The Loudest Silence (Part One)

by Olivia Janae

  “Name?”

  “Kate Flynn?”

  The guard looked through his paperwork, cleared his throat, and then, without speaking, he approached the elevator and turned the key. Inside were shining mirrored walls reflecting the black marble flooring and a small table to the right that held a vase of beautiful white and lavender lilies as well as a small handmade sign that read, “Max Flynn’s birthday – PNTHSE.”

  “All the way to the top,” the guard’s deep bass boomed.

  She nodded, looking down at Max who was staring wide-eyed at the man.

  The giant man’s gaze traveled down to Max, making him shrink back and reach for Kate’s hand. Just before the metal doors closed, the man’s eye dropped into a quick wink. Max collapsed into quiet giggles behind his hands. “Momma, did you see?”

  “I did! He’s funny, huh?”

  “Yeah!”

  As the elevator rose so did Kate’s stress level. She knew Vivian was well off. Her suits were obviously designer label. But when Vivian had said her building was under construction, she hadn’t even begun to think that she literally meant her building, a building she owned. K Lofts seemed pretty obvious, though and, god, how had she never realized how well-off Vivian was? She was… she was rich.

  Kate’s background had been poor – always. Most of the foster homes she had passed through had consisted of two people who used the subsidies from fostering as their main source of income. She had spent her early teen years slinging burgers and, when that wasn’t enough, stealing food and clothes for herself and her younger foster siblings. Even now, she and Max were comfortable, well-off compared to some, but you didn’t exactly go into classical music expecting, well, a penthouse with two armed security guards.

  Her mind warred with itself; Vivian had never made her feel poor, not intentionally. As a matter of fact, the one time that she had felt poor in Vivian’s presence, hadn’t she hinted that she was far more concerned with Kate and Max’s safety than their financial status?

  Did this new revelation change much about their friendship?

  Was she really surprised?

  She decided she wasn’t, and with that, she shook the thoughts away.

  The elevator door slid open, and Kate’s eyebrows rose. It was startling to see so much black and white. Kate and Max stepped through the elevator door and onto a high catwalk. Max, who was not fond of heights, squealed and clutched her hand in both of his own. Kate opened her mouth to soothe him, but then it just stayed open in dumb shock.

  The catwalk, which seemed to serve as the second story, followed the length of the long and thin space, ending on either side by giving way to large suspended rooms.

  To the left, Kate could see a living room, comfortable looking with a TV and a few couches. Along the back wall, an industrial-looking set of stairs led up to the open space of what seemed to be Vivian’s bedroom on the third floor.

  To the right, the catwalk led to an office with a computer and folded-up workout equipment.

  The view in front of them, however, was the most breathtaking of all. The entire opposite wall was a grid of floor-to-ceiling windows that showed a wonderful view of the patio containing a mid-sized pool, a table and chair set, and a large outdoor barbecue. Beyond, the view exploded into Lake Shore Drive, Grant Park, and a dazzling panorama of Lake Michigan.

  Hesitantly, Max leaned over the wrought-iron railing to look at the floor below them. Below the lofted living room was a huge kitchen, filled with a stainless-steel island and appliances that Kate wasn’t sure how to use. Below the floating office was a pair of huge glass doors, black curtains half drawn over them, but the bed inside hinted it was a guest room. The open space in the middle held a few more couches and tables, but for the most part was left stark; the minimalist look was clearly something Vivian enjoyed.

  Kate bit the inside of her cheek, trying hard not to wonder what Vivian had thought of her apartment when she had seen it. She knew it didn’t matter, she knew that comparing was pointless, and yet, she understood a little better why Vivian had seemed so uncomfortable.

  As they were standing there, mouths open in shock, a device Kate could see sitting on the table below began to ring with the standard iPhone ringtone. The device was small and compact, with a screen and keyboard on one side and a long cord connected to Vivian’s iPhone on the other. What surprised Kate was that as the phone rang rather loudly, purple lights also flashed in the corner of each room. She knew that the deaf had their own type of phone and wondered if this was it.

