"Violets were her favorite," Madam Karina says in a whisper. When she turns and looks at me, there's an unreadable expression on her face. "We're alike, you and I. Seeking a place, or maybe a feeling, we never really had."
She releases me and glances at Mr. Hodge, who's still messing with his phone. "What are you doing over there? Have you heard anything I've been saying?"
He glances up. "Were you speaking to me, love?"
"No," Madam Karina whines. "But you wouldn't have heard a word if I had been."
"Puppy … " he says, tilting his head.
Madam Karina looks back at me with a smile, her sadness tossed aside. "One week. How does it sound?"
"It sounds great, thank you." I pause, raise my chin. "But I need Poppet with me."
"The girl with the glasses and big hair," she says.
I smile. "Yeah, her."
Madam Karina scrunches her nose. "Domino, be careful where you place your alliances. Someone as strong and ambitious as yourself can be taken advantage of by girls who are, well … " She mouths the word "dumb."
I bristle. "I appreciate your offer, Madam, but I don't want to go anywhere if it's not with Poppet."
Madam Karina laughs. "Poppet. What a ridiculous name. Now Domino? There's a name. Makes me think of gambling and placing bets and throwing caution to the wind." When I don't respond, she takes me by the shoulders. "I didn't mean to insult your friend. It's strange, but I suppose I believe in you so much that I don't want anything to get in your way. It makes me defensive on your behalf. Isn't that odd? Me being defensive of you as if you were my own child?"
My chest opens. Maybe literally. Maybe my chest plate has split open and my bloody heart beats for her alone. I'm more vulnerable in this moment than I have been in a long time. I suspect if Madam Karina only reached out, she could take my pulsing heart straight into her hands and I'd go on breathing if she told me to.
Madam Karina acting as if she is my mother.
Me acting as her child.
What could that look like?
No! Wilson snaps, grabbing my heart and shielding it from view. No.
"Domino," she coos, bringing her face to mine. "You look as if you've seen a ghost. Could I … ? That is, I've noticed you don't prefer being touched. But I wonder if I might hug you. Just this once."
I stand stock-still, but my pulse races. I've never been asked permission to be touched. Will it feel different? Slowly, I nod.
Madam Karina steps forward and even Mr. Hodge looks on, curious as to how I'll react. She opens her arms and before I know it, they are around me. She lays her cheek against the crown of my head and her fingers splay against my back, holding me close. Then she does something that pushes me to my limits. She raises a hand and covers the side of my face with it, presses my head closer to her chest and says, softly, "Shh, child. Shhh."
After I step back, I have to hang my head so she can't see the emotion stretched across my face. A war wages in my mind. On one side, I want to hug Madam Karina forever. I want to be Top Girl and inherit this house and continue running her business to show my gratitude. On the other, I'm too afraid to let my guard down. I can't handle being manipulated again.
Not after my mother showed me her bitterness.
Not after I helped her do the dirty things.
An image of a man weeping springs to mind. He's talking about his daughter, saying her name over and over again as if this will help. My mother stands beside me, eyes blazing. I touch the man's check tenderly, a dangerous hand hidden behind my back. No, not me. I don't touch the man. Wilson does.
Stop peeking, Domino! Wilson pulls an iron curtain closed, and the image fades away.
Madam Karina smooths her green silk robe and touches a hand to her hair. "If you succeed in becoming Point Girl this coming week, and your friend helps, you may both be promoted to Daisies. Now return to your room. Lola will be up shortly."
She turns away from me, and I can't help wondering if she's hiding her own face as well. If that hug didn't mean as much to her as it did to me.
"Oh, and Domino," she says without turning around, "I'm glad you've decided that this is your forever home. I don't think I would have liked it otherwise." Now she does face me. "You do want to make me happy, don't you?"
I nod.
She smiles with her whole body. "That's a good girl."
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Peppermint
Over the next week, Poppet and I are like bandits. We pick out the guest no one else wants, and show them a good time. Such a good time that other guests wander over. We even pick up a repeat in the form of a blond-haired, blue-eyed, dimple-donning widower.