Olivia batted her eyelashes and grinned. "I am gonna be a naughty Snow White, and Joe here is gonna be Grumpy." She chuckled as she looked over her shoulder at her bodyguard. "Who knows, if I play my cards right, I may finally find my prince. By the way, how is my Dillon?"
I tossed my head back and laughed. Olivia had a wicked crush on Dillon, but he had yet to take notice of her, which rarely happened to my voluptuous bombshell friend. In all the time I had known her, I had only met one man–well, now two–who hadn’t fallen all over themselves to be with her. I glanced at my watch and then leaned over to kiss Olivia on the cheek. "Hey girl, I hate to cut this short, but we have to get going. Ton of errands to run. We’ll see you tonight."
"I am dying to see this mystery outfit of yours, Ky. You’ve been so damn secretive."
I winked. "Can’t wait to see your version of Snow White either." I grabbed Syd’s arm and pulled him towards the elevator. As the doors to the elevator closed, I leaned against the back wall.
"Sorry, but I really need to get to Frank’s, and that convo could have gone on all day. I love her, but she can talk forever."
Syd smiled as he hit the elevator button. "You aren’t going to get a complaint from me."
As Syd and I made our way through the glass doors, George spotted us coming and went to hail us a cab. He opened the car door and I quickly scooched over, making room for Syd. Syd was as tall, if not taller, than my brothers, which was saying something considering they were both 6’5". I chuckled as he scrunched down in the seat so he didn't bump his head, his broad shoulders filling most of the backseat. He glanced over and raised an eyebrow with an excuse-me look on his face.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. The boys have to do the same thing."
On our way to Frank’s, I continued my investigation of how Syd knew my family, but when his answers all seemed to make perfect sense, I changed the subject. "So if you are going to be my date tonight, may I at least know what you are planning on wearing as a costume?"
He grinned wide. "I thought I would wear all black and blend in. Will that work?"
"No, it will not." I pulled out my list and added "costume for Syd" to it. The cab pulled up to an intersection lined with abandoned warehouses. Most of the time, you would be able to see the occasional prostitute trolling the streets, but this early in the morning it was fairly quiet.
"This is where you needed to pick up your stuff? No wonder Dillon wanted me to come with you. This isn't exactly the kind of place a girl like you should be hanging around."
I teasingly punched him in the shoulder. "Would you just get out of the cab and trust me?"
Syd paid the cabbie and we both stepped out onto the trash lined street, the paint smell from the latest graffiti mural still lingering in the air. I nudged Syd in the direction we needed to go, trying to get him to stop staring at me with the I-am-so-telling-your-brother-about-this look.
"A friend of mine lives on the top floor of this building. It's the perfect ruse. It looks like a shithole but just wait until we get inside." We climbed the stairs, passing a bum sleeping on the bottom step. He didn’t seem startled by our presence until he took one look at Syd’s size and said, "Sorry man."
Syd glared at me as we continued to walk up the stairs. "I cannot imagine this place is all that you say."
"I told you to trust me." I knocked on the door and rolled my eyes as Syd checked out the stairwell one last time. It took a few moments before Frank finally answered, which was putting my so called bodyguard on serious edge.
"Kylah,baby! You’re early, doll. I was still getting my face on!" Frank pulled me into a crushing hug and then proceeded to step back when he made eye contact with Syd.
"And who the heck is this deliciousness? Have you been hiding him from me on purpose, baby? Because he is pure heaven."
Syd just watched as Frank ogled him, seemingly unaffected by the overt sexual comments that continued to spill from Frank’s mouth. I was fairly certain he was struck stupid by the interior of his apartment. Frank’s apartment looked like Liberace had decorated it; everything was covered in gold, glitter and feathers. As Syd looked around, Frank dragged me over to the chair in front of the makeup table.
"Sit and spill, young lady."
"One word, Frank. Dillon."
"Well honey, if that’s Dillon’s idea of protection, you should shut up and be thankful." Frank looked over his shoulder at Syd as I pulled out my ponytail and ran my fingers through my hair.
"You better promise a phone call tomorrow with all the scandalous things you are going to do to that man tonight." Frank grabbed the bone straight, raven colored wig and adjusted it to fit my head perfectly. As Frank fiddled with my hair, he went on and on about all the things he would do to Syd if he was me.
"Now listen, doll. You are gonna need to make sure all this gorgeous red hair of yours is pinned underneath here perfectly. The last thing I need is my masterpiece of blue/black tainted with a red flame."
"Yes, yes, oh wise wig master. I won’t mess up your perfection." I couldn’t help but stare at myself in the mirror. I looked so different. Tears started to well in my eyes as I continued to take in my new look.
"Kylah, what’s wrong, baby?" Frank snapped tissues from a box on the counter and handed them to me.
"Nothing really, it’s just that I look like my mother. I’ve been reading her journal and using her sketches to create this costume, but…" More tears fell as Syd walked up behind Frank. Frank was blocking his view, but as soon as he moved, it was obvious Syd was shocked by my appearance. He just stood there staring at me.
Frank smacked his shoulder. "Doesn’t she look gorgeous?"
"Uh yeah… I was just taken aback by the black hair." It was apparent that something else was on his mind from his reserved yet rigid look.
