Chapter 5: Precious Things
"These precious things
Let them bleed
Let them wash away
Let them break their hold over me"
- Tori Amos
Aeris liked to think that she could pinpoint the exact moment she figured out that Gloria would come to signify much more to her than a mere part of Luke's collection of pretty girls. It was maybe two weeks after Luke had met her at the coffee shop that she was at the house waiting to leave to dinner with him. Luke's attention had been stolen away by an urgent phone call, so Gloria took this time to step into the backyard and light a long, thin cigarette for herself.
Aeris was sitting at the patio table overlooking the grandiose garden when she heard the door open and saw Gloria step through. She had been concentrating on glossing polish on her nails, but became very still upon finding she was no longer alone. It was her first time alone with Gloria, and her usually social nature died down a bit due to the way the woman intimidated her. And who could blame her? Here was this golden haired beauty overrunning with flair and grace. And then there was Aeris, a girl who hadn't grown up with a mother to teach her how to dress, do her make up, style her hair, or do any of the other things associated with being a refined young lady.
The sun was just dipping down and mixed with Midgar's thick pollution to create a very red sunset, which in turn gave Gloria's locks the look of a cascade of shimmering gold. Aeris suddenly felt very aware of her own physical appearance. Her wavy hair was unruly and frizzy. Gloria's womanly curves made Aeris' underdeveloped fifteen-year-old body look like a clumsy set of skin and bones. And as she looked down at the pink paint spilling over her cuticles, her messy nails seemed to represent everything she was lacking. She hid them under the table when Gloria looked over, finally seeming to notice her there.
"Well hello there darling," she walked over to Aeris with a smile on her face.
"Hi," Aeris responded shyly, looking down at her lap. Gloria took a seat in the chair next to her, crossing her long legs and leaning back as she took a final drag of her cigarette before putting it out.
"I didn't know there was someone else out here whose lungs I was polluting," she apologized before reaching out for something next to Aeris, startling her a bit. She tensed even more when she realized Gloria had spotted the culprit vial of nail polish. Inspecting it, she read the label out loud; "Pipe Dream". After staring at the light pink shade for a few seconds, she gave Aeris a thorough scrutiny. The younger girl looked awkwardly away, feeling understandably uncomfortable. But this only served to pique Gloria's curiosity some more.
"Do you have this on right now?"
Aeris wrung her hands together beneath the table. "Uhm, yeah, but I didn't do too great of a job applying it."
"That's alright, let me see."
Slowly, Aeris lifted her hands from beneath the table, hesitantly displaying her work to Gloria. She felt like a little girl suddenly, horribly afraid of judgment. Gloria reached forward and held Aeris' right hand.
"I'll fix that right up," she said with a wink.
Much like a magic conjuror, she pulled a small flask of nail polish remover and a tissue from her purse. Aeris' eyes widened, "You carry that around with you?"
"Oh darling of course. There's nothing worse than chipped nail polish."
They sat that way for a while. Aeris patiently extending her two hands forward as Gloria scrubbed off the paint that had slid too far off, and then finished her job up with a fresh layer of paint on each nail. She blew cool breath over her pieces of art and then sat back satisfied.
"Cute," she stated. But after a few moments she scrunched up her nose as if suddenly displeased, "But we can do better than cute. I've never been too keen on pink myself."
Aeris shrugged, "I don't know, I kind of like it." Luke himself had inquired that she not wear it so much, because it looked "tacky". But to her it felt bold, like a statement.
"Well that's fine, honey. You can mix it with other colors to make it look a bit more stylish. Like light green to go with your eyes, or ooh," her chocolate eyes lit up as she snapped her fingers, "I have just the thing to go with that polish! I saw it at a store the other day, and I think it would actually look fabulous on you. What are you doing tomorrow? I have to take you to get it!"
For a second Aeris wasn't sure if she was being serious or not, and therefore had no idea how to react. One of Luke's girlfriends was not only speaking to her but actually inviting her out. She couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious of Gloria's intentions. However, despite this wariness she also felt a small thrill pass through her. Being home schooled didn't earn her many, or any friends really, and when she wasn't passing through the gardens or working on Luke's plants, she wasn't doing much at all. And who was she to judge Gloria so quickly?
"You don't have to do that..."
But Gloria wouldn't hear it. She waved her quiet and told her she'd pick her up at one before bidding her goodbye and disappearing into the house to leave with Luke.
