Page 29 of Till Death Do Us Part

What kind of hell had I been flung into?

Footsteps sounding on the gravel behind us made us both stop walking. Elsa and Lo. I introduced Lo to Jack and Jack to Lo. I was hoping they had come to break up our time together. I kept squeezing my dress to hide the fact my hands were shaking.

Lo held up her hand. Her third finger was now adorned with an intricate gold ring that looked like it was made of gilded lace. “He designed it himself for me!”

I grabbed her hand, and her eyes changed. Maybe she felt what was going on underneath the surface. “It’s beautiful, Lo.” I hugged her.

She took my hand back and looked at Jack. “Would you mind if I steal my sister for a few?”

He hesitated for a second, like he didn’t want to. Then he nodded and disappeared inside. He watched me for a second through the glass in the sunroom before Alfonso took him by the shoulder and led him out of sight.

“Keep walking,” Lo said.

The three of us walked until we came to the pool house. We went inside and Lo shut the door and locked it.

“What’s going on, Y?”

I paced back and forth, worrying my hands. I wasn’t sure what to do with them. I had a bad feeling about all of this.

“That’s the guy Babbo chose for me to marry.”

“Jack?” Lo asked. “Are you sure?”

Elsa had taken a seat, watching us as she pulled grapes from a bowl on the counter.

“Almost positive,” I said.

“Oookay. He’s close to the guy you described for me, right? We can work with that.”

“No!” I shouted, not meaning to. “I can’t work with that, Lo.”

“Why not?”

“He works for a pharmaceutical company. They test on animals, and…and…insulin is so high! Why is it so high? It doesn’t cost that much to make, and the price is so astronomical people can’t afford it. It’s a major money-maker, that’s why! It’s awful to do that. To test on animals and to deny people life-saving drugs.”

Lo just stared at me. Elsa popped another grape in her mouth.

“What’s really going on, Y?” Lo asked.

“Isn’t that enough?”

Lo shook her head. “You can talk to him about those things. Maybe try to make a change to his business through him.”

“He likes to do the talking,” I said. Besides the Miss Illinois comment, which sent alarm bells sounding because of how proud of itheseemed, he didn’t take a breath to ask me anything else.

“You’re hiding something from me, Y.”

I looked at Elsa, and she stuffed two grapes in at once. Lo caught it.

“You told Elsa?” Lo looked hurt.

I sighed. “It was hard not to. He showed up at work.”

“Who?” Lo took a seat next to Elsa and grabbed the bowl from her.

“John Maggio.”

Lo started to choke on a grape, and Elsa beat her on the back.

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