Both of them glanced my direction as I came in the door, but neither of them spoke to me.
Maren made a sweeping motion at the bags and boxes. "You're taking this back. Every single thing. In fact, I’ll do it for you right now.” She picked up one of the bags, but Kari reached out and held on to the other end.
"You will not!” Kari yelled. "That would be totally humiliating. The store clerks will think I can’t afford it."
"You can't afford it!” Maren let go of the bag, but snatched up another. "You’re still nearly a million in debt. Do you know how much money that is?” She yanked another bag off the floor. "There’s not a thing in the world you don’t already have, and you gave your word you wouldn’t go shopping until you finished the album.” She grabbed two more bags and didn't have room to hold more. She looked at the clutter on the floor, clearly unhappy to leave it with Kari. She kicked one bag with her foot and shouted, "Don’t touch anything!” then turned and carried her armload of bags outside.
As soon as she'd gone out the door, Kari turned to me, lips in a tight line. "Do you know what it was like seeing myself kissing Grant Delray on the cover of the Enquirer? How could you do this, Alexia? You weren’t supposed to see Grant again. I told you that.”
"I know. I’m sorry.”
"You’re so fired!” She picked up two bags and stood up as though she didn't know what to do with them. She took a step, then glanced at me and stopped. She let out a whimper and sank back down on the floor. "Don't stare at me like that. I know I have a problem, okay? I know it.”
She looked around at the boxes and bags still surrounding her as though seeing them for the first time. "It isn’t my fault, though. I have to do something when I'm upset. And everyone saw those pictures in the tabloids.” She reached into a bag and pulled out a cream leather mini skirt. She laid it across her lap, smoothing it out with the care of someone caressing a new baby blanket. "I looked so beautiful in the store when I tried this on. The owner herself picked it out, and the salesgirls said I should wear it in my next video. I can't take this back.” She shrugged and her eyes teared up. "I can’t take any of it back. People will talk, and they’re already bad-mouthing me. They think I’m cheating on my boyfriend.”
So this shopping binge was my fault. I stared at a pair of snakeskin pumps and wondered how much they cost. "I'm sorry about the pictures,” I said. "I didn’t mean for things to go that far.” I walked to the wall where Kari sat and slid down beside her. “I was too in love with Grant to think about it clearly. But it's going to be okay now. I broke up with him.”
Kari gave a half grunt. “No wonder you look so terrible." She took the miniskirt from her lap and put it on mine. "Here, you need this more than I do."
"Maren won’t let either of us keep it.”
"You don’t think I can get around her?” Kari stood, went to one of the antique chests in the entryway, and put the skirt inside. She sat back down against the wall right before Maren came inside again. Without speaking to either one of us, Maren picked up two more bags and a couple of shoe boxes. She tucked them under her arms and headed back outside to her car.
Kari opened a box that sat at her side. She gingerly pulled apart a Styrofoam container and took out a shiny Siamese cat figurine no larger than her palm. “Do you like it?” She turned the cat over in her hands. "I always wanted a kitten when I was little, but I’m allergic, so my dad bought me the glass kind. I have over a hundred now.”
I looked at the cat in her hand, and I swallowed hard. "He loves you, you know.”
She shook her head and wouldn’t stop shaking it. "He cut me off. Won’t give me another cent. He doesn’t like how I spend my money, but the thing is, he’s the reason I keep spending it.” Her hand tightened on the cat. "I used to drink when I got upset—like Lorna wrote in her book. He made me promise I'd stop. So now I only gamble or go shopping when I'm upset, and why can’t everybody be glad it's not worse than that?” She raised the cat above her head. "It’s his fault for not caring, and your fault for those stupid pictures, and Maren's fault for letting me keep my credit cards when she knows I’m a compulsive shopper.” At the last word, she threw the cat against the wall and it exploded into a hundred shards of glass.
"Well,” she said with satisfaction. "I guess Maren won’t be returning that.”
I winced at the mess and couldn’t help the words that popped out of my mouth. “How much did that cost?”
She picked up the box and threw it against the wall too. "Not much. Probably about ten minutes of your next event.”
"I’m not doing any more appearances for you. I already told Maren that I quit, and besides, you just fired me."
She blinked, taken aback. "Well, now I'm unfiring you. Instead I want you to work overtime. You owe me that much.”
I shook my head. "I came here to tell you good-bye.” The words got hard to say. I had to push out the rest. “If you ever want to call or text something—I'd really like that.”
Kari’s voice raised an octave, her face flushed with panic. “You can’t leave! I need you!"
I hadn't heard Maren come back inside, but she was there gathering up another armful of things. "That’s another reason you need to cut back on your expenses, Kari. Alexia is tired of being you.”
"You’re tired of being me?” Kari repeated each word as though they’d come with a slap in the face.
“It's not that.” I watched as Maren headed back out the door, and I lowered my voice. "I never should have done this in the first place. It ended up hurting people.”
Kari put her hand on my arm. "But I forgive you about Grant. You don’t have to leave because of that.”
I was glad she forgave me and wished Grant's forgiveness could have been so easily obtained. "Thanks,” I said. "But I need to go home. I have a present to give you before I leave, though.” I pulled the chain upward, revealing the sapphire pendant. As I spoke, I ran my thumb over its surface, saying good-bye to it. "My dad gave this to my mom before he left her. It's the only thing he ever gave us. You know how you never knew your mom? Well, I never knew my dad. I know how that feels, to grow up missing a piece of you like that.” I took the necklace off and held it out to her. "I want you to have this.”
I had expected her to be touched, moved by the gesture. Instead her eyes looked at the necklace in horror. "I can’t take that.”
"I want you to. And when you wear it, you can remember you're not alone. You have so many people who love you—your fans, your father, me."
She shook her head and then crossed her arms as though to make sure I didn’t put it in her hand. "Don’t say you love me—you don't even care what happens. You're leaving when I need you more than ever. I’m not going out in public anymore. I'm not.”
"Kari, you dance and sing better than I ever could. You can do everything I’ve done.”
"I can’t. I'm never going where the paparazzi can find me again." She put her head down on her knees and let out a moan. I had no idea what I’d said that had upset her, but then I heard Maren’s voice. She’d come back inside and instead of picking up the remaining bags, she stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips. "Kari, did you say something to the press while you were out today?”
Kari moaned again.
"What did you say this time?”
Kari didn’t answer.
Maren walked over to Kari, hands still on her hips. "Just tell me how bad it was.”
Kari peered over her knees, hugging her legs. "I tried to avoid them. I wore sunglasses and a hat. Someone at Gucci must have tipped them off. When I came out of the store, a cameraman was waiting. He asked if I was dating both Michael and Grant.”