"It’s just a wig for crying out loud. It goes with my costume." I moved to take it off my head but had my hand slapped instead.
"Be gentle, baby. We don’t go flinging this one off like the ones in the theatre." Frank took the wig off and put it back on the mannequin as I stared at Syd in the mirror, tears still finding their release.
"May I ask what your costume is gonna be?" Syd stuck his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I’m only asking because I need to try and figure out what I am gonna be since we are going together…right?"
I wiped the tear that threatened to slide down my cheek. "I’m going as my mom. I found her journal and some of her old sketches, and so on my off time, I sketched them and brought one of her designs to life." I gestured to Frank who was now leaning on the counter with his arms crossed, scowling at Syd. "And Frank here completed the look with the black wig."
"Yeah, bucko, wait till you see her ass in those pants she designed. You won’t be looking so skittish then."
Syd gave both of us a stunned look before he hung his head and tossed his hands in the air. "Okay, so since the two of you know EXACTLY what she is going to look like and I am in the dark, maybe you could pick a costume for me."
Frank began to clap wildly as he walked over to the rack of clothes on the other side of the room. "Yay, I get to dress him up!"
The look Syd had given me was really disconcerting. There was something he wasn’t telling me, and I planned on getting to the bottom of it when we were once again alone. We spent the next thirty minutes going through Frank’s costume collection, but unless Syd planned on dressing in drag, finding something to fit his height and size was gonna take a little more effort. We found a knight’s sword and some chainmail, and had a fantastic laugh about why Frank had them as a part of his collection. Frank excused himself to make a call, leaving Syd and I alone, but I was still too perturbed by his reaction to the wig to talk to him.
After a few minutes, Frank returned. "Okay. I called one of my friends who has a medieval knight’s costume, so take the sword and the chainmail and see if you can use it with what he’s sending over. I told him to deliver it to your place, Kylah. It should be there no later than 6pm."
Frank grabbed a couple of bags and packed up our accessories. "Now, Syd, make sure to get that sexy ass of yours over to Kylah’s to get ready. She’s one of the best costume designers on Broadway, so she can make any adjustments you need. Ricco is a little "hippy" so that may need to be adjusted."
Frank winked at me as Syd headed for the door with our bags in tow. As Syd went on down the stairs, Frank stopped me. "I will see you tonight, baby girl, and don’t you dare let anyone make you doubt your costume. It is an exact replica of your momma, and despite Mr. Skeptical down there, you are gonna shock the crowd. Well, I am gonna shock the crowd, you are just gonna wow them."
I kissed him on the cheek and smiled as I headed down the stairs, now worried about how my brothers and Vivi would react to the costume choice. If they responded the same way Syd did…well shit, maybe this was a bad idea. I meant to honor my mom, not freak everyone out, and what the hell? Syd didn’t even know my mom, so what was his issue? I stepped out onto the street just as the cab Syd hailed pulled up to the curb.
"Your chariot."
"Don’t start with your Mr. Charming act now after your moment of shock and awe up there. What the hell was all that anyway?"
He stuttered for a moment before he spoke. "To be honest, Kylah, you took my breath away and I was trying to find the right words to speak, but instead I upset you. It was never my intention. Will you accept my apology?"
I sat there in silence pondering what he just said…
I took his breath away. Wow, how do I respond to that?
"Kylah, you alright?"
"Yes, I’m fine. I was just processing what you said. I’m flattered by your comment. Thank you, but I’m worried too. Your reaction has me wondering how the boys and Vivi will react."
"I think it will be fine, Kylah. They may be taken aback for a moment, but I think once you explain your reasoning, they will love it. You looked beautiful."
I leaned down into my bag and pulled out Mom’s journal. I flipped through the pages of writing, looking for the sketches. The journal wasn’t that big, but there were quite a few pages of Mom’s musings about her devotion to a man that I could only assume was Dad. It was evident how much she had loved him by the way she went on and on about him. I finally found the page with the sketches and turned it towards Syd. "This is my costume." I nervously waited for his reaction, but he just sat there in silence. "You know, the way you keep responding, you’re acting as if you knew my mom."
"I knew of your mom, yes. It was hard to not know about her when I worked for your grandmother. She used to talk about her all the time."
"Yeah, she has not dealt with her loss very well. She turned into a bit of a recluse after the car accident. I don’t see her very often anymore. I guess that’s okay, because seeing her only reminds me that Mom is no longer here…her or Dad."
Syd reached over and put his arm around me. "Sushi or Italian? My treat."
Tears once again filled my eyes. "I’m sorry, I never cry like this. It’s just …never mind, Italian sounds great."
Syd gave the driver the address and wiped the tear that slid down my cheek. "I’m sorry you are going through all this. I wish there was some way for me to change all that has happened, but I know I can’t."
"You know, for someone I just met, I feel so connected to you. Thank you for being so understanding." Syd smiled as the cab pulled up to the curb. He paid the fare and we walked towards a quaint little Italian restaurant with a black awning covering the tables on the sidewalk.
The host sat us at one of the outside tables as the waiter walked up grinning wildly. "Signore Syd, lovely to see you, and I see you have brought a beautiful companion. What can I get for you today?"