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“Investing, huh?” she repeated the officer's
comment.

“Yeah. Investing in a peaceful future,” he
commented and walked past her to put on a pot of coffee and get
ready for work. She spun around, out of patience.

“You really are playing with fire, Aryl.
Going after some petty thug for this is one thing, but Victor
Drayton is not someone you want to mess with. Especially since we
are currently renting from him,” she said, infuriated.

“It’ll be fine. Victor is not going to show
his face around here for quite a while.” He wouldn’t be showing his
face anywhere for quite a while. “And he certainly will think twice
before messing with us again.”

“He didn’t mess with us. He messed with Jon,”
Claire clarified. Aryl hurled her the angriest look that Claire had
ever seen.

“When somebody messes with one of us, he
messes with all of us. I thought you of all people would know that,
Claire. Wasn’t it you in the park last week standing with Ava, even
though it had nothing to do with you?”

∞∞∞

Caleb’s story matched beautifully and the
timing couldn’t have been more perfect with Jonathan’s bruises
having faded to the point where he simply looked violently hung
over when he answered the door to the policemen. He also produced a
ticket stub, and Ava insisted he was by her side in the theater the
entire time. Jonathan figured out what really happened quickly
enough and promised that his friends were in their seats near him
for the whole show. The policemen left and found no reason to
return.

Caleb insisted that everyone come over for
dinner that night after work, and they each brought something to
add to the table. Everyone except Jonathan was more talkative than
at their last gathering for Thanksgiving. Their morale was slightly
lifted from their evening out. Each one took turns suggesting ways
to save money further, weekly meals together being one of the
ideas. Jonathan sat across from Aryl and Caleb. He looked each of
them in the eye for a few seconds. Caleb’s eyes narrowed slightly,
and one side of Aryl’s mouth twitched. Their silent conversation
went unnoticed by the rest of the table. Jonathan nodded once.

∞∞∞

Ava was unable to get to sleep. Every noise
from the apartments, the sirens and screeching tires from the
street jarred her every time she started to drift off. It was
nearing the early hours of the morning as she stared at the
ceiling, longing for sleep. Jonathan had been very restless all
night. Grunts, flailing legs and talking in his sleep added to the
list of things that kept her awake. Much to her relief, he finally
settled into slow and deep breathing. She closed her eyes, grateful
for the silence and began to drift off.

“Elyse,” Jonathan whispered and Ava’s eyes
popped open. She propped herself up on one elbow, and he repeated
the name quieter this time.

“Elyse.” he said again with a sigh. Ava
kicked him under the covers. He snorted, mumbled, and rolled to his
side. She stared at him for a long time waiting to hear him repeat
the name during the hours left of darkness.

The next morning, Ava was up before Jonathan
and sat, waiting at the table with her coffee. When he sat down
across from her, her glare was set in stone.

“Morning,” he said, spooning some jam into
his oatmeal.

“Who is Elyse?”

“What?” he asked, choking on a sip of
coffee.

“Who . . . is . . . Elyse?”

“Where did you hear that name?”

“You said it in your sleep last night.
Twice.” Honesty had worked with Ruth’s second visit, so he decided
to take that approach again.

“She was someone I knew before you,” he said
causally.

“Another one. When can I expect her to show
up?”

“She’s not going to show up, Ava.”

“How can you be so sure? She must have left
quite the impression on you for you to dream about her all these
years later. I’m sure the feeling was mutual.”

“She just won’t.”

“Bet you thought Ruth wouldn’t show up
either.”

“She won’t show up because she’s in Paris,
Ava.”

“Oh,” she said, sitting up straighter in her
chair, beginning to put the pieces together. “Was that who you were
with when you told Ruth you were in board meetings?” she asked.

“How do you know about that?” he asked
quietly.

“I confronted Ruth.”

“When?” he exclaimed, finally looking at
her.

