Page 37 of Cherished By the Sinners
Fen studied her with a sharp gaze.“How many languages do you speak?
“English, but I know how to be polite in several languages”
“Which ones?”Ai asked.“English, Mandarin...”
“Japanese, Korean, Spanish, Italian, French, Russian, and a little Hungarian.”
“Nine is many languages,” Fen said.“What school did you go to?”
“I didn’t...”she paused trying to figure out how to explain her strange and horrible childhood.“My father was in the military.We moved a lot when I was a kid.All over the world, and I liked to talk to people.”She shrugged.“But I never finished high school.”
“You have a gift,” Jai said, her voice high and soft.
“Sometimes gifts are a burden,” she winced at memory of why her last pimp wanted her in his stable.Her language skills made it easier to cater to high paying foreign clients.It was how she ended up in a serial killer’s hands.
The waitress came out with a tray of tea and shots, and a second server brought the desserts for her new friends.
“Thank you,” Darlene said to her waitress.
“Any time,” she replied.“And just so you know, the bill has already been taken care of, and you’ve been added to the VIP list.”
“What does that mean?”
The waitress smiled and wiggled her eyebrows.“You’re never going to get a bill.”
“Okay, thanks,” Darlene said.
“Why was she doing this with her eyebrows?”Fen asked, using her fingers to wiggle hers.
“She was telling me that I’m getting special treatment because I’mwithMason and Magnus.Or with MasonorMagnus.”She twisted her mouth to one side.“I’m not really sure what’s happening actually.”
Fen patted her hand.“Both.”She nodded once to emphasize her proclamation.She lifted her shot glass.“To men with large hands.”
Darlene joined them in downing the shot.It tasted better than she thought it would.
The ladies poured tea and made cheerful noises about dessert.
The two men who the cop had been sitting with, seemed content to nurse cups of coffee and speak a few words quietly to each other.They were working awfully hard to look relaxed, but they weren’t.Their posture was too straight, too rigid.
Fen pulled out her cellphone and typed a message to someone.
Darlene finished eating her crumble and answered the ladies’ questions about New York City.They wanted to know where the good tea shops were.Where to find interesting clothing, and where they could buy quality yarn for their craft projects.
Darlene was telling them about a few yarn shops she'd heard were wonderful when several more Chinese ladies entered the restaurant.Fen, Jai, and Ai waved at them and called out in Mandarin.Darlene recognized the words for tea and dessert.They ended up being seated close by at two separate tables, one on each side of the table with the cop’s two friends.
Then a group of their Japanese visitors came in and sat at a table where they could watch the cop’s table and Darlene’s table with ease at the same time.
“Fen,” Darlene said, keeping her tone light.“Who did you call?”
“I called no one,” she said with an innocent blink of her eyes.“I did mention to my aunt that the restaurant is nice.Good food and good service, and how there was even a police presence, which made me feel so safe.”She flashed Darlene a bright smile.
“Right,” Darlene said drawing the word out a little.She sighed.“I feel like I’m sitting with what looks like a school of koi, but is really a shiver of sharks.”
The three ladies smothered giggles behind their hands, but didn’t correct Darlene’s observation.
Yup, sharks.
With her belly pleasantly full and surrounded by guests who seemed determined to keep her company, Darlene relaxed into the padded seat.The only thing that kept her from nodding off was how rude that would be.
