"Yes," Lorraine responded with distance in her voice.
Mara looked around and noticed that the room was set up for a younger girl. The stuffed animals on the bed looked old and abandoned. "Whose room was this before?" Mara asked.
"It was my daughter's room. Her name was Maggie."
"Did Maggie die?" Mara asked, picking up on the change in Lorraine's demeanor and hoping she wasn't sleeping in a dead girl's bed.
"We don't know. She was stolen from us a long time ago."
"Oh, can I see a picture of her?"
Lorraine led Mara over to the dresser and grabbed a framed picture of Maggie that was taken just before she was kidnapped.
"She's very pretty. Look at those eyes," Mara commented.
"Yes, she was a beautiful little girl."
Lorraine realized this might all be too much for Mara, who had her own past that needed to be handled.
"Enough of this sad stuff, Mara," Lorraine blurted with a wave of her hand. "This is a happy time for all of us. Let's get you settled in, and then you and I can cook dinner together. Sound good?"
Mara's smile lit up the entire room. "Wow. Really? That would be great."
Lorraine was delighted. "OK. Well, I'll let you look around your room. We haven't changed anything since Maggie was here. I was thinking you and I could give it new paint. You can pick the color, of course, and then we can buy some cool posters to decorate it-you know, make it more suitable for a cool thirteen-year-old like yourself," she said with enthusiasm.
"I would love that," Mara said, excited.
Lorraine walked to the bedroom door. Just before she left, Mara called out her name.
"Yes?"
"If Maggie comes home, will I still be able to stay here with you?" Mara asked, fearful of losing the only good thing she'd ever had in her life.
"Are you kidding? Absolutely, you'd stay. Maggie would have loved you," Lorraine stated, realizing with a stab of guilt that she had just spoken about her daughter in the past tense.
After Lorraine went downstairs, Mara sprawled out on the bed. She looked up at the ceiling and smiled, happy about her good fortune. Mara's thoughts drifted to Maggie, a girl she'd never met, and she wondered if Maggie had been tormented the way she had been for so long. But Mara could never imagine how much worse Maggie's life had been, compared with her own.
Chapter One Hundred Sixteen.
By Halloween that year, Maggie and Colby had worked out a routine that allowed them more time together. Two nights a week, Colby would go to Doubles and pay for a lap dance with her. Inside the semiprivate stall, Maggie would reveal secrets of the many girls working for Rock.
Although their attraction to each other continued to grow, neither of them pursued intimacy. In Rock's apartment, it seemed inappropriate to Colby to show his affection for Maggie. At Doubles, Maggie kept a cool space between them, since Jay, the bar manager, didn't tolerate any kind of sexual contact with the clients, not even kissing. She'd never make the first move anyway. Even though Maggie was experienced in having sex, she'd never kissed anyone passionately.
After almost two months of meeting in the lap dance room, Colby did what she had hoped he'd do. "Um, I was wondering. When you're done with your shift here on Wednesday, could I take you for that spaghetti dinner I promised you? You get done at seven on Wednesday night, right?"
"Yeah, seven. I'm working the early shift," she answered awkwardly.
"Well?" he asked.
"Well, what?" she responded.
"What about dinner?"
"Oh! Right. Yeah, I'd like to go out to dinner," Maggie answered, hoping he was asking her for a real date.
"Good. Then I'll pick you up at your apartment around eight o'clock?" Colby asked.
"That's probably not a good idea. I'll take the bus to the Melrose Diner, and you can pick me up there. Do you know where it is?"
"Sure, I do. I love the Melrose. Everyone who knows, goes to the Melrose," he recited, like a total geek.
"So I've heard...from the waitress who works there, who is, oh, I don't know, about a hundred years old," Maggie teased.
"Are you calling me old?"
"No, I'm just saying that if anyone else heard what you just said, they might think you're a nerd-you know, a dweeb, dork, dink, wonk...pick whichever one you like best," she joked, pushing her fingers through his hair.
Whenever Maggie and Colby had any type of physical contact, they shared a sensation that was as addictive as a needle full of heroin to a street junkie.
"I'm none of those things. I'm the coolest dude you've ever met. Don't try to pretend like you don't know it, either. That's exactly why you hang with me. You're cool by association," he sang.
"Oh, right. I'm cool by association? That's a joke," Maggie teased.
"Well, Ms. Cool, I need to head out. Your doorman over there," Colby said, gesturing to the man who sat by the door of the lap dance room collecting payment and keeping an eye out for the girls' safety, "just gave me the 'time's up' sign."
Maggie stood and walked back into the bar with Colby.
"So I'll see you on Wednesday night," Colby confirmed, as if Maggie could possibly forget.
"Yep. I'll see you at the Melrose."
Maggie headed back downstairs to change into a different outfit for her next set. As she entered the dressing room, Montana gave her venomous look.
"Oh, girls, look...it's Ms. Cool. At least that's what I heard her little boyfriend call her when I was in the lap dance room," she said sharply and began to laugh.
"Well, Montana, it's just a shame that you aren't capable of actually connecting with a man," Maggie shot back.
"Girl, you're a damn fool. You think that guy is actually interested in being serious with you? They all tell us what we want to hear to get what they want. You are stupider than you look," Montana screeched.
