"Damn, girl, you were great tonight!"
"Oh, thanks, sweetie. I know it's a cliché part, but I just love playing Clara."
"Are you kidding me, girl? Dancing the 'Nutcracker' in Lincoln Center at Christmastime? You're living the dream."
Todd and Marty looked at each other with wide eyes as the womens' voices faded down the hall past the door. Todd glanced down at his watch and was shocked to realize how much time had passed.
"Oh, hell. The show's over. We're dead."
"Why?" she asked. "Kiki had three gin and tonics before the ballet started, and she'll have had another couple during intermission. I doubt she even knows I'm gone."
"You don't understand. Your aunt might not care about you, but my dad will have been ticked at me ever since I didn't come back. And I still don't know how to get back to the lobby."
"Don't worry. I do," Marty said breezily, hopping off of the piano stool.
"You do?" Todd realized that should have been the first question he'd asked her, but it was too late now.
"Sure. I've been here twice before, remember? And I got lost coming out of the restroom once too."
"I didn't – how did you know I-" Todd spluttered as he stood up from his chair.
"I knew the minute I saw you that you were lost. You're not stupid – if you knew how much trouble you'd get in for ditching the show, you wouldn't have done it on purpose. Let's go meet the folks before you get in hotter water," she said, and offered him her hand.
He took it immediately, and was pleased by its smooth coolness in his own as they exited the small practise room.
They passed several people on their flight, one of whom was holding a large grey mouse costume. Miraculously, no one took any notice of them. Or maybe, Todd thought with a smirk, they thought Marty was an extra from the show by the winter-princess way she was dressed.
Instead of turning back the way he'd come from, she led them further down the hall. Then she took a left turn. Then right. Then left again. Todd was about to argue that she was taking them further away from civilization when they rounded a corner and were suddenly at the top of a steep marble staircase overlooking the lobby.
She grinned at him. "Ta-dah."
"Not bad," he told her, still holding her hand as he nervously scanned the sparkling crowd for his father.
Sure enough, Peter was standing by the open double doors of the theater, looking as ticked off as he dared in a mass of adults whose opinion he cared about. His thin lips were a narrow line as his eyes darted back and forth for his son like an eagle on the prowl for a mouse.
"Oh, terrific. There's my dad, four o'clock," Todd told Marty.
"Tall, brown hair, black suit, red tie, dagger looks?"
"Check."
"Don't worry – leave it to me." Still holding his hand, she led them down the stairs and gracefully weaved their way through the throng of people loudly complimenting each other on their fabulous outfits and good looks.
As they reached his father, she pasted a syrupy smile on her face that showcased a dimple Todd hadn't noticed before.
"Good evening, Mr. Manning. I'm Margaret Saybrooke. How do you do?" she said sweetly. She dropped Todd's hand and offered hers to his father, her teeth gleaming as white as her tights.
Todd gaped at her, his mouth slightly open. Man, she was good, but she was laying it on a little thick. He was surprised she hadn't curtsied, for heaven's sake.
Nonetheless, his father was charmed. "Well, hello there, little lady," he chuckled, shaking her hand in a friendly manner. To Todd's amazement, his dad reached out and ruffled his hair, something he had never done before. "Has my wayward son been bothering you?" To his shock, Todd heard no undertone of malice or danger in the question.
"Oh no, sir," Marty told Peter, her eyes as wide and blue as the Limoges china plates in the living room. "I got lost coming out of the ladies' room, and I met Thomas in the hallway. He offered to help me get back to the hall, but silly me, I took us on a wrong turn and a door locked behind us. Thomas wanted to do the sensible thing and try to find an adult for help, but I was scared we would get in trouble, and I wouldn't let him. We wandered around for just ages. Then just now a cast member opened the door, we got lucky and found the stairs, and here we are."
Todd watched in mute fascination. He didn't know which impressed him more – her lying skills, which rivaled his own, or her recall ability, which had shot out his official name as if she'd known it for years when she'd only heard it once in passing.
"Well, no harm done," Peter laughed heartily. "All's well that ends -"
"Well, THERE you are, missy!" Todd jumped slightly at the loud, nasal voice from behind them.
