Felony Jones

A Terrible Reception (Friday Evening)

     "I think I'm going to have another Mint Julep!" Pearl shouted into Felony's face. Pearl was very tipsy, and as very tipsy people do; they tend to talk louder the drunker they get. Felony held her hands up, patting the air, "okay honey, I can hear you just fine, the room's not that loud." Pearl let out a quick giggle, then put her index finger up to her lips. "Shh."

"I want to thank you again for the invitation." Felony said, trying to distract Pearl. "Oh, you're welcome!" Pearl said loudly, but not shouting this time. "I'm sorry it was so last minute—my twin sister, Opal was supposed to come with me but she had a terrible asthma attack and had to go to the hospital." Felony wasn't sure what she should be more concerned about, the fact that Pearl was clearly over her limit making Felony, by default or proximity, her chaperone—or that Pearl's sister was in the hospital unable to breath, and this woman decided the best course of action was to go to a party and get sloppy drunk. She also couldn't wrap her head around the fact that they had parents who decided to name their twins, Pearl and Opal. It had become obvious in the short period of time she knew Pearl, good decisions weren't this family's strong suit, but Felony didn't have the energy to overthink the situation.

"What is this exactly?" Felony asked.

"It's a reception for the Mayor..."

"I understand that. I mean, what is the purpose?"

"Well, this is sort of the kick-off to the start of his running for re-election."

"It's a fundraiser..." Felony said flatly.

"Yes, basically." Pearl said, suddenly distracted by her clothing.

"Got it." Felony began looking around the room.

"Felony, you haven't told me what you think of my outfit." Pearl twirled in place several times, then stopped suddenly, holding her hands out to balance herself. Felony helped Pearl to steady herself, taking the glass out of her hand and setting it on the bar.

"It's interesting...what? What is it exactly?" Felony asked, looking her up and down. She was genuinely confused by the dress.

"It's black—and it's tight." Pearl said, sliding her hands down her sides, stopping at her hips and ending with a flourish. "It's vinyl and it's a Wanda-Wanda original." Felony noticed the label sticking out, but didn't tell Pearl, nor did she didn't mention that she knew Wanda. She kept her thoughts about the design of the dress to herself.

"It looks...hot."

"It's very hot—do you want another drink?"

"No, I'm good." Felony went back to scanning the ballroom, trying to see if she could spot the Mayor, Perdue or Fortis. The face she really wanted to see was David's. Felony could see Pearl fussing with her dress out of the corner of her eye, and when she turned to look at her, she was in the middle of a serious adjustment process, tugging at every part of it, oblivious to everything around her. After watching for a moment, Felony turned her attention back to the crowd, spotting the Mayor and Perdue chatting with a few people as they made their way closer to the bar. She stole glances, keeping an eye on them until she couldn't ignore Pearl any longer. "Do you need some help with that?"

"I think I've got it; I just needed some air in there!" Pearl shouted, pointing to her cleavage. Felony leaned over, looking down into her cleavage with curiosity, only to quickly turn away when she noticed the large amount of bunched up cocktail napkins stuffed inside. Felony rubbed her forehead as she second-guessed her decision to accept Pearl's invitation to the reception. Out of nowhere, David appeared in front of them with a big smile on his face. "Oh, thank God." Felony said with a desperate relief. David glanced at Pearl, then back to Felony with a questioning look. "Am I interrupting?" He asked.