Chapter 5 - The Hallway Beyond the Double Doors
The servers came back with bread baskets and the table tried to pretend nothing had happened.
I could feel it though, the way everyone found something to look at that wasn't me. The woman to my left reached for her wine glass. The man across from me studied the butter knife like it mattered. I picked up my water glass and realized my hand wasn't quite steady. The ice had melted a little since I'd set it down.
I didn't want another minute of being stared at as the reveal. I needed air that wasn't inside that circle of linen.
I set the glass down quietly and pushed my chair back just enough to stand. The legs made a soft scrape against the blue carpet.
"Excuse me," I said, mostly to no one. My voice sounded normal, which surprised me.
I walked toward the dark wood double doors at the back of the ballroom. They were propped open now after Michael had come through them, the brass push bars catching the chandelier light. Beyond them I could see the hallway, cream walls and a quieter stretch of carpet and a window with no one near it. That was what I wanted. A minute where I wasn't Chairman Carter at a reunion table.
I slipped through and let the noise of the ballroom fall back behind me. The hallway was cooler. The chandelier out here was smaller and the light was softer. I stopped near the wall, just to the side of the doors, and let out a breath I'd been holding since Lauren had held up her hand to show me her ring.
I wasn't angry. That was the strange part. I felt tired and exposed in a way I hadn't expected when I'd put on this ivory dress this afternoon. I'd chosen it because it was simple. I had pulled my hair into a low bun so I wouldn't fidget with it. I hadn't come here to be announced.
The doors moved again.
Lauren came through them, her burgundy satin catching the hallway light. She was holding the skirt slightly with one hand so she didn't trip. She looked around quickly to see if anyone else had followed, then spotted me.
"Emily," she said. She kept her voice low. "Hey. Can we — can we just talk for a second?"
I didn't move away from the wall. I folded my hands once, then let them rest at my sides.
"Of course," I said.
She came closer. Up close I could see the shine on her teardrop earrings and the way her lipstick had worn a little at the center of her mouth. Her left hand came up automatically toward her chest, then she seemed to remember and lowered it. The large square ring flashed anyway.
"I feel awful about that," she said. She laughed a short, nervous laugh. "I mean, I was just trying to be helpful. I had no idea Michael worked for — for your company. He doesn't really talk about work at home, you know how men are, and I just thought —"
She paused and swallowed.
"I thought you could use a hand. From back then, I just remembered you were always so quiet."
That was the excuse inside the apology. That I had looked like someone who needed a hand, and she had only been kind. She said it like she wanted me to agree so we could both be comfortable again.
I looked past her for a second at the ballroom doors. I could hear faint clinking from inside, the reunion going on without us.
"Lauren," I said quietly. "I appreciate you wanting to clear the air."
She nodded quickly, relief starting on her face.
"But I need to set a boundary," I continued. My voice stayed even. I kept my hands still. "I'm not going to talk about Michael's employment here. Not tonight. Not at our reunion. That's between Michael and the company, and it deserves a real office conversation, not a hallway at a party."
Her mouth opened a little, then closed. The relief slipped.
"Oh," she said. "Of course. I wasn't — I didn't mean to —"
"I know," I said. It wasn't unkind. It was just clear. "I just need that to be separate. You and I were classmates long before any of that. If we talk, let's talk about that, or not at all tonight. That's what's fair to all of us."
She blinked fast once. She looked down at her ring, then tucked that hand behind her a little, like she wanted to hide it without making it obvious.
"You're right," she said. "That makes sense."
We stood there for a beat with the hallway quiet around us. The ballroom sound felt louder by contrast, someone laughing too hard at a table inside.
"I should get back," I said. "You take a minute if you need it."
Lauren nodded. "Yeah. I'll be right in. Just — give me a second."
I didn't try to finish her apology for her. I didn't say it's fine or we're good. It wasn't finished, and I didn't want to pretend it was just to make the hallway comfortable.
May you like
I turned and walked back through the double doors first. The warm air and chandelier light hit me again. A few heads turned, then turned away. I found my chair at the round table, with its white tablecloth and my half-full water glass waiting where I'd left it, and I sat down. I rested my hands on the edge of the table and listened to the servers moving around us.
A moment later the doors opened again behind me. I didn't look. I heard the soft brush of satin and knew Lauren had come back in, separate, her chair pulling out at her own place at the table. We were both back where everyone could see us, with words still hanging unfinished between us, and the evening not yet done.
