Page 67 of Degradation
He delves into the box and brings out a pair of thick matching gloves, a scarf, and a woolly hat.
He bought these.
For me.
‘Thank you,’ I whisper.
For once, it’s easy to say the right thing at the right time because Ifeelit so powerfully that I can’t not.
‘You don’t need to thank me,’ he says. ‘Like I said, you need one. It’s not likedesigner, or something. I hardly spent any money at all.’
I shake my head, not really understanding why he’s still talking.
But my grin might be the widest it’s ever been. I couldn’t make myself frown even if I wanted to.
‘A present,’ I murmur to myself, stroking the coat almost reverently.
‘Try everything on. Make sure it fits. Go look in the mirror.’ Mav urges with a smile on his face.
I nod vigorously. My hands are shaking a little as I put on the thick coat. It’s like wearing a duvet. It goes down to my mid calves. There’s a belt and the indigo color fades from light at the top to dark at the bottom.
Mav gives me a thumbs up, and his eyes travel over me. I follow his gaze and then look back at him, trying to figure out what he’s thinking.
But, as usual, I’ve got nothing.
Then, Mav glances at Blake and I know something is going on, but I don’t understand what it is.
‘Everything okay?’ I ask.
‘Yeah,’ Mav answers, his eyes still on Blake. ‘It’s great, Tulip.’
‘It’s really warm,’ I say, putting on the gloves and the scarf.
I try the hat but take it off almost immediately, shuddering at the feel of the wool on my hair and against my face.
Blake chuckles, finally seeming to relax. ‘I can send the hat back if you don’t like it.’
I nod cautiously and limp across the room without my crutches, opening my closet to look in the full-length mirror that’s on the inside of the door.
I turn this way and that, twirling on the ball of one foot.
‘I haven’t had a coat of my own in years,’ I murmur. ‘At The Heath, there were communal ones that said they were, ‘Property of the Clinic’ in big letters. They were either too big or too small. But this fits perfectly.’
I look in the mirror at them behind me and see Mav whispering. I strain to listen, watching their lips.
‘Buying her stuff?’
‘You don’t think she’s worth it?’ Blake’s eyes narrow at his friend.
‘That’s not what I mean, and you know it. Is this a test? To see if she’s like the others? Like your mom?’
‘Shut the fuck up. Right now,’ Blake hisses, and they both stop talking as soon as they realize I can hear them.
I feel puzzled as I take in the luscious coat. Is this a trick? Is it not really for me? Did I just assume and now Blake has to pretend?
Oh.
No, he said it was for me, didn’t he? I frown at the mirror, as I go over the past few minutes in my head. Yes, he gave me the scissors and he knew what was in the box and they wanted me to try it on.
