I tug at Suzie’s sleeve and nod my head in the direction of the restroom, and I don’t wait for her reply before I head off, squeezing through the press of bodies inhaute couture.
The restroom is opulent enough to have a “powder room,” and into one of those chairs I gratefully sink. I'm going to stay here until Suzie finally realizes I'm gone and comes looking for me.
I’ll give her some excuse, like I was feeling lightheaded, even though it's not too far off. I’m not feeling fantastic today. My energy is pretty much zero, and I could be hungry, but also, the food doesn’t look remotely appetizing, no matter how high the price tag is on one of the simple appetizers.
I’ve been feeling off for a couple of weeks, but I’ve tried to push it away. Blame it on stress, lack of sleep. I know deep down that’s not it, but I take a few deep breaths and push the thoughts away. I scroll through my phone for a bit, checking my social media. Most of the accounts I follow are just cute animals; I'd rather keep up with them than with most people.
I hang out in the bathroom until I'm bored. Suzie must have found someone else to talk to because she hasn't come looking for me yet.
I slip out and walk around the edge of the room to the place where they have a few puppies to show everyone where their donations are going. Predictably, no one is looking at the animals. Volunteers are sitting in the pen, entertaining thepuppies. The volunteers look up as I approach, smiling because someone is actually paying attention to them.
“Can I come in?” I ask.
“You can, but these are puppies, so they're not going to be gentle with your dress.”
“That's fine. It was on sale anyway. “
The two young women volunteering smile at me, and it makes my night when the puppies swarm over to me, tiny tails wagging, mouths open in grins of puppy joy.
I spend my time playing with the puppies and talking to the volunteers until Suzie finally misses me and seeks me out.
“Seriously?” she asks, hands planted on her hips. “I've been looking for you for fifteen minutes, but I should have known.”
“Oh, come on. You know this is exactly where you’d be if this didn’t have to deal with the law firm tonight.” Suzie sticks her tongue out at me, but we both know the truth. If she had more time, she'd probably have an entire farm of Great Danes. And Eliza and I would be right there with her.
“Well,” I say, “looks like there’s no way I'm getting up.” I gesture to the puppy sprawled across my lap, fast asleep.
“Put the puppy down. We still have some networking to do. Don’t you want to make connections before you apply to law school?”
"What I want to do is spend the entire night with these puppies, and you can just come get me when you're done doing your thing."
Suzie makes a face, and I bite the inside of my cheek because I know arguing won’t do any good at this point.
I'm just standing up after handing the sleeping puppy to one of the volunteers and brushing fur from my dress when a literal shadow falls over the proceedings. I only have a moment to look up before my heart plummets. I should have run when I had the chance.
Suzie sees my expression and turns; she blanches and looks back at me with a look of horror on her face as if to say,Oh, shit. They’re here?But I already knew. I spotted them the minute they walked in.
"Figures I would find you over here with the dogs." The voice is nasty, and so is the sneer behind it.
A woman stands in front of me. She's tall, willowy, and dressed in the latest fashion. I think I saw that exact dress the last time Eliza and I window-shopped at Saks.
She's beautiful in a frozen sort of way. High cheekbones, silver-blonde hair pulled back into a knot at the nape of her neck, diamonds glittering at her ears and throat. The glimmer in her eyes of cruelty, judgment, and hatred is just as cold as the diamonds.
"Clarissa," I greet her.
My eyes slide to the man in the wheelchair beside her. The man whom I remember standing so tall and strong, the man who I’d put my entire life on hold for, even though he’d cheated on me for months before his accident.
Peter looks diminished in his wheelchair, and it’s not because he's permanently seated. He looks shrunken, angry, and bitter,his carved cheeks sunken, his skin sallow. Even his crisp button-down is oversized on what was once a broad frame.
"Leah." Clarissa has a smirk on her face to match Peter’s sullen glare. "I'm surprised you're here."
I wasn't planning to ask because I know I wouldn't like the answer. But Suzie does, ever my white knight and most ardent defender.
"Why surprised?"
"Because everyone here knows what she did—abandoning Peter when he needed her the most. What kind of monster abandons their fiancé after a car accident paralyzed him?"
From the corner of my eye, I see the animal shelter volunteers exchanging startled looks. Suzie steps up to my side and winds her arm through mine, giving me physical as well as emotional support.
