Page 24 of The Second Ending
A piece of her desperately wanted entry again.
Still, with or without him, she was happier than she had been in years, since before her parents had destroyed her life.
It wasn’t onlyAshleigh herself who noticed this change. Liora commented on it when they met for their post-work coffee-that-became-dinner, in the middle of February. They had shifted from the cafe at the corner to a trendy Italian place in an upscale shopping centre and were contemplating their wine while waiting for the meal to arrive.
“You’re different,” she stated plainly. She picked up the wine glass and held it loosely by the stem, lazily twirling it in her hand.
Ashleigh watched the deep red liquid trace a wave-like pattern inside the bowl. Her own glass sat, half-filled, on the table before her.
“Yes, perhaps I am,” she ventured.
Liora said nothing aloud, but her eyebrows spoke volumes.
“I’m just… settled. I feel like I’m me again. I didn’t even know I wasn’t me until recently.”
“Is it the sex? Is it good?” The eyebrows danced once more on her friend’s forehead.
Ashleigh waved off the statement with a chuckle.
“There is no sex. Not even kissing. Although I’m not sure what I’d do if he tried.”
“He? Now we’re getting down to things. You haven’t even admitted to seeing anyone, and now you’re debating whether or not to preserve your virtue. Spill. Which ‘he’ are we talking about? The handsome Sebastian, is it? You’ve also talked a bit about this Gordon fellow.”
“No, Gordon is only a friend. Sebastian… I’m not quite sure what I think of him. He’s a lot of fun to be with, and so interesting. Between the two of us, we’re pretty busy. It’s a bit hard to make plans, sometimes. He plays hockey with a community league, and he’s involved in some political stuff, and I’ve got some late nights and my choir. When we do get together, I have a terrific time. But… well, he’s a closed book. He’s all charm and elegance, but I don’t feel I know him at all.”
Liora twirled her wine glass some more. “You said that about Marcus. Do you attract a type?”
Ashleigh peered at her hands, thinking hard. “It’s different,” she ventured at last. “It’s hard to explain. Marcus keeps his emotions under control, but he’s not afraid to let his personality come through. You might not know at first exactly what his feelings are, but you know him. You know his thoughts and opinions, and what makes him tick. Even though I’ve known Sebastian for months, I have no idea what makes him tick.”
“Still, he’s charming and handsome, and probably an excellent kisser.” The wine glass made its way to Liora’s lips at last.
“If I ever find out,” Ashleigh replied with a laugh, “I’ll let you know.”
CHAPTER 14
THE ARTS CENTRE
Something weird was goingon with the choir. No one said anything, but Ashleigh could see, from the sidelong glances and whispered conversations, that everything was not okay.
Even Emma, who usually couldn’t find the time to put two words together for her, came over to Ashleigh at the next rehearsal to say, “Thank God you’re singing the mezzo part and not Elise. She’s not even here. No one knows where she is.”
It was true. Elise, whose life revolved around the choir, and who ran the arts centre where they rehearsed, seemed to have vanished. Randall answered Ashleigh’s inquiries with a vague and most uninformative comment, and Janet, Elise’s best friend, looked like someone had just died.
Everybody seemed on edge, and while the rehearsal went well enough, there was no spark, no magic, in the music.
It was natural, especially with their nascent friendship, to talk to Gordon afterwards. He and Randall were close friends, and he seemed to know what was going on.
They made their way to the Fife and Fiddle, the pub where some choir members often gathered after rehearsal, but this time, no one was there. The place looked empty and sad without that long table at the side full of laughing and joking singers.
Gordon asked for a beer and some fries, and Ashleigh ordered a ginger ale. She suspected she might want a drink, too, after she heard what Gordon had to say.
“I was thinking of calling you in on this matter anyway,” Gordon began. “Hopefully it’s all just a bad misunderstanding and won’t come to anything, but we should probably get lawyers involved. I’m not sure there’ll be much left to pay you once… if… Well. Let me start with what I know, confidentially, of course.”
She nodded her agreement, the ginger ale forgotten.
Gordon told a horrible story of the arts centre’s bank accounts being drained, and with all evidence pointing to Elise. “I cannot, for one moment, believe she would do something like that. She’s built this place from the ground up. Why would she ruin all her work like this? I’ve spoken to… someone who knows her well. She’s devastated, and is basically hiding out to keep away from the press.”
“If she were guilty,” Ashleigh opined, “she wouldn’t still be in the country. If I had stolen that sort of money, I’d be on a plane to some tax haven before the ink was dry on the withdrawal slip. No, it sounds very odd. I don’t have much experience in this area, but I might have access to some sources of information. Or I can ask a colleague about helping out on a pro-bono basis.”
