Arms draped over the railing, Monique watched her daughter play with her friend in the sand. It was turning colder in recent weeks, and the owners of the boardwalk had finally named one last bathing day for the fall. Despite the chill in the air, there had been quite the turnout. While most bathers had opted to dress like the summer had yet to leave, Monique had insisted on Violette bringing a jacket with her, and despite the amount of wet sand stuck to both her sleeves and her back, her cheeks were rosy with warmth and she looked happy to build sandcastles one last time before the beach closed until spring.
Monique hadn't bothered with a bathing suit or towel, preferring instead to watch her daughter and the rest of the beach crowd, chuckling to herself as older kids threw themselves unthinkingly into the cold ocean and shrieked before hurrying back to land.
"I'm not looking forward to that age," she said, indicating one gaggle of rowdy teens with the bob of her head.
Though Ladon stood next to her, arm about her back and eyes on the same beach, his thoughts had taken him elsewhere. A lot had been happening, and there was an uncertainty that left him worried ever since Joe Nason had died. Since he'd killed him, though that had been neatly swept under the rug by Hardy Limael, Nason's successor and as close to a friend Ladon could have in a vampire. Ladon was still small beans in the wide world of Nieve's criminal underground, and most the powerful men and women involved wanted him for nothing but his weapon supply. On a another level, though, he was an important part of the magical community within the shadier businesses. Limael's presence had been limited as he dealt with vamp business, whatever that meant, and thus Ladon had been the default go-to guy for weres, mages, merfolk... Anyone who needed a job in the city. He'd had to turn a lot of them away-- there was only so much work at the Apple, and the rest of his business was specialized and well-staffed.
He was worrying his bottom lip with his teeth when Monique finally spoke, and nearly bit through. Instead he just gave her a gentle squeeze and looked over at the kids she'd nodded at. He grimaced. Yet something else to worry about.
"Ain't there some kinda spell we could do t'keep her little?" He huffed as one of the boys in the group scooped up a girl and charged at the ocean, threatening to throw her in despite her loud protests. "Prefer she kept thinkin' boys were gross, yeah?"
"We don't grow out of that, don't worry." Monique nudged him with her elbow, then leaned in and rested her head against his shoulder. It was rare for Ladon to be affectionate in public, but the combination of being the observers rather than the observed and the way he'd been distractedly staring off into the distance seemed to create some kind of exception in his thinking. She didn't mind.
"And no, we're not keeping her little. Audra's got that covered, anyhow." Monique had spent precious little time with the girl vampire who'd met the fate Violette had avoided, partially out of guilt and partially because she saw so much pain in the girl's eyes. Perhaps if she'd been a couple years younger, she'd had time to grow accustomed to being a child forever before she was old enough for the reality of it to hit her. Two years had passed, though, and while Violette was the same age Audra looked, she had yet to really accept that she'd never grow up.
Ladon winced, less at the elbow and more at the mention of Joe Nason's last victim. You say a lot of stupid shit, Ceto, he scolded himself. But that was one of the stupidest.
"Sorry, didn't mean..." Violette had come close to being imprisoned in a child's body for the rest of her life. If Joe had gotten his way, neither of them would be standing here, either. Ladon felt like a complete idiot for joking about it.
She looked down, fiddling with the pearl bracelet she wore on her left wrist. One of the gifts Ladon had given her, along with the earrings she wore. No ring, though. Ladon was clueless about human culture often enough, but seemed to recognize the significance of rings. He said things without thinking sometimes, but so did she. This relationship had taken some work on both ends, and often she wondered how long it would last and how much was worth it.
She'd been anxious lately. The song of train whistles and bleating of ship horns had been a siren call as of late, and every road that led out of town beckoned. She did her best to keep her feet planted, but it was too easy sometimes, to imagine packing bags, hurrying her daughter off in the middle of the night. Disappearing entirely.
