Being Audrey Hepburn

As more time passed, it was becoming difficult not to feel hurt and stupid that I was worried about him. But then I’d feel guilty, fretting that something terrible might have happened to his father and that I was being insensitive.

Unfinished business … what did that mean?

I rose and returned to my room to take a bath and rest and prepare myself for the inevitable visit to Robert’s.

58

As soon as the white limo drove up in front of Tabitha’s mansion, Zoya and Mocha and the entire house staff were in an upheaval. From the balcony window I saw the flurry of activity in the driveway. A tall, gorgeous man with long black hair stepped out first. His shoulders were so broad, his jaw so chiseled, he looked like Superman.

A rail-thin woman followed and required the aid of the Superman to steady her. She had strawlike bleach-blond hair and wore a floral-print, rose-colored dress that seemed inappropriately short for her advanced age. At the same time, the Peter Pan collar made her appear like a prematurely aged child. Her large, gaudy jewelry, no doubt very expensive, made her bony wrists seem even ski

I heard someone on the staff whisper that this was Tabitha’s mother, Eva Eden. Tabitha said she was forty-eight years old. She looked like she was in her sixties.

Downstairs, I found Tabitha outside her bedroom for the first time in days. Already swept up in her mother’s sudden arrival, she seemed both terrified and excited.

“Did you hear? Mommy is here! She’ll be thrilled to meet you!” Tabitha said, sounding like she was fifteen. “We’re having afternoon tea by the pool. You have to join us! Mommy’s so British these days. She said she’s going to stay long enough to clear up the whole guardian situation. Isn’t that wonderful?”

I was speechless, wondering how to react. Not a mention from Tabitha of the fact that she had stayed in her room for two full days or the incident that had caused her confinement. Not a word about Robert and the police.

“You’re going to Robert’s this evening, aren’t you?” she asked excitedly. “You’ll come with us in Mommy’s tacky white stretch, right?”

“Of course,” I said reassuringly. I hadn’t seen Tabitha like this for a while, agitated, childlike with an undercurrent of desperation. I wondered if she was afraid that her mother would disappoint her. I wondered how she felt about Robert in the aftermath of her run-in with the East Hampton police.

“Come, Mommy’s waiting,” Tabitha said. We headed for the pool, where I could see that Zoya had set up a full tea service for the four of us, including Eva’s hunk.

“So sorry about the other night,” Tabitha confided in a whisper to me as we entered the pool area. “I’m sure with Mother here I can get back on track. Please don’t give up on me?”

“Of course not,” I said. How bad I felt for Tabitha. It was the only thing that made me forget how bad I felt for myself.

Eva held out her bony hand as I approached. “It’s so nice to see that Tabby has a new friend,” she said. I held her hand, not knowing whether to shake it or just let it go. It was so fragile I feared it might break.

“Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Eden,” I said. Her rag-mop hair spilled over her tiny shoulders chaotically as she gave me a huge gummy smile.

“Call me Eva—everyone does,” she said. Up close you could see the wear and tear on her face that no amount of plastic surgery could restore. As we sat, I felt her empty eyes staring at me as if she were seeing me from far away.

“I’m considerably more fun than the rest of the people Tabby hangs out with,” she added with an incongruous laugh. Zoya served caviar and toast points along with the tea.

“So tell me about yourself, Lisbeth. What is your family name?” Eva’s hand shook unsteadily as she raised her cup of tea.

“Dulac,” I said. “Not much to tell, I’m afraid. But I do have to say your daughter has been absolutely wonderful to me.” I hoped to move the attention away from myself as quickly as possible while finding anything I could say that might help Tabitha.

“Lisbeth is always too modest,” Tabitha chided. “She has a blog that has gone viral and she’s the sponsor of a very mysterious clothing designer called Designer X.” So that is how my life appeared to someone on the wealthier side. I was “sponsoring” Jess. Wonder what Jess would think of that.

“I hope you’ll tell me more,” she said. Zoya returned to pour more tea, but Eva covered the top of her cup with her hand. “Make me a vodka martini, dirty with olives,” she whispered to Zoya.

“Yes ma’am,” the maid said, making a little bow. “Lisbeth and ZK have been very chummy lately,” Tabitha added to refocus her mother. The comment made me flinch. It took a moment to realize that Tabitha had no idea what had happened since she disappeared into her room.

“What a lovely boy. ZK is my favorite,” Eva said. Zoya arrived with the martini, and Eva’s eyes widened as she reached for it. “It’s always more fun meeting people over martinis, don’t you think?” She took a long swallow and seemed to come alive.

“Mother’s here to talk to Robert,” Tabitha said. I tried to decipher her expression; she seemed to be trying her hardest to appear calm and assured.

“Oh Tabby, you worry too much about these things. Everything will turn out fine, you’ll see. They always do, don’t they?” she said and ran her skeletal hand through Tabitha’s hair.

Eva Eden totally creeped me out. I couldn’t imagine a more terrifying mother, and it wasn’t like my mother was easy.

My phone buzzed. When I checked, it was a text from Jess. I used it as a reason to get away.

“I hope you don’t mind if I excuse myself,” I said, holding up my phone. “This is Designer X now.” I rose to leave.

“I hope we talk with you again soon,” Eva said.

I smiled and nodded, feeling terrible leaving Tabitha, but it was all more than I could deal with. I swiftly walked toward my room, glancing down at the text message.

“COUNTDOWN HAS STARTED !! WHEN WILL YOU BE HERE ?!”

59

I turned off my phone and threw it on the bed. I couldn’t read another text from Jess. I opened the closet door in the guest room and curled up into a ball on the carpeted floor. I remembered all the times I had drifted off in my closet to “Moon River” and the Breakfast at Tiffany’s DVD looping over and over until I awoke for school.

Jess’s show was the most important thing, but my head hurt every time I thought about it. I closed my eyes, remembering the empty villa bedroom by bedroom and how I felt before everything went bad.

I couldn’t believe how long I slept.

The modified Chanel caught my eye as I sat up. The black dress was embellished with a spray of multicolored jewels, shortened and tightened at the waist. I reached out, taking my silver flats and the dress, and stepped into the bathroom. I washed my face, put on some makeup, and pulled my hair into shape. Checking in the mirror, something felt off. I hardly ever thought about Nan’s lucky talisman before, and now my wrist felt bare without it.

I wondered if Tabitha and her mother had already left, but when I checked the driveway from the balcony the white limo was still there. Eva’s Superman was flirting with some of the maids.

I walked over to Tabitha’s bedroom and heard voices inside arguing. Before I could turn away, the door opened and Tabitha came out looking terrible. She had been crying.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine,” she said, closing the door behind her. She seemed anything but fine.

“We have to stay a little longer. I can’t go until I work this out with Mother. Robert always charms her,” she said.

“I understand,” I said as comfortingly as I could. She returned to her room.

Deciding to act as if I wasn’t upset, I turned on my phone and texted ZK, as though nothing was wrong.