Moonlight

Thirteen

Alice didn't go back for many days. She focused on the house, now that she had to be more involved. There was still frost between her and Tom, but, as they shared little moments with the kids, or helped each other with little chores, she was able to say a few words to him or listed to what he had to say without feeling hatred for the man. She also noticed that he was not drinking as much.

There wasn't a single reason to return to the brothel, other than an urge she couldn't explain. There was a side of her she couldn't show to anyone else in her immediate circle, a side that belonged to the outer suburbs. There, a part of her came alive, when it came into contact with her peers.

'You're back,' Phil said. 'And on time.'

The place was still empty. The girls were in the kitchen eating, curling their hair, shaving their legs, chatting.

There was silence when she arrived. Alice recognised Athena and Crystal.

'Do you mind if I sit with you?' she asked.

'You'd better hurry,' Phil said.

Alice looked at him inquiringly.

'You have your first customer,' he added.

'Now? But we're all here – '

Some girls sniggered.

'Yes, now.'

Alice gave Athena a look, but she busied herself with her make-up. Alice didn't want to make a big deal of it: she didn't want the girls to think she was precious or she felt too good to do the work. After all, she already had a special deal and came in whenever the fancy took her.

Alice went to her room. She chose a black bra, lace nickers and dark stockings with garters. The dark fabric contrasted against her skin and made her look even paler and blonder. She looked at herself in the mirror and applied a bright-red lipstick and drew sharp, well-defined lines with the eyeliner. Every one of her features was accentuated.

There was a light knock on the door.

'You?' Alice said.

Phil smiled.

'I will pay. No special treatment.'

He was wearing his usual uniform: a black suit, a black shirt, and a black tie. The suit was not very expensive, but some unknown hand had cut and shorted and sown up again, so that everything fitted him perfectly.

He was tall and muscular. His nose was flattened, and once again, Alice thought he might have been a boxer in the past, but he had kind, penetrating eyes.

The man sat on the bed and patted the mattress, inviting Alice to sit next to him. She obeyed. He took off a large ring and showed it to her: she looked at it. It was a thick, golden ring, with a big diamond in the middle.

'The girls gave it to me many years ago. It's my most prized possession.' Then, following a logic Alice couldn't yet fully grasped, added, 'I know what you're doing here.'

'Do you?'

'Grace. The princess,' he mused. 'I don't know who you want to leave behind or who you're hoping to find, but just remember that there are only two types of people in the World: those you can trust, and those you can't. No in between.'

He looked at the ring again, rolling it around his fingers. She noticed that his hands were larger than those of an average man. He was silent for a moment, lost in thought. Alice knew what he would say next.

'You can always trust me.'

That's why the girls had given him this expensive present.

'Now,' he said, snapping out of the reverie. 'We have some time, you and I. As I said, I'll pay my fare, and make sure all extras are compensated. In fact, I'm all about the extras.'