“Honey, I called your namethreetimes. You were in Lala Land.”
“Oh… I’m sorry. What’s up?”
“I just wanted to know if you had plans for the weekend. There’s a party at Butterfly Saturday and I need a date.”
Jessica was a conservator as well and not just a colleague, but a friend. They’d met while studying art and archeology at the University of Chicago. She was a brilliant archaeologist. The girl was a super nerd, but one couldn’t tell by the way she looked. She was a tall, sexy, white girl with fire red hair and voluptuous curves reminiscent of the curvy pinup girls circa 1950s. But not evenshecould make Rebecca want to spend her Saturday night in a crowded club.
Rebecca grimaced. “A party?”
“Yes. You remember those, don’t you? Drinks? Music? Dancing? Men?”
Rebecca rolled her eyes and slid her glasses back down her face. She retrieved the brush from the drafting table. But Jessica grabbed her wrist before she could return to the painting.
“Geesh, what’s up with you lately? You’re only thirty-five years old, but you act like you’re sixty-five. I swear, Rebecca, a little fun won’t kill you.”
Yeah, but too much just might.
“Come on, girl, live a little.”
Rebecca dropped the brush on the table and looked into Jessica’s intense amber stare. No one at work knew her health status. She wasn’t a party girl. She was always careful not to overexert herself. And because she needed to be close to her doctors, she didn’t travel much. So, it was understandable why Jessica thought Rebecca was a prudish bore.
“Whose party?” Rebecca asked, considering Jessica’s invitation.
“My cousin, Yvonne. She’s celebrating a birthday.”
“You have a cousin named Yvonne?” Rebecca always thought of Yvonne as an ethnic name. “That sounds like a family thing.”
“Exactly,” Jessica responded with a roll of her eyes. “That’s why I invited you. I’m gonna need somebody there who I actually like to talk to.”
Rebecca leaned back in her seat and laughed. Although Jessica rarely had nice things to say about her family, she still found herself more than a little envious that she had a family to complain about.
All she’d had was a neglectful, drug-addicted mother who’d killed herself after her boyfriend of only six months left her for another woman. And since her mother had been estranged from her own family, Rebecca had been left on her own. She went into foster care only to run away after the very first sexual advance from her foster father. At sixteen years old, Rebecca had been forced to learn to fend for herself.
“Um…hello? Party?” Jessica pressed, pulling her back to the present.
“Yeah, sure. I’ll go,” Rebecca relented. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do.
“Great. I’ll drive. “Jessica darted to the exit of her tiny office before she could change her mind. “Gotta get back to work,” she said over her shoulder.
“Yeah, right,” Rebecca scoffed.
Jessica pretending to care about doing work was a joke. She had been at the institute much longer than Rebecca, and Jessica’s skills had been unmatched until she’d joined the team two years ago.
Rebecca had been a conservator at the Museum of Modern Art for three years before returning to Chicago. She was vetted and highly coveted by the Art Institute. And before the symptoms of her condition became a hindrance, Rebecca had spent three years working in the Vatican. With her coveted arrival, Jessica was no longer the hottest ticket in town.
Surprisingly, Jessica was never competitive. Her life was filled with so much romance and excitement that her work life didn’t seem to matter as much as it did to Rebecca. Jessica actually seemed happy that there was someone to bear the burden of actual work, and Rebecca was happy to assume the busy work. She welcomed anything to take her mind off of the fact that she was running out of time.
Her thoughts drifted to her father. On her way to work, Sarah had called to tell her that her dad was still recovering well from his heart attack, despite the shock of a police raid on their home. She also said that, due to an extremely high bail, Boogie would have to remain in jail until his trial. By that time, their custody arrangement would be null and void.
She was relieved to hear the news that the young thug would no longer be able to put her dad and his wife at risk. After a thirty-minute conversation with Sarah, she’d agreed to join them for dinner the next day. Though she had to admit, she still felt a bit awkward in their presence.
“Rebecca, dear?” The sound of her boss’ distressed voice blinked her out of the brief daydream. She looked up and was instantly concerned by his worried expression.
“What is it, Ben? Are you okay?”
Benjamin’s wide green eyes told Rebecca that everything was not okay. She found herself wondering if she had done something wrong. But quick breaths and the sweat beading on his forehead suggested something much more pressing.
“Ben! What is it?” Rebecca pressed.
