He was crying as the tender woman continued, “... I know that it hasn’t always been easy for us. You had to grow up so quickly, you make me so proud–” a knock at the door came from within the recording. And two child-like voices bickered from behind the door. “Just a minute, I’ll be right out,” she yelled to the undisclosed beings on the other side. Then she continued in a whisper, “you and your brother were never ones for waiting. I hope you know to look after your little brother. He looks up to you, ya know,” she stopped herself from blabbering on all over again and simply ended the recording with, “I love you.”
The figure put her hand to her mouth and blew a kiss and stood up and that’s when the recording shut off. Abigail couldn’t see Deely’s tears anymore, but she knew that they were still there. She wanted to do something, help him somehow and just as she stepped forward, she felt a tiny hand wriggle its way into hers. She looked back and saw Meri with a finger in front of her mouth telling her to stay quiet. The little girl guided Abby back to their shared bedroom, being careful not to make a sound as she let her free hand glide against the wall to find her way back. They both laid back in bed, Meri, heading back to sleep first. And Abigail, after clearing her mind of Deely’s sadness, was able to fall back into her own slumber.
Chapter 13
Abigail woke up and started her day without any semblance of the previous night’s anger. She already saw Mia off when Meri headed out this morning. Mia certainly looked a lot calmer next to Meri. But it only made sense considering the two young girls were around the same age.
Abby sat in the front of the restaurant shoveling food into her mouth. Unfortunately, Charlie had only filled half her plate with anything good, a few pieces of sliced chicken and mac and cheese. The other half was covered in broccoli and spinach, which she still ate but definitely didn’t enjoy eating as much. She was entirely too polite to pick at her food though.
When Deely finally came out of his office, he walked in and positioned himself right in front of Abby with a determined look on his face. A look that made even Abby stop eating.
“I think you’re right,” Abby perked up from the validation as he continued, “but I think you need a lot more practice before you even interact with Patel.” Then he looked down, taking notice of her body.
It’d only been a few weeks since she’d been with Deely and in that time she’d already looked plumper from the increased amount of food she was ingesting. Whenever she took a shower, which she was grateful to finally be doing on a regular basis, she let her hands travel over her stomach, feeling roundness that she’d never felt before. Then she would move her hand upwards toward her chest, which while it still sagged, looked a tiny bit fuller. Then with two hands, she moved along her neck and then out to her chin and finally made her way to her cheeks which puffed out.
Abby sat there in Meri’s pre-teen sized shirt and a pair of shorts, looking as if she was close enough to stretching them.
“I think you’re also in need of a new wardrobe not only for your little escapades but also, so you aren’t ruining Meri’s clothes. Would you like that, luv?” he laughed.
Without answering, she finished the last bite of her chicken and went to grab a jean jacket from Meri’s bed and she returned to the front of the restaurant walking straight past Deely and out the door. “I’ll take that as a yes.” He said seemingly more to himself than to anyone else.
In Deely’s glider, Abigail sat there thinking of what kind of clothes she’d wear. She’d never had anything beyond a see-through nightgown and a few dresses. And now, she had Meri’s prepubescent wardrobe. She didn’t know what girls her own age wore. As they rode down streets, she started taking notice of a woman walking to the right of them. The woman wore a navy-blue suit jacket with a glistening, golden button at the center of her torso and a neat checkered skirt that ended right above her knees. She looked so sophisticated in the way she walked, putting one foot in front of the other, letting her heels clack unforgivingly on the concrete sidewalk, with confidence in every meticulous detail she decided to flaunt. She could see her getting her way with anyone and not taking ‘no’ for an answer.
Abby wanted that confidence. But all she could imagine doing was faking it, cloning this woman’s attitude and style, and adding it to the collection of faux personalities she’d crafted and improved upon for years. She didn’t exactly have a name for any of these personas, only a certain feeling. She’d even made one for when she was around Mother. She felt that one could be rightly named, Bitch. She’d do everything Mother said to do and then some to please her sometimes. Though that one had died down as she kept getting older. Getting more moments alone with her thoughts, before she left Abby hadn’t cared to please Mother anymore only doing the bare minimum to survive. Between her Bitch persona and her escort one, she couldn’t exactly pinpoint where Abby was in all of that.
After a few moments, the pair finally arrived at their destination. They both entered the secondhand clothing shop situated to the left of the street coming after a liquor shop, a Chinese buffet, and a pharmacy. They all weren’t in the best of shape. The liquor store had bars over every window, which didn’t seem to help much considering most of the windows were shattered pieces on the ground.
Abby had collected quite a bit of clothing as she strolled down each aisle hoping to find other things that would catch her eye. She couldn’t quite figure out what she wanted to look like. She’d never been given this much choice before. So, she simply emulated some of Meri’s own clothing to which she’d grown accustomed. Of course, striving for longer garments, as her midriff shown far more than was customary even for girls her age. And the rainbows and white clouds that covered her shirt wouldn’t make anyone take her seriously. She ended up with a few tops that would cover her much better, she also grabbed some tattered jeans all of varying lengths and conditions and took the time to find sneakers which she figured would be a good middle ground between being barefoot and wearing five inch heels.