“Over a week ago. I went to the park and
confronted her. Arianna and Claire showed up to support me, and
that was the last thing Arianna said to Ruth. That you were with
someone else when you told Ruth you were in board meetings.”
Jonathan looked clearly shaken, and he cursed Arianna under his
breath.

“Yes. I was with Elyse,” he said, digging
deeper into his proverbial grave. Just him saying her name made
Ava’s blood boil, and she resisted a violent urge to hurl her plate
across the room.

“Well, part of me is relieved to know that
Ruth never meant that much to you.”

“Of course, she didn’t.”

“But someone else obviously did. You’re still
dreaming about her.” She seethed with jealous rage. He opened his
mouth to argue but couldn’t.

“I didn’t mean to,” was his pitiful reply.
“It was long before you, Ava. I haven’t even thought about her in
ages.” He desperately wanted this whole conversation to end and be
forgotten. She didn’t say anything else but sat stewing with
crossed arms as he left for work silently.

∞∞∞

Ava walked down the hall and pounded on
Arianna’s door. Ava pushed her way past and spun around on her
heels.

“You were in Paris with Jon. You saw what
went on. Tell me about Elyse.” she demanded. Arianna looked
suddenly as if she wanted to crawl under the table and hide.

“Well? I’m waiting,” Ava said
impatiently.

“Why do you want to know, Ava?” Arianna asked
cautiously.

“Jon dreamt about her last night. He said her
name. I asked him about it this morning, and he told me about her.
I just want to hear it from you,” Ava said convincingly, so that
Arianna wouldn't see through the lie.

“Sit down,” Arianna said hesitantly. She
poured both some coffee and sat across the table from her. “Where
do I begin?”

“Try at the beginning, Arianna.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath. “You know
that Jonathan’s more wealthy clients overseas threw enormous
parties for him when he visited three or four times a year. They
were always regal events with the most famous and important people
attending,” Arianna started. “Well, every luxury was provided.
Elegant suites, exotic food, expensive wine . . . beautiful women.”
Ava felt her face flush with anger. “I can’t say anything about the
trips before I came along, but I went every time that he and Caleb
went, plus the few times when Aryl joined us.”

“But you can tell me about the trips you did
go on with them,” Ava insisted.

“Elyse was one of the women provided for the
parties. She was one of at least a dozen women from the most elite
and respected brothels. Real high priced entertainment.” She waited
for Ava's reaction, but she showed none. “Well, Jon spent some . .
. time with Elyse. Since she was a regular at the parties, I guess
you could say he got to know her.” Arianna was getting more
uncomfortable telling the story, and Ava could hardly hear her
through the pounding of her heart in her ears. Her hands were
shaking in her lap. She told Arianna to go on.

“Well, Jon worked it out with the brothel
owner that she was not to be available for any other clients. She
was to be reserved just for him when he came to visit.”

“He what?”

“M-Maybe Jon should tell you the rest,” she
said nervously.

“No. You will tell me the rest. Right now,”
Ava demanded. Arianna was not used to being put on the spot or
being ordered what to do, but she obeyed.

“He paid the brothel a large sum of money in
exchange for Elyse being reserved for him. And he saw her every
time he visited.”

“Every time?” Ava asked, thinking
specifically of the last time he went to Paris, alone.

“As far as I know. Of course, after you came
along, we never heard another word about her,” Arianna tried to
reassure her.

“But you never heard that he ended his
agreement with the brothel either, did you?”

“Well, no, but that almost goes without
saying. You have to understand, Ava. Once you came along, there
were no other women on earth as far as Jon was concerned. And you
may not like to hear this, but he did have needs and a life before
you.”

“I know that,” she growled, even though she
didn’t like the idea. “But he should have told me about this. After
all, he’s still dreaming about her. He must have really loved
her.”

“He didn’t love her, Ava. She was supporting
her family and trying to save to go to a women’s college one day.
He was trying to help her out is all.” Ava thought back to Ruth’s
statement about his pity for her being the reason why he took care
of her, and she thought her head would explode with rage. It
explained why he was so distant, showed no interest in her, and
spent his evenings staring at the fire. He was thinking of this
woman now that he had grown tired of her, and she refused to
believe that he hadn’t loved Elyse.

