Four Sides of an Attitude: A Cufflinks & Austen Novel

by Myers, Heather C.

  “Oh, Johnnie’s still there,” I reassure her, “but he never stayed at Alcatraz. Hoover had him executed before that could be arranged. However, I’m sure that if Johnnie did stay there, he could totally escape.”

  “You’re mad,” Paul said, shaking his head.

  “Paul,” I say. “I’ve read eleven Dillinger biographies, three Alvin Karpis biographies, and five books on Alcatraz. I think I’m an expert concerning those three subjects. Savvy?”

  “I’m sure there will be time for you to check out Alcatraz,” Kelly says, quick to intervene.

  We pull up to the curb a few minutes later, and after Paul pays the fare, we head out. To be honest, I’m shocked by how huge this gallery is, but it’s located in the heart of the city so I guess it’s not too surprising. People are dressed to the nines and as we walk up the stairs, I notice at least three different men in tuxedos, holding clipboards and checking IDs. It’s like a nightclub for rich, old people.

  I must admit it feels pretty cool being ushered inside because Paul’s name is on the list, but we’re moving too fast so I can’t check out the gallery itself. There’s another staircase we have to walk up that is apparently for employees only, and Paul waves his ID at another tuxedoed-out guard in order to get past him. From there, he leads us down a long hallway and into the very last room on the right.

  We step inside and it’s then that I make the acquaintance of the dragon. She’s not very tall, maybe my height, but she still has a shapely figure underneath the conservative dress she’s wearing. It’s navy blue and is probably custom-made. Her dark hair is graying, and it’s pinned up, and her face only has basic makeup on it. Her lips seem to curl downwards in a permanent frown, and when her eyes flicker over the three of us, I feel my heart stop.

  No wonder Kelly’s afraid of her and no wonder Kelly calls her dragon. Mrs. Solomon probably already has her mind made up when it comes to Kelly and me, and from the way she’s looking at us, I pretty much figure it’s not too favorable. It can’t be because we’re wearing anything inappropriate either. My dress is a maroon color, and while it hugs my form, it’s not that low-cut and the length goes to my knees. I actually feel quite pretty, if I’m being honest. And I actually straightened my hair so it won’t come off as messy, as it usually does, and pulled it into a sleek ponytail. If that’s not putting effort into appearance, I don’t know what is.

  “Paul,” Dragon drawls in a sharp, English accent.

  Paul actually bows, which amuses me to no end. However, I have to refrain from laughing because I have this feeling that Mrs. Solomon is looking for any excuse not to like me, and I want to make that as hard as I possibly can.

  As she and Paul exchange greetings, I look around. There’s a woman standing next to the dragon, looking a tad forlorn. I wonder if she’s another one of the dragon’s assistants. It definitely wouldn’t surprise me. She has long jet black hair that’s braided and she’s wearing a forest green gown. Her eyes are a clear blue color and her skin is pale, almost a sickly pale. Even though she seems quiet, her eyes gaze over at the paintings, almost as if she’s trying to memorize every brushstroke.

  “You must be Marion Bixby.”

  Being addressed by the dragon causes my spine to straighten, and my eyes snap back to her. She’s looking at me critically, her eyes looking for any imperfection I can offer her. She won’t be disappointed, I’m sure.

  “I am,” I say, forcing a smile. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mrs. Solomon. I’ve heard many things about you.”

  “And I’ve heard many things about you.” I’m not sure what to make of that sentence, so I say nothing. The dragon gestures at the thin girl I had been looking at seconds before. “This is my daughter, Anne. She’s loved the arts since she was a child and inspired me to open galleries in the first place. If it wasn’t for her illness, I’m sure that her paintings would be up here even though she’s only eighteen.”

  I watch as Anne Solomon blushes at her mother’s words. It doesn’t seem like she’s embarrassed about what the dragon has said, but rather, being the topic of any conversation makes her feel uncomfortable. I wonder just how Anne is sick, but the dragon doesn’t offer anything more on the matter, and it’s not like I’m going to go up to Anne and ask her point blank what the deal is. Maybe I can get it out of Paul later on.