She thought of what her personas would wear. The more submissive, people-pleasing one probably going for neutral colors that didn’t make her stand out any more than she needed. And the escort one probably going for a dress that could lure any man that was around her. Using her womanly powers to make him do whatever she wanted.
Deely hadn’t let her look through all the clothes alone. Abby could see him on the other side of the aisle through the hangers. He stood there intently looking through each dress. Only picking out a single dress every time he’d gone through at least ten. By the time they were both done browsing, they met at the front and examined what they both picked out.
Deely flung five dresses over his left arm and two pairs of heels in his right hand.
“Wow…,” she looked at the mediocre standard of clothing she held in her own arms, “you’re good at this.”
“How do you think I’ve come to dress myself so well?” Deely quipped.
Abigail simply rolled her eyes and presented the clothing she’d picked out, every piece giving a varied reaction that she couldn’t quite make out. But Deely didn’t say anything good or bad about her selections, only saying, “Is that everything that you want?”
“Yes.” Abby took a small amount of pride in being able to pick out clothes for herself for once. They weren’t clothes Mother already had sitting in a drawer. They were her own, well, before they were somebody else’s, but now they were hers.
Deely waited for the stocky lady owner to ring up and bag everything and handed the lady his halo card to pay. He grabbed the big bag of clothes and handed it to Abigail who was happy to carry her own things even though the bag was almost bigger than she. She didn’t mind it. She was utterly content and now intent on getting better at the one thing she was good at. And that’s all she thought about as they got back to Ol’ Mike’s.
Chapter 14
Every day, Deely and Abigail got up and immediately starte
d crafting the new persona she was meant to take on. He started by having her write down exactly what she expected the character to be like, all the way down to what her favorite breakfast food would be. Her first draft was Evelyn. She wasn’t extremely adventurous and kind of soft spoken. Evelyn’s favorite breakfast food was a toasted English muffin covered in a sparse amount of honey.
Abigail hadn’t gotten very far with Evelyn before he told her to scrap it.
“Try again,” he said. “Try to find something that’s more like you. That way it’ll be much easier for you to be that person. Evelyn just seems like a prude old lady. And last time I checked, you’re neither of those.”
He sent her off again and again and again. Days went by before she brought him something that he took more than a few seconds to look at. And finally, he said, “I think I like this one. Lashondra. That has a nice ring to it.”
Lashondra was completely sure of herself. And she only liked the most expensive items. She didn’t necessarily care if her outfits were the latest things out. She cared more about how flashy they were and how other people gawked at her as she walked by as they admired her clothing as well as her body. Abby could see most of herself in Lashondra. From a life of not having many things, she’d always dreamt of what it was like to have nice things. Lashondra was filled with all of Abby’s deepest aspirations.
Before long, Deely had begun having her wear the dresses and heels that he’d bought for her. They spent nearly an hour every day practicing how to walk and practicing other things that Abby didn’t really think were necessary. Deely would make her balance on one leg for a few seconds and then the other. The first few times, Abby simply toppled over, the extra few inches making her ankles wobble. But eventually, her ankles stayed in place to the point where she was able to stand still as a statue on one leg at a time.
Deely continued giving her places to check out and when she brought all the photos back, he’d set up the meeting and by the end of the week, Abby and Deely headed toward their selected target for that week. At first, Deely would be the one in charge. He’d knock on the door, make conversation, initiate the transaction, and they’d leave with a girl or boy without Abby ever saying a word. She only stood there and observed Deely and how she needed to act in order to be taken a little more seriously than when she went to get Mia. Then, Deely stopped being the one to make the first contact. Abby walked up to the door with Deely, now being the one to knock on the door while Deely just stood by.
Abby tended to skip the pleasantries wanting to get out of the house as soon as possible, but Deely always made a point of telling her everything she did wrong after the fact especially if she was unsuccessful.
“You have to at least try to make small talk, Abby.”
“But, why should I have to act friendly towards them? They’re complete trash,” she retorted.
“It’s not about what you think of them. Talking to them casually makes them believe that you know what you are doing. That you’re comfortable enough with the transaction that you can sit there and have a random conversation about baseball.”
“I don’t know anything about baseball.”
“That’s not the point.” He shook his head in a sign of near defeat. “Just talk about anything, Abby.”
They still had one more house to try that week. This time, she tried again, focusing more on the small talk aspect. The last seller was an oldish man. He looked well-kept and as innocent as could be. With Deely by her side not saying a word she burst out into conversation.
“How about this weather?” she brought up to the man, and that really seemed to get him going. He started listing out every complaint he had with the weather under the dome. Abby, herself, never understood why the temperature under the dome was even changed. Maybe because it felt more normal to go through the year experiencing different weather patterns than to just stay at one nice, warm temperature year-round.
