Smaragdus

“Shit!” The black microscope Carol had held in her right hand smashed noisily on the floor. “Fuck… shit… fuck… shit…” she alternated in panic, attempting to kneel down to see the extent of her damage. Unspeakably grateful for the distraction, Therese jumped off her stool to help her out, to focus her attention on the expensive gemscope lying at Carol’s feet.

“Don’t move,” Therese said, “I’ll try to gather any loose pieces that may have stuck in your trouser cuffs.” The bulky scope had obviously survived its fall surprisingly well, but Therese wasn’t going to tell that to Carol just yet. Letting air slowly out of her lungs, she thanked her lucky stars for Carol’s clumsiness. Huddled next to Carol’s legs, Therese examined the folded bottoms of her grey slacks. Her fingers inside the cuffs, she searched for detached particles knowing she wouldn’t find any.

“Nothing here,” she said, making sure the trouser legs looked just as shipshape as before. Having picked up the microscope, Therese resumed her standing position and inspected the heavy instrument from every possible angle. “I think it’s alright. The gem clamp may be little loose but that can be easily fixed.” She placed it carefully on the table.

Carol let out a relieved sigh. “Thank God. I’d hate to tell Jonathan I’ve managed to wreck yet another one of his precious scopes.” She kept staring at the mute block of steel that had so efficiently ended whatever she had intended with her daring words. What on earth had possessed her to ask such a dubious question? How could she have had the gall to assume that Therese’s kind inquiry had had anything to do with her missing her? Then again it had been an odd morning, first leaving her husband’s nurse naked in her bed and then finding the mysterious ring on her desk. Thank God, I’m such a klutz, Carol thought suddenly.  

“You have a habit of breaking microscopes around here?” Therese asked. She welcomed the shift in the mood that had rattled her in more ways than one. The ring was palpably present, though, and she knew she would need to address it somehow. If she didn’t, Carol might become suspicious. Therese was, after all, an expert as far as emeralds were concerned, and her not noticing it would be highly suspect.

“Well, this would’ve been my second mishap,” Carol admitted, “but it is a pricey item, and he wouldn’t look kindly on such sloppiness.” When Carol fell silent, Therese knew she would have to ask about the gem on her finger.

“Quite a rock you’re wearing,” she started cautiously. “I don’t think I’ve noticed it before.”

“Oh,” Carol said, baffled. “Yeah, it’s nice, isn’t it?” I really couldn’t come up with anything better?

“It’s beautiful,” Therese confirmed, glancing at it, “and what a fine emerald with a classic cut… it’s about half a carat, right?” She knew everything about the ring but Carol might not have guessed its true value yet.

“I suppose… yes,” Carol stammered, taking a reluctant look at it. “Haven’t really thought about its value.”

Noticing Carol’s unease, Therese grew more confident. “You should. High quality jewelry is always a great investment. A security for a rainy day…” Am I pushing this too far? “Or is it a wedding ring?” Oh hell, let’s play.

“Not exactly,” Carol blurted out nervously. “Harge gave it to me years ago, but I wear it only occasionally.” Did I just say that?

Therese couldn’t help but narrow her eyes just a tad. Oh really? “So Harge is your husband?” She paused for a second. “He must be a generous man.” She felt slightly peeved at being lied to.

“Yes, he is,” Carol replied quietly. Ashamed, she couldn’t look at Therese. I’m such a phony.

“Lucky for you,” Therese said coldly. “A 5,000 dollar ring makes a nice gesture, if nothing else.” She could feel the anger building up inside her.

5,000 dollars? The conversation had made Carol uncomfortable, and she regretted having fabricated such an infantile lie to begin with. What if someone in the staff would come to collect the ring from her? To say that she had lost it, while in a meeting in Carol’s office. What would Therese think of her then? Carol was a terrible liar, and she knew it better than anyone else. Therese seemed awfully distant all of a sudden, she thought, and it pained her to see that. Why couldn’t she have just told her the truth; that she had found the ring only hours ago, and for some unfathomable reason decided to wear it?

When Therese told her rather curtly that she was expected in a meeting in five minutes, Carol felt helpless and oddly desolate. Defeated, she returned to her office, ready to get rid of the stupid ring altogether. She took it off and put it on the table, but something about it seemed to beckon her irresistibly. It was as if its powers had not yet ceased to tempt her, to convince her that something more was to be deduced from its curious existence.

She put it back on her finger.

Therese dropped her bag noisily on the hall floor. She was in a very bad mood. When she saw what Dannie had done in the kitchen, she became even grumpier. “For God’s sake, Dannie, what the hell do you think you’re doing?” she wailed her weary objection.

The small kitchen was a mess, the round table covered with papers, enlarged photos of the necklace and the earrings, a hammer and a cleaver, blades and drill bits. Two large crystal-growth furnaces dominated the space right next to the cupboards, almost blocking the bedroom door. Dannie himself was busy checking out the containers of hydrochloric acid he needed for synthetic emeralds.

“Hey you!” he greeted Therese enthusiastically. “Isn’t it great? I got all the stuff I need today, Martha and the boys brought them over.” He was humming a cheery tune Therese almost recognized. He paid no attention to Therese’s grief over what had happened to their combined kitchen-living room space. The mention of Martha’s name made Therese frown as she cleared a chair for her to sit in.

“Great…” Therese scoffed, exhausted. No rest for the wicked. She wasn’t surprised to see what Dannie had accomplished in just one day, and she couldn’t possibly blame him for it. He couldn’t set up his lab just anywhere even though producing synthetic crystals was hardly illegal. In view of what they were about to do, an endeavor such as this would on the other hand raise far too many questions. Madame hadn’t picked this place randomly. She had taken significant precautions in choosing the location of their domicile. If Therese had ever mistaken their apartment as home, she was now being reminded of her folly. They were doing a job, and this was their place of business just as much as the museum.

While getting a glass of water, Therese settled for a more amicable approach. “So is it yellow beryl for emeralds and cubic zirconia for diamonds?” Dannie wouldn’t want to talk about anything else anyway.

“Moissanite for diamonds,” Dannie enthused. “I’m really psyched about it. It’s gonna look so perfect, it’s too bad I can’t claim credit for it,” he chuckled.

Therese couldn’t share his enthusiasm. Maybe there had been a time when she had, when everything had felt like an exciting game. Something she had taken part in to impress a woman she had once been mad about.

“You do know this is the last time we’ll do her bidding,” Therese reminded him. She was worried about Dannie, about his mood swings and conflicting sentiments. If she couldn’t get through to him, no one would.

“C’mon, Therese, you always say that,” Dannie mumbled to her astonishment. “She’s not perfect, and she’s done some questionable things, but what do I have outside this? What do you have?” He looked restless, unwilling to have this conversation.

“What the fuck, Dannie?” Therese exclaimed. “Questionable things? Is that how you see it? What is this – some kind of Stockholm syndrome?” She was suddenly enraged hearing him belittle what the both of them had had to endure for years. “You have family out there… the nephew you’ve always raved about… you could have a real life instead of this wretched survival.” Despondent, Therese was grasping at straws.

“Why would he want to have anything to do with me?” Dannie asked rhetorically. “I’m scum, I’ve always been scum, Therese.” The frightening thing wasn’t what he said, it was the way he said it, matter-of-fact and resigned.

“We can start over, you and me,” Therese tried desperately. “We’ll get as far as possible from her and begin anew.”

“With what?” Dannie questioned. “It’s not like she’s going to let us leave with a chunk of money to live happily ever after.” There was truth to his words, but Therese wasn’t going to be frayed by them.

“Anything’s better than this pathetic existence,” she nearly shouted. “Or would you rather stay with her and be forever fucked in the ass by her?”

Embarrassed, Dannie closed his eyes signaling he didn’t want to hear another word. “There are worse things in life…”

Eight years ago

“Karen…” Therese said as she moved slowly on top of her. It was a lazy afternoon, one that reminded her of many they had shared before, yet this time was different since it was a regular weekday.  

“Yes, Therese?” Karen asked, smiling the way she always did, quizzically, her bright red lips slightly parted. Her hands glided down Therese’s ribs, stopping only to press her hips against her pelvis.

“It’s hard for me to go on when you do that,” Therese laughed, her eyes sparkling with delight. “I can’t form words if I’m turned on.” Drawing an intermittent breath, she shut her eyes momentarily.

“Let’s not speak then,” Karen whispered in her ear, pinching the tender lobe with her teeth.

“But I want to,” Therese insisted, fighting the urge she couldn’t quench. “I need to tell you something.”

To her dismay, Karen’s hands stopped moving. “Is everything okay?” she asked suspiciously.

“Oh my God, yes!” Therese laughed. “I just want you to know that I’m happy, that you’ve made me so happy…” Emboldened by her conviction, she straddled Karen and looked straight into her eyes. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing.”  

Karen’s eyes dimmed with unusual pleasure. “You’re so sweet, Therese…” She propped herself on her elbows and, tilting her head, beckoned Therese for an open-mouthed kiss. What ensued got heavy immediately, depriving Therese of oxygen. When Karen flipped her on her stomach, she felt dizzy and disoriented. She didn’t even realize that Karen left her by herself for a second. Therese became aware of it only when she felt the mattress give away under their combined weight, Karen pulling her down by the waist. “You have no idea what your words mean to me,” she murmured. Her palms, massaging her ass, were cool and slippery. “Now, relax…”

For a while, Therese enjoyed the deft hands circling her crack, the sharp nails scraping her back, tickling her sides. She grabbed the pillow in sweet anticipation, but when Karen entered her, her hands gripping her sides, Therese had no choice but to sink her teeth in it. This she had not seen coming. It made her entire body tighten, her eyes widen with shock. “Don’t fight it,” Karen grunted. “It’ll feel good real soon, I promise…”