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Scarlet and me.’
    ‘You never want me to go anywhere with you any more! I . . .’ Jesus, Leo was on the verge of tears again. He turned to look out the window. ‘You’re ashamed of me.’
    ‘No, Leo. It’s not that.’ I put my hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. Maybe he was right. Maybe it was a little bit that. But only a very little bit. Mainly, I just didn’t think I could manage babysitting my brother in a crowded nightclub and hooking up Scarlet and Win at the same time. ‘Scarlet’s got this guy she likes, and you shouldn’t be mad at me because I barely even want to go to that stupid place myself,’ I explained.
    Leo was silent.
    ‘You’re killing me here. Trust me, I’d much rather be spending the night with you and Natty.’ This much was true. ‘Can’t I please have a rain check?’
    He turned his head and gazed at me with eyes as dull as his stuffed lion’s plastic ones. ‘Sure, Annie,’ he said. ‘Another time.’

 
    I V. i go to little egypt
    A S I STOOD IN FRONT of the mirror readying myself for the evening, my thoughts kept returning to Leo and how I might have handled things better. I picked up my tweezers and plucked a stray hair from my eyebrow.
    The doorbell rang. Natty called, ‘I’ll get it!’
    ‘Thanks! It’s only Scarlet!’ Scarlet and I had agreed that she would arrive a half-hour before Win so that we could, I don’t know, strategize or something. ‘Tell her to come in the bathroom. I’m just plucking my brows.’
    ‘Don’t overpluck, Annie!’ Natty scolded. ‘You always overpluck.’
    I heard her run down the hallway to the door. ‘Annie says to go in the bathroom,’ Natty said as she opened the front door. ‘Oh, you’re not Scarlet.’
    A male voice laughed. ‘Should I go in the bathroom anyway?’ Win asked. ‘Seeing as she’s only plucking her eyebrows.’
    I tightened my bathrobe around my waist and went out to our foyer, where Natty the flirt had already appropriated Win’s hat. ‘You’re early,’ I accused him.
    ‘Great building,’ he said casually, as if he hadn’t even noticed that I was annoyed. ‘The marble staircase in the lobby. The gargoyles out front. A bit spooky, but it’s got a ton of character.’
    ‘Right,’ I said. ‘So, you were supposed to be here at eight o’clock.’
    ‘I must have gotten the time wrong. A million apologies.’ He bowed a tiny amount.
    I don’t like when plans change. ‘Well, I’m not ready yet, so what am I supposed to do with you now?’
    ‘I’ll take care of him,’ Natty volunteered. I looked over at my sister. Win’s hat was kind of cute on her. It was a darker, sturdier fabric than the one he wore at school. Other than that, he was still wearing what he’d worn earlier in the day – that is to say, his school uniform – though he’d rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt.
    ‘Different hat,’ I observed.
    ‘Yes, Anya. That would be my evening hat.’ He said this in a sort of self-deprecating way, but he leaned a bit towards me when he said it. His scent was woodsy and clean.
    ‘All right, Natty,’ I said. ‘You may as well offer the early bird a drink.’ I turned to go back to my bedroom.
    ‘Your eyebrows look great, by the way,’ he called. ‘At their current level, I mean.’
    The doorbell rang. Scarlet.
    ‘Seems everyone’s early tonight,’ Win commented.
    ‘No,’ Natty volunteered. ‘Scarlet was supposed to get here early.’
    ‘Really?’ Win asked. ‘Now, this is interesting.’
    I ignored him and turned to answer the door.
    Scarlet kissed me lightly on the cheek so as not to leave a lipstick trace. Her outfit was classic Scarlet: a black lace corset and men’s wool trousers and a ton of her signature red lipstick. She had also somehow managed to procure a single white lily for her blonde hair.
    ‘That flower smells amazing,’ I told her, and then I whispered, ‘He’s already here. He got the time wrong or something.’
    ‘Oh, that is so