The Anniversary (23 page)

6

Driving down I-91, she thought over what she planned to say.

7

She’d been surprised by Melanie’s proposal that they meet face-8

to-face. On the phone, she’d been pretty sure that Melanie didn’t 9

quite trust her. She had to remember that the last time they’d 10

met she’d been a total mess. Melanie had no way of knowing how 11

much she’d changed since then. Today, she’d stick to the facts.

12

That was the best approach. She’d brought the note and watch, 13

as Melanie asked. Concrete evidence.

14

As she approached Manhattan, traffic became a tangled, fran-15

tic snarl. Cars and trucks dodged in and out of lanes, barely 16

avoiding collisions. A yellow cab cut in front of her, almost clip-17

ping her fender. The driver gave her a murderous look. She 18

clutched the steering wheel. Ahead, the city skyline loomed, 19

jagged and imposing.

20

They’d arranged to meet at the Lowell Hotel, Melanie’s sug-21

gestion. By the time Callie had parked her car, she was almost 22

half an hour late. If she’d had Melanie’s cell phone number, she 23

could have tried to call her. Instead, she took off down the street, 24

hoping Melanie had waited. She made her way across Park Av-25

enue, with its rows of blank-face buildings, past the Met Life 26 S

tower, past a red-brick church.

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When she reached the hotel, she rushed past the doorman, 1

down a short flight of stairs. Breathless, she almost collided with 2

a thin, tall blonde.

3

For a moment, the two of them stared at each other.

4

The woman was Melanie.

5

A strange look played on Melanie’s face — surprise, regret, 6

confusion. Then she quickly regained her composure and held 7

out a manicured hand. “Hello, Laura,” she said.

8

Callie’s body tightened. It was one thing to hear the name on 9

the phone, another to hear it in person. Laura Seton was a fig-10

ment. She lived only in memory.

11

Callie forced a smile. “Please call me Callie,” she said. “I’m so 12

sorry to be late. Thanks so much for waiting.”

13

“I figured you must have gotten lost. I hope you could follow 14

my directions.”

15

“The directions were perfect,” Callie said. She was feeling a lit-16

tle dizzy.

17

A brief uncertain pause. Then Melanie was briskly steering her 18

toward an elevator. “We’ll have tea upstairs in the Pembroke 19

Room,” she said. “Or lunch. Whatever you want.”

20

They stepped out on the second floor.

21

Classical music played in the background as they took seats at 22

a small round table. The room was an elegant oasis; the city 23

seemed miles away. There were lace curtains, swooping draperies, 24

soft carpets muffling footsteps. The china was white with blue-25

and-gold trim. There was a candle on the table.

26

“It’s been a long time,” said Melanie, as she picked up her nap-27

kin and placed it on her lap. “You look wonderful.”

28

“Thank you,” said Callie. Then, falsely, “You too.”

29

In fact, Melanie did not look good. For one thing, she was far 30

too thin. Her black knit sweater clung to her ribs as if it were a 31

second skin. The impression was one of angles and edges, some-32

thing tightly wound. But most of all, it was Melanie’s eyes where 33

Callie saw the change. Still the same remarkable blue, they 34

seemed somehow colder.
Extinguished
was the word that came to S 35

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mind, as if a light had gone out. The gleaming hair that once fell 2

to her shoulders now skimmed her jaw. It, too, seemed subtly 3

cooler. Moonlight rather than sun.

4

Behind their table, Callie glimpsed an enormous display of 5

lilies. Their scent floated through the room, gently perfuming the 6

air. But despite the tranquil atmosphere, Callie was on edge.

7

There were a dozen or so tables, two others occupied. In one cor-8

ner sat a sedate threesome, consuming tea and scones. A larger 9

table was occupied by a laughing group of young women. More 10

people than Callie had expected, certainly more than she’d have 11

liked. She found herself questioning Melanie’s judgment, won-12

dering why they had come here. This was hardly the setting she’d 13

have picked for a private conversation.

14

Callie opened her menu.

15

Melanie did the same.

16

“It’s on me,” Melanie said quickly, as Callie scanned the prices.

17

When the waiter arrived, Melanie ordered the full afternoon 18

tea. Uncertain and not terribly hungry, Callie followed suit.

19

The waiter left and Callie saw that Melanie was watching her.

20

“I don’t mean to stare,” said Melanie, when Callie’s eyes caught 21

hers. “It’s just that you seem so . . . different.”

22

Callie gave a faint smile. “I am different,” she said. “I’m a to-23

tally different person.”

24

“So you’re living in Massachusetts?”

25

“Merritt. The western part of the state.”

26

“The Berkshires?”

27

“Not too far from there. Closer to Amherst and Northampton.”

28

“There’s a college there, isn’t there?”

29

“Windham,” Callie said. “I finished my degree there — my 30

bachelor’s. Now I work in the alumni office and take a few classes 31

on the side.”

32

“I was up that way a few years ago. Lovely part of New England.”

33

Pleasant but utterly impersonal, the conversation drifted on.

34

Callie had the sense that they were marking time. Was Melanie 35 S

waiting for something?

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The waiter arrived with plates holding rows of triangular tea 1

sandwiches. Beside these edible pyramids lay a single flower.

2

As she waited for her tea to cool, Callie ate a sandwich. Her 3

appetite suddenly returned, and she found she was ravenous. She 4

finished a salmon sandwich and picked up a cucumber one.

