Beautiful People | wlw

Twenty-two: Flowers

Carmen sat with her spine very, very straight, her back still to the door. Jay removed his brushes from the vicinity of her face - for her safety or his, Vera couldn't guess. Maybe both.

In a shockingly calm voice, Carmen said, "I think I misheard you."

Sharise shook her head, then realized Carmen couldn't see her. "You didn't."

"I thought you said that Troy Dicks sent me flowers."

"He did."

A startling giggle burst out of Carmen. "Stop it. Who are they really from?"

Sharise pushed out a small sigh. She handed the bouquet to Vera, who disappeared entirely in the swathes of rustling petals and fluttering greenery and almost toppled over under its weight. Then Sharise squeezed past the forest of flowers to hand the card to Carmen.

Wrinkles climbed Carmen's brow as she stared at the ivory vellum. Everyone else stared at her.

"Well?" Jay demanded. "Is it really him?"

"Apparently."

"What the fuck?" Jay jabbed his makeup brush in the air. "That asshole is up to something."

Clearing her throat, Carmen flicked the card with one expensively manicured nail. "Congratulations on your big premiere. I'm so sorry for everything. You're still my leading lady. There's a little heart, and then his name."

"Holy shit," Vera said, voice muffled in the jungle of the bouquet.

Giggles bubbled up out of Carmen's throat, faster and faster until they erupted into outright cackles. She shook so hard that her robe slid from one slim golden shoulder. Then she leapt from the stool and waved the card over her head, looking completely feral as she glared around with half-complete makeup. "What the fuck is this?"

"It sounds like a peace offering," Lily suggested.

"Troy hasn't tried to contact me since he went internet official with Marina Taylor literally days after telling me he didn't want anything serious. And now he wants to call me his leading lady? This is gross. It's insulting."

"I agree with Lily." Sharise spread her hands. "Maybe he finally realized that he treated you badly and wants to make amends."

"He's realizing that now? Pathetic." Tiny diamonds glittered in her false lashes as Carmen narrowed her eyes. "Did Marina dump him?"

Lost somewhere in the depths of the colossal bouquet that she could barely keep upright, Vera wondered if maybe the point of it was just to create exactly the situation that was unfolding: Carmen questioning, suspicious, thrown off her game. If Troy could unbalance her poise, she might slip up, even slip right off the edge and sabotage her own premiere. That would leave the way open for Marina to become the star of the festival.

Then again, Vera didn't think Troy was smart enough for that. Or that he cared enough about anyone else's happiness other than his own, not even his girlfriend's.

"Does it matter?" Sharise asked. "You're the one on top right now. What would you lose if you take it in good faith that he wants to support you?"

"You're right. I am on top right now. He's probably so mad that he doesn't get to have any of that glory rub off on him." Carmen threw out her arms but couldn't fit them all the way around the enormous bouquet. Ivory petals slipped free, wafted to the floor. Vera was about to keel over under the weight. "Look at this thing. It's a monstrosity. This just screams I know I made a big mistake."

"Can someone please take this bouquet before I pass out," Vera wheezed.

Sharise hustled over to help. Together, they wrestled the prodigious posy onto a tiny round table, which creaked alarmingly at the load. Vera slumped to the bed, gasping out her thanks.