“I feel like I’m burning up,” moaned another, who Sofia recognized as a mom from Atherton.
“Belle,whatdid you make these out of?” said another.
Jeff was helping the door attendant find jackets and scarves. The guests, in such a rush to get out, left their Dresses in a discarded pile on the dressing room floor, a sad metaphor for the disastrous evening.
The friends stood there helplessly as Belle’s dream was crushed by “textile contact dermatitis,” as one wellness editor put it loudly, causing the rest of the room to google the condition.
After five frenzied minutes, only Sofia, Morgan, Frost, Belle, and Jeff remained, plus a couple of manic staffers (they’d been required to wear all black, to differentiate from the guests, and so had been spared). Jeff was rubbing Belle’s back rhythmically, in the same way Sofia used to soothe her babies.
“I… I… I,” Belle said. “I don’t know what happened. Something must have gone wrong with the samples. I’m wearing an earlier version, and I don’t feel anything.” Jeff nodded sympathetically.
“Belle, I’m going to change now,” said Frost. Belle sniffled her assent. Sofia and Morgan followed her into the dressing room, each heading into a separate stall. Sofia nearly ripped The Dress off, changing back into her jeans with relief.
They found Belle sobbing next to the jewelry display, Jeff stress-googling “contact dermatitis” and “cotton allergy” and “fabric malfunction.”
“It’s all ruined,” cried Belle. “All my work. Everything. SOMEONE IS DOING THIS TO US. I know it.” She stared at them imploringly, but no one volunteered any information.
“Someone is trying to fuck up our lives,” Belle whispered.
“I’m not seeing a good explanation,” said Jeff, still looking at his phone. Was he ever not looking at his phone? Sofia wondered. “There’s no type of fabric that can cause a universal allergy. Unless the samples were tampered with, and someone put something on them that caused itching. But…whywould anyone do that?”
Belle wiped her eyes. She gave them all a meaningful look.
“It doesn’t make sense,” continued Jeff, shaking his head in confusion. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll get to the bottom of it. We’ll get to the bottom of everything.” He went back to his screen.
“Belle, I’m so sorry about all this,” said Frost. Sofia could see that Frost’s arms were still lightly red, the color mirroring the highlights in her hair.
“I’m also sorry that I have to go,” she said. “I wish I could stay and help, but I told the boys I’d be home for bedtime. I’ve been spending a lot of time on my collages, and so I promised. But I know this will all work out. No one will even remember it tomorrow.” Frost gave Belle a quick peck on the cheek, then waved goodbye to them all. “I’ll start a chain about our Friendsgiving costumes!” she said.
“I also have to take off,” followed Morgan. “I’ll call you in the morning. You are a fighter. You’reresilient. You’re strong. You can survive anything. And we are here for you.” Belle nodded solemnly.
Sofia glanced out the window to see a young homeless woman, possibly strung out, walking past the store. She pressed her face against the glass, squashing her nose, then locked eyes with Sofia, who couldn’t bring herself to look away. Then she gave Sofia the middle finger and scurried off. No one else in the group saw. Sofia winced.
“My gorgeous friend, I also must leave,” said Sofia. “Let meknow if I can help in any way,” Morgan had just exited, and Sofia rushed after her, making sure to stay far enough away so that Morgan didn’t notice that Sofia was on her tail. Sofia followed as Morgan walked down Hudson Street and turned onto Leonard. One World Trade loomed ominously in the distance. Morgan kept going, walking so fast that Sofia had to jog to keep up with her.
Sofia thought about money as she followed. Everyone in New York was always thinking about money. How they’d get more of it. What they’d spend it on. Money equaled freedom from JP. Money meant Sofia would get to keep her kids. And she’d do anything for that.
Morgan eventually slowed, entering the park in front of the imposing white building of City Hall, Sofia staying a healthy distance behind. It was getting dark, and Sofia was cold in her Orolay coat, which she’d recently bought on Amazon (though it was hideous, it was affordable, and the moms all had one for some unknowable reason).
The park was relatively empty at this hour, and so Sofia was carefully striding from tree to tree, hiding behind trunks to avoid being seen. Morgan passed a statue of an old guy in a chair—HORACE GREELEY, the plaque read—and continued to the south side of the wooded area, finally stopping in front of a large fountain, its water off, a tall, cross-like structure rising in its center. The only other person in view was a woman sitting on a bench off to the side. She was piled in jackets, maybe five in total, and was scattering crumbs on the ground, attracting a sizable crowd of pigeons, the birds fighting each other for scraps.
Sofia wasn’t exactly sure why she’d followed Morgan here. What did she suspect she’d be doing? But her gut had told her to go, so she had. Sofia shivered yet again, unable to shake the chill.
Maybe Morgan just wanted some alone time. Maybe she’d found out Art was cheating on her, and she was upset. Maybe she was worried about Gertrude. Sofia was starting to feel like a weirdo standing there, watching Morgan do… nothing. What was this stalking thing all about, anyway? Trailing her friends around the city like she was a private eye!Estúpido.
That’s when she saw a man walking toward Morgan. His back was to Sofia, so she couldn’t see his face. He was in a bomber jacket, and a black baseball cap was pulled down low on his head. As he approached the fountain, the bird-woman chucked a handful of bread onto the ground, and a swirl of pigeons swooped down, some of them flying close to the man’s head. He ducked for cover, and as he did, turned toward Sofia, giving her a quick view of his profile. Sofia gasped. Then she ran away, fast, pulling her scarf tightly around her neck. The wind in New York was whipping.
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Atherton Lower School Moms
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Dre Finlay
Attention, Atherton mommies! I’ve got an important announcement for you all, so please read this all the way through.
The homeless man who has been loitering near Atherton, the one who terrorized us all on the first day of school, has finally been arrested, and it was all thanks to Atherton’s safety patrol—namely, Gemma Corder and Julie Klein, who were on duty that day. Gemma and Julie saw the man in Stuyvesant Square Park, walking right through the reflecting pool, harassing nannies with strollers. They called the NYPD, who put this man in handcuffs and led him away. Atherton moms to the rescue! If you see Gemma and Julie at drop-off, please give them a huge thanks from our entire community for their bravery. We set up the safety patrol to protect our children, and we did just that.