“What about Caleb and Aryl? Did they have
whores on retainer, too?” she said, clearly disgusted.

“Caleb and I were married before he ever came
to work for Jon. I was with him during all of his trips. And Aryl’s
stories are not mine to share. However, I will say he didn’t do as
Jon did and actually tried to talk him out of it.” Ava’s eyes
flashed up to Arianna, turning her anger on her.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me?”

“Ava, that was another world, another time
long before you.”

“Apparently a lot happened before me. How
dare you call yourself my friend!” Ava stomped out the door,
slamming it behind her.

∞∞∞

Later that evening, the tired and cold men
trudged up the stairs. Jonathan opened his door to a torrent of
screaming and crying that caused Aryl to stop on the stairs and
look back towards Jonathan’s door. Aryl’s head fell, worried for
his friend, but was too tired to intervene.

“Don’t talk to me! Don’t you dare touch me!
Don’t even look at me!” Ava’s shrieking was followed by a loud
crash.

∞∞∞

Caleb came home to a sobbing Arianna, who was
so upset about Ava that she forgot to make dinner. She told him
everything that happened, and he reassured her everything would
work out. On the way to the deli, he stopped at Aryl’s to give a
word of warning.

“Ava found out about Elyse,” he said gravely.
“She backed Ahna into a corner and got the whole story out of
her.”

“What all did she tell her?” he asked.

“I’m not sure. Arianna was hysterical. But I
thought you would want to know in case you wanted to do some damage
control of your own.”

“Okay. Thanks,” Aryl said.

All through dinner, Aryl wrestled with
himself and finally decided that telling Claire the truth now would
ultimately be the best thing to do. She would, he hoped, forgive
him eventually.

“Claire,” he called from the couch, and
motioned for her to sit. “I need to talk to you.”

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“I need to tell you something. And I know
it’s not going to go well, but I’d rather you hear it from me than
hear it from anyone else. Some things have come to light,” Aryl
started. “Things that happened a long time ago. For the most part,
it involves Jon and Ava. I’m sure you’re going to hear about it, so
I’ll just give you a quick rundown.” She sat down beside him.
“Before I even came to join him in New York, Jon had a relationship
with someone in Paris. She was one of the women that Jon’s
wealthier clients provided for entertainment at their parties.” By
his raised eyebrows and tone, Claire assumed easily enough what
kind of entertainment he was referring to. “Well, it turned into a
long-term relationship, and the circumstances of that relationship
are what he and Ava are downstairs, no doubt, hashing out right
now.”

“What does all this have to do with you?” she
asked. He hesitated, fidgeted with his cup, adjusted in his seat,
and then continued.

“This trip in particular was the time when
Jon brought Ruth with us. Elyse saw the two of them together and
was very upset. She hadn’t known about Ruth, and had become very
attached to Jon after a couple of years, so it was hard for her. Of
course, Jon had to act as if he didn’t know her in public, but he
made the excuse of meetings to Ruth, and he would go see her in the
evening. I guess the reunion with Elyse didn’t go well that trip.
They argued a lot. Jon told me later that Elyse suddenly started
pressuring him to marry her and bring her back to America. There is
no way that Jon could have done that, and they both knew it. But
she was insistent. He ended up walking out during an intense
argument with her one night.

“Later, she showed up at the door of my hotel
room. She was crying and looked a wreck. I had had too much to
drink with Caleb and Arianna and was on the verge of passing out,
but I let her in and tried explaining to her that Jon couldn’t
marry her even if he wanted to. It was socially unacceptable and
would have ruined his career. She had enough money to go to a
women’s college by then, so I told her she should leave the
business she was in behind. I think she really loved Jon and was
completely devastated. I talked to her for a long time.” He paused
to take a deep breath before passing the point of no return.
“There’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just spit it out. I made
a mistake,” he said simply.