Lady of Light #Wattys2016

Chapter 10

"You two are so cute," she gushed happily. I blushed. It had been a while since I'd heard that, part of me had kind of missed it.

"Thanks," I said quietly, trying to hide the huge grin attempting to take over my face.

We walked in silence for a few moments, so I didn't miss the people in everyday dress that were stationed almost at random through the hall with black clothed people with a similar bearing. As we walked away, I saw several of the ones in normal clothing peel themselves from their 'tasks' or their discussions and follow us, as though simply deciding to leave. Even I wasn't quite that dense.

"So you're Sofia, right?" Carol finally said, breaking the silence near the end of the hall at the elevator.

"Sofie, please?" I begged. I did like my name a lot, but in a place that seemed to prize formality I needed some informality and friendship. Carol seemed like a likely choice, especially if I could discover how she knew David. Something about her suggested it wasn't what my frightened, jealous mind was trying to tell me.

"Sure," she said with a smile, "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you in the flesh. You're a legend! Plus, you and David are the star crossed lovers of the century. Everything he's given up for you! You condemned several generations of Salamu girls to high expectations, and so many girls are wondering how he got away. Including some of the girls who previously had a less than complimentary opinion of him!" she looked as angry as I felt. I had no idea what she was talking about, except for one thing- no one should treat him as less than he is. And also lots of jealousy. I remembered some of those girls, he'd told me stories, but I was realizing that his 'summer camp' might have actually been the Salamu compound. "But that's what makes it so adorable," she continued relentlessly, "After so much time of people not seeing what this totally underrated guy is like, they realize it too late."

I was having a hard time keeping up with her chatter. Also what was going on in her head. Star crossed lovers? How on earth? This felt related to one of the things I could tell that David was reluctant to tell me. I didn't, however, want to ask this mostly unknown person about this mystery.

"Um.." I began, "Do you know him personally or something?" She looked shocked, then recovered. She didn't seem prepared for how completely uneducated I was about David's secret life.

"I'm his cousin," at my dubious look, she continued, "His biological mother and my dad were siblings," she looked sad, "He never actually knew Aunt Mella, but I remember her from when I was little. She was... She was a beautiful person, inside and out, if you'll pardon the cliche. They look so much alike it's scary." At that, Carol was silent.

I wondered what they were like, his parents. The family I knew was his adoptive one, and since he didn't know his biological family they were probably his 'real' family, but I wished I'd known his other family too. From his tone in the car yesterday, I got the feeling that he had as well.

We walked arm in arm out of the hotel. After a few minutes of silence, Carol began chatting again for the entire walk. I was so distracted by her stories of life in the Salamu compound that I didn't realize where we were going until we were already there.

"Fifth Avenue?" I said in shock.

"Of course," she said with almost infuriating surprise, "It's the best place to shop!"

"I'm wearing shorts and a tank top," I said warily, "I'm going to draw attention to us."

"Not with our story," she said cheerily, "And you don't even have to act!" We grew closer to the first store on 5th Ave and I groaned. "See? You're doing perfectly already," Carol grinned before dragging me to my death, inconspicuous guard following slowly.