Jennie grins, her green eyes sparkling.“When I started college.I decided it was time for a change, and it was either red or blue.”
“I convinced her to go red,” Leah says with a mischievous smile.“Blue wouldn’t have matched her Irish complexion.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” I say with a straight face.“I hear smurfs are all the rage lately.”
Leah bursts into laughter, and Jennie and I join in.It feels so good to be back with the two of them.I’ve hung out with Leah a couple of times since my abduction, but I haven’t seen Jennie in almost two years.She was studying abroad when I was home for those four months after the warehouse explosion, so we’ve never gotten a chance to reconnect beyond a few Facebook messages.
“Okay, Nora, spill,” Jennie says after the waiter takes our orders.“What’s it like being married to a modern-day Pablo Escobar?The rumors I hear are beyond bizarre.”
Leah chokes on her water, and I burst out laughing again.I’d forgotten Jennie’s propensity for shocking people.
“Well,” I say when I calm down enough to speak, “Julian deals in weapons, not drugs, but otherwise, being married to him is quite nice.”
“Oh, come on.Quite nice?”Jennie gives me an exaggerated frown.“I want all the gory details.Does he sleep with a machine gun under his pillow?Eat puppies for breakfast?I mean, the dude kidnapped you, for Pete’s sake!Give us all the juicy—”
“Jennie,” Leah cuts in sharply.She doesn’t look the least bit amused.“I don’t think this is a joking matter.”
“It’s okay,” I reassure her.“Really, Leah, it’s fine.Julian and Iaremarried now, and we’re happy together.We truly are.”
“Happy?”Leah stares at me like I’ve grown horns.“Nora, you know what he’s capable of, what he’s done.How can you be happy with a man like that?”
I look back at her, not knowing how to respond.I want to say that Julian is not that bad, but the words stick in my throat.My husbandisthat bad.In fact, he’s probably worse than Leah thinks.She doesn’t know about the mass eradication of Al-Quadar in recent months or the fact that Julian has been a killer since childhood.
Of course, she also doesn’t know thatI’ma killer.If she did, she’d probably think Julian and I deserve each other.
To my relief, Jennie comes to my rescue.“Stop being such a party pooper,” she says, poking Leah in the ribs.“So she’s happy with him.That’s better than being miserable, right?”
Leah’s fair complexion reddens.“Of course.Sorry, Nora.”She attempts a weak smile.“I guess I just have a hard time understanding it all.I mean, here you are, finally back in the US, and you’re planning to go back to Colombia with him.”
“That’s what happens when people marry,” Jennie says before I can respond.“They live together.Like you and Jake.It’s only natural that Nora would go back with her husband—”
“You and Jake are living together?”I interrupt, looking at Leah in shock.“Since when?”
“Since two weeks ago,” Jennie says gleefully.“Leah didn’t tell you?”
“I was going to tell you today,” Leah says to me.She looks uncomfortable.“I wanted to tell you in person.”
“Why?They just had one date,” Jennie says reasonably.“It’s not like they were boyfriend-girlfriend.”
“Jennie’s right,” I say.“Really, Leah, I’m happy for the two of you.You don’t have to be afraid to tell me stuff like that.I won’t flip out, I promise.”I give her a big smile before asking, “Are you renting an apartment off-campus?”
“We are,” Leah says, looking relieved at my question.“We both had roommate issues, so we decided living together might be the best option.”
“Makes sense to me,” Jennie says, and for the next few minutes, we discuss the pros and cons of living with boyfriends versus roommates.
“What about you, Jennie?”I ask after the waiter brings our appetizers.“Any boyfriends on the horizon for you?”
“Ugh, no.”Jennie makes a disgusted face.“There are barely a dozen okay-looking guys at Grinnell, and they’re all taken.The two of you should’ve talked some sense into me when I decided to go to college in the middle of nowhere.Seriously, it’s worse than being in high school.”
“No!”I widen my eyes in mock horror.“Worse than being in high school?”
“Nothing’s worse than being in high school,” Leah says, and the two of them begin to argue about the comparative availability of guys in a suburban high school versus a tiny liberal arts college.
As the meal proceeds, we talk about anything and everything except my relationship with Julian.Leah tells us about an internship she got at a Chicago law firm, and Jennie shares amusing stories about her recent vacation in Curaçao.“They had an oil-processing plant right next to our hotel.Can you believe it?”she complains, and Leah and I agree that even a salt-water infinity pool—a cool feature of Jennie’s hotel—can’t make up for something as atrocious as an oil refinery in a vacation spot.
Eventually, the conversation turns to my life on the estate, and I tell them all about my online classes at Stanford, the art lessons I’m getting from Monsieur Bernard, and my growing friendship with Rosa.“I wanted her to join us today, but she couldn’t,” I explain, feeling slightly guilty about that.“My parents are coming over for dinner, and Julian asked Rosa to help with the meal.”As I say that, I realize how spoiled I sound—and from the envious looks on Jennie and Leah’s faces, they realize it too.
“Wow,” Jennie says, shaking her head.“No wonder you’re happy with this guy.He treats you like a freaking princess.If someone gave me Stanford, servants, and a huge estate, I wouldn’t mind getting kidnapped either.”
