April
Iwas lost in my own thoughts, looking out onto the city when I felt the presence of people behind me. I turned and was surprised to see three women, all dressed to the nines, all looking at me with the same pleased-with-themselves expression on their faces.
“April!” said one of them. “April Flowers, right?”
“Yeah, that’s me.” Who was this woman talking to me like we were old friends?
“You don’t recognize me, do you?” she asked. The woman was tall and slender and in her forties, pretty with brown hair. The other women had the same look, the types with SoulCycle-toned bodies.
I tried to put a name to the face, but came up with nothing. “Sorry—I’m really bad with names.”
“Aren’t we all.” She kept that same smile on her face. “I’m Anna Sharpe—I live next door to the Winterfords.”
“Oh! I remember you now! Maya’s mom!”
She glanced over to the other two women, an expression on her face that seemed to say “See? Told you I knew who she was.”
The Winterfords were one of the first families I’d worked for as a nanny. They were nice people—maybe a little snooty, but they always treated me well. And their son Parker was beyond adorable.
“That’s right,” she said. “Maya’s mom.”
“How’s she doing? Still kicking butt in ballet?”
“Nah—she’s moved onto horses now. Can’t seem to keep her out of the saddle these days.”
Relief washed over me as I began to get a better sense of why these women had cornered me the way they had. But something still didn’t sit right with me.
She went on. “Anyway, these are my good friends Kelly Mayer and Sonja Wescott.”
They each extended their hands toward me, and I shook them.
“Pleasure,” said Kelly, a willowy blonde.
“Nice to meet you,” said Sonja, a petite brunette with a pixie cut.
“So,” said Anna. “Surprised to see you here.”
“Why’s that?” I asked.
“Oh, you know. Doesn’t really seem like your kind of scene.”
“Is that right?” As soon as she said the words the conversation took on a different tone, one decidedly less friendly.
“That’s right,” said Anna. “You’re here with Jason, right?”
“Right. Just as friends, though.”
“Well, naturally,” she said. “I know Jason, and he doesn’t tend to get involved with women like you.”
“Women like me?”
“You know,” said Kelly. “Women who aren’t…on his level.”
I bristled. “What are you trying to say here, exactly?”
“Listen, April,” said Kelly. “It’s cute that he took you out, bought you a dress you couldn’t afford, and all that. But a place like this…it isn’t for you.”
“Not for me?”