She only stopped following that path in her head when she got to what she'd tell him, if she'd tell him. She knew he'd let her go if she wanted, especially if he knew what she was running from. But for some reason she just couldn't will herself to tell him. Saying anything would shatter this little illusion they'd cultivated. She liked it too much to let it go.
Violette looked up from the sand sculpture she'd been working on and waved to them. Monique waved back.
He noted the way she turned the pearls over and over on her bracelet, something she did each time she wore it, but he didn't make anything of it. Monique tended to always have her hands busy somehow, a nervous habit of some sort. He also acknowledged Violette, extracting the hand in the pocket of his trousers to raise it in a semi-wave. Then Monique's question drew his attention back to her. He sucked in a thoughtful breath, turning the butterscotch candy over in his mouth.
"Nothin' 'Necia can't handle. No 'business' or anythin'." He did his best not to bring up the more dangerous half of his work up with her. She knew, and had known well before deciding to get involved with him. Still, it didn't feel right to talk about weapon smuggling and the violence involved with her, even with Violette out of earshot. He wanted to protect her from that part of his life as much as he could. Still when it came up, it was "business." Nothing more.
"Violette's staying the night at her friend's house," she said. "They're leaving from the boardwalk together. I thought we could do something."
Ladon was busy often enough, and she did her best not to be demanding of his time. Still, it was nice to have a night where she didn't need to worry over Violette's dinner, whether she needed a bath, and if she was doing the work her tutor had assigned. She had a lot of time to make up for with her daughter, but a night off from being a mother here and there wasn't something she'd say no to.
Despite that, she hated being alone. She got nervous, watched the window and jumped at every sound outside her front door. It was so much easier when Ladon was about, filling the silence with conversation and making the threats that rattled around in the back of her head easier to ignore. Even when they didn't talk, or when they weren't intimate at all, just having someone else there was enough. She didn't love the way he made her clothes and hair smell like cigarettes and men's cologne, but she was beginning to find comfort in that smoky scent he carried into a room no matter how much aftershave he used. He always got embarrassed if he showed his lizard side through growls or that errant tail, but she found some relief in knowing she had a dragon around. Monsters at least gave the multitude of worse things in the world pause.
Ladon could count on one hand the amount of people who actually voluntarily kept his company. Aza often acted more like a chaperon, so he wasn't even sure he counted. Monique's interest in spending time with him still caught him off-guard, almost as much as her willingness to be in a relationship with him. He gave her a gentle squeeze and hummed to himself.
"Should you really be spending all your nights off with your boss?" he joked, but then actually took a moment to think. "S'a new flicker showin', we could go see that. From what I been hearin', it ain't really appropriate for Vi anyway."
"You're not my boss," she reminded him, though it was clear he was just giving her a hard time. She was serious about that much, though: he was not her boss. He might have owned the jazz club where she worked as a cigar girl, but her boss was Senecia, who ran the place on a more significant level. Ladon used the club as a front for a lot of his less legal business. Unless she started contributing to that half of his life, he wasn't her boss. And he'd made it clear he didn't want to get her involved.
"The one where the girls take their clothes off? You won't smoke out the whole cinema?" If he was going to tease her, she'd give him just as much back.
"You'd better not. I know how to use a shotgun." He had first-hand experience of that. She'd nearly shot his head off when they first met-- it was really only his younger brother being there that kept her from pulling the trigger.
"Then what..." He shrugged, reached into his pocket with the hand not about her waist, and fished out his cigarette case. "Then whatever you wanna do, yeah? Could check out the competition."
He wasn't much company for dining out or dancing, but he liked to give her the option. He may not be able to get food burnt enough to digest without issues, but he could nurse a whisky. And he was a mook on the dancefloor, but he tried his best the few times she'd dragged him out there at the Apple.