  “Viv’n!” Max squealed, finally setting eyes on her outside by the pool. He ran down the industrial stairs just to the left of them, but Kate was frozen in place.

  If the sight of the loft had been beautiful, then Kate wasn’t sure she had a proper term for what she was seeing now. Vivian stood, still unaware of their presence, hands on her hips, looking down at a table littered with food, a scowl on her face. She wore a tiny, sea-foam green bikini, her eyes hidden behind huge sunglasses, two thin gold chains lightly crisscrossed over her curvaceous waist and hips. She looked trendy but classic, as always, and thoroughly distracting.

  Kate’s eyes lingered on those chains. She sucked in a breath and leaned, letting her forehead rest against the cool metal of the banister in front of her. It was going to be a long day of feeling guilty that she was so aware of her friend’s attractiveness.

  Vivian caught sight of Max and smiled, her hands moving quickly. He vaulted into her arms and gave her a sloppy kiss.

  Kate spotted the sign for “mom” as Vivian and Max spoke. She forced her legs to move, knowing that any moment Vivian would find her standing just inside the entrance, gawking like an idiot. She headed downstairs, and though she was intimidated by her surroundings, though she was mesmerized by the awesome beauty of the woman in front of her, she glued a smile on her face and joined them.

  “Wow, yeah, this place doesn’t look like you at all,” she joked to Vivian as she walked up. “It’s so cluttered and unorganized. How can you live in this mess?”

  Vivian smiled with a shrug. “I like structure. What can I say?”

  “Yeah, well, you realize that all of this black and white is in serious danger of being ruined by sticky three-year-old hands? There’s going to be a cake later! Chocolate, no less.”

  Vivian scoffed behind her glasses and said in a lofty voice, “I’ll have you know that Max is four now, Ms. Flynn.”

  Kate just rolled her eyes, smiling a little.

  Behind them a bright yellow light flashed twice, and Vivian made the sign to Kate for “door.”

  “Who?” Kate clumsily signed back. She swore that every time she tried to sign, Vivian’s cheeks colored ever so slightly.

  “I don’t know.” Vivian shrugged. “You made the guest list, Kate. The Mommy & Me kids? After that, feel free to use the restroom to change. It’s the door at the bottom of the staircase.”

  “What?” Kate called to the person who, once her back was turned, could not see or hear her. The belly chains had distracted her again so that she had missed her instructions completely.

  “She told us to go to the bathroom and change!” Max rolled his eyes at his inattentive mother.

  “Oh. Uh, right.”

  Kate waited another minute to greet the person, who turned out to be the parent of a recent play date, before slipping into the lavish downstairs bathroom to change. She had spent days deciding what would be the perfect bikini for the occasion. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail, studying herself in the mirror before stripping down and pulling on her black athletic bikini.

  As much as she wanted to wear something flimsy and wispy, like the little red number she had just spotted Charlie in, she knew that a full day chasing Max would threaten the very life of the little strips of cloth. Still, that morning she had shaved twice and manicured everything that could be manicured. She had been nervous as she was doing it, and she was nervous now as she pulled her hair down and then right back up.

&
nbsp; Her mind was on other things, worrying about the fact that she was worried about her bathing suit, about what that meant exactly, so she wasn’t paying attention until someone grabbed her.

  “Hey.”

  She turned, and words failed her. “Uh,” she said stupidly.

  “What? Not happy to see me?”

  “What the fuck are you doing here?” she hissed as Ash grinned at her, already clad in a bikini, like she was supposed to be there.

  Ash had pointedly not been invited to Max’s birthday when plans had been solidified two weeks before.

  As a matter of fact, Kate had only seen Ash twice, at rehearsals, since Max had been sick. Neither had gone well. Ash was penitent, but it was too late for that. Kate needed her space, and if Ash couldn’t respect that, they’d have to act like exes.

  “How did you know this was happening today?”

  Ash smirked. “Vivian isn’t the best at volume control. Trust me, I know.” She gave a waggle of her eyebrows that made Kate cringe.