After Abby’s success with this interaction, Deely was able to stand farther away from Abby. Now that she’d gotten into her own groove, all he did was stay outside in the glider and watch her trail up the stairs to house after house. After about 30 minutes or so, she’d always come out with someone by her side, as Deely acted as her chauffeur.
Escorts would come into Ol’ Mike’s and leave the next day. They’d done it so many times and so efficiently that it didn’t take long for Abby to forget the point of what she was doing. Deely quickly reminded her of it one morning, only saying, “I think you’re ready,” as she stuffed food in her mouth.
Chapter 15
Abigail sat in front of the mirror that sat atop the old rickety dresser against the wall looking straight at herself. Her face was a clear canvas for Meri and her hair was braided back under her black scarf. Meri had laid out dozens of things in front of Abigail. Things that she didn’t fully recognize until her eyes caught a cylindrical object that was edged with a reddish-brown color. Lipstick.
It reminded her of the lipstick Mother would place in a little basket under the bathroom sink. Only bringing it out on special occasions like going to church every Sunday, which had stopped eventually when booking clients became more important to Mother than cleansing herself of her sins. It didn’t matter much to Abigail anyway. It didn’t take long for her to realize that there was no God up there, at least not one for her.
Meri plopped herself up onto the table in front of Abby, her short legs dangling at Abby’s sides. Using her hands, she felt up and down Abby’s bare face. Then one hand reached down to the table knocking things over until it found the long cylinder it wanted. She pulled out a thin long black stick with a short brush at the bottom. Eyeliner. One would think that Meri’s movements along Abby’s face would be a bit more timid given her impairment. But her tiny hands moved gently across Abby’s face as she went up to her round eyes. Abby would’ve done it all herself if she only knew how.
“Close your eyes.”
Complying, all Abigail felt was a slow careful press against her eyelid. First the right then the left. It made her think of those times when Mother seemed to be her nicest. Her gentleness sometimes confusing amidst all the cruelty. Mother would sit in front of her with her old, rough, worn hands, and they would somehow soften when she grabbed the girl’s face gliding the pen effortlessly over her eyelid.
With her hands still pressed against Abby’s face, “Could you tell me if you’re lighter or darker than me?”
“Uh, darker.” Meri was a smooth tone of sun-kissed brown but clearly paled from her whole life of being inside a climate-controlled dome. Abby had spent some of her life, constantly changing under the natural sun. Up until, Mother forced her into a cage, causing her to pale so much. It was only November when she left Mother’s house for the last time. Her skin, then, had only felt the little bit of sun that shone through her small barred window. So, it had paled even more in the last couple of months, her skin looking muted. “A little pale, too,” she added. She really couldn’t understand what use this information was to someone who’d never seen before, let alone seen color before. But all Meri did was give a short laugh.
“Sounds like you’ll need a little bit of a glow then, Hun.” Abby chuckled to herself sometimes forgetting how old this 12-year-old sounded. Again, Meri’s hand went down to the table clumsily as she slid her hand over item after item until slowing down at points seemingly finding the shape she was looking for but not quite the correct feel. Abby could tell by the way her thumb rubbed over the tops of only circular objects. Each one she picked up had scratched in symbols that Abby couldn’t quite make out. To her they meant nothing but to Meri it appeared as though those symbols told her everything she needed to know about a single object.
Finally, her hand stopped searching, relieving the objects on the table from the fear of being knocked over. Opening the container to a shimmery gold powder, Meri took her finger and dabbed at the color and then used her bare hand t
o find Abby’s cheekbones, again letting the color gently melt onto her cheeks, making them sparkle. And then again, the mad dash toward another item on the table began. This time, Meri’s hand collected certain things as she went along. She was gathering all the lipstick in one hand which ended up only being four in total. Meri contemplated while shifting the four cylinders around in her hand.
Abby could of course see every color. A light pink, a deep-sea blue, a glossy brown, and an apple red. Her thumb rested on the red for a while. Abby could only imagine what Meri was visualizing her creation to look like or even what Abigail’s own face looked like. Meri seemed to come to a decision when she grabbed the red lipstick and with the other hand searched for Abby’s lips, letting her finger trail along them as the lipstick followed. And finally, Meri jumped off the table attending to another task.
“You look good, luv,” Deely said sounding almost surprised as he entered the room.
“Why thank you. I do try my very best.” Deely stepped closer to examine Meri’s work. And like Meri, Deely rested against the table facing Abigail and held out his hand signaling to Abigail to give him her chin and she did. He took all the same tools that Meri had used and went back over some of Meri’s shakier lines. Really refining the already hard work that Meri had done.
“How’d Meri even learn to do makeup?” Abigail had wanted to ask Meri herself but was a little too embarrassed at the thought of it being a stupid question.
“My mom taught her.” Deely mindlessly went on, “When she was a bit young actually. She really took a liking to it when she’d memorized all the colors she could and which ones she was told looked best together. I would even let her practice on me sometimes.” Deely laughed seemingly more to himself. “It just made her so happy.”
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