26: R&N: Red Strikes Again
11 pm, New York City, Brooklyn Apartment
No response. Rani had patiently waited, as hours-long days turned into weeks, turned into a month. Soon, that turned into three whole months. She thought, given how close she and Abigael had been—even if it had been a decade ago—that she would have had the decency to acknowledge the flower. Read the abbreviated message and ponder its meaning.
I know what you did, Rani thought to herself. I don't know exactly what happened or whether you're entirely at fault, but I deserve to know what happened. She glanced up from where she sat at the rounded small kitchen table, plucking another flower from this week's bouquet of glistening marble-and-pearl-colored peonies. Reaching for her red pen, she began to compose another message on the small piece of watercolor paper before her.
7 am, New York City Luxury Apartment
"Abigael, what is this?" Mel had stepped out of the high-ceilinged apartment for a burst of fresh air, only to be confronted with a white peony and a discreetly tucked envelope.
Abigael snatched the envelope from Mel's grasp and tore it open, reading the message silently.
I want answers. ~R2
"She's never going to let this go, is she?" Abigael muttered, half to herself. Mel placed the peony in an empty marmalade jar she found under the sink, and filled the jar with water, moving to place the item on the center of the Ashford table.
Mel then counted to ten slowly and turned around to face her partner. "Abi, what the fuck is going on here?"
7:15 am, New York City Luxury Apartment, Bathroom
Holy shit-on-a-cracker. Mel couldn't believe it as she locked the bathroom door behind her, dropping to the floor to collect her thoughts. Abigael had, in her haste to dispel the Sarcana rebel, neglected to peek beneath the hood. It had been Celeste—her, of all people. Probably under a Sarcana spell, due to Celeste's recent failing mental faculties and tendency to imbibe more alcohol than was customary or wise. And of course, Celeste happened to have a great-niece named Rani Ri, who was the mostfamousvisionary in the design world (not to mention a very attractive social media star in her own right, with her Instagram selfies of her snow-white hair and posts of pearly blossoms artistically arranged throughout hidden corners of the city, Banksy-style). Not that Mel regularly stalked her page online. Of course not. Oh, who was she kidding…
It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Abigael had acted too impetuously for her own good. Nor, thought Mel, should it have been surprising that Rani was Abigael's ex, even if the woman predated her by a full decade. The woman, by all accounts, had a haughty visage that Mel could subtly detect in Abigael's British demeanor, with her mysterious cropped hair, and appeared to have her act together in the working world, so to speak. Point being, Mel thought to herself, this Rani was far more beautiful, more successful, more popular, than she herself could ever be. What did Abigael ever see in herself, Mel Vera?
7:20 am, New York City Luxury Apartment, Bathroom
There was a soft knock on the door; Mel raised her head, from where she was sitting, crouched in the corner in the fetal position.
"Mel? Are you ok?" Abigael's familiar accent could be heard from the other side.
Mel nodded, somehow finding it hard to swallow. "Y-yes," she whispered. "Just—processing. Everything," she added.
"Can you open the door so we can have a face-to-face discussion?" Abigael inquired softly.
"No," answered Mel. "I-I still need time to think—about everything…"
"About…us?" whispered Abigael, desperately hoping that weren't the case.
"About how you kept secrets like this from me—for over a month—how it never once occurred to you to let me in," Mel stated. "Why didn't you tell me about Celeste earlier? Why didn't you tell me about you and Rani?"
"Rani and I were nothing more than a decades-ago fling; we both came out of unpleasant relationships when we met at a holiday party. We lasted less than a year due to differing life paths and Rani's student visa expiring. I haven't seen or spoken to her since, though I heard through the grapevine she settled down in Brooklyn with her long-term partner."
"What about Celeste?" Mel carefully thought over Abigael's response regarding Rani, secretly glad that Rani was taken.
"I didn't know about it being Celeste. Honestly Mel, the first thought I had was that my sister-in-law was in a shack with a Sarcana about to attack—"
"She-shed, you mean—"
"Yes, that; the Sarcana could have claimed two lives that day and allowed other nefarious forces to invade Vera Manor. Even if Celeste weren't in the right mind, the damage still would have been catastrophic for you and your family. I just couldn't let that happen."
Mel started, having heard one word in particular. Sister-in-law. So Abigael saw us all as family, even without the bounds of marriage. "Why do you want to protect my family, Abi? What's in it for you?"
It was complete silence for several long minutes, before Abigael replied. "Nothing. Because they're the family I've always envied. And Macy's the mother to Maya I wish I had when I was a child. And because—"
"Because?" Mel prompted.
"—because they're your family, and I couldn't bear to see you suffer, even the littlest bit. I wanted to keep you safe," Abigael whispered. "I wanted you safe and happy."
The bathroom door unlocked and opened, as Mel exited and fell into Abigael's arms.