Mind Or Matter

Chapter Twenty Five

Soft music was played by a small chamber quartet – a bass, cello, and two violins. They were playing some classical song, like The Blue Danube, but softer and less like a ballroom dancing type of song.

The city hall was full of people, mostly people who was a part of the "elite" side of Miami, or so Candi liked to call it. She sometimes joked that these people were a lot like the rich people from The Hunger Games, with their dapper clothing and expensive jewelry.

I checked my watch, which Candi made sure I brought, though I'm not sure why. 3:35. The party had only started five minutes ago, yet there had to be at least a hundred people chattering and drinking glasses of champagne.

All of the sudden, there was the sound of heels. "Candice, dear!" a woman was squealing, the sound of her shoes getting louder and faster. Click, click, click, click!

Candi and I both turned around at once, surprised to see the lady right in front of us. I almost jumped, but I didn't want to startle Candi.

I glanced at Candi, seeing her expression change from a wondrous girl to a face just screaming, "get me out of here!"

The woman started talking to Candi, sputtering things like, "how are you?" and, "I haven't seen you in years!"

My eyes were fixated on her hair – brown curls that reminded me of someone from the cast of Grease. Strange hair, I thought, but an even stranger outfit.

Indeed, she was wearing something odd – a silver dress with golden "stripes" going down. It was a thin dress fit for the thin woman.

The lady looked at me, then at her dress. "My, you've got a taste for fashion! Is this your husband, Candice?"

Not wanting to put Candi in an awkward situation, assuming that these people would disapprove of an unmarried "couple", I answered, "yes, for two years."

Candi shot a look at me, not quite a glare, but also not a relieved face.

The woman smiled and said, "lovely." Next, after a short pause, she introduced, "I'm Lydia Brookes. My husband's the Chief of Police at MDPD – the Miami-Dade Police Department."

I faked a smile, hearing Candi say, "oh, really?"

Still confused on how the two knew each other, I decided to ask. "So, how did you two meet?"

Lydia gasped. "Why, I was just about to ask you! Really, it was quite a funny story! Candice was standing around the corner, just past Main Street, and I was walking out of the jewelry shop across the block! There was a man walking behind me. He kept looking at Candice, so I took a risk and asked who he was. His name was Chase Andrews. He told me he thought, oh, I shouldn't say this... such vulgar content, but he had said, 'that chick is hot.' I frowned and, only wanting to get rid of the scoundrel, I introduced the two. But they seemed to quite fancy each other, really! The next day, Candice and I bumped into each other on the same road, and I offered her brunch. We've been good friends ever since!"

I shot a wide-eyed expression at Candi and quickly mouthed, what the hell?!

But Lydia wouldn't shut up. Her jaw kept going up and down, her posh, annoying voice jabbering on about her wealth and her jewelry, including the outfit she was wearing tonight.

"My husband bought it for me last week. It is the same Givenchy Haute Couture dress Emma Stone wore to the Oscars."

I smiled weakly, then said, "well, it was nice meeting you, Mrs. Brookes." I stepped back a little, watching a disappointed expression grow on her face, like she wanted to keep yacking.