Love on the Scale

Chapter Sixteen

Maggie hadn't revealed anything since the day on the roof. I needed to understand what she had meant by 'vengeance'. It was possibly a simple answer: she had lost faith in her world; maybe she had debt and the financial vultures were circling; maybe she had lost someone close to her.

I walked into the Wardrobe with this thought half-eclipsing my mind, the other half was occupied by Neil. Neil. I kept having flashbacks of our time together the night before. And I had gone to bed only to dream of his beautiful face, his eyes, his moist lips kissing mine. His presence in my head was driving me to distraction. Mission Maggie needed deployment. Her story would put a stop to these thoughts of Neil. Mirific noble Neil.

She was hanging up the last men's jacket in the 007 series, the photo shoot scheduled for 10am that morning. Her shoulders were bent, round, tired of carrying life. She was lost in another world, her vacant eyes opening and closing only to lubricate with tears. Those hands that worked the garments were nobly, arthritic things that wore veins thick with the slow blood of age.

Then she spotted me there.

"Well!"

I jumped. "On it, Maggie. Was just making a mental check of today's wardrobe accessories. The shoes and boots you requested have arrived. I'm about to begin adding any additional jewelry and head pieces."

I walked over to where she was sitting and began sorting the embellishments. We sat there for an hour before I had the nerve to ask. "Maggie...the other day...on the roof..."

"Wasn't it something." She said proudly. "The colors were simply arabesque that day. You were late, so you never saw them."

"I was?"

"Yeah, late. You should have joined me on that ledge at daybreak. All play and no work makes Chris a bit out of pocket. Late, such a shame."

So many marbles seemed missing inside Maggie's head today, I could suddenly hear them rattling together from all the free space.

I continued, "Join you...up there? But I thought it was a spontaneous thing, deciding to jump. I mean, most suicides like that aren't planned in advance."

Her ensuing brash cackle made me believe it. She was going mad!

"Suicide! What in heaven's name gave you that idea? I was there for the colors. The colors, Christelle."

Insanity confirmed.

"Are you listening to me, Christelle? Hello," she was patting my head, "anyone at home? The colors up there are spectacular." A pause.

"Look, I can't believe you don't remember seeing them. You need to go there in the dark, then they are at their best."

Oh, she was talking about the city lights at dusk.

"They are?" I managed.

"We'll, you go up there in the dark, and you just sit and wait. You listen to the birds and you wait until the sun comes. I try and get in my five smokes before the colors start up."

Five smokes of what?

"Maggie, when I asked you why you were sitting there... you know, you had people worried. Even the police were called."

"I know, wow, what a show it all turned out to be."

"But Maggie, why did you tell me it was because of vengeance?"

There was a pause.

"I don't recall saying that, but I'll take your word for it."

Marbles, marbles.

"Take my word for what, Maggie?"

"Well, for whatever your reason is for this vengeance. I don't have a bone of negativity in my whole body towards another human being..." She looked over and began to count the set of cuff links I had placed on the table top.

"But, you go ahead, darling Christelle. Knock yourself out...vengeance, eh?" And she walked off in the direction of the bathroom, half singing her mumbles. Alone, I was left to puzzle out how on earth everything was suddenly so upside down.