"And watch how much the owners can squirm and send us complimentary bottles of wine?" Any of the clubs in town would be aware of Ladon's presence, and while he'd never been caught doing enough to have formal charges brought up against him, there was still word of mouth that people went on. Especially the business owners. They knew about his connections to the criminal empire running in Nieve's shadows. They knew about Joe Nason and his sudden "disappearance" as well as the interest the police had taken in him as a suspect. Even with that line of questioning dropped and his behavior rarely publicly violent, Ladon had a reputation. It had its benefits, but also its drawbacks.
"Why don't we go somewhere more... us friendly? Hardy Limael's casino finished with the work he was having done, isn't it?"
Us. Such a damn loaded word. That and Monique's frankness about how uncomfortable Ladon's presence would make other business owners... He worried at times whether her relationship with him was costing her too much. In the non-magic community, she was dating a criminal and suspected murderer. In the magic community, she was dating a dragon. Neither was looked on positively. While very few people had actually mourned Joe Nason, there was still that wariness. He was a hoodlum who'd offed his boss. He was an overgrown lizard who'd displaced a prominent vampire and placed his friend in the vacant seat of power. Both of them severely overestimated his foresight, and underestimated Hardy Limael's manipulative nature.
Either way, what was done was done and now Ladon and those who associated with him had to deal with the consequences. While Monique's social life didn't seem too damaged by dating him, she hadn't exactly made any friends outside of work. Additionally, he was well aware that if Violette had been the one wanting a friend over for the night, it wouldn't have happened. Not with him there.
"Dunno if it's done, ain't heard from Hardy in a while." Ladon doubted Hardy was actually overseeing any construction to the underground gambling parlor. He was likely more distracted by vampire politics. "Could always go find out, yeah? And if it ain't, we'll figure somethin' out."
"It's been two years now, things should be settled, shouldn't they?" Monique was aware that Hardy Limael ran on vampire time, and that meant two years was the bat of an eye. But surely that was enough time to deal with the aftermath of dethroning his sire and the social and political issues that had brought up. Even as a part of the magical community, she often felt as though the other members had a very different approach to time than she did. Ladon was included, it was almost as if he barely kept track of days versus weeks and years. She'd have to ask him about dragon lifespans at some point.
"So long as we don't head to the Apple. I know I'll lose you to work if you walk in that door and Senecia sees you."
She was right, he had to admit that. Between his workaholic nature and Senecia's need to be on top of things at all times, she'd snatch him away for managerial matters and Monique would wind up sipping fruity drinks at the bar until it was too late to do anything but go home and sleep. He wished he could say neither of them knew that from experience, but...
She smiled at that, then went up on her toes to peck him on the cheek. "Good. I'll go let Violette know we're leaving."
Then she slipped away, leaving him to smoke his cigarettes and half-watch the crowd on the beach. She clutched her purse to herself and hurried down the boardwalk towards the steps that led to the sandy shore, all the while scanning the people she passed by. If they made eye-contact, she smiled and ducked her head, doing her best to hide any glimpse of paranoia they might see in her dark eyes. It was hard enough to keep it hidden from Ladon, though lately he'd been giving her that sad, worried look when he didn't think she could see him. He knew she was hiding something, but the big goof didn't seem to know how to ask her what it was.
She'd just about crossed off every person there as a threat and convinced herself that she was just fooling herself when she felt a strange tingle up the back of her spine. She was being watched. There was a young man hanging about, alone and away from the teen group that was still causing a ruckus by the water. He was watching her from his blanket, but not in the way boys usually did when a pretty woman was walking their way. His gaze was intense, enough so that she felt like ice had suddenly formed in her stomach when she looked him in the eye. He glanced down almost immediately, just as she had before. She had a sinking feeling that he looked familiar, like a child she'd known once that had since grown up.
She stopped in her tracks at the steps and watched Violette playing with her friend. The boy didn't look in her daughter's direction, only down, then around the beach as if he were trying to spot someone himself. How long had he been watching her? Had he just found her? He couldn't see where she and Ladon had been from his angle, so perhaps he didn't know about Violette.
