Audrey Hepburn's Pearls: Part I

Chapter 79.1: 1968, Georgina

Chapter 79.1: 1968, Georgina

"Sasha told me you were scared yesterday."

"Oh. Mm-hm. We were."

Paulie had seemed a bit quiet ever since he'd come back from work. It was sunrise, and we were always seeing each other at sunrise now. It just happened to be when he came in, and I didn't seem to be able to adjust my schedule to go to sleep when I should. Now we always met at sunrise, just plain fact.

He'd spoken so suddenly, though. He'd been staring out the window, his head turned towards it as he sat on the couch. I'd noticed there was still eyeliner at the edges of his eyes. This was from a magnificent get-up earlier in the night. He'd dressed to match Genesis he'd said, they were going to perform together much to the amusement of Sasha. All the same, Sasha hadn't been able to hide his fear with me today about things unseen, what could be behind the door at any moment, plotting. So we'd talked about the club, what was going on there, just to calm our nerves.

"They're planning something weird," Sasha had said, a brave laugh coming from him. He'd seemed high already, which isn't good when you're frightened. It just makes you more paranoid, I'd seen Paulie paranoid like that too many times. But Sasha was a grown man, so he knew about the paranoia. And I knew why he was chain smoking joints. 

Earlier tonight when Sasha and Paulie had been getting ready, Paulie had begun to sing in full voice, to my surprise as Marvin Gaye, singing "It Takes Two" by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston. I'd have been so sure he'd play the Kim Weston part. He'd shoved a fully dressed Sasha out of the bathroom and spun him around full Fred Astaire crooning along. 

"You're crazy!" Sasha had giggled really high, in more ways than one.

Paulie had laughed with him. I'd asked him why he was planning that duet with Genesis, and he'd told me no problem that it was to make Cha Cha feel better because it was Motown and for sure Cha Cha would know it and love it. At the time, I'd felt a stab of guilt because I knew why he was trying to make Cha Cha feel better, but now...

Now Paulie was so serious. No evidence of that happy Paulie anywhere. In fact, this was the same Paulie I'd seen at the kitchen table, when Genesis had smacked him upside the head and glared at him.

He blinked now, a long slow blink. Almost painful, but I couldn't be sure.

"You don't have to be scared," he said, mysteriously. "Ganya's downstairs when you're alone. We make sure."

"I know...but I can't help but think they'll slip past him."

"They won't."

"Yeah, but Ganya doesn't have eyes everywhere. Sasha said Ganya's been asleep out there before. He's human, Sasha said we can't blame him and I don't. He was really sorry about it, he said."

"Yeah, he's human and you can't always count on cops."

I hesitated. That's not what I'd meant. Why was he talking about cops like that? Though, a burning in my chest told me he was right. I didn't trust cops either, but other cops. Not Ganya. He'd been there for me when no one-

"Wait here a minute, alright?" Paulie said this almost as a snap and it made me snap my head up to him. He was getting off the couch.

"Where are you going? Bathroom?"

"No."

"Where are you going?" I made to undo my brakes but he was already gone, disappearing into his bedroom. I relaxed a little bit. He wasn't going far.

As I sat there, I heard a loud tearing sound. Like some kind of adhesive ripping apart. Then I heard it again. It was alarming but so quick there wasn't any time to react. My hands hovered over my brakes and as he returned I relaxed fully. As long as he was coming back.