  “So you just showed up?” She pushed Ash backward, hiding their conversation in the corner of the stairs. The grin it inspired on Ash’s face made Kate’s skin crawl.

  “Hey,” Ash said again, his time her voice low, her hands gently sliding along Kate’s bare ribs.

  Kate pushed her away. “You need to go.”

  “But—”

  “No! This is my son’s birthday. You don’t get to crash it!”

  “I’m not crashing it! Look!” She held up a brightly wrapped box. “I just wanted to celebrate Max. Okay? Nothing more.”

  “Ash!” Kate groaned, exasperated.

  “Just let me stay. Please?” she asked, her face soft. “Look, I get it, but it’s all about Max, okay?”

  Kate took a step back, popping every joint in her body as she looked at Ash. She was smiling so softly, so hopefully.

  “He and I had fun at the park, right?”

  Kate snorted. “You mean the park trip that you didn’t want to take and resented.”

  Ash groaned, all cocky charm sliding away. “I didn’t mean that. Let me stay. Please?”

  Kate knew it was going to be a mistake, but at that moment the doorbell light began to flash and from outside, she heard Max yelling that Vivian was looking for her.

  She swore a little, ripping her ponytail down and redoing it again, this time tighter. “Fine. Just – I don’t know – be on good behavior.”

  “Can do.” Ash winked and gave her a salute. “So, where’s the birthday boy? Swimming with the crocodile?”

  “Ash,” Kate warned.

  She just laughed good-naturedly and kissed her forehead. “I’m sorry, I’ll be good.”

  Her former date of sorts headed outside to find Max, so she headed over to Vivian waving for her attention. “Anything I can do?”

  Vivian paused, eyebrows arched high over the tops of her sunglasses.

  “What?” Kate grimaced. She hadn’t told Vivian that she had broken up with Ash. She wasn’t sure if it was because she had been warned and now she was going to have to eat some humble pie, or if there was another reason. Now she saw the look on Vivian’s face and wondered if maybe she already knew and was judging Kate for her weakness.

  With a smirk, Vivian pulled off her sunglasses and bit the earpiece, grinning. As always, she got a gold star in nonverbal communication. Kate felt the hot flush start at her face and slam down her body, only to hit her toes and ricochet back up, shooting through the top of her head, embarrassed by the attention but also elated.

  It took her a second to regain her voice. “Is there anything I can do? Max said you were looking for me.”

  Vivian cocked an eyebrow and slowly shook her head, still nibbling on the glasses.

  “Oh, stop it.” Kate pulled the glasses away and plopped them next to her on the counter. Vivian barely seemed to notice so Kate rolled her eyes, masking her pleasure, and headed outside to find Max, feeling a set of eyes following her.

  “Okay, line up!” Kate called to the giggling children just next to the shallow end of the pool. Max was practically vibrating with excitement, his little feet dancing as though the ground was too hot to stand on. “All right, Lance, come here. Let me check that.” She checked the nozzle on Max’s friend’s water wing to be sure it was closed and tight. “No drowning on my watch, okay, soldier?”

  “Yes, sir!” he cried, making Kate laugh. She gave him a quick high five and tried not to wince as he turned and threw himself into the pool with reckless abandon. “Shelby? You’re up! All right, kid, no swim gear. Gimme a high five! All right!”

  She went through each child, checking them and then giving them high fives until she got to Max. “Okay, Mr. Birthday Boy!” Max grinned, his little chest pushed out, proud of the fact that he had finished his swimming certificate in Pittsburgh the year before. Still, Kate pretended to check him, grumbling as she gently squeezed his arms like water wings.

  “Mommy!” He laughed. “Those are my arms!”

  “They are?”

  “Yeah!” he cried, rolling his eyes in a perfect imitation of Kate.

  Over his shoulder, her eye was drawn yet again to Vivian, hovering over the table that would be for the children when it was time for lunch. She watched as Vivian pulled Charlie away from the only single dad and forced her to start putting down plates. Charlie glared and stuck out her tongue, to which Vivian did the same.