It was stupid, she knew it was. How would they have known she'd be here if they didn't follow her? If they were following her, they'd know she had a daughter. If this boy was even in any way related to them!
She felt a little dizzy. Anxiety, Aza had said. If she got too anxious this kind of thing tended to happen. Instead of heading down the stairs, she turned around. Violette would understand if she didn't say goodbye.
She couldn't get back to Ladon's side fast enough. "Let's go."
Ladon nearly jumped out of his skin when Monique was suddenly there, tugging on his arm and imploring him to go. He'd been watching Violette playing with the other little girl she was friends with, and had expected to see Monique bid her goodbye and tell her to behave herself before she returned to him. But instead she'd just reappeared.
"Thought you were tellin' Vi..." He trailed off, looking down at her. She wouldn't raise her head, hiding behind the brim of her bell-shaped hat and the strands of blonde hair that peeked out of it. Not good. He'd been around her enough when she was like this to know. Something was frightening her, but she never wanted to talk about it.
"S'the matter, kitten?" He wouldn't get an answer, he knew that, but he'd be damned if he didn't worry.
"She's having fun, I don't want to bother her," she lied. Granted Violette was at that age where when she was enjoying herself, the entire world could come and go and she wouldn't notice, but she wasn't so young as to be devastated by her mother leaving. Saying goodbye wouldn't ruin her good time, and Monique understood that Ladon knew that. But she hoped he'd go along with it anyway.
"I... think I need to go lay down for a little bit anyway. Take me home?"
Earlier in the year she'd blamed her condition on the heat. She didn't have an excuse anymore, just the vague hope that he would do as she asked and not pry. It wasn't right to keep him in the dark like this, she knew that. She'd have to tell him one day.
"Let's have some tea and relax for a while before we go out, okay?"
He grimaced. Monique's faintness seemed to happen out of nowhere. Human physiology was still a mystery to Ladon, even after over a decade of having a human form. He was still a dragon underneath, after all. Despite the fact that he could handle being bipedal, having thumbs and lips and soft skin to cover them, and generally existing in a body he didn't hatch into, he still didn't understand human diseases and conditions. Monique was still an enigma to him, both physically and emotionally. He wished he could tell what was going on in her head, but he was just as illiterate of her as he was of all the books in the world.
He nodded, though, and went along with her requests, all the while putting his arm about her to keep her steady. "Did you talk to Aza 'bout this? Maybe there's somethin' he can..."
Then he noticed her attention moving down the boardwalk, to the steps down to the beach. A young man was trudging up the stairs, a blanket rolled and tucked under one arm, and a young lady holding the other. Ladon watched Monique track the two of them with the turn of her head and sighed to himself. Then he gave her a gentle squeeze.
"He's too young for you, Moni. And here you're givin' me the hard time 'bout girls. I should be the one gettin' jealous, yeah?"
"That's not..." Monique trailed off. She knew it was impolite to stare, but manners were the last thing on her mind. The boy who had been watching her was strolling down the boardwalk with a girl on his arm, smiling and chatting and acting nothing like a spy. In fact, she understood the moment she saw his date. The girl was probably sixteen at the oldest with dark hair clipped in a bow and freckles all over her pretty face.
"She's wearing my dress," she said. Of course. There had been no threat, no danger, the boy had just mistaken her for his girlfriend when he'd seen the same pattern of pink flowers headed down the stairs, and then had been embarrassed to be looking at another woman. Maybe she harped on him just like Monique did on Ladon.
Monique felt a wave of relief, followed abruptly by the bitter aftertaste of humiliation. She was such an idiot. Why had she been so upset?
"Actually. I really should tell Vi goodbye. She'll get mad at me if I don't, won't she?"
