Chapter Twenty-Eight
A Nod
It’s still early morning when Poppet and I gather our things and head toward the staircase. My blood runs hot when I realize I’ll never get back the money I came here with from whoever stole it. Madam Karina said once you move to a new floor, you can’t return to the old one. Of course, I don’t want to come back here. Especially after the Carnations find out Madam Karina made special allowances for Poppet and me to advance. If the harassment was bad before, I can’t imagine what it would be like now.
I start to put on my blue wig, but Poppet tells me I shouldn’t. “You’ve turned over a new leaf,” she says. “Embrace it.” I agree, but I won’t throw them away no matter how much she presses. I’m an addict where my armor is concerned. I may be in recovery, but I still need it there.
In case.
So I carry my wigs, jewelry, linens, and Dizzy’s shirt in my arms, and together we climb the stairs. We can’t help giggling, anticipating this new Chapter. I’ve never seen the Daisies in their natural habitat. Will things run differently there? Will the girls be welcoming?
We reach the second floor and glance around. To our left are two large rooms. One is open and spacious with couches, a radio, and…a television! Two Daisies are sitting cross-legged in front of it, faces leaned forward, cheeks glowing orange and green and blue from the screen. The other room’s door is half open, so I can’t see much of what’s inside. I make out black paint on the walls, but the rest is hidden.
On our right is a hallway that must lead to the bedrooms. We’re about to walk down it when Mr. Hodge yells for us to wait. He marches up the stairs, wheezing and turning red around the collar. When he makes it to the top, he grabs his belt buckle and lifts his khaki pants to hoist them over his belly, but they only slide back down.
The man smiles. There’s a piece of spinach from breakfast wedged between his upper teeth. “I’ll show you ladies to your room. You’re Daisies now, and that means you get more of my attention.”
“Thank you, Mr. Hodge.” Poppet grins up at him. I try, and fail, to do the same.
As he walks us down the hall, I peek inside some of the bedrooms. They aren’t much bigger than the ones downstairs, which is to say they’re closet-sized. I bet when Madam Karina inherited the house, she put in extra walls to create these miniature rooms.
Our room has two twin beds with six inches between them, and one dresser I could touch if I pointed my toes while dreaming. A lamp stands on the dresser—a pitiful shade of green—and the hardwood floor is stained in one corner.
“Go on in, girls.” Mr. Hodge is talking to both of us, but I don’t miss the way his hand pats Poppet’s bottom. She freezes, and when his fingers linger, I slap his hand away without thinking. Mr. Hodge’s face turns the color of an eggplant, and he flares his nostrils.
“Better watch your temper, girl,” he snaps.
“Better watch your hands,” I reply. Then, to ensure he understands never to touch her again, I add, “I know Madam Karina would appreciate it if you did.”
He gives me a sinister smile. The spinach is gone from his teeth. Must have swallowed it. “Sure hope you girls don’t prove Madam Karina wrong. I’d hate for you to go the way of Ellie.”
The Neck storms down the hallway. The second he’s out of sight, I swing around. “Who’s he talking about?”
Poppet’s back is to me. She shrugs as she makes her bed, using the sheets we brought from downstairs. Though there’s a pink dust ruffle on each bed that’s entirely out of place, the mattresses are bare.
“You don’t know a girl named Ellie?”
“No, should I?”
I glance down at the bundle in my arms. “Is it the girl I replaced?”
“Could be. I’m not sure,” she says. But that’s not what it seems like. It seems like Poppet knows exactly who she is.
I drop my stuff on the bed and sit. Gripping the edge of the mattress, I try a different approach. “Did you know Cain works here for free?”
Poppet meets my gaze. “I did know that.”
I laugh, because this place is getting to be too much with its secrets. “So, there’s a girl named Ellie who no one will talk about. And a boy named Cain who’s probably working here against his will.”
“That’s not true.”
“Which part?”
“Cain stays because he has nowhere else to go.”
“That’s bull,” I respond. “Everyone has somewhere else to go.”
Poppet fluffs her pillow. “Well, I’ve heard he doesn’t.”
“And you don’t know why?”
Poppet smiles like a thought just occurred to her. “Do you think we’ll get our Daisy Tuesday morning if we earn a coin tomorrow night?” She touches her blouse. “I feel naked without my Carnation.”
“Poppet…”
She throws her hands up. “I don’t know why he works here, Dom. Not really. And you shouldn’t talk about Ellie. She left the home and it made Madam Karina angry. Angrier than I’ve ever seen her. Mr. Hodge said we aren’t to talk about her or we’ll get kicked out. But it’s only so that the madam doesn’t get upset. I’ve told you as much.”
“You haven’t told it to me like that. And what’s the big deal if she left? Surely girls leave all the time.”
Poppet doesn’t have time to answer, because a girl strides into view. “Oh, you two are the newbies, yeah? We’re watching TV in the lounge. Want to come hang out?”
My entire body is drawn to this girl with sloping cheekbones and almond-shaped eyes and kind words. Her smile could be seen from Saturn, and she oozes confidence. No, sorry, wrong word. Maybe coolness?
Better.
“We can come with you?” I ask.
Poppet strides past me. “You heard the woman. Let’s go watch TV.”
As we walk toward the lounge, we learn the girl’s name—Ruby. She wears a red scarf, though it has to be a hundred degrees outside. I wonder if that’s her thing. Matching her clothing to her name. She has blond eyebrows though her hair is black, and pulls a lip gloss out of her pocket as we walk. She never applies it, just uses it to gesture as she speaks.
Ruby introduces us to the other five Daisies, and as they greet us warmly, and the ice around my heart begins to melt, Lola walks by. She’s on her way to the third floor to see Madam Karina, but she cranes her neck to peer inside.
Our eyes connect, and she pauses, one hand on the banister, right foot already on the next step. The back of my neck tingles, and I raise an uncertain hand in a wave. She doesn’t wave back, but she does nod almost unperceivably. Not in a way that she’s saying hello. And not even in a way that I’ve done something right, and she’s acknowledging the action. But more like I’ve followed her plan nicely.
She turns away and glides out of view.
After she’s gone, the Daisies pull Poppet and me down to sit with them. They drill us for information on what’s going on with the Carnations. They offer us salty buttered popcorn, and Ruby asks if I’ll draw something while the others watch. It’s one of the best afternoons I’ve had in a long time, filled with gossip and requests for Cain to bring up frozen grapes and sweet tea. And Cain does bring that tray, quickly, with a quiet smile I return.
We Daisies watch a movie about three teen witches that’s supposed to be scary, but makes the girls laugh. I laugh a little, too. When no one is looking. When no one can guess how elated I am to be here among girls who don’t call me names.
Soon, I forget all about the look Lola gave me as she passed by.