Chapter One
Maybe it was foolish of her, but she really didn’t think he would break up with her. All of his grand promises had felt so real. She had called her sister when it went down, but of course she had been no comfort.
“Well, it was only a matter of time,” Petunia had said. “He’s nothing like my Vernon. Vernon has a real job, in fact he’s up for a promotion and—”
“Thanks for listening but I’ve gotta go,” Lily hung up. She didn’t need another lecture about how fabulous her Vernon was.
Now Lily was eating an entire tub of fudge brownie ice cream while watching Gilmore Girls hoping she would one day find her own Luke Danes. There was a knock on the door before Marlene let herself in.
“Lily, you need to get up! You have been moping and rotting on this couch for 4 days! He’s just a guy; it’s time to get back out there!” Marlene grabbed the remote from the coffee table and rudely turned the TV off.
“Marls! I was watching that!”
“Yes, I know, and you’ve been watching it for 4 days. Get up, take a shower, we are going out!”
Marlene grabbed Lily, who was decidedly against being off the couch.
“Quit squirming Lils, I’m trying to help you.”
“I don’t want help,” Lily broke free of Marlene and collapsed into a nearby dining chair. “My heart has been ripped out of my chest and stomped on right in front of me. I don’t even have any closure because of course it happened while he’s on tour, and I still have his hoodies, and—”
“You are actively wearing his sweatpants Lily, I don’t think you want closure,” Marlene was sitting on the couch now scrounging for the last bit of ice cream.
“What did you say?” Lily stood.
“I said, you are wearing his sweatpants, right now. The first step is to take them off,” Marlene looked to Lily. “Oh, oh! You’re getting an idea aren’t you! That’s your idea face!”
“No,” Lily said walking to her room, “This is my genius face.”
Two hours later they were leaving Lily’s flat in much fancier attire than Lily thought appropriate for the club. Lily was in a dark green dress with simple floral appliques and a crisscross back. Marlene was in a simple black gown with an open-back lined with pearls and sheer neckline.
“Where are we going again?” Lily asked.
“So, you know my friend, Dorcas? Well, she was invited to this fashion show tonight by her model friend Pandora and asked if I wanted to tag along. Fashion isn’t necessarily my thing but—“
“But Dorcas is,” Lily teased.
Marlene rolled her eyes, “BUT I told Dorcas that you were in desperate need of going out and she pulled a few strings and now we’re going to The Beautiful Divine. A limo’s coming to get us.”
“That sounds familiar actually, but I don’t know why.”
The girls exited the building to find Dorcas waiting by a long black limo. Her dress was a gold shimmering gown with a plunging neckline and clever slit in the skirt.
“Took you long enough, I thought you’d have her out here by 6:00,” Dorcas said.
“Sorry, Dorcas,” Marlene replied, “Miss Heartbroken had a stroke of genius.” Marlene rolled her eyes at Lily who replied with a finger.
“Lucky for you two the show doesn’t start until 8:00.” Dorcas opened the door ushering the two girls in before joining them.
Lily found herself sitting across from a mini bar and was very tempted to get a glass of champagne.
“Hey, Lils no. No drinking, this is a high-end event with high-end people,” Marlene seemed to have been reading Lily’s mind.
“Do you think…James will be there?” Lily asked.
“Isn’t his band on tour?” Marlene replied.
“Oh, yeah…” Lily wasn’t sure if she was disappointed he wouldn’t be there or happy. It was too soon to see him. She wanted to be friends with him again one day, it wasn’t either of their fault he caught feelings for someone else. Maybe it was a little bit his fault.
She curled her legs into her seat fiddling with the laces of her heels. She craned her neck to look at the window. It was only 7:00 but the sun had already disappeared. She wished it was still summer; Lily loved the summer. She loved swimming and tanning and taking long walks. She loved picnics and smelling the roses. She loved long drives with the windows down screaming music at the top of her lungs. She loved the way freckles bloomed ferociously across her nose and his cheeks. She loved how his hand always found hers when they were crossing streets as if they would float apart without the contact. She loved how he stopped at every single booth at flea markets, and she loved how they enjoyed the same music festivals. She loved being backstage at his outdoor shows watching the sweat drip from his curls as he bounced around, the perfect embodiment of the sun.
Lily didn’t want the winter; it was lonely and cold. She wasn’t ready for it. She had had the sun and warmth for two years. It wasn’t fair that it was taken away from her. She missed the sun; the lights of the city were nothing in comparison.
“Lily, are you okay?”
Marlene laid a warm hand on Lily’s thigh, only then did Lily feel the soft tears cascading down her cheeks. She brushed them away, but they were only followed by more. She hadn’t cried since that first night when he held her in his arms repeatedly saying how sorry he was. Dorcas held out a tissue box that appeared out of thin air. Lily greedily took the tissues. The three girls sat in silence apart from Lily’s sniffles. She was grateful they didn’t offer any empty words or hollow gestures. After a few minutes, she put the tissues down and pulled out her phone.
“That tear-proof mascara really works,” Lily said. “Well, we should probably stop sitting here feeling sorry for me and head inside. I’d hate to miss the show.”
Dorcas knocked on the door and it opened of its own accord and the girls stepped out.
“Thank you Francis,” Dorcas said to the man holding the door. He bowed his head, closing the door behind them and returning to the driver’s seat.
Lily had not been prepared for what it meant to be going to a high-end fashion show. In her head she had been picturing an intimate affair like the ones she’d been to previously, but this was far from intimate. The girls had landed on a long red-carpet line with paparazzi that flowed up elegant stairs into a glorious white building. The entrance to the building was guarded by two smooth columns with several others wrapping around the building. It reminded Lily of the Pantheon of Rome she had visited as a little girl.
“Lily! Hurry up!” Marlene whisper shouted.
Lily broke from her daze and caught up to Marlene and Dorcas. They took their time walking the carpet allowing the paparazzi to take good pictures. When they reached the building they were directed into a long hall to the right where hundreds of chairs were set up around the catwalk. At the end of the catwalk was the clear separation to backstage with a marble banner hanging across the time with the words, ‘The Beautiful Divine,’ etched into it. The girls took their seats in the third row on one of the sides and waited for the show to start.
They had been seated for 15 minutes when the lights slowly faded, and the calming music ended. Everyone stood up clapping as the director walked onto the catwalk, Lily tried but couldn’t see past the heads in front of her, even in her heels.
“Thank you, thank you,” came a familiar, melodic voice from the catwalk. “I appreciate the support you’ve shown me by coming to my show and the standing ovation before you’ve seen any work.” The voice chuckled and the audience sat down. Lily stayed standing to see the director and froze, she had to be pulled down by Marlene.
“What is with you?” Marlene hissed. “It’s like you’ve been a recluse your entire life instead of just four days.”
“I know her,” Lily whispered.
“What?”
“I know her. I – I went to school with her.”
If Marlene said anything in reply, Lily didn’t hear it she was solely focused on the woman before her. Lily hadn’t seen her since 8th grade when she moved away but here she was, Mary MacDonald, and she was gorgeous.