Chapter 15 - The Chair That Stayed Hers
The candles were lit again in the same holders, and I could hear them before I saw them. The soft click of the flame catching, the clink of water glasses being set down one by one. I stood in the doorway with Lily's hand in mine, and for a second I didn't move.
The table was set the way it had been that first night. Dark wood, white runner straight down the center, white plates catching the light. Mr. Balanki sat at the head in his black double-breasted suit, pocket square folded sharp, his big gold watch catching candlelight on his left wrist. The guest from that night sat two seats down in his tuxedo and bow tie, hands folded, not drinking. Selene stood near the sideboard in her black long-sleeve satin gown, her diamond teardrops flashing when she turned her head. Her light metallic clutch sat in the middle of the tablerunner like something no one wanted to touch.
The white-upholstered chair was pulled out a few inches. Empty. Waiting.
Mr. Balanki looked up and saw us. "Come in, Maya."
I walked Lily forward. Her pink lace dress brushed my black dress, and her white socks made no sound on the rug. Her curls were still damp from the bath. She held tight to my apron ruffle until we reached the chair.
"Sit down, Lily," Mr. Balanki said. His voice was low and even. "That chair is yours tonight."
It was the same sentence, but it landed different this time. Lily climbed up carefully and settled, her feet swinging just off the floor. I put my hand on the back of her chair and stayed standing behind her.
He didn't look at Selene right away. He looked at Lily.
"Lily," he said, "I'm sorry for what was said to you at this table. You asked me if you could sit with me. You should never have been told this table's for family, sweetheart, not the help. That was wrong."
Selene's mouth tightened. "Dorian, please. We've talked about this in private. You don't need to —"
He held up a hand, and she stopped. The watch slid down his wrist a little with the movement.
"I do need to," he said. "Because it didn't stop with words."
He reached forward and tapped the clutch with two fingers. It made a small metallic sound against the wood.
"Three nights ago, my office upstairs was entered. The door stays locked. The only access card I had for it was taken from my desk drawer. Yesterday I opened that room with Maya present. Papers had been moved. A drawer had been searched."
The guest shifted in his seat but didn't interrupt.
Mr. Balanki looked at Selene directly. "You came out of that locked room holding that card. Lily saw you. She told me, she had that card when she came out of your locked room. And later that card was in this clutch."
Selene laughed once, short. "You're taking the word of a five-year-old over mine? She was in the hallway. She saw what she wanted to see."
"No," Mr. Balanki said. "She said what she saw. There's a difference."
He opened a small envelope beside his plate and slid out the dark access card, setting it next to the clutch. My stomach dropped when I saw it in the candlelight. It was real. It wasn't a story anymore.
"I found my card inside your clutch," he said. "After you told me you hadn't been upstairs. After you told me you hadn't touched my office."
Selene stared at the card. Her earrings caught the sconce light as she shook her head. "I picked it up because I found it on the stairs. I was going to give it back to you. This is insane."
"You said you never went upstairs," the guest said quietly. It was the first time he'd spoken. "I saw you coming down that night before dinner. I didn't say anything then. I should have."
Selene looked at him, eyes bright with anger. "You stay out of this."
Mr. Balanki's voice didn't rise. "Selene. You shamed a child for asking for a seat, then you used my house like it was already yours. You went into a room I keep locked for a reason."
"It was just papers," she said fast. "Business papers. You keep everything from me and expect me to plan a wedding blind. I wanted to know what I'm marrying into."
"So you took my card and lied about it," he said.
The room went quiet except for the candles. Lily's hand found my apron again and twisted it. I bent a little so my shoulder touched her shoulder, letting her know I was there without pulling her out of that chair.
Mr. Balanki turned back to us. His face softened in a way I hadn't seen before, the beard and tattoos and suit suddenly less sharp around the edges.
"Maya," he said, "you work in my house and you've done it well. I asked you what Lily saw, and you told me the truth even when it scared you. I'm sorry she had to be the one to say it first. I'm sorry you both were put in that spot."
I swallowed. "I just didn't want her to feel she lied."
"She didn't," he said. He looked at Lily. "You didn't lie, Lily. Thank you for telling me about the card. You were brave."
Lily blinked up at him, her eyes wide. "Am I still in trouble for sitting?"
"No," he said firmly. "Your seat stands. Staff or family, that word doesn't decide who gets treated with respect at my table. That chair stays yours whenever you eat here with your mom."
I felt heat rise behind my eyes and pressed my lips together. Lily nodded slowly and let go of my apron, sitting a little straighter.
Selene grabbed the back of the chair nearest her. "Dorian, you can't be serious. You're ending this over a key card and a seating tantrum?"
He stood. He didn't move fast, but the height of him at the head of that table changed the air.
"I'm ending the engagement," he said. "And I'm restricting your access to this house. You'll collect your things with someone present tomorrow. The code to the side door gets changed tonight."
"You need me," Selene said, her voice cracking on the edge. "For dinners. For appearances. You can't host like this with — with a maid and a kid at the table."
"I can host with honesty," he said. "Sit down for dinner or leave now. Those are the choices."
She stared at him, then at Lily in that white-upholstered chair, then at me in my black dress and white collar. She picked up the clutch off the table and held it tight against her side with both hands, the way she had that first night by the stairs. For a moment I thought she would throw it.
She didn't. She walked around the table without looking at the guest, her black heels loud on the floor, and stopped by the hallway where the blue light spilled in from the stairs.
"You'll regret making a scene out of nothing," she said.
Mr. Balanki sat back down. "Good night, Selene."
She left. We heard her steps fade toward the front, then a door close. The candles flickered with the draft.
Nobody spoke for a full breath. Then Mr. Balanki picked up the bread basket and held it toward Lily like it was the most normal thing in the world.
"Lily," he said, "do you want a roll while we wait for the soup?"
Lily looked at me. I nodded. She took one with both hands and put it on her white plate, careful not to drop crumbs on the runner. The guest let out a long breath and smiled at her, real this time.
"Good choice," he told her. "Butter's on your right."
May you like
I pulled the chair next to Lily's and sat, smoothing my apron over my knees. My hands were shaking, but I kept them in my lap where she could see them steady. For the first time in days, the warm light in that dining room felt like it included us, while the blue hallway behind us stayed empty and quiet.
Lily ate seated safely beside me. And the chair, this time, didn't feel borrowed.
