(Ps. You might want to flip back to chapter 2 to more clearly understand this chapter.)
A click was the first sound Marie heard when she ran into her sisters office.
"You're 0.5 seconds late." Her grandmother stood at the doorway in a shiny gold track suit and a timer in her hand. "NOT a good im-PRESS-ion." she barked as spit flew in Marie's face. "today is your test."
"My test?"
"You want the job. don't you?"
"Ya..."
"Well, today you have an assignment to complete. CLARICE!!!"
Clarice had been sitting on the table snuggling with her fiancé. She jumped off the table and walked towards them.
"We need a model." She said. Her mood quickly changed from a teddy bear to a sharp knife. "Someone to represent the company."
"I'd be delighted-"
"Not you, cochon." She snarled. "Samantha Prescott."
Samantha Prescott took modelling classes with Clarice.
"We need you to trick her into doing the job for minimum wage."
Minimum wage? Thought Marie. Are these women crazy?
Samantha may have been a model, but she was also one of the smartest people at their school. She was a math wiz. Now Marie had to trick this woman into getting paid MINIMUM WAGE?!?!?
"Well... When is the deadline?"
"A week from today." Said her sister. "Now get out."
Marie ran out of the office.
......................
The microwave beeped.
"Dinners ready!" Nina called out to Marie. The took their soup-at-hand cups of tomato soup and sat down in front of the tv to watch the price is right. Then they heard a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" said Marie. She opened the door to see a young man standing there, panting. "Manuel!" She said "what a terrific surprise!" Manuel was the apartment building's managers nephew. The apartment buzzer was broken, so the manager would send his dying-for-a-job nephew to tell people when there were people outside wanting to be let in.
"There's someone downstairs for you, Marie." he said, panting. "Nina." He said, frowning at her.
"Manuel." she responded.
Manuel was also Nina's ex-boyfriend.
"Thank you, Manuel." Marie said, trying to dispose of the awkwardness. "Ill be down there in a minute." Manuel shot one more sad and desperate look at Nina, then closed the door behind him.
Marie grabbed her housecoat and slipped on her slippers and headed out the door and down the stairs.
As she approached the lobby, she saw a man who looked young, but was dressed in ripped dirty rags. He was facing the wall, so she couldn't see his face. The closer she got, the dirtier he looked. She stopped for a second. That person looked like...
Tony? Marie laughed out loud. So weird that Tony's doppelgänger lives in the city. She went up to the front desk.
"You said there was someone here to see me?"
The man at the desk pointed at the homeless man and held is and up to the side of his mouth so that no one could here.
"He thinks he's your boyfriend." he whispered.
She slowly turned her head towards the homeless looking man, who was trying to keep himself from falling as he leaned against the wall to tie his shoe.
Marie cringed. She walked towards the man, and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, I think you have the wrong-"
He turned around.
His eyes looked like they had once been sparkly blue pearls, but someone had stepped on them and left only empty, blue circles. That someone was Marie. She had put on her best soccer cleats and tap danced all over his baby blue pearls. Then, she took his fragile porcelain heart, and threw it at a wall covered in pictures of great moments they shared together.
"Marie!" Said tony. "I missed you!"
"Tony!" Marie was happy to see him, yet confused. "I thought you said you weren't gonna visit?"
"I'm not visiting Marie. I need somewhere to live."
......................
Marie sat facing a broken man, who had once been her boyfriend. He was scarfing down cheese and bacon panini sandwiches at Tim Hortons.
"Tony. What's going on?" Marie said quietly, trying not to draw attention to herself.
"I want to be with you Marie!" He said enthusiastically as he put down his sandwich. "And I realize that I can't unless I live with you! So, I've been living on the streets for a while, while I searched for you."
"Tony, that's very sweet of you but- wait." She stopped herself. "How long have you been living on the streets?"
"Ever since you moved." He scarfed down the rest of his sandwich.
"TONY?!?!" Yelled Marie. "You've been living on the streets for 2 WEEKS?!?" Various heads turned towards her.
Tony shrunk down, slightly embarrassed. "Yes?" He said cautiously. Then his face filled with passion as he grabbed her hands. "But I did it for you!"
"That's the problem!" she said, her eyes filled with tears. "I've moved on, Tony. So should you. You can't live this way. You were brought up living in mansions and eating caviar on toast for breakfast."
"But so were you!" He said defensively.
"Ya but-" Marie didn't know what to say.
"Marie! I'm not a child! If you can survive in the 'normal' world, then so can I!"
"You're right Tony. I'm sorry." She sat back in her chair. "It's just- you don't belong out here tony. You can't stay here with me. It would hurt me to see you have to live like this." She put her hand on his shoulder. "If you really love me, then go live your life without me. That's all I want."
He grabbed her and hugged her.
"Ok Marie. I would do anything to please you. Even if it meant I would never see you again."
"I'm glad you understand Tony. Here's some money for the bus back. And- here." She yanked a chain off her neck. "Your class ring."
It had the name Marie engraved in gold.
"Thanks." He said, as e pulled something out of his pocket. "The button that came off my coat at the ice rink last winter." He handed it to her. She looked up at his eyes. The sparkle was still gone, but he looked like his fragile heart had been fixed up with iron, and no one would ever be able to destroy it ever again. He stood taller, with more confidence. He kissed her on the forehead. "Thank you." He said, and he walked out the door.
When Marie got home, she sewed the button onto her coat that Tony had given her last Christmas. She felt proud. Like her little bird had finally flown away. Tony was now and forever would be, unattached.
