Violet Grenade(56)

"Tell me what I want."



       
         
       
        

She grips my shoulders tighter. "You want that boy. You want to earn enough to leave and get him out of jail. You only want him."

Surprise must drip from my face, because she reaches up with a thumb like she's wiping something away. "Don't look so shocked. You used my phone to make those calls, did you not?"

I recover quickly, try to pull away from her, but it's no use. This thinning, frail woman is stronger than she appears. "If you know who it is I called and why, then you know what was said, too."

"Yes. He didn't call you after he got out, so why do you need this money so badly? Where have you got to go? Where will you ever have to go? You think you'll make enough here to live on forever? Eventually, you'll need a job. Who would give you one?"

I don't speak, and though my jaw aches from clenching my teeth, my chin still quivers.

"This world isn't for you. But that's okay. It isn't for me, either." She strokes my hair. "Stop dreaming of a life past this one. This is it for you. This is it for me, too."

"Domino, I'm tired," Poppet says quietly from behind me.

"Do you hear what I'm telling you?" Madam Karina pushes.

For once, Wilson doesn't speak. And I really need him to, because Madam Karina is reminding me too much of someone from my past. She's in my head and eating my insides and I can't think because I just want her to smile again. I'm suddenly sharply aware of what Wilson said when we first arrived.

Out of all the places you could end up, Domino, this is the absolute worst.

When I speak again, it comes out as a whisper. "I won't leave you, Madam Karina."

She pushes me. It isn't hard, but I still bump into Poppet and we nearly tumble to the floor. Madam Karina's face opens with alarm when she realizes what she's done. She reaches for me. Stops herself.

"Of course you'll leave me. That's what people do. They leave and leave and LEAVE, LEAVE, LEAVE!"

Madam Karina is crying now, great rivers of pent-up sorrow escaping her soft starlet eyes.

"I won't leave you," Poppet says. "I promise, Madam Karina. I won't go anywhere."

Madam Karina turns away and sobs into her hands.

It's maybe three seconds, five at the most, before Mr. Hodge is barreling through the door, reaching for the madam. She pushes him harder than she pushed me, but he's unmovable.

"Get away from me!" she yells. "Go back to your precious phone. Go back to calling whoever it is you call."

"Shhh, puppy. Hush, now." He wraps his arms around her and this time she doesn't fight him. Mr. Hodge is grossly overweight, and sweats profusely, and smells like fish left in the sun. But Madam Karina quiets in his embrace. As for me, I'm letting Poppet pull me up and trying to pacify the shock of what happened here. 

Mr. Hodge turns to Poppet and me, concern in his eyes. "Go to your room. The Daisies won't give you any more problems tonight. I'll take care of Madam Karina."

"I'm sorry for … " Poppet says, referring to the madam.

"Just go to bed," he replies.

Watching Mr. Hodge care for Madam Karina makes me wonder if I judged him too quickly. The madam showed us she's every bit as explosive and unhinged as the rest of us. But here he is, steady in her aftershocks.

Poppet strides toward the door, and I follow close behind.

Our bare feet crunch over dried violets on our way to bed.





Chapter Thirty-Five

Hollow Basket

The next morning, I find a basket on our dresser. Inside are three things. An uncomfortable apology from Madam Karina asking us to pardon her "inappropriate behavior" and agreeing to our "fine, well-thought-out proposal," copies of Poppet's and my financial statements that clearly reflect a bump from the last time we read them, and-at the very bottom of the basket, covered by a red-and-white checkered cloth-a can of orange spray paint.

Before I do anything else, I make my third phone call from the basement, and when I do, I learn three things from Purple Nails Meg.

Hair Flair and Fun will be closing its doors in six days.

Greg has moved in with his boyfriend.

Meg handles the prospect of losing her job better than I would.



When I hang up, I realize I have only myself to rely on. Truly. And that I will never stop fighting until I have four strong walls to call my own.





Chapter Thirty-Six

Thumb-sucker

It takes Poppet and me exactly nine days from the time we received that basket, and from the time I make that call, to break out of the Daisies' control. With Jack's help, I finish the week in first place and Poppet in second. I tell Jack seven true things about myself, and each one feels like a bullet hole through the chest. They are my secrets to have and to hold. And when he takes them from me, they feel less real.