When he turned around, it was none other than the tall woman in the black sequined dress who'd been sitting next to his father in the theater.
She made a beeline for them. Marty screwed up her nose, which accentuated the little freckles dotting its bridge. As she neared him, Todd smelled why. Marty hadn't been lying – her aunt had obviously downed several gin and tonics to get her through the performance.
"Hi, Aunt Kiki," Marty said. Todd immediately heard the color and music fade from her voice, and he hated Kiki for taking it away.
"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, young lady?"
She opened her mouth to explain, but Todd figured he owed her one. "It's my fault, Ms. Saybrooke. We got lost, and I should have listened to Mar-Margaret; she's been here more than I have; but I didn't, and we just now found our way back."
"Well, you're here now," Kiki grinned, swaying slightly on her feet. Todd blinked nervously, hoping she wouldn't fall and embarrass Marty. She could obviously hold her liquor well for a woman, but she was wearing heels. And he certainly hoped she wasn't thinking of driving in this condition.
"And aren't you the handsome gentleman?" she crooned, patting Todd's cheek absently with a scarlet-manicured hand. He cleared his throat – no one had ever called him a gentleman before.
"Um…thank you, ma'am."
"Well, time to beat that traffic!" Peter said, merrily clapping his son on the back. "It was a great pleasure to meet you, Ms. Saybrooke. I hope you enjoyed the show. I must apologize for this boy here, and I do hope to see you again under more pleasant circumstances."
"Oh, do call me Kiki," she insisted. "Thank you for the drink during intermission – it was charming of you. And I'm the one who should apologize for my niece's foolishness – and her willfulness," she said, narrowing her green eyes at Marty that left Todd with no doubt that she'd be in for it later.
"Not at all," Peter said. "Now say good night," he told his son.
Todd was so bemused at the rabbit-hole happenings of the evening – especially with his little Alice in Wonderland suddenly so sad in front of him – that he was tempted to say, "Good night, Todd," to make her laugh. But he knew if he did his father might hit him for real, witnesses or not.
So he just shook hands with Marty's aunt, trying not to wince at the strength of her grasp, which any of his father's business associates would envy.
"Merry Christmas, Ms. Saybrooke," he said quietly.
"And to you, sweetheart," she said with a better-to-eat-you-with-my-dear grin.
"Good night, Mr. Manning," Marty told Peter without a prompt from her aunt.
"Happy holidays, princess."
Todd inwardly cringed at the 'princess', but Marty just smiled politely, and her aunt all but swooned. Gross.
The children turned to each other. She held his gaze, but said nothing. Todd gently took the small black wool coat her aunt held and held it open for Marty. She stared at him silently for a moment, then turned around and stepped gingerly into it. As the adults looked on with solicitous, lying smiles, Todd guided it over her shoulders, lifted her hair out from under it and watched silent as a statue as her dark blonde locks fell over her back.
She turned back to face him. She seemed lost for words too – weird, considering they'd just talked each other's ears off for over an hour. At the same moment, they both said, "Goodbye."
"Well, let's go, son. We've got a long drive ahead of us."
"And this young gal and I have a little soiree to attend with a dear friend of mine. It's a shame you have commitments tomorrow, Peter, or I would insist you come."
"I wouldn't dream of imposing, Kiki, but you and this little doll have a great time. Good night to you."
Nodding politely to Kiki, Peter guided Todd through the dwindling crowd to the doors leading to the glittering fountain in front of Lincoln Center.
Todd saw Marty look down at the parquet floor as she and Kiki walked slowly away. Soiree? A great time? What a joke. Marty suddenly looked exhausted, and he had an insane impulse to go back and tell off her aunt using words that he couldn't wait to be allowed to say whenever he wanted. The one time he'd used such a curse at home, unaware that his father was outside the door, he'd had to stand in the corner with a bar of soap between his teeth for an hour.
The stars glared down at them from a pitch-toned sky as he and his father exited the hall, and Todd was struck by a sudden fear that he'd never see her again. He risked his father's ire to turn back for one last glimpse into the theater's brightness for her, but when a cluster of black-clad revelers moved aside from the massive double doors, she was gone.