Alice in Glass Slippers

by L. C. Davenport

  ***

  “Will you shut up?”

  Adam clapped a hand over Lewis’s mouth, holding a little tighter than necessary. What was wrong with this guy? It was almost like he’d never eavesdropped on someone before.

  Lewis stepped on Adam’s foot hard enough to make Adam wince. “That woman just said my Whitney couldn’t sing.” He glowered at Adam. “What would you do if she said that Alice was uglier than a pile of mud?”

  He had a point there, Adam thought, trying to rub the top of his foot inconspicuously against the back of his calf. “If you keep talking, they’re going to hear us,” he hissed. “Do you want to get caught?”

  Lewis cocked his head toward the wall and listened hard. “I think she’s gone,” he said in a normal voice, moving toward the center of his store. “And before you get any ideas in your head about going over there to help clean up, Mr. Tall, Dark and Obsessive, I’d think again.”

  Adam had, in fact, been glancing at the front door and calculating how long it would take him to casually saunter over and offer his assistance. “What makes you think I was going over there?” he asked, knowing his words weren’t as sure as he would have liked.

  There was no answer. “Well?”

  Lewis widened his eyes in fake innocence. “Oh, that wasn’t rhetorical? You’re too obvious for your own good, man. I’m telling you, you’re turning into a stalker. Leave her alone for more than half a second. She’s a strong woman. She can take care of herself.”

  Scowling, Adam crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the counter. “You weren’t saying this last night when we talked about renting the first floor of her house. And she shouldn’t have to take care of herself.”

  Lewis rolled his eyes. “You’ve got it bad, Wentworth. Just tell her that you’re in love with her and get it over with.”

  “What makes you think I’m in love with her?”

  The look Lewis shot him said, quite plainly, ‘You’re the worst liar in the state of Michigan, and that’s saying a lot’. “Either you’re in love with her or you’re a stalker and I should call the cops. Which is it?”

  “Shut up, Hughes.”

  Lewis smirked and started arranging gowns on the rack next to the cash register. “You’re starting to sound like a broken record.”

  Clearing his throat, Adam pulled his tie a little looser and wondered, not for the first time since he’d set foot in the mall, why all of a sudden his shirt collars were tighter than usual. He knew for a fact that he hadn’t gained any weight, yet every time he was feeling even the slightest bit uncomfortable, he couldn’t breathe.

  It had to be some strange coincidence that Alice was always involved when that happened.

  He hated coincidences.

  “They took care of Mimi pretty effectively,” Adam said after watching Lewis fuss with the lace on a gown for an eternity. “Did Alice really call your dad?”

  Smirking, Lewis shook his head. “He doesn’t get into the office until ten. Alice knows this, but Mimi doesn’t. Brilliant, huh?” He glanced at Adam. “By the way, have you had a chance to talk to Alice about the apartment yet?”

  Thinking that ‘brilliant’ was a very inadequate way to describe Alice, Adam answered absently, “Yeah, I did. I even talked to Arthur last night. He wants you to call him before he gives me the go-ahead.”

  Lewis snorted. “You move fast, Wentworth.”

  Adam rubbed the back of his neck. After all the talk of stalkers, he wasn’t sure whether he should be flattered or not. “All you have to do is call the man and tell him I’m not going to burn down his house or get behind in rent. That’s it.”

  Lewis spun around to face him; his eyes flashing with something Adam could only call a warning. “And that you won’t hurt his daughter. Don’t forget that.”

  “I would never hurt Alice.”

  “You may not mean to, but what’s she going to do once she’s admitted that she’s fallen for you and you jet off to another mall in another state, never to return? Alice’s not going to follow you, Adam. Her shop is here. The fact that she hasn’t walked away from that hag that calls herself a shop owner should say something.”

  Once she’s admitted that she’s fallen for you… The words lodged themselves in Adam’s brain, and he slumped back against the counter and ran his hand through his hair. He had a ridiculous urge to grin like a lovesick fool.

  “Stop that,” Lewis snapped. “You’re making me sick, and I don’t want to ruin a perfectly good gown with puke.” He stalked around Adam to grab a pair of scissors, giving him a few seconds to think. It wasn’t nearly long enough.

  Why was it so hard to keep a secret from these people? He wondered. Maybe it was something in the water.He’d make it a point not to swim in Lake Huron anytime soon. And anyway, it wasn’t like he was planning on taking over the world one mall at a time. All he had to do, and it wasn’t even that interesting to anyone but him–at least, not yet–was to talk to a bunch of people.

  “I don’t know how long I’m staying,” he told Lewis truthfully when he started snapping his scissors open and closed unnecessarily. “I told Alice that last night. And when I first walked through the doors of the Brothers Mall, I had every intention of leaving as soon as I could. But now… now it’s growing on me.”

  Lewis regarded him in silence for a long, long time–so long that the top button on Adam’s shirt was starting to dig into his larynx. “I don’t doubt that. But Alice is like family to me.”

  The threat was only implied, but Adam heard it loud and clear. He nodded once and looked Lewis straight in the eye. “You have nothing to worry about,” he said quietly once he’d popped open his collar so he could force some air into his lungs. “Believe me, I’d do anything for her.”

  The familiar strains of Darth Vader’s theme came from Adam’s pocket, and he groaned. “I have to take this,” he told Lewis semi-apologetically. After all, it was a good way to get out of Lewis’s shop.

  “Who’s ticked you off enough to get that as their ringtone?” Lewis was obviously holding back laughter.

  Sighing, Adam pulled his phone out of his pocket and stared at it morosely. “My father.” He turned and walked out of the store before answering. Lewis’s guffaws followed him all the way into the hall, and he resisted the urge to turn around and throw the phone at him. “Hello, Mr. Wentworth. You’re up bright and early this morning.”

  Joseph harrumphed into the phone. “The party planner will be here in ten minutes,” he said without preamble, sounding like he’d been dragged into the office three hours earlier than he’d wanted. “I need to know that things on your end are going well before she mails the invitations.”

  Adam’s eyes nearly rolled into the back of his head. He had an unholy hatred of parties of any sort. “Are you sure this is necessary, sir?” he asked, hoping he wasn’t whining.

  “Don’t whine, son.” Damn it. He was. “Your mother has her heart set on this so we’re doing it her way.”

  That, essentially, was at the heart of everything his father did. If Jillian got it into her head that they needed to throw three bashes for a bunch of strangers in an effort to make the company feel more human, then they did. Not for the first time, Adam wished his mother had studied anything but public relations.

  Of course, if she’d majored in early childhood education he didn’t know how he would have made it into adolescence without being a total and complete wuss.

  “Fine,” he said curtly, and ran his free hand through his hair. “I’ll be ready.”

  “Are you sure? You only have nine weeks.”

  “What?” he blurted out. “I thought the last event wasn’t scheduled until mid August.”

  The phone was quiet for a second or two longer than Adam would have liked. “It was,” he said slowly, “but your mother has the idea that you have a girl there in Michigan, and she wants to meet her.”

  “Can’t she just pop over for a visit?” Adam could hear the desperation in his voice bu
t at this point he didn’t really care. He’d been counting on three solid months with Alice, not nine weeks.

  Joseph cleared his throat again. “She doesn’t want to be nosy.”

  “Why should she start now?”

  Adam’s eyes flew up when he heard a discrete cough coming from the level above him, and he swore quietly under his breath. He hadn’t realized he’d made it all the way to the food court, and people were starting to shuffle around in a pre-opening sort of way. They were also glancing curiously at him, and he ducked around the corner.

  “Watch your mouth, young man. I didn’t raise you to use language like that.” Joseph sounded slightly amused.

  “Can’t you convince her to give me the extra time?” Adam asked.

  “What have you done so far?”

  So much for that idea, Adam thought. He knew he should have been less productive over the past two months. “I finished in the security office yesterday, and I’m starting the interviews…” He stopped when he reached the food court, his eyes going instinctively to where he’d inadvertently woken Alice up a few weeks before. “…Today.”

  “Good.” Joseph was all business. The party planner must have just walked into his office. “Then I’ll see you in nine weeks.” His voice got lower, and Adam could almost picture him twirling around on his chair to face the wall. “About this girl your mother keeps talking about. Was there something you wanted to share with me, Wenty?”

  A picture of Alice, dripping wet and laughing the night before, made Adam close his eyes before answering. “No,” he sighed. “I don’t.”

  His father snorted. “Fine, have it your way. I’m looking forward to meeting her in July. Oh, and Adam?”

  “Yeah?” Adam rubbed his temples. He knew he shouldn’t have clambered out of bed this morning.

  “Call your mother. She’s starting to make noises about grandchildren again. It’s getting on my nerves.”

  Adam shook his head as he closed his phone. He was standing in front of Alice’s shop when he realized he hadn’t cringed when his father had called him Wenty.

  ***

  It had taken Alice nearly all of Saturday to get the shop cleaned up, and by the time she walked in her front door that night, she was too tired to think about Adam. At least, not much.

  If she had, though, she was sure she would have made herself crazy when she realized she hadn’t seen him all day.

  Not that she wanted to see him; she reminded herself when she caught her eyes straying yet again to the hall in front of the store Sunday afternoon. It was just that she had sort of become used to his presence. That didn’t make him appear, though.

  The next day Mimi came in while Whitney was at lunch. “Alice Riverton,” she said as she glided past, “I have a list of things you need to do.”

  Alice tore her eyes away from the front door. How could she be staring at it again? She then focused on the large woman standing in front of her. Given what had happened at their last discussion, Mimi looked remarkably satisfied.

  “What do you need me to do?”

  Without glancing away, Mimi pulled a long piece of paper from her purse and placed it on the counter. “This ought to be pretty clear, even for you.” Alice could almost see the syrup dripping from the corners of her mouth when she smiled. “It should only take a few weeks for you to finish. I’ll be in periodically to check on your progress.”

  Alice grabbed the list and scanned it over. It was impossibly long, and included items such as: paint the ceiling and reorganize the stock room according to color, size and functionality.

  “This is ridiculous,” Alice told her, and tried to hand it back to Mimi.

  “Yet you still have to do it.” Mimi’s smile transformed into a smirk.

  “And why should I? You can’t fire me if I don’t.”

  Mimi rested her arms on the counter and leaned forward until Alice could see the faint outlines of her bleached mustache. “Because if you don’t, I’ll make sure that Whitney never sees the inside of a college, much less a high school choir room.”

  Alice’s eyes widened until they felt like they were going to pop out of their sockets. “She’s your daughter!” she cried out, sliding off the stool and fisting her hands at her sides. “You can’t do that to your own child!”

  “Just watch me. If I were you, I’d get working on that list. It shouldn’t be that hard to decide, Alice Riverton. Isn’t your friendship with my daughter worth a little extra effort on your part? I’d hate for her dreams to be crushed just because her new best friend wasn’t willing to help out a little around the store.”

  Alice sucked in a shallow breath. What could Mimi really do to Whitney? Could she actually stop her from going to college, or even from getting hired later on? It couldn’t be possible. Could it?

  “Have a good afternoon, Alice Riverton. I’ll see you in a few days.” With that, Mimi swept into the mall, leaving a stunned Alice in her wake.

  Alice stared blankly at the wall until a customer entered the shop, and even then her attention wasn’t completely on her job. She felt mildly relieved when the lady left after only a few minutes, leaving Alice alone to think again.

  She knew enough about Whitney’s relationship with her mother to realize that Mimi would feel no guilt whatsoever in harming her daughter’s future just because she didn’t like someone. And really, how difficult could it be to work her way through that list? It wasn’t like she had a social life or anything.

  “Hey, Gorgeous.” Adam chose that moment to poke his head around the door, and Alice nearly groaned. Maybe she didn’t have a social life, per se, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want one. “I was just thinking about you and thought I’d pop in to say, hey.”

  “Hey.” Alice tried to smile, but it must not have been very convincing because Adam frowned at her.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Shaking herself, she stuffed the list in her pocket and rubbed her temples. “Nothing,” she said. “It’s just been a long day.”

  “Alice, it’s only twelve thirty in the afternoon.”

  “I know.” She slumped down in a chair and leaned her head against the wall. “Exactly how long would I have to spend in a jail cell for killing someone?”

  Adam didn’t laugh. Instead, he sat down next to her and studied her face. “A long time. What’s Mimi done now? And don’t give me that look,” he added when Alice turned her face to him. “We both know I’m right.”

  Alice rolled her eyes at him. She was so tempted to lie and tell him that he was wrong, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to pull it off. “Just the usual.” She straightened in her seat and looked at him. “What have you been up to?”

  He stared at her, hard, before opening his mouth. Before he said a word, though, he shook his head slightly and closed it again. “Just the usual. A lot of eating out.” He slumped back against the wall next to her and stared up at the ceiling. “I got the all clear from your dad this morning to move into the downstairs apartment,” he said casually. “I can move in whenever I want.”

  Alice’s fingers brushed over the pocket containing Mimi’s list. She’d begun to think she’d dreamed that conversation on her couch. “I–”

  “I know it took a while,” Adam said, “but your dad wanted to talk to Lewis, and he took his own sweet time calling him back.” He scowled. “You’d think he didn’t want me to move in and make sure you were safe. Whitney, too,” he added, almost as an afterthought.

  Alice blinked at him. “Dad never talked to me about it.” A sudden thought made her grin wickedly up at him. “If you live there, does that make me the evil landlord?”

  His mouth fell open, and she burst out laughing. “No,” he spluttered, raising his eyes back to the ceiling. “That would be your father.”

  “But he’s not here,” she reminded him. “I don’t know what sort of arrangement you made with him, but I have one condition.”

  He swallowed nervously before nodding his head. “Let’s hear it.”
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  “Whitney gets to use of the piano whenever she wants. Any time of day.”

  Grinning, he crossed his arms over his chest. “That sounds reasonable.”

  “You won’t be saying that at three in the morning when she’s pounding out some angry Rachmaninoff piece.”

  He snorted. “I hardly think Whitney’s the type that would be okay with disturbing an innocent man’s sleep.”

  “I hardly think you’re as innocent as you’re trying to make me believe.”

  Adam’s grin faded, and he reached one finger out to touch her chin. Just that one simple touch, was enough to send a shiver down Alice’s spine. “I guess you’ll never know unless you give me a chance.”

  For a few seconds they stared at each other without moving. Then Alice tore her gaze away and tried to breathe again. “Well, you can’t move in yet. That place hasn’t been cleaned out since… since…”

  Adam’s eyes had lost some of their intensity when she glanced back at him. The next thing she knew his arm was around her shoulders and her head was resting in the crook of his arm. “I don’t care,” he told her quietly. “A little dust doesn’t bother me.”

  “I wasn’t referring to the dust.” To her disgust, Alice let out a very wobbly sigh. What was wrong with her? Just seconds ago she’d been bargaining with the man, and now she was feeling too emotional for her own good. Maybe she was going through puberty all over again. “It’s all the pictures and clothes and Dad didn’t clean out his dresser, much less his closet, and–”

  “I don’t care about those, either.”

  Alice closed her eyes and relaxed into him. It feels so good to be held like this, she thought fuzzily. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to face Mimi’s wrath after all. “At least give me until Friday,” she sighed. “Please.”

  Adam sat there for a while without moving, and then his fingers tightened around her. “Okay. Friday afternoon it is. But not a minute later.” He cleared his throat and pulled his arm away when an elderly woman entered the shop. “While I’m here, can I get you to order me a pair of shoes?”