“I know. I’m sorry.”
“I want to believe that if that were Isabelle, you would have helped her. You wouldn’t have left her out there in the hallway crying at four in the morning.”
Hayes sighed. “Obviously I would have helped Isabelle because IknowIsabelle. But there are so many, Solène. There are so many. And I can’t know them all.
“Come here,” he said. He pulled me into him, tucking me into the crook of his arm. “I’m going to tell you a story, okay. But don’t say anything until I’m done.”
“Okay…”
“Two years ago, we were in Tokyo, on theFizzy Smiletour. We were staying at the Palace Hotel, like on the twentieth floor. Incredible views. And after our show, this girl came back to the hotel with me. She wasn’t super-young. Like twenty-three or something. When we were done, I said to her, in the most polite way possible, ‘This was lovely, but I have a very early wake-up call tomorrow and it would probably be best if you didn’t spend the night.’ And she looked at me like she didn’t understand what I was saying. I mean it’s possible shedidn’tunderstand what I was saying, because I speak like five words of Japanese: ‘hello,’ ‘please,’ ‘good luck,’ and ‘thank you for the fish.’”
I looked at him dumbfounded.
“Although I didn’t say that. I promise. But thosearelike my only five words. Anyway, she insists on staying and I tell her no and then she gets out of the bed and walks to the other side of the room and I think she’s getting her clothes, but then she opens the door to the balcony and walks out there, completely naked, and she manages to climb up onto the fucking railing and threatens to pitch herself off. And she’s sitting on it, facing me, but leaning back and she’s crying hysterically, like not playing a game or teasing, she’s bawling, and all I could think was, HolyFuckHolyFuckHolyFuckHolyFuck. And I couldn’t scream for help because I thought it would just set her off, and I couldn’t call or text anyone because my mobile was back in the room, and I couldn’t leave her, and all I could do was plead with her to come down and it was the longest, most horrific seven minutes of my life. And then finally, finally, I get her off the railing and lure her back into the room and into bed and then I just held her until she stopped crying and fell asleep, which took like two hours, and at that point I texted Desmond and he came and got her the fuck out of there.”
For a moment I was speechless. And then a random thought came to mind. “Seven minutes.”
He nodded, slow. “Seven minutes, yeah.”
“Do people know what it’s about?”
“No one knows what it’s about. Well, maybe Desmond…”
“Oh, Hayes, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, well… It taught me to be a little more selective about who I bring back to my hotel room.”
I was quiet for a moment, respectful. “I thought it was about falling in love.”
He shook his head. “It’s about falling.”
On Tuesday, the boys headed out to Bogotá. And I went back to work.
south america
Friday morning, on my way to Marchand Raphel, Hayes called from Colombia.
“It’s crazy here, Sol. Our security is at a level I’ve never seen. There are about two hundred of them, and they’re armed. Like military specialists. They follow us everywhere.”
“What are they protecting you from? Fourteen-year-old girls trying to kiss you?”
“Yes,” he laughed. “Exactly.”
“Seriously.”
“Kidnappers. Apparently that’s a problem.”
“Be safe, okay.”
“Yoube safe. I have armed guards following me to the loo. I think I’m good.”
The phone signaled then. The gallery. I told Hayes I would call him back, and switched over to a frazzled-sounding Lulit. “Are you on your way in?”
“Yes, we’ve got Cecilia Chen at ten.”
Cecilia was an established photographer and director of art films. Caribbean born, New York bred, she’d spent the last twenty years in Paris building up a portfolio of exceptional work and was now looking to relocate to Los Angeles. She’d come recommended by one of our current artists, Pilar Anchorena. Cecilia also happened to be black, Asian, and female, the holy triumvirate of Marchand Raphel. Lulit and I were looking forward to meeting with her.
“It’s been canceled,” Lulit said then, “but just… hurry.”