That night Aeris spent much longer looking at herself in the mirror than she usually did. She supposed her features were all right, but definitely nothing special. Her hair was constantly unruly, she couldn't apply make up to save her life, her outfits were all very childish, and the curves that should've come with adolescence seemed to be late in arriving. The only thing about herself she really liked was the brilliant emerald hue of her eyes. They were her mother's eyes.
"Oh mom," she breathed out, "I still miss you." She reached inside one of her drawers and pulled out a small, white piece of materia. The only thing left of her besides memories and dreams. She put it away quickly lest her mind wander to the thousands of "what ifs" that she had a tendency to dwell upon when looking at the orb.
Later that night while laying in her luxurious, queen sized bed she wondered whether Ifalna was happy with the way things had turned out. She was mostly taken care of - much better, in fact, than most people in Midgar. Chances were that the woman at the train station that Ifalna had expected couldn't provide her with even a quarter of the nice things she was given by Luke. But there was a feeling of loneliness that always seemed to be gnawing at her insides that no amount of material possessions enabled her to shake off. Finally, Gloria's lovely face smiled at her before she fell into slumber, and with it came a fragile sense of hope.
Aeris was astounded to find that Gloria did indeed show up to go shopping. The girl hadn't really believed that she'd go through with her plan, and was now pleasantly surprised.
They spent hours driving around upper Midgar, stopping in different shops, and trying on quite a few outfits. The woman had an impeccable sense of style and was doing her best to rub it off on Aeris. As evening grew imminent, Gloria took Aeris to their final stop. It was a small, very expensive boutique with a sign that revealed its name to be "Colori dell Anima".
"This is where I saw the outfit I was telling you about," Gloria informed her as they stepped out of her car and towards the shop.
One of the sales ladies recognized Gloria as they stepped inside, and was immediately at their side asking how she could help them. Gloria motioned for Aeris to wait by the dressing rooms as she walked off with the sales lady.
Aeris felt a bit anxious when she saw them return. She had no idea what outfit Gloria could be making such a fuss about. When they held it out in front of her, she wasn't really blown away. It was rather simple.
"Oh, it's nice," Aeris smiled, but was pushed into the dressing room immediately afterwards.
"No hon, put it on," Gloria ordered.
So Aeris pulled off her clothes and dressed herself. She stepped outside her dressing room a few moments later and Gloria pointed to a nearby mirror, which she then inspected herself in.
Her eyes widened after gazing at herself. It was indeed a simple dress - form fitting, reached just a bit below her knees and was held up by two small straps. The collar was a bit lower than she was used to and was slightly ruffled. But the color was what really got her. The back, which also dipped uncomfortable low, was held together by silky pink lace. The rest of the dress was a midnight black, with a splotch of pink tint at her right hip. It was a stunning contrast that worked wonderfully with her pale skin and bright eyes. Looking in that mirror, for the first time in her life, Aeris felt really pretty.
"Wow..."
Gloria laughed, "Indeed. We'll take it!"
Despite Aeris' protests that it was too expensive, they did. But once it was in her possession, Aeris couldn't hide her glee. The combination of the colors really struck her, and it was an all around gorgeous dress. She chattered away happily during the car ride home, and Gloria was pleased that the girl was in such a blissful state.
What little was usually visible of the sun was completely gone by the time they pulled into Luke's driveway. Aeris placed her hand on Gloria's arm as she turned off the ignition, stopping her from stepping out too soon.
"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much it means to me that you'd go out of your way to do this."
Gloria's husky laugh filled the car as she waved Aeris' gratitude off.
"You don't have to thank me for anything. I had a lot of fun."
But Aeris felt she truly did have a lot to thank her for. The long time members of the house's staff were eventually won over by Aeris' kind nature, but they still refrained from spending time with her outside of work due to their schedules and general mistrust of Luke. But here was Gloria, who after a single conversation with Aeris committed herself to spend a full day with the girl. She couldn't help but feel touched by this.
The next few months passed wonderfully for Aeris. Miraculously, Luke seemed to have put the bachelor in himself to rest for a bit, and remained with Gloria. And through the months, Gloria's bond with Aeris grew significantly. She looked up to the woman immensely, and sensing this, Gloria took it upon herself to turn Aeris into a refined young lady.
