Page 26 of Beneath the Watching

Still picking at his facial hair, he returned to the counter and closed his open laptop before putting it in his bag. “I should probably shave.”

Madison nodded. “You should.”

A thought occurred to me, and I slowly turned my head to check the area around my friend’s mouth. Her skin looked as pristine as usual, but she was a wizard with make-up.

“You ready to go?” she asked, hopping off her seat.

I nodded and grabbed my purse, trailing after her and following her to her car.

After I closed my door, she asked, “Do you have the card?” I dug in my handbag, checking. I did have Al’s credit card. “I do,” I said.

We must’ve been going shopping, I realized, having no recollection of agreeing to the activity. She drove us into the city, chattering about which boutiques she wanted to stop at.

“I want to go to Chanel; they have a really cute new purse I want. James said I can spend twenty K,” she laughed after announcing her budget. “And there’s this black dress with the prettiest flowers on it. I don’t know if he’ll let me get it today, but I think I can convince him.”

High fashion didn’t hold much interest for me, not the way it did my friend. My tastes ran to the less flashy and I favored muted colors and less detailing in my choices. Plain black dresses, black, navy, or grey pants, simple blouses or sweaters, plain shoes. Those were my style. Even my jewelry was simple, with my daily gold stud earrings and a single delicate chain around my neck.

James was rising in the ranks at the company he worked for and the more money he made, the more Madison appeared to spend, and he humored her. Al wasn’t hard up financially either, but he didn’t make quite as much as James, and I didn’t spend nearly as much as my friend.

Madison drove us to an enclosed parking lot, shoving a plastic card into a reader before the metal gate slid away to allow entry. When we reached the sidewalk after parking, I stuck to her side as she continued talking and gossiping while I glanced around.

The usual bustle of cars and city buses droned past us, and the normal number of pedestrians rushed by. The cacophony of noise irritated me, highlighted by my friend’s lengthy description of an island she wanted to visit on her and James’s vacation and her annoyance at and consequent firing of her assistant, Chelsea.

If I were Kiara, I would’ve told her to “shut the fuck up” by now, but I wasn’t and so I didn’t. Upon further reflection,Madison treated her two best friends very differently. Kiara had boundaries set with her whereas I did not and therefore Kiara was respected.

I stopped walking. It took far too long for Madison to notice she’d lost her victim and for a moment I sympathized with the now jobless Chelsea. She’d reached the end of the block before she started turning her head, searching for me. It was hard not to giggle at the dumbfounded look on her face.

I heard her call my name, but I remained where I was, and took out my cellphone, checking for a tea shop I’d heard about and thought sounded cute. Google showed me it wasn’t far from where I stood.

“What are you doing?” Madison finally strolled up to me, grinning ear to ear. It was hard to stay mad at her when she was so completely and utterly clueless and I felt myself softening.

Clicking on the walking directions icon on my phone screen, I answered, “I’m going to check out this tea shop. Are you going to Chanel? I’ll meet you there, okay?”

My friend blinked at me. “Um. Okay? Text when you’re on your way.” Madison appeared confused for a moment and then left me standing alone after doing a double-take when she began strolling away.

Relief rolled through me over the absence of the constant chatter. I loved her, but my brain was tired, and I couldn’t take it anymore.

Double checking the instructions on my phone, I crossed the street and headed down a side road. The architecture changed a bit, moving from the sleek modern to a village-colonial style and I found my destination.

A Tea for Thee looked like a recreated colonial cottage with shiplap and multipaned windows. When I stepped instead, a strong herbal scent surrounded me, and I was immediately charmed by all the cute teapots.

There was no need for a new teapot, but I drooled over them anyway. A white porcelain one with gold filigree drew my eye and I made a mental note to come back for it. A wall of boxed tea lined one side of the shop and I took my time reading the labels undisturbed. Rarely did I go shopping by myself and the peace and quiet was refreshing.

“Do you need any help?” A woman approached me wearing a pretty little embroidered apron with a teapot-shaped name badge. It had her name, Della, imprinted in gold script across the surface. She looked like a fairy princess with her heart-shaped face, tiny mouth with full lips, and thick, dark hair swept up on the sides.

“I’m just looking but I’m going to buy loose leaf,” I replied, trying not to stare. She’d fit in perfectly in Stefan’s world with its fairytale setting.

Della gave me a welcoming smile and I dismissed my judgy thoughts. “A lot of our products are marked way down right now, and you’ll find the loose tea at the back of our shop, by the registers,” she said.

“Thank you.” Della strolled away to another customer, and I made my way to where she’d indicated.

Fascinated, I practically drooled over the gilded sign for Da-Hong Pao tea. The price tag was astronomical, even on clearance, and the product was locked away in a presumably airtight container. Briefly, I considered purchasing some out of spite, thinking unwarranted and maybe unfounded thoughts of Madison and my boyfriend together.

I had Al’s credit card.

Instead, I bought some loose chamomile tea, took the little paper bag from the shop worker, and walked back out into the sunshine remembering that I was the one who’d stepped out on their partner.

I tucked the bag into my purse and brought Google back up on my phone so I could see precisely where the Chanel store was. Not much time had gone by, so I was sure Madison was still there flashing James’s black credit card at shop assistants and buying up everything in sight.

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