  “I figured we would have a light dinner together before the opening,” she says and then gestures at a long table I hadn’t even noticed. Everything is set up so there are eight settings, and is that bread already on the table? “Is everything ready?” She addresses someone behind us, but all I can think of is, Thank you, God.

  “Yes, Aunt,” a familiar voice says.

  My heart freezes as Kelly takes my hand and leads me towards the table.

  Suddenly I’m not so hungry anymore. I crane my neck and there is Aiden, staring at me with those penetrating blue eyes of his. I blink once, twice, but no, this isn’t some kind of parlor trick. He’s still there.

  I have to look away in order to find my place at the table. The dragon is at the head, followed by Kelly on her right, Paul, and me. Anne is on her mother’s left, then a man I’m not familiar with, and Aiden is directly across from me. No one is sitting at the end of the table.

  “Paul, you can’t sit next to Kelly,” she says as though Paul should have known this. And by the way he’s blushing, it’s clear he should have. “Switch seats with Aiden.”

  Shit.

  Paul gets up and does as the dragon tells him to. I think of something funny in my head to amuse myself because this situation ois too awkward for me to continue to pretend to be normal. And then Aiden takes his seat next to me and I can smell the distinct aroma of Christmas trees, something I haven’t expected. Must he smell good?

  As the waiters begin to fill our bowls with soup, I glance over at Aiden. “What are you doing here?” I ask him. I’m not certain how my voice comes out, but I’m sure it sounds at least somewhat accusing.

  “My aunt invited me,” he replies, and surprisingly enough, there’s no sarcasm laced in his tone. “I have always expressed an interest in art, and when she opens galleries, I try to attend them.”

  “You know my nephew, Ms. Bixby?” the dragon asks me, her dark eyes crisp and clear looking over at us from her goblet. Yes, she’s actually drinking out of a goblet.

  “Um, yes,” I answer. “His sister, Hannah, is my roommate. I met him over winter break.”

  The man across from me seems to sense my discomfort because his eyes are twinkling and there’s a grin on his face. He’s actually relatively attractive in a scruffy sort of way, with shaggy brown hair and green eyes. His nose is long and flat and he probably should have shaved, especially if he knew he would be attending an art gallery. But he doesn’t seem to care all that much. In fact, the long-sleeved shirt he’s wearing isn’t even ironed. And the fact that he’s getting amusement from my current situation just shows that he knows what I’m up against. He is someone I want to get to know better.

  “And your family,” the dragon says after sipping some of her soup, “is all healthy? I get much of my information regarding the Bixbys from Paul. I find that learning about an assistant’s childhood friends says a lot about them as a person.”

  “They’re doing well, thank you,” I tell her as politely as I can. I may not like Paul, but I don’t want him to get fired just because he’s affiliated with my family.

  “This is Kyle Felton,” the dragon says, and as she looks at the man across from me, there’s a new tenderness in them. “He is also my nephew. He recently graduated Oxford, you know.”

  “Congratulations,” I tell him.

  “And you, Ms. Bixby,” she says. “Where do you go to school?”

  For the life of me, I cannot understand why she wants to know about who I am. In the next fifteen minutes, I tell her that I’m a first year at UCI, majoring in British Literature. I want to be a writer; yes, I know how hard such a thing is and no, I don’t really care that there
might not be money in it because it’s something I’ve always wanted to do.

  Luckily, the soup course is finished and I sit back, preparing for something more. However, the dragon gets up, claiming she has to get ready, so our table follows suit and we all drift away, admiring this painting or that one. Anne is the only person who actually follows her mother, leaving the rest of us to wait.

  I don’t think I’ve ever had just soup and bread for dinner. My stomach rumbles, indicating that I’m a big fat tease.

  I walk over to a painting I don’t really understand, but my eyes don’t take it in anyway. I’m not sure what my emotions are; all I know is that I’m somewhat bored and that I wish I could leave. Alcatraz would be way more exciting than a bunch of paintings and people I don’t much care for—save for Kelly, of course.

  From the corner of my eye, I notice Aiden walking over to me and I feel myself inhale sharply.