Ladon frowned, unsure of what had just happened. One moment, Moni was demanding they leave immediately, the next she was commenting on a girl wearing the same dress she was, and the next she was talking herself back into bidding her daughter goodbye. The way she jumped from one decision to the next never really made much sense to him. He wasn't sure if he was just too slow to keep up with her or not, but typically he was able to keep track of the thought processes of others. Well, other than Hardy Limael, but he was deliberately obtuse. Monique just seemed to exist in a different world sometimes.
He could only conclude that she'd felt faint and rather than show weakness to her daughter, she'd been willing to leave without saying goodbye. Monique was stubborn like that, he knew that much about her. He flicked his cigarette to the ground and put it out with the heel of his shoe.
"All right, c'mon, I'll go with you. Shoulda just said you needed me t'lean on, yeah? Don't mind."
"I... Sorry." Ladon's patience with her was one of the reasons she'd been willing to stay in this relationship. His reputation, his work, all his other flaws, she could forgive those. He never seemed to get angry with her about the way she acted and that was something she appreciated. Every other relationship had broken down quickly thanks to her inability to explain her actions. Her ex-husband had called her thoughtless, among other things, and that had always stuck with her.
It was less that she didn't think, and more that sometimes she couldn't stop thinking.
Ladon's arm around her was a comfort, and though the dizziness had passed and she didn't need the extra support, she took it anyway. She took what she could, because she never knew when she'd eventually lose it all.
The two of them headed down the boardwalk and towards the beach, and Monique focused on her daughter and the sand castle she'd made rather than the many sets of eyes who might or might not be watching her.
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nieve2014-03-07 10:16 am
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Monique hadn't bothered with a bathing suit or towel, preferring instead to watch her daughter and the rest of the beach crowd, chuckling to herself as older kids threw themselves unthinkingly into the cold ocean and shrieked before hurrying back to land.
"I'm not looking forward to that age," she said, indicating one gaggle of rowdy teens with the bob of her head.
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He was worrying his bottom lip with his teeth when Monique finally spoke, and nearly bit through. Instead he just gave her a gentle squeeze and looked over at the kids she'd nodded at. He grimaced. Yet something else to worry about.
"Ain't there some kinda spell we could do t'keep her little?" He huffed as one of the boys in the group scooped up a girl and charged at the ocean, threatening to throw her in despite her loud protests. "Prefer she kept thinkin' boys were gross, yeah?"
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"And no, we're not keeping her little. Audra's got that covered, anyhow." Monique had spent precious little time with the girl vampire who'd met the fate Violette had avoided, partially out of guilt and partially because she saw so much pain in the girl's eyes. Perhaps if she'd been a couple years younger, she'd had time to grow accustomed to being a child forever before she was old enough for the reality of it to hit her. Two years had passed, though, and while Violette was the same age Audra looked, she had yet to really accept that she'd never grow up.
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"Sorry, didn't mean..." Violette had come close to being imprisoned in a child's body for the rest of her life. If Joe had gotten his way, neither of them would be standing here, either. Ladon felt like a complete idiot for joking about it.
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She looked down, fiddling with the pearl bracelet she wore on her left wrist. One of the gifts Ladon had given her, along with the earrings she wore. No ring, though. Ladon was clueless about human culture often enough, but seemed to recognize the significance of rings. He said things without thinking sometimes, but so did she. This relationship had taken some work on both ends, and often she wondered how long it would last and how much was worth it.
She'd been anxious lately. The song of train whistles and bleating of ship horns had been a siren call as of late, and every road that led out of town beckoned. She did her best to keep her feet planted, but it was too easy sometimes, to imagine packing bags, hurrying her daughter off in the middle of the night. Disappearing entirely.
She only stopped following that path in her head when she got to what she'd tell him, if she'd tell him. She knew he'd let her go if she wanted, especially if he knew what she was running from. But for some reason she just couldn't will herself to tell him. Saying anything would shatter this little illusion they'd cultivated. She liked it too much to let it go.
Violette looked up from the sand sculpture she'd been working on and waved to them. Monique waved back.