  Kate turned her smile on Max before she could get caught watching her friends. “Okay good, have fun.”

  “Yaaaa!” Max cried, leaping into the pool.

  “Max—” She started to call a warning but gave up quickly and instead just winced.

  “He’s fine, Flynn.”

  Kate nodded, barely hearing Ash. She was busy watching Max splash and shout. He had gotten so big so fast. She couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  “So, what about me?”

  Kate smirked. “What about you exactly?” she deadpanned.

  “You gonna check my wings?” Ash smirked, taking advantage of Kate’s bikini to run her hand over her stomach again.

  Kate wriggled away. “Can you not?”

  “What? I’m just being friendly.”

  “Friendly. Right.”

  “We can at least have fun together today.”

  “Ash. I said you had to behave, or else you can’t stay.”

  “All righty then,” Ash shrugged, giving a playfully sad sigh. “You missed your chance to feel me up, baby.”

  “Uh-huh,” Kate said, but then her heart leapt into her throat all over again as Ash, just like the children, threw herself backward without looking. She landed with a splash, covering Kate’s shout of panic for the little bodies in the pool.

  A few of the kids coughed and gasped as the torrent of water covered them, but all were grinning a moment later, delighted.

  “What’s wrong?” Ash laughed, spinning her dreadlocks and spraying Kate with water.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Be careful with the kids a little bit? You break it, you bought it. Didn’t we already cover this at the park when Max’s face almost got rearranged? Any recollection of that?”

  Ash just beamed, dunking under the water and playfully grabbing one of Max’s legs.

  “Ash!” Kate yelped. Max’s face twisted in honest terror before he saw it was Ash and giggled.

  Kate worried her lip. It was childish of her to be annoyed that Max finally picked now to start liking Ash. Still, it was frustrating. “Traitor,” she muttered to herself, and grabbed a few pool noodles. She tossed them in, nervous as she watched Ash pick one up and swing it like a helicopter. She wasn’t sure what she was worried about.

  Seeing the look on Kate’s face, Ash bit her lip and dropped the noodle, throwing a leg over and floating on it. “Probably smarter, huh?”

  Kate just gave a noncommittal nod and turned her attention back to the children and their nonsensical games.

  “Mommy! Mommy, look! I’ma shark!”

  “That’s a
wesome, kid!” she called back, her arms crossing over her chest as, by a force outside of herself, her eyes were pulled upward.

  Vivian was finished with the plates and the napkins and was now standing, one hand rubbing nervously at her stomach as she looked over the table.

  Kate waved her hand and caught her attention. “I know that pose. What’s wrong?”

  Vivian just shook her head and called something back. She miscalculated, or rather couldn’t know, the level of noise the kids were making.

  “I can’t hear you!” Kate called back.

  “What?”

  “I can’t—” She shook her head. This wasn’t working well. She started around the pool, intending to speak to Vivian, when a hand on her ankle made her yelp.

  “Come in.”

  Kate looked down at Ash grinning up at her and had to honestly smile for once. She had Max wrapped in her free arm, and both were giving Kate huge puppy-dog frowns.

  “Max asked if you would come swim with us. Right, dude?” Ash whispered something in his ear, and he shouted a loud agreement.

  “Uh …” She knew that Ash was using Max and yet she couldn’t turn him down. “One second. I was about to talk to Viv – ian,” she added on at the last second, seeing the way Ash’s face changed at the nickname she had heard Charlie use too many times.

  Ash sent a considering look to Vivian, her eyes scanning her in a way that made Kate’s eyebrows pull together unhappily. “She looks good, right?”

  “Ash.” Kate’s eyes rolled.

  “What? It’s true!” Ash’s smirk deepened, growing mischievous as she leaned forward and said in a clearly audible voice, “You know, she has this spot right behind her knee—”

  “Ash!” Kate cried. She glanced at Max, but he was busy watching the other kids. “Max, buddy, why don’t you go swim? Look, Jacob has a red noodle! Maybe he’ll share.”