  “Are you trying to intimidate me, Aiden?” I ask him, staring at the painting rather than his face.

  “I highly doubt such a feat is even possible, Marion,” he tells me and then adds, “Even if I wanted to.”

  Why does he call me Marion after I’ve explicitly said to call me Ronnie? And why is he…not fighting with me? Why aren’t we saying something sarcastic and biting, as we normally would have? Does the environment of the art gallery mean we have to be nice? Probably. I don’t want to embarrass anyone.

  “So,” the man, Kyle, says, coming to my other side. “What was my cousin like upon first impression?”

  I perk my brows, looking over at Aiden. He has that enigmatic look on his face which tells me nothing about how he thinks I’m going to answer the question.

  “Do you really want to know?” I ask Kyle, turning my head to look at him. Kyle grins at my overdramatic tone and nods. “Well, I met him at Stephen Downey’s Christmas Eve party, and even though there were many girls waiting on the sidelines of the dance floor, Aiden didn’t ask anyone to dance.”

  “I didn’t know anybody there, save for Farrah and Hannah and Stephen,” Aiden says somewhat defensively.

  “Are you incapable of walking up to somebody and introducing yourself?” I tease.

  “Aiden,” came the dragon’s voice from across the room. “We’re ready to go, and I want you to escort me down the stairs.”

  I expect him to leave, but instead, he tilts his head down so it’s dreadfully close to mine. “I don’t have your talent to talk to people I don’t know,” he says in a voice just above a whisper and then he stands up straight and walks over to his aunt.

  “He’s always been the brooding type,” Kyle says from beside me. “Never one to socialize. Might I escort you down the stairs since everyone else is doing so?”

  I nod my head but can’t form the words to speak. If Kyle hadn’t spoken, I would have completely forgotten that he’s there in the first place.

  Chapter 12

  I fully expect to sleep in the next morning because after what I went through last night, I feel as though I deserve it, and secondly, it’s spring break. However, at nine o’clock sharp, there is persistent pounding on my door. This startles me to the point where I actually fall out of the bed, and scramble to head to the door.

  Who the hell can it be at this ungodly hour?

  After looking through the peephole, I get my answer and nearly trip over myself right there. It’s Kyle from last night, and with him is none other than Aiden Shawe. I’m not exactly sure what they want, but both are dressed, like they’re planning to go somewhere. I decide that Kyle will keep knocking if I don’t answer as soon as possible, so I open the door and give them an expectant look.

  “What?” I ask in a groggy voice.

  “Good morning, sunshine,” Kyle says with his easy charm. “Why aren’t you dressed? Kelly gave us your room number specifically so we wouldn’t be late. We have a time schedule to keep, you know.”

  “Don’t go all Paul on me,” I tell him with a roll of my eyes. “And for your information, no we don’t have any plans this morning. What are you talking about?”

  I look over at Aiden in hopes to gauge some kind of answer by the look on his face. However, I find that Aiden isn’t exactly staring at me. Rather, he’s staring at what I’m wearing. And since it’s spring time in a temperature-controlled hotel suite, I’m not wearing very much. My face immediately jumps to red and I position myself so the door hides me to the best of its abilities. My tank top and boy shorts are not clothes I would like to be seen in, thank you very much.

  “Here’s what I gather,” Kyle begins to explain. I’m glad he doesn’t mention the fact that I’m in a conversation with two men half-naked. However, from the corner of my eye, I see Aiden smirking and I clench my teeth to keep myself from going off on him. “You have two options. Number one, you can go have breakfast with Aunt Judy, her lackey Paul, and the very sweet Kelly, which you would be a half an hour late for. Or you can hang out with us for the day.”

  “What about the third option where I go back to sleep for a few more hours and then explore the city on my own?” I ask.

  “That’s actually not an option,” Kyle tells me. “And I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to make a decision soon because as I’ve said, we’re kind of on a tight schedule.”

  I smile despite myself. “Fine,” I say. “But you two are buying me breakfast on the way over to wherever we’re going.” Kyle’s smile deepens, knowing that he’s won this round, and nods his head. “Give me a few minutes to get dressed.”