"Do you have any meetings tonight?"
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"Nothin' 'Necia can't handle. No 'business' or anythin'." He did his best not to bring up the more dangerous half of his work up with her. She knew, and had known well before deciding to get involved with him. Still, it didn't feel right to talk about weapon smuggling and the violence involved with her, even with Violette out of earshot. He wanted to protect her from that part of his life as much as he could. Still when it came up, it was "business." Nothing more.
"Why, got plans for your night off?"
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Ladon was busy often enough, and she did her best not to be demanding of his time. Still, it was nice to have a night where she didn't need to worry over Violette's dinner, whether she needed a bath, and if she was doing the work her tutor had assigned. She had a lot of time to make up for with her daughter, but a night off from being a mother here and there wasn't something she'd say no to.
Despite that, she hated being alone. She got nervous, watched the window and jumped at every sound outside her front door. It was so much easier when Ladon was about, filling the silence with conversation and making the threats that rattled around in the back of her head easier to ignore. Even when they didn't talk, or when they weren't intimate at all, just having someone else there was enough. She didn't love the way he made her clothes and hair smell like cigarettes and men's cologne, but she was beginning to find comfort in that smoky scent he carried into a room no matter how much aftershave he used. He always got embarrassed if he showed his lizard side through growls or that errant tail, but she found some relief in knowing she had a dragon around. Monsters at least gave the multitude of worse things in the world pause.
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"Should you really be spending all your nights off with your boss?" he joked, but then actually took a moment to think. "S'a new flicker showin', we could go see that. From what I been hearin', it ain't really appropriate for Vi anyway."
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"The one where the girls take their clothes off? You won't smoke out the whole cinema?" If he was going to tease her, she'd give him just as much back.
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"Nah. S'a sight I'm gettin' used to, yeah?"
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She looked up at him, eyebrows raised and one hand propped on her hip. "And how many girls have you seen take their clothes off lately?"
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Almost. But he did give her a sly grin.
"Just one, yeah? Hey now, kitten. You know I don't go lookin' at other girls."
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That was what she told herself, anyway.
"So, we see a flicker. Then what?"
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He wasn't much company for dining out or dancing, but he liked to give her the option. He may not be able to get food burnt enough to digest without issues, but he could nurse a whisky. And he was a mook on the dancefloor, but he tried his best the few times she'd dragged him out there at the Apple.
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"Why don't we go somewhere more... us friendly? Hardy Limael's casino finished with the work he was having done, isn't it?"
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Either way, what was done was done and now Ladon and those who associated with him had to deal with the consequences. While Monique's social life didn't seem too damaged by dating him, she hadn't exactly made any friends outside of work. Additionally, he was well aware that if Violette had been the one wanting a friend over for the night, it wouldn't have happened. Not with him there.
"Dunno if it's done, ain't heard from Hardy in a while." Ladon doubted Hardy was actually overseeing any construction to the underground gambling parlor. He was likely more distracted by vampire politics. "Could always go find out, yeah? And if it ain't, we'll figure somethin' out."
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"So long as we don't head to the Apple. I know I'll lose you to work if you walk in that door and Senecia sees you."
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She was right, he had to admit that. Between his workaholic nature and Senecia's need to be on top of things at all times, she'd snatch him away for managerial matters and Monique would wind up sipping fruity drinks at the bar until it was too late to do anything but go home and sleep. He wished he could say neither of them knew that from experience, but...
"No Apple. Promise."
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Then she slipped away, leaving him to smoke his cigarettes and half-watch the crowd on the beach. She clutched her purse to herself and hurried down the boardwalk towards the steps that led to the sandy shore, all the while scanning the people she passed by. If they made eye-contact, she smiled and ducked her head, doing her best to hide any glimpse of paranoia they might see in her dark eyes. It was hard enough to keep it hidden from Ladon, though lately he'd been giving her that sad, worried look when he didn't think she could see him. He knew she was hiding something, but the big goof didn't seem to know how to ask her what it was.