But no matter how superb present conditions were, Aeris always had a foreboding feeling that the future held darker times. It took five months for these events to unravel, and Aeris came face to face with their beginning one early morning.
She woke to a still house - nothing unusual, since it was too early for the staff to arrive, and Luke, his bodyguards, and Byrne often departed before sunrise on business. After stretching out her sleep worn limbs, she began to make her way towards the kitchen to find something to eat. Her room was in the middle of the second floor hall, so she turned to make a left towards the stairs but stopped in mid step after hearing a strange noise from her right. As hard as she concentrated she couldn't make out what it was, but felt a strange pull towards it. Deciding to investigate, she slowly strode down to the end of the hall. After a few steps, she was sure it was coming from Luke's room, whose door was slightly open, allowing a shaft of light to spill onto the hall floor.
That's strange, he's usually gone by now...
But she soon realized that the noise was actually a voice, and that the source of this voice was female. Laughing? Aeris stopped in front of the doorway, about to knock for politeness' sake, when she realized that the source of the sound was crying.
Worried, she pushed the door completely open and stepped inside. She was met with the sight of a woman kneeling in the center of Luke's room; matted, golden hair covering her face as her slender shoulders trembled along to every sob.
"Gloria?"
She jumped at her name, pulling back a bit as her hand moved from her face exposing her bloodshot eyes. The sight of her was awful. Aeris immediately moved towards her, kneeling down and reaching forward to comfort her.
"What happened to you?"
But Gloria dodged her touch, sitting back and hastily wiping at the tears rolling down her cheeks. She took a few shaky breaths before reaching for the object she had been kneeling over, and shoved it towards Aeris as if it had struck her. Aeris was filled with confusion as she tried to make sense of the meaning of the silk nightgown pooled in front of her.
"That," Gloria spat, "is not mine."
Before Aeris could retort, she continued, "And I wouldn't even have made anything out of it if I didn't find this on his pillow last night." She held a single long, red strand of hair.
Aeris looked down again at the gown in front of her. They both knew that Luke's sheets were washed almost on a daily basis, and none of the maids had red hair. Realization dawning upon her, she felt both guilt and shame for what Luke had done - as if she could've done something to prevent it.
"God Gloria, I'm sorry."
Gloria stared ahead bitterly, a sour smile plastered on her face. She stood up, brushing herself off.
"No Aeris, I'm sorry. For ever believing a word of what he said. I've never been so damn humiliated in my life."
Aeris looked up at her from her sitting position, immensely worried at the state of the woman. She had looked completely broken down before Aeris had made her presence known. But in typical Gloria fashion, she was on her feet, drawing her dignity back together as soon as she knew she wasn't alone.
"What are you going to do?"
"Leave. I can't be in this house another second."
Aeris accompanied her to the front door in silence, at a total loss for words. What could she possibly say to Gloria? If it were anyone else, she wouldn't have a problem comforting them. But Gloria? She wasn't supposed to need comforting. She was one of those untouchable goddess types that nothing wrong could ever happen to. But here she was, with a lost look in her eyes and a broken heart. It just felt so wrong.
As Gloria made her way out the door, Aeris suddenly grabbed hold of her arm. The woman looked back questioningly.
"If you ever need anyone..."
A sad smile made its way across Gloria's features. She placed her own hand over Aeris'.
"I don't know how he hasn't fucked you up yet, darling." With a pat, she let go and walked away.
Aeris was left standing at the door, pensive about what was yet to come.
Her wonderings soon found answers. Very soon, in fact, the next night at dinner.
While Byrne had returned to the house at the usual time, Luke didn't show up at all, and was gone the next day as well. So Aeris and Byrne had dinner by themselves, and were sitting at the table as Magda cleared away the plates when Luke walked into the room with a grin on his face.
"I'm getting married."
Aeris had two shocks at that moment. The first was Luke's statement. The second was the sound of a large amount of dishes crashing onto the floor behind her. She, Byrne, and Magda all looked at Luke as if he'd grown three heads.
Byrne quickly recovered, ignoring the clamor behind him, "You're what?"
"Engaged. I asked Gloria to marry me last night." Luke replied bluntly, as if he were explaining a very simple matter.
"My god, I was hoping I misheard you." Byrne rubbed at his temples trying to clear the whole situation away.
