Read Online Dark Plums by Maria Espinosa - Free Book Online Page A

icy grey eyes and fair hair, Gerald seemed accustomed to being sought out by women. Adrianne had stood awkwardly in a dark corner, a trifle dizzy from the liquor. Suddenly an attractive woman in a white silk dress had swooped upon her.
    â€œWho are you?” Lucille asked. “Honey, you look lost.”
    Lucille’s voice was vibrant. She had taken Adrianne upstairs to her bedroom suite, with its satin upholstered furniture, and they had drunk still more and talked.
    That night Adrianne found out that Lucille came from Alabama and that she had met Barney when she worked in Las Vegas as a show girl. Lucille had been vague about her past. In repose, a certain bitterness had showed in her face. But her manner was warm, even tender. Adