Chapter 9 - The Phone in the Vestry Smelled Like Lemon Oil
The side room was too small for all of us. It had a couch with plastic on it and a mirror I didn't want to look in. I sat on the edge of the couch and held her closer. She was getting heavy in my arms but I wouldn't put her down. My cardigan stuck to my back.
Daddy stood by the door with his hand up near his face. The bride stood by the window with her arms crossed. Nobody was talking after what she said. Marry me now or walk out with them. The quiet felt loud.
He looked at me first. Then he looked at her.
"I need two minutes," he said. "I need to make a call before I answer that."
"You've had months to make calls," she said.
"This is different. Please."
She didn't say yes. She just turned her face toward the window, which was kind of a yes.
He pulled his phone out of his pants pocket. He checked the screen and shook his head like there was no signal or too many missed calls. An older man in a gray suit poked his head in, the one who had been helping people find seats.
"Is there a landline I can use?" Daddy asked. "Something quiet."
The man nodded toward the back hall. "Vestry. Desk phone. Door shuts."
Daddy looked at me. "Stay right here with her, okay? Don't go anywhere."
I nodded. My throat hurt too much to talk.
He left the door open a crack when he went out. I could hear his shoes on the marble and then a heavier door click. The bride stayed by the window. She kept twisting the ring on her finger around and around.
She was starting to come apart in little ways. A piece of her hair had fallen down. Her lipstick was messed up on one side. She caught me watching her in the mirror and stopped twisting the ring.
"Don't stare," she said, but not mean like before. Tired.
I looked down at the baby's ear. It was so small and pink. She made a little snuffle sound in her sleep and I rocked her without thinking.
Through the crack in the door I could hear Daddy's voice, low. He was saying names and dates like he was trying to keep it straight.
"This is Daniel," he said. I heard that part clear. "Yeah. I'm sorry. I need — are the girls there?"
There was a pause. I held my breath so I could hear better.
The bride heard it too. She took two steps closer to the door.
"No, listen to me," Daddy said. "When did you last see them? This morning?"
Another pause, longer. I could hear a fan humming somewhere in the side room. The baby breathed against my neck, warm and wet.
"What do you mean she didn't come back?" he said. His voice got sharper. "You were supposed to — okay. Okay. Did she leave a note? A bag? Anything?"
I squeezed my eyes shut. I remembered the kitchen table and the note I didn't write because I couldn't spell all the words. I remembered zipping the diaper bag and checking twice that the chain was under my dress where it didn't show.
The bride moved again, right to the door now. She didn't open it wider. She just stood there listening.
"When did she leave?" Daddy asked. "Think. Was it before school pickup? After?"
I wanted to tell him it was after breakfast. I wanted to tell him I waited until the caretaker went downstairs with the laundry. I didn't say anything. My job was to stay on the couch and keep her safe.
"And the chain?" he said. "The thin silver one. Did she take it? Did she — yeah. Yeah, that's the one."
My hand went up to my chest without me telling it to. The spot where the chain had been felt cold now. He had it in his pocket. I saw him put it there.
"So it's hers," he said quietly. "You're sure."
The bride's hand tightened on the doorframe. I saw her knuckles go white.
Daddy's voice dropped even lower. I had to lean forward to catch it, careful not to wake the baby.
"I know. I know she can't right now. That's why — no, I'm not blaming you. I'm asking what happened."
He was quiet for a long time. I heard him breathe out hard through his nose.
"All right," he said. "Don't call anyone yet. I'll figure it out from here. Just stay by the apartment in case — yeah. Thank you."
The line clicked. His shoes came back down the hall slow.
The bride stepped back from the door fast and went to the window again like she hadn't moved. She crossed her arms again.
Daddy came in and shut the door all the way this time. His face looked gray under the lights. He looked at me and then he didn't seem to know where to look.
"Who was that?" the bride asked.
"Building caretaker," he said. "My aunt. She watches the upstairs apartment."
"Your aunt," she repeated. "The apartment where — where they were supposed to be."
He nodded once.
"And?" she said. "Are they missing? Is that what this is?"
He rubbed the back of his neck. "The mother figure — she's not available right now. She hasn't been for a couple days. My aunt thought she had them. She left this morning on her own. Took the baby. Took the bus, I think."
My eyes burned. I didn't want him to say it like I did something wrong. I came because he was here. I came because nobody answered the phone at the apartment.
The bride stared at him. "You asked about a date. And ownership. I heard you."
He hesitated. That pause was too long. I felt it in my stomach.
"I had to be sure," he said. "About the necklace."
"Sure of what?" she said. "Daniel, whose chain is that? Whose date did you just confirm?"
He didn't answer right away. He glanced at me, then at the baby, then back at her.
"It's complicated," he said.
She laughed once, short. "No. Don't do that. Not today."
"I can't explain it in one sentence," he said.
"You've had plenty of sentences," she said. Her voice shook. "Was any of what you told me true?"
He stepped toward her. "Most of it—"
"Don't." She held up her hand. "Just don't."
The baby stirred and made a soft cry. I bounced her a little and shushed her. Daddy watched my arms move like he'd never seen that before and it scared him.
The bride looked at me holding her and then at him, and something in her face closed.
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"You knew exactly what that necklace meant when you saw it," she said. "I saw your face."
He didn't deny it. He just stood there with his phone still in his hand and the chain heavy in his pocket.
