Scorched(16)

“Bruises,” Mannie echoed blankly, turning to peer into the ornamental mirror on the wall above their walnut liquor cabinet. Wailing as he got a look at his refection, he stomped his foot in a fit of temper. “Those putas at the Clinique counter promised me that eyeliner was waterproof. Lying perras!” he snarled, vigorously rubbing at the runny makeup. “I look like a fucking raccoon, Molly,” he shrieked.



Quickly crossing the room to reach her frantic friend before he could gouge out his eyes, Molly soothed, “Hey, we’ll fix it.” Reaching for a napkin from the liquor cabinet, she poured some bottled water over it and began to dab at Mannie’s eyes. “Everything can be fixed, Armando,” she repeated gently.



“No. I’m afraid you’re wrong this time, mi amiga. Some things can’t be fixed no matter how hard you try. Sometimes, people are just too broken to piece together again once they shatter,” Armando whispered, shaking his head sadly as he bent his head and began to cry again.



Shooting Devil a startled look, Molly tossed the napkin in the trash and dragged Mannie toward the couch. “You listen to me. You are NOT broken, Armando Savage. I don’t know what the hell Nick said to you, but….”

“Oh! I am not the broken one, Chiquita. Nicholas is the broken mentiroso, little Molly! He is a fool! Idiota!” Armando declared passionately.

Moving closer, Devil rolled his eyes at his wife before shaking his head at his executive assistant. “Look, Armando, man, I’m gonna need you to stick to English if you want either of us to follow you on this.”

Glaring at Devil, Armando lifted his chin defiantly. “I said that your vice presidente is an idiot and a fool! And apparently he intends to cuckold me,” Mannie declared, thumping his chest for emphasis.

Looking at Molly, Devil shrugged his shoulders. “I’m lost, Molly. Are you lost, because I’m surely lost?”

Waving off her husband’s theatrics, Molly instead chose to concentrate on Armando. “Honey, why is Nick a fool? What happened? Start from the beginning…start when you left our house,” she ordered, knowing that unless he did, he’d continue to rattle on aimlessly for hours.

“Good God, Molly, are you trying to keep us here all night?” Devil complained as the doorbell rang. Looking over his shoulder, he stared at the front door incredulously. “Who the hell could that be?” he asked as he watched the door knob turn.

“I told you not to ring the bell,” Molly heard their friend Sami grumble as both she and Vivian stepped into the foyer.

“Polite people from good families ring the bell, Samantha,” Vivian said with a yawn.

“Well, that’s the problem,” Sami said with a dismissive flick of her fingers, “I’m almost never polite.”

Devil turned back to Molly, his face irate. “You gave them keys, TOO?” he roared.

“Of course she gave us keys,” Sami returned carelessly before Molly could open her mouth. “We’re her best friends.”

“You’re not my friend, Samantha,” Devil returned stiffly. “Right now, you’re the bane of my existence. We’ve already got a manic Mexican here; I don’t think I can handle a malicious model, too,” he sneered. Nodding toward the woman standing beside Sami, Devil’s tone turned affable. “Good evening, Vivian.”

“Hello, Devil. Sorry it’s so late. Molly texted and said we had a wedding apocalypse to avert,” Vivian explained.

“See,” Sami jeered, “We were invited guests.”

“Yes, and it that vein, guests – invited or otherwise - ring the doorbell before busting into someone’s house,” Vivian stated vehemently with a narrow look at Sami. “What if Devil had had a gun?”

“A gun. Now that’s not a half bad idea. I knew you were my favorite, Vivian,” Devil informed Vivian with a wide smile before turning toward his wife. “See, Mol? Some people understand that the emergency key does not mean free entry at any moment. What a novel idea!”

Molly saw their situation was rapidly spinning out of control, and if she didn’t act fast, the police were going to have a mass murder on their hands. She just wasn’t exactly sure who the culprit would be. Honestly, they all looked like viable suspects to her, she thought silently, looking around the occupants of the room. Patting Mannie’s firm thigh reassuringly, she rose from the couch. “Okay, you three, enough. We’ve apparently had a matrimonial meltdown and Mannie was just getting ready to share the details,” she said, exchanging a meaningful look with both women.