Page 2 of Moonstruck at Midnight
I reviewed the photographs on my camera’s display with my instructor, and we agreed that I had achieved a favorable result. I unscrewed my camera, and everyone started packing their stuff after the class was dismissed.
Caleb walked out of the classroom, holding his tie over his arm and putting his earpiece back in place. Aaron looked sideways at his disheveled appearance with disapproval.
Caleb immediately placed his tie around his neck and fitted it into a perfect knot in record time. I mouthed “thank you”to himthe second Aaron turned around. “You can thank me with a big birthday gift next week,” he whispered back with a wink. I shook my head at him. We’d never exchanged birthday gifts before, and I’d love it if we did, but I guess it felt too intimate to do so.
The photographs I shot of him were perfection. And all mine.
Caleb’s phone rang, but he muted the sound and placed it back in his jacket’s inside pocket, glancing behind his shoulders.
If everyone looked in Caleb’s direction, Aaron had the opposite effect on people. He was intimidating—theproperone, you could say—and balanced Caleb’s bold personality out pretty well. They made a good team but took their job too seriously for my liking.
I had my Introduction to Art and Design class afterward and was done for the day. And since it was Friday, that meant I had dinner plans with Sophie and Cecile. They would usually go to a bar or nightclub afterward. And I could tell you a cute story about how nightclubs aren’t my thing, but the truth is I was not allowed to go. Period.
We drove back home, and Caleb’s phone rang again while Aaron parked the car, but he didn’t take the call and rushed to open the door for me instead.
“Why don’t you take the call? It might be important.” My suggestion made him nervous.
“Nah, it isn’t. I can call the person back later.” He was trying to sound casual, but I perceived the exact opposite of that.
I marched toward the Residence’s main entrance, and Caleb walked beside me. He wasn’t paying attention to what I was telling him, which was unlike him.Why is he so distracted?
“And then Mr. Pernot took his pants off at the end of his lecture,” I said as we walked up the stairs to the front door.
“That’s nice, Red.”
I shoved his shoulder in playful protest and replied, “You think it’s nice that Mr. Pernot took his pants off?”
“Wait. What?” I now had his full attention.
“What’s gotten into you? You’re not like yourself,” I said, reaching out for the doorknob. He stood beside me and restlessly tapped his foot. “Why don’t you call whoever’s calling you back. I have an assignment to get to, anyway. I’ll see you later.”
Caleb nodded and walked back to the parking lot. I watched as he took his phone out of his pocket and wonderedwhowas making him act that way—and why.
“Good afternoon, Miss Murphy,” Annette said as I walked inside the Residence. She was head of the house staff. “I left a treat for you in the study.” She winked at me and excused herself after I thanked her. She knew that’s where I usually spent my time after school reading or doing homework.
The study was one of my favorite places here. It had a beautiful view of the gardens—they were breathtaking. My mother would’ve loved them, especially during spring. And the Residence was practically a mini-Versailles.
I was slowly working my way on a few extra credit assignments for the six classes I took that semester because we were leaving a month shy of the last day of school. The university was informed ahead of time, so they made special accommodations for my particular case.
We were finally going back to New York City. My father knew how I dreamed of going back home. But his time as Ambassador of the United States had come to an end. At least for the next four years—hopefully forever. Culture shock became my currency after almost sixteen years of living like a nomad. We went where my father went—or better said; I did. At least for the last five years, that is. It was just him and me now.
I was tired of not having a real home, but Paris had stolen my heart. Thinking of leaving was challenging, and even though I was excited about returning to New York, I was sad about leaving Sophie and Cecile. They were my two closest friends in Paris.
My father knocked on the study’s door. “Kiddo?”
“Come in!”
He walked in and pulled a chair to sit beside me. He usually had a hectic work schedule, so he tried to find small windows of time to talk to me whenever we were both home.
“Any news from the DSS?” I asked. “Perhaps a security detail won’t be necessary once we move back to New York.” We were waiting for the Diplomatic Security Service to determine if Aaron and Caleb would come to New York or if new agents would be assigned. Or in a crazy world, none at all.
The fact my father wouldn’t be an ambassador anymore had to help relax security protocols.
Fingers crossed.
But I can’t lie. Without Aaron and Caleb, I’d feel bare. I learned to live my life with a homogeneous mixture of suffocation and safety.
“I think we should play it safe, sweetheart. The investigation about what happened in Mexico City is not finalized yet.” I cringed when I heard the wordMexico. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable having you walk around on your own in New York.”