She'd just about crossed off every person there as a threat and convinced herself that she was just fooling herself when she felt a strange tingle up the back of her spine. She was being watched. There was a young man hanging about, alone and away from the teen group that was still causing a ruckus by the water. He was watching her from his blanket, but not in the way boys usually did when a pretty woman was walking their way. His gaze was intense, enough so that she felt like ice had suddenly formed in her stomach when she looked him in the eye. He glanced down almost immediately, just as she had before. She had a sinking feeling that he looked familiar, like a child she'd known once that had since grown up.
She stopped in her tracks at the steps and watched Violette playing with her friend. The boy didn't look in her daughter's direction, only down, then around the beach as if he were trying to spot someone himself. How long had he been watching her? Had he just found her? He couldn't see where she and Ladon had been from his angle, so perhaps he didn't know about Violette.
It was stupid, she knew it was. How would they have known she'd be here if they didn't follow her? If they were following her, they'd know she had a daughter. If this boy was even in any way related to them!
She felt a little dizzy. Anxiety, Aza had said. If she got too anxious this kind of thing tended to happen. Instead of heading down the stairs, she turned around. Violette would understand if she didn't say goodbye.
She couldn't get back to Ladon's side fast enough. "Let's go."
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"Thought you were tellin' Vi..." He trailed off, looking down at her. She wouldn't raise her head, hiding behind the brim of her bell-shaped hat and the strands of blonde hair that peeked out of it. Not good. He'd been around her enough when she was like this to know. Something was frightening her, but she never wanted to talk about it.
"S'the matter, kitten?" He wouldn't get an answer, he knew that, but he'd be damned if he didn't worry.
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"I... think I need to go lay down for a little bit anyway. Take me home?"
Earlier in the year she'd blamed her condition on the heat. She didn't have an excuse anymore, just the vague hope that he would do as she asked and not pry. It wasn't right to keep him in the dark like this, she knew that. She'd have to tell him one day.
"Let's have some tea and relax for a while before we go out, okay?"
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He nodded, though, and went along with her requests, all the while putting his arm about her to keep her steady. "Did you talk to Aza 'bout this? Maybe there's somethin' he can..."
Then he noticed her attention moving down the boardwalk, to the steps down to the beach. A young man was trudging up the stairs, a blanket rolled and tucked under one arm, and a young lady holding the other. Ladon watched Monique track the two of them with the turn of her head and sighed to himself. Then he gave her a gentle squeeze.
"He's too young for you, Moni. And here you're givin' me the hard time 'bout girls. I should be the one gettin' jealous, yeah?"
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"She's wearing my dress," she said. Of course. There had been no threat, no danger, the boy had just mistaken her for his girlfriend when he'd seen the same pattern of pink flowers headed down the stairs, and then had been embarrassed to be looking at another woman. Maybe she harped on him just like Monique did on Ladon.
Monique felt a wave of relief, followed abruptly by the bitter aftertaste of humiliation. She was such an idiot. Why had she been so upset?
"Actually. I really should tell Vi goodbye. She'll get mad at me if I don't, won't she?"
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He could only conclude that she'd felt faint and rather than show weakness to her daughter, she'd been willing to leave without saying goodbye. Monique was stubborn like that, he knew that much about her. He flicked his cigarette to the ground and put it out with the heel of his shoe.
"All right, c'mon, I'll go with you. Shoulda just said you needed me t'lean on, yeah? Don't mind."
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It was less that she didn't think, and more that sometimes she couldn't stop thinking.
Ladon's arm around her was a comfort, and though the dizziness had passed and she didn't need the extra support, she took it anyway. She took what she could, because she never knew when she'd eventually lose it all.
The two of them headed down the boardwalk and towards the beach, and Monique focused on her daughter and the sand castle she'd made rather than the many sets of eyes who might or might not be watching her.