Aeris, in a daze, had bent down to help Magda with the now shattered dishes, and therefore could only imagine the smug look Luke was presenting to the room. He knew exactly why they were so shocked, and was probably enjoying every moment.
Magda stood from her kneeling position, with the ruined china gathered up and nodded at Luke. "Gloria is a fine lady. Good for you." After he thanked her, she escaped into the kitchen to recover.
Aeris slowly rose and silently seated herself in front of Luke again, feeling far too confused to speak.
Luke let out a chuckle, "Well you're a certainly an exciting bunch." He gave a little punch in the air for added effect.
"Anyway, just thought I'd let you know. Gloria's coming over in a bit, do attempt to look a bit more cheerful."
With that he wandered off again.
Byrne didn't stick around for long, leaving Aeris alone with her thoughts. She suspected she was easily the most stunned out of the three Luke had made his proclamation to, since only she knew what went on the previous night. She hadn't asked him anything about the matter due to Byrne and Magda's presence. But now she couldn't help but wonder, Just yesterday Gloria looked as if she'd kill Luke if she ran into him, and now she's marrying him?
Feeling far too restless to go to sleep, and wanting to catch Gloria by herself, she decided to wait for the woman on the front steps. Sitting on that stone staircase in the darkness brought back memories of the last dark revelations that were bestowed upon her in that very same location. Only a second passed before she shut her eyes tightly, wanting to keep the images of the man's death and accusing eyes out of her mind, and felt immense relief when a pair of approaching headlights signaled Gloria's arrival. She stepped out of the car with her usual flair, seeming totally carefree, as if nothing had ever happened to cause her trouble.
Once Gloria had made her way to the bottom of the steps, and stood looking level at Aeris, the young girl spoke up carefully, "I think you already know what I want to ask you."
Gloria sighed, briefly glancing downwards, "He made a mistake."
"A mistake? That's kind of a huge mistake for you to forgive in the span of one night," Aeris retorted quietly, disturbed at what was going on.
Gloria nodded, taking a seat next to Aeris, "Alright, let me tell you the whole story. I called him and told him I didn't want to see him anymore, but just an hour later he showed up in front of my apartment. I wouldn't let him in so he stayed outside my door for two hours begging for forgiveness," she had a far away look in her eyes, as if she was replaying the scene in her mind while telling it, "Luke wouldn't do that unless he was really sorry. And when I opened the door he gave me this ring." She held up her hand, letting Aeris see the huge rock resting on her finger.
Watching Gloria, Aeris felt a rising sensation of disgust at her. There she was with a dreamy smile on her face, as if Luke sleeping with another woman was just some silly antic of his. She'd expected this sort of behavior from women Luke had been with in the past, but thought much more highly of Gloria.
"Are you crazy?" She asked, raising her voice, "How could you agree to marry him after what he did? Just like that?"
Gloria's face grew stern as she moved her gaze from the ring to Aeris, "Look Aeris, he made a mistake. He's not perfect, nobody is. And don't act as if you don't overlook some weaknesses of his yourself."
She shot a glance at the side of the house, where the path that led to the growing facilities lay, and then looked back at Aeris, daring her to retort. Hurt by the insult, Aeris turned away from Gloria's steely look, and shook her head sadly.
Upon seeing this, Gloria's expression and voice softened a bit, "I love him Aeris. And he's sorry. That's enough for me."
She rose, brushing herself off, and turned to walk into the house. Aeris didn't say anything anymore, knowing that no matter what, she wouldn't be able to change Gloria's mind. Once more, those stone steps had revealed too much to her - this time the truth about Gloria, a seemingly strong woman, who in reality was as weak and easily manipulated as everyone else by Luke's little ploys. And as she mused over this, the part within her that looked up to Gloria began to die.
Their friendship was never the same after that night. Aeris suspected that it was because aside from Luke, she was the only person to have seen the ugly, weak side of the otherwise beautiful Gloria. And it didn't improve much with time. Just as Aeris had guessed from the beginning, over the next few months Luke cheated on Gloria again, and she forgave him again. Her speculation was confirmed after a particularly loud screaming fit between Luke and Gloria, when Gloria asked her to keep an eye on him for her. It wasn't too hard to figure out what prompted her to ask this favor.
Aeris didn't really bother. Gloria had to know in the back of her mind that he wasn't going to stop anytime soon, and if she didn't then she was truly delusional. Plans for the wedding weren't really going anywhere, with only Gloria flipping through magazines and speaking of decorations and important guests, while Luke busied himself with business matters.
It was a few months after Aeris' 16th birthday that Luke hit an ultimate high in the business world - he landed an official partnership with Shinra. She'd never seen him so excited before; shedding his cool demeanor, he burst through the front door and shouted the news to the whole house. Everyone congratulated him, not being able to help having some of his happiness rub off on themselves. It didn't hurt that he gave all the staff a raise. When he saw Aeris he picked her up by her waist, spinning her around in the air, before grabbing Gloria and dancing with her around the room to a tune only he could hear. Aeris smiled, congratulating him, although feeling inwardly horrible. The last thing she wanted was Shinra in her life again.
Luke informed them that in three nights he'd be throwing a party celebrating the collaboration at one of the newest night clubs in upper Shinra, and that half the staff would leave their usual duties to assist in making preparations for the festivities. Looking at Gloria and Aeris with a playful smile he gave them special instructions, "And you two, I want you to look perfect, just as the two most important women in my life should."
So it was that three nights later Aeris found herself in her room getting ready to celebrate an event that she'd dreaded ever since Luke began associating with Shinra. The thought of being in a room full of the corporation's top employees instilled a fear in her that she hadn't felt in years. Gloria, who was standing behind her doing her hair, noticed the tension in her, and asked about it.
"What's wrong darling, you don't look too excited about tonight, it's going to be a fabulous party you know."
Aeris shifted a bit in her chair and tried to smile, but only looked more nervous, "Ah, just not feeling well I guess."
Wanting to switch the subject, she inquired about how the wedding plans were moving along.
This time it was Gloria's turn to look unhappy, if only for a second, before straightening up again, "Oh, you know, it takes a long time to plan the whole thing, and there's a lot left, but otherwise just fabulous."
But Aeris had seen the silent look of desperation flash across Gloria's eyes. It was one she wore a lot these days, which couldn't help but worry Aeris. She twisted in her chair, to face Gloria directly. Gloria put down the curling iron, and moved away, pretending to inspect her own make up.
"Do you even have a date yet?" Aeris asked, knowing the answer already.
Something sparked within Gloria, for after a few moments of unsuccessfully attempting to answer Aeris in a neutral tone, she gave up, grabbed the nearest brush and hurled it across the room before sinking down on the bed behind her. She buried her face in her hands, trying to control her breathing.
"What am I doing Aeris?" she whispered.
Slowly, Aeris moved to the bed, placing an arm around Gloria and stroking her hair with her free hand.
"You can end all this Glor, you don't have to put up with it."
Gloria leaned a bit into Aeris' embrace, something she didn't expect her to do.
"That's the thing. I don't think I can, I don't know what I'd do without him at this point."
"You can let go, Gloria. That's all you have to do."
Shaking her head, she freed herself from Aeris' embrace and stood up.
"No darling, I've gotten myself in a bit too deep. If I left him I don't know what I'd do with myself. You're too young to understand now, but one day..."
She turned away from Aeris and back to the mirror, to work on the last details of her own hair and make up some more.
"One day I'll go through the same thing?" Aeris asked, wanting Gloria to finish her statement.
She met her eyes in the mirror, "Yes, and it'll hurt like hell, but when you find that one man you're willing to die for, he can do all sorts of stupid things and you'll live with them all anyway. Because leaving him would kill you," she smiled at Aeris' frown, "That's love for you, baby."
They finished getting ready in silence, each caught up in her own thoughts. By nine they were all done up and ready to go; with each looking spectacular in her own way - Aeris wearing her black and pink dress with pink sandals, and her hair loose, falling around her, while Gloria wore a long, strapless dress the same shade as her golden hair that pooled around her heels. A limousine was awaiting them outside the house. Luke had left half an hour earlier with his bodyguards in the black car and sent this one transport "his girls". Their silence continued through the trip, adding to the incredibly nervous feeling building in Aeris' stomach.
"Oh mom," Aeris silently begged as they pulled up in front of the already bustling club, "Get me through this night."
A/N: Took me long enough, eh? Okay, so this was still part of the background I wanted to set up for the main meat of the story, which will hopefully arrive soon. The next chapter will deal with the party, so familiar names will finally show up. The point of all this rambling on about Luke and Gloria will make sense soon, I promise there IS a point to it. Thank you for reading!