  “Would you like help?” Kyle asks, taking a step forward to assist me should I require it.

  I shut the door in his face.

  * * *

  “I didn’t know it was biologically possible for a woman to get dressed in under fifteen minutes,” Kyle says through a mouthful of doughnuts. “You’re not like any other girl I’ve met before, are you?”

  Before I can respond, Aiden intervenes. “She’s not,” he assures his cousin coolly, and I can’t tell if it’s a compliment or not. I try to read his eyes, and surprisingly, he looks back at me, but as always, I come up blank.

  “So,” I say after taking a long gulp of my coffee. I need a moment to figure out what I’m going to say and I try to brush off Aiden’s comments as just one more piece of the enigma that is him. “Where are we going, anyway?”

  “Well,” Kyle says. “We’re going to hail a cab, head to the BART station, and head about an hour south.”

  “We’re going to a fair,” Aiden chimes in, his voice flat and not the least bit excited to be going to a fair.

  The fact that I would be witnessing an historical moment—Aiden Shawe at an American carnival with iffy rides, fried food, and farm animals—amuses me to no end, and I release the laughter as easily as a fountain releases water.

  “Oh yes,” I say. “This is going to be priceless. I wish Kelly was here to—” I stop myself short, just now noticing their quizzical faces, though Kyle seems to be more apt at figuring out what’s funny, but I think that’s because Aiden can’t possibly fathom that it’s about him. “So Kelly’s eating with the dragon?”

  Aiden chokes on his coffee, nearly spitting it up, and Kyle shoots me a grin.

  “Is that what they’re calling our dear aunt?” he asks, looking over at his cousin before looking over at me. “Yes, she’s there. I’m sure the dragon, as you so lovingly refer to her, has a whole day planned out. Paul must have a woodie just thinking about it.”

  “Oh, gross.” I throw away my half-eaten doughnut in a nearby trash can and look back at the two cousins. We’re outside on the crowded street, and even though we’re talking, I notice that Aiden’s looking around, making sure to catch an available taxi if need be. “Poor Kelly.”

  “Well, she’s here for a reason, isn’t she?” Aiden asks, his voice filled with unspoken judgment.

  I give him a look. “And what, exactly, is that supposed to mean?” I ask.

  “You don’t need to give me that look,” he tells me w
hile Kyle starts searching for the cab. “I know Paul wants her to meet Aunt Judy in hopes to get her approval, and Kelly wants it too. I don’t see a problem with it.”

  “You don’t see a problem with someone else being the deciding factor in a relationship?” I ask with disbelief.

  “Parents generally seem to know what’s best for you.”

  “No.” I shake my head. “Parents know what’s best for them. Do you really think your parents would approve of you dating someone like Kelly?”

  “I wouldn’t know. My parents are dead.”

  I stop myself, and luckily, Kyle calls us over at that moment. Things just got awkward, and I need breathing room in order to recuperate. Has Hannah told me that? I think she did. How could I have forgotten such a pivotal piece of their history? Even though my blunder is innocent, I still feel guilty and I’m thankful Kyle takes one for the team and sits on the hump seat, giving me and Aiden space. Something I think the two of us really need.

  We get out twenty minutes later and manage to hop onto the BART before it leaves. I know if we’d missed it, we would only wait for another fifteen minutes or so, but I don’t like waiting and I’m actually excited at the prospect of going to the fair. Orange County always has its fair in July which is a few months away, and I haven’t been to it in a while.

  Luckily, it’s not too crowded, and we manage to find a group of seats against the wall. Somehow, I find myself in between Kyle and Aiden.

  I know I should apologize, and I’m going to. But I need to make sure it’s perfect. I don’t want to sound like I’m sucking up to him, but I also want him to know I’m sincere. Just as I gather enough courage to do it, my phone rings.

  “You actually get service?” Kyle asks, surprised. “Who is your carrier?”

  I want to reply to him, but after checking my caller ID, I know it’s safer not to. I force a smile, mentally preparing myself for the onslaught of a lecture I know is about to come.