5

“So you moved to New York from Washington?” Callie said 6

between bites.

7

“That’s right,” Melanie said. “I’ve been here going on five 8

years. I love living in the city.”

9

“And your husband?” Callie asked. “How does he like it here?”

10

Melanie’s features seemed to freeze. “I’m not married,” she said.

11

“I’m sorry,” Callie said. “I thought —”

12

“I was married, but I’m not anymore.”

13

Something in Melanie’s tone warned Callie to back off. “These 14

sandwiches are delicious,” she said, returning to neutral terrain.

15

Melanie was on her second cup of tea, but she hadn’t eaten a 16

thing. Now she pushed her plate away, with a look of vague dis-17

taste.

18

“I had a late breakfast,” she said. “I’m really not very hungry.”

19

Callie had finished her own sandwiches and looked at 20

Melanie’s. “Do you mind if I —”

21

Melanie waved a hand. “Please. Be my guest.”

22

The waiter brought strawberries. Callie continued to eat. Over 23

Melanie’s shoulder, she watched the festive group of young 24

women. Peals of laughter floated over from their large round 25

table. A bridal shower maybe. Or a sorority reunion. Whatever 26

their reason for being here, it was nothing like her own.

27

Callie spooned up clotted cream and dropped it on her berries.

28

She looked expectantly at Melanie, wondering what came next.

29

As if reading her mind, Melanie leaned forward.

30

“I wasn’t sure that it would be you.” She spoke very softly.

31

For the first time, Callie noticed the traces of a southern ac-32

cent. She looked at Melanie, baffled. “What?”

33

“When you called me, you sounded so different. I thought it 34

might not be you, that it might be some sort of trick. That’s why S 35

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I wanted to meet like this. I thought maybe you wouldn’t show 2

up. Or if you did, you’d be someone else.”

3

“Well . . .” Callie had no idea what to say. The admission as-4

tonished her. She’d certainly sensed Melanie’s wariness but never 5

grasped its extent. If Melanie had questioned her identity, what 6

other doubts might she have?

7

“What about the letter, the watch? Do you believe what I told 8

you?”

9

Melanie bit her lip. She seemed to be thinking something 10

through, then came to a fast decision. “We should talk about this 11

privately,” she said. “My apartment is just a few blocks away.

12

We’d be more comfortable there.”

13

Callie quickly agreed. Melanie tossed out a platinum credit 14

card. Soon they were on the street. Neither of them spoke during 15

the short cab ride to the building where Melanie lived.

16

The elevator glided the forty floors up to Melanie’s apartment.

17

“This is beautiful,” Callie said. She’d just stepped through 18

Melanie’s door and caught sight of the sweeping views. “You can 19

see the whole city from here.”

20

“The East Side. The park.” Melanie flipped on a light. “Here.

21

Have a seat.”

22

Callie sank into the couch and looked around curiously. White 23

walls, white sofa, white armchair.
Melanie White, in her home of
24

white.
It was like a fairy tale. Was it intentional? An affectation?

25

Or did she just like white?

26

Except for a few framed photographs, the room seemed imper-27

sonal. As reluctant as Melanie herself to disclose any informa-28

tion.

29

“May I get you anything? Coffee? Seltzer?”

30

“No,” said Callie. “I’m fine.”

31

Melanie sat down across from Callie in the overstuffed white 32

chair. The chair’s massive size underscored her fragility. For the 33

first time, it occurred to Callie that Melanie might be sick. She 34

wondered about Melanie’s marriage, when it had broken up.

35 S

“Before we start talking,” said Melanie, “I have to clarify some-36 R

thing. I can’t give you legal advice. I can’t act as your lawyer. I’m 1 2 8

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meeting with you now as . . . as a friend, I guess. I want to be clear 1

on that from the start. I need to be sure you understand that.”

2

Melanie seemed suddenly uncomfortable, but Callie wasn’t 3

sure why. “That’s right,” she said. “That’s what I assumed. I mean, 4

I’m not paying you.”

5

Melanie visibly relaxed at the words, which made Callie un-6

easy. She had a sense of missing something and wanted to ask 7

what it was. But before she could frame a question, Melanie was 8

speaking.

9

“Did you bring the watch?”

10

“Yes. The watch and the letter both.”

11

“Could I take a look at them?”

12

“Sure.” Callie reached into her purse.

13

The watch was in a small cardboard box. Melanie took off the 14

lid. “I probably shouldn’t touch it,” she said. “Even though it’s 15

been handled since your daughter found it, there still might be la-16

tent prints.”

17

Fingerprints.
Callie started. Why hadn’t she thought of that?

18

But as soon as the question flashed through her mind, she in-19

stantly knew why. Steven had never left fingerprints. Never. Not 20

one time.

21

Melanie examined the watch, then replaced the lid. She care-22

fully set the little box on a table beside her chair. “The letter?”

23

she said, looking up at Callie.

24

Callie held it out.

25

Melanie hesitated. “Wait a minute,” she said. She got up and 26

went to a hallway closet, returning with a pair of black leather 27

gloves.

28

“Not exactly standard issue, but I guess they’re better than 29

nothing.”

30

After pulling on the gloves, she took hold of the envelope and 31

removed the letter. Black pants, black sweater, and now black 32

gloves. All that white around her, and everything she wore was 33

black.

34

Even with the gloves on, Melanie held the paper gingerly, tak-S 35

ing hold of it at the edge between a thumb and forefinger. Her R 36