjusting her hair. I lift my gaze to her, seeing her paying attention to my face.
Please, don’t ask me, don’t ask me anything!
“Did you hear the sounds too?” Damn, she asked! I can’t lie. I hated playing Secret Santa because I always ended up revealing who my friend was. If I can’t keep a simple secret, how can I hide something so serious?
“Sounds?” I bite my lip. “I…”
“Oh, stop being coy, little one,” Aunt Charlote says loudly, giving me a scolding look.
“What sounds did you hear, Gim?” Baby moves into my field of vision, leaving me no chance to escape.
I take a deep breath, pressing my fingers and moving my nose from side to side.
“Oh my God! I’m going to have a second stroke before she opens her mouth.” Aunt Charlote gets up from the chair, heading to the bar to refill her glass, giving me a second scolding. “Speak up!”
“Yes,” I blurt out quickly, not breaking eye contact with Baby. “I heard sounds like a seal choking on a fishbone.”
Aunt Charlote’s choking on vodka makes us both turn to look at her. Baby stands still while they exchange glances for a brief moment. Soon the room is filled with loud laughter. Aunt Charlote grabs an empty glass from the bar, filling it, and walks slowly with the two glasses toward me, still laughing. She extends the glass to me, with Baby as her accomplice in the laughter. I am still confused.
“Here, little one.” I take the glass, raising it to my lips, still not understanding their reaction.
“Didn’t I say she makes a terrible sound, like an animal dying?” Aunt Charlote says to Baby, making her laugh even more.
Baby knows. Everyone in this mansion knows about Mrs. Lorane’s affair with her cousin, and no one finds it strange or abnormal. Bob is a jerk, that’s undeniable, but he can’t even be twenty. And it’s not even the age difference between them; that would be normal in another context. A forty-year-old woman involved with a younger man. But this woman, in particular, is married, and the younger man is her cousin. I down the drink in one gulp, grimacing as the liquid burns my throat and spreads inside me. The laughter stops when the sound of high heels announces someone entering the room. I turn around, seeing Mrs. Lorane standing in the doorway, staring at us. Her eyes, as always, land directly on me, her expression closing as she looks at my clothes.
“What’s the joke?” She takes her eyes off me, walking through the room and looking at the curtains.
“Seals, dear sister-in-law,” Baby responds quickly, glaring at Aunt Charlote, who looks like she might laugh again but falls silent under Baby’s stern gaze.
“Will you two stay for dinner?” Lorane turns around, glaring at me. But this time it’s not disgust over my clothes; I find it impossible she knows I witnessed her affair.
“I’ll have dinner in my room tonight,” Aunt Charlote responds quickly, setting her glass on the table, slowly leaving the room, and winking at me.
“And you two?”
“Actually, I’m still deciding what I’ll do,” Baby says calmly, straightening her skirt. She raises her head to me, and her fingers lift, adjusting the stubborn strand of my hair.
I shift my gaze to the door, praying she understands I need to talk to her alone.
“Well, it seems no one will be having dinner tonight. Roy left early and hasn’t come back yet.” I breathe quickly, turning my head toward the skinny woman, who sits on the couch, crossing her legs.
“Well, it’s good that Bob is there to keep you company. Gim, why don’t you come to my room so I can show you the dress I bought on one of my trips to Morocco?”
Baby is quick, passing by me and pulling me by the hand. We are already walking briskly toward the stairs when she turns her face, laughing at me.
“A little more and I thought you were going to have a nervous tick with your eyes.”
“God, I didn’t know if you understood me.”
I had never done this before. I had never had a friend to talk to, keep secrets with, or just exchange information with a look. Back in college, I never had that level of intimacy with anyone. My only friend was Tom, and even then, I couldn’t say everything on my mind because there was a chance of being judged or reprimanded.
“Tell me. So, how was the call with Tom?”
“He’s cheating on me,” I reply quickly, looking around to see if anyone is coming or if the meddling Bob is nearby. “Baby, I received…”
“Cheating on you? Did he say something?”
“A girl answered his phone. Tom showed up later, calling her ‘sweetie’ and kissing her shoulder. And it wasn’t in a friendly way between apartment friends, but that’s not it…” She opens the door to her room, pulling me inside and locking it immediately.