“Oh, good, dear,” Enid said. “You’re here.”
“Where else would I be?” Lola asked nervously, taking a gulp of her drink.
“The question is, where should you be?” Enid said. She smiled broadly and sat down on the couch, patting the place next to her. “Come here, dear,” she said, giving Lola a frightening smile. “I want to talk to you.”
“Where’s Philip?” Lola demanded.
“I imagine he’s still with Schiffer.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you know, dear? He’s in love with her. He always has been, and I’m afraid for your sake, he always will be.”
“Did Philip ask you to tell me this, or are you doing it on your own?”
“I haven’t talked to Philip since this morning. I have, however, talked to quite a few other people who have informed me that you’re going to be in the papers tomorrow. Don’t look so surprised, dear,” Enid said. “I work for a newspaper. I have many, many contacts. That’s one of the advantages of being old. One collects lots of friends. Are you sure you don’t want to sit down?”
Lola tried to beg for mercy. “Oh, Enid,” she cried out, and kneeling down, she buried her head in the couch in shame. “It wasn’t my fault.
This girl came up to me, and I didn’t know what to say. She somehow got it out of me.”
“There, there,” Enid said, patting Lola’s head. “It happens to everyone once. You were just like a snake about to be attacked by a mongoose.”
“That’s right,” Lola said, although she had no idea what a mongoose was.
“I can fix everything. I only need to know if you’re pregnant, dear.”
Lola sat up and felt around for her drink. “I could be,” she said, becoming defiant.
Enid crossed one aged leg over the other. “If you are carrying Philip’s child, I suggest you pour that glass of vodka down the sink. Immediately.”
“I told you,” Lola said. “I don’t know if I’m pregnant or not.”
“Why don’t we find out?” Enid said. She reached into a paper bag and took out a pregnancy test.
“You can’t make me do that,” Lola shrieked, jumping back in horror.
Enid held out the kit. When Lola shook her head, Enid placed it on the coffee table between them.
“Where’s Philip?” Lola said. “If Philip knew what you were doing...”
“Philip is a man, my dear. And, unfortunately, slightly weak. Especially in the face of female hysteria. Men just can’t bear it, you know? They tune it out.” Enid crossed her arms and, looking Lola up and down, said soothingly, “I only have your best interests at heart. If you are pregnant, you’ll need looking after. Of course, you will have the baby. It would be so lovely if Philip had a child. And we’ll make sure you’re taken care of for life. I have an extra bedroom, and you can live with me.” She paused.
“On the other hand, if you do take the test and you’re not pregnant, I’ll make sure the story goes away quickly. With very little harm to you.”
Enid gave Lola another terrifying smile. “But as you said, I can’t make you take the test. If you don’t take it, however, I’m going to assume you’re not pregnant. And if you’re not pregnant and you continue to lie about it, I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“Don’t threaten me, Enid,” Lola said warningly. “No one threatens me and gets away with it.”
Enid laughed. “Don’t be silly, my dear. Threats are only meaningful if you have the power to execute them. And you, my dear, do not.” She stood up. “I’ve tolerated your antics for quite a while. But today you’ve made me very, very angry.” She nodded at the coffee table. “Take the test.”
Lola grabbed the box. Enid was old, but she was still the meanest mean girl Lola had ever encountered, and Lola was afraid of her. So afraid, in fact, that she actually peed on the plastic indicator and handed it over to Enid, who examined it with grim satisfaction. “Now, that’s lucky, my dear,” she said. “It seems you’re not pregnant after all. If you were, it might have been complicated. We wouldn’t have known who the father was. Not until the baby was born. It could have been Philip’s — or Thayer Core’s. And that’s no way to bring a child into the world, now, is it?”
Lola had come up with a hundred responses — after the fact. In the actual moment, facing Enid, she wasn’t able to think of what to say.
“Consider this an opportunity, dear,” Enid said.“You’re only twenty-two.
You have a chance to start over. I had a long conversation with your mother this afternoon, and she’s on her way to pick you up and take you back to Atlanta. She’s a lovely woman, your mother. She should be here in an hour.
I’ve booked a room for you at the Four Seasons hotel so you can enjoy your last night in New York in style.”
“Oh no,” Lola said, finding her voice. She looked around in a panic, spotted her handbag next to the door, and grabbed it. “I’m not leaving New York.”
“Be sensible, dear,” Enid said.
“You can’t make me,” Lola shouted. She opened the door, knowing only that she had to get away. She frantically pressed the button for the elevator as Enid followed her into the hallway.
“Where are you going? There’s no place to go, Lola.”
Lola turned her back and pressed the button again. Where was the elevator? “You haven’t any money,” Enid said. “You don’t have an apartment. Or a job. You have no choice.”
Lola turned. “I don’t care.” The elevator came at last, and she stepped in.
“You’ll be sorry,” Enid said. As the doors were closing, Enid made one last attempt to dissuade her. “You’ll see,” she called out, adding fiercely,
“You don’t belong in New York.”
Now, in the church, Lola remembered with glee how Enid’s plan had backfired. Her admonishment that Lola didn’t belong in New York had only made her more determined. In the past two weeks, she’d put up with quite a bit of hardship, returning home with her mother — who had begged Lola to stay in Windsor Pines and even tried to fix her up with the son of one of her friends who was getting a business degree — but Lola wouldn’t hear of it. She sold several pairs of shoes and two handbags on eBay, scraping together enough money to return to New York.
She forced Thayer to take her in, and for the time being, she was living with Thayer and Josh in their little hellhole, sharing Thayer’s tiny bed.
On the third day there, she’d broken down and actually cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen sink. And then that disgusting Josh, thinking she was free bait, had tried to kiss her, and she’d had to fight him off.
She couldn’t bunk with Thayer much longer. She had to find her own place — but how?
She tried to peer around the many heads in front of her, looking for Philip and Enid. She spotted the back of Enid’s coiffed head first. What would Enid do when she found out she was back in New York? Sitting next to Enid was Philip. Seeing the back of his head, with that too familiar longish dark hair, brought back all the fresh hurts and indignities she’d suffered at his hands as well.