A/N: Howdy! Just a quick reminder, the chapter before this was for fun and games. Factors not into the story =)
There was a knock - a persistent knocking against a door. She rubbed sleep from her eyes; and was careful to be gentle around the skin below her eyes. "Presentation matters my dear Maura," she remembers Constance's many lessons, "An artist knows this best - that no matter the message, the package has to first attract."
She took in a deep breath and forced her weary body out of bed. Downing a whole bottle of wine, even if it is of a vintage year, in one night - is hardly a good way to cope with...is hardly good for anything.
"In a minute," she called out; and the knocking stopped. Chang must be able to hear the sleep in her voice; she knows she can hear it herself - tired, soft, weak. Aren't all these qualities her father found terribly unappealing? She's a mob boss's daughter - have to play the part, have to be the part. The words basically chanted themselves around her mind as she stretched quickly to yank the coat lying across her bedspread. Show no weakness. Show no mercy. Show no grief. As her own father is so capable of doing.
She took a final glance at the coat now clutched in her hand. Hope is missing, Hope has vanished, Hope is gone - her own mommy, is now nothing more than a fading memory.
She tossed the one comfort object she brought along right into the closet; and put on a coat of her own hanging on the coat rack. Bright red; killer red; fresh blood - fresh start.
"Good morning Chang," she offered as she opened the door.
Surprisingly, it isn't Chang at the door.
"Good morning Madame Doyle," the man replied and looked quick to the ground. She wonders why; she is after all decently dressed or aptly covered at the very least. Is this her now? One no one would again look at.
"How may I help you? Barry I think?" She tried for a smile. He started to scuff the carpeted ground. She means no harm. Why won't you look at me? She wanted to ask out loud.
"Yes Madame Doyle, Barry's my name," he looked up with a grin and looked back down just at quick. Flashbacks of long quiet walks down shunned corridors fill her mind. She means no harm. Why do they flock to the side, why do they scurry away? She wanted to ask, she wanted to know; she wanted them to not be afraid.
"Susie has to step out but she wanted me to pass on the message that the car you wanted is ready for your use," he cautiously dangled a set of keys just within her reach. What is it about me that leaves them all cowering? She pushed down the burning sensation rising from her nose bridge.
"Thank you Barry," she took the keys and shut the door just as quick. She wanted to no longer be the reason for the cowering of others. She wants...she wants to be seen.
She smiled as she remembered the tingling on her fingertips.
"Perhaps I should really, get a place of my own," she jangled slightly the keys in her hand, "Chang said that there's a place atop Beacon Hill." She looked out the window. Beacon Hill. Light atop a hill. Some light. Some hope.
Her thumb brushed gently across her other finger tips. She smiled, as she recalled the researches she had read on the science of attraction - the how, the why, the what it means, along with signs. She smiled. Perhaps tingling does indeed mean something. She would like to ask Chang for the bill.