Maggie walked over to her own chair, sat down, and stared at herself in the mirror. Was Montana right? Was Colby playing her?
"Earth to Maggie," Emma said.
Maggie turned to her and smiled.
Emma stood with her hands on her hips. "Don't let that fuckin' bitch get inside your head. She doesn't know shit about shit. Montana is a jealous, crazy whore. Does that guy you were with tonight want you to dance for him?"
"Emma, that's Colby, and the answer is no, he doesn't want me to dance for him. He only wants to talk to me. I know him from Kensington," Maggie said.
"He must really like you if he pays you to sit there and talk to him," Emma reasoned.
"I guess," Maggie said with a smile.
"What?" Emma shot back.
"He's taking me to dinner on Wednesday night," Maggie announced.
"Aw, Mags, that's great. Are you excited?" Emma asked.
"More than you'll ever know. But Emma, there's this thing about what I do for a living that keeps nagging at me. How can a normal guy get past that?" Maggie whined.
"You won't believe the shit guys will get past if they're into you. Just go with it. Is this the first real date you've ever had?" Emma asked.
Maggie blushed. "Yeah."
"What are you gonna wear? That's what you need to be worrying about," Emma said.
"I don't know. I mean I haven't thought about that. I don't really have anything. I have my costumes for here, and I have my clothes for the men I entertain in Rock's apartment..."
Maggie's voice trailed off as she began to think through her wardrobe. "The clothes I wear when I'm not working are crap. I don't have anything that's decent. Ugh. Now what?"
"I'm sure I have something you can borrow," Emma offered.
"Are you kidding me? You do?" Maggie asked excitedly.
"Yeah, I do. You know, you worry too much. It's gonna give ya wrinkles, and then I'll have to find another hot bitch to do my dance routine with," Emma said.
"Ha! I'm about the only one in this place willing to dance with the likes of you. Not to mention, kiss you with that smelly breath of yours," Maggie poked.
The two girls laughed as they got ready to go back onstage. Emma's life had been full of people who hurt her, and it was nice to know a person who never expected anything from her but friendship. She was happy that she could help Maggie.
Emma felt a surge of peace when she was with Maggie, and she wondered if the young, dark-haired, blue-eyed beauty would ever find her way out of the life she was living.
Chapter One Hundred Seventeen.
The next evening, Emma brought Maggie a beautiful, black dress for her date with Colby. When she pulled it out of her bag, Maggie gasped. "This is incredible, Emma."
"It was a gift from a guy I know," she said. "Try it on."
Maggie put the dress on and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked stunning. The dress was strapless, fitted through the bodice to accentuate her breasts and the skirt flared dramatically. The layers of expensive chiffon fell around Maggie's hips and graduated to longer lengths. The hem stopped just below her thigh, showing off Maggie's long, lean legs.
"This is gorgeous, but I can't wear it," Maggie said.
"Why can't you wear it? The dress looks like it was made for you," Emma said.
"But if anything happens to it, I can never pay you for it. This must've cost a fortune," Maggie said, thinking that it must have cost at least one hundred dollars.
Emma shook her head and smiled. It was a Gucci dress, and the price was well over six thousand dollars. At the time, she'd been stunned. But Salvatore, the man who bought the dress for her, didn't even blink when he handed the sales clerk his credit card.
"Stop worrying all the time. Who the fuck cares how much it cost? I got a great deal on it, and if anything happens to it...well, it's only a dress. Seriously, Mags. You need to get a grip on yourself. You worry about small shit. So what shoes are you going to wear with it?" Emma asked, trying to change the subject.
Maggie let out a small yelp. "OK, I'll wear it, then. I was thinking about wearing my patent leather shoes," she finished, as she dug through her bag for the heels.
Maggie slipped the five-inch heels onto her feet and looked at herself in the mirror. Emma walked up behind her and peered over her shoulder. "You look like a model. You're truly stunning, Mags. Colby's gonna lose his shit when he gets a load of you," she said.
Maggie met Emma's eyes in the mirror. "Thanks, Emma. You're a good friend."
"Ugh, none of that sappy stuff," Emma teased her. "Besides, maybe someday I'll need a favor."
On Wednesday night, Maggie stood outside the Melrose, waiting for Colby to pick her up. Everyone who walked by her turned to steal a glimpse of the raving beauty. When Colby pulled up, he scooted out of the car and went to her side quickly.
"My God, Maggie. You look beautiful," he said.
Maggie blushed. "Thanks."
There was a pregnant pause until Maggie said, "You look great, too."
Colby chuckled. "Well, we'd better get going. I made reservations for eight thirty."
"Where are we going?" Maggie asked.
"I'm taking you to Ralph's. It's the oldest Italian restaurant in the United States. I promised you a good spaghetti dinner, and I never break my promises," Colby said.
Maggie hadn't had a meal that divine since she was taken from her family. She loved Ralph's.
Colby leaned into Maggie and her body tingled all over. "I love this place," he said. "I hope you're glad you came."
"Oh my God, the spaghetti is so good. Almost as good as my mom's," she said mindlessly.
The comment about her mother made them both pause for a moment. She hadn't associated anything in her life with her family until now. It left her feeling empty, and Colby was quick to pick up the conversation.
"So, who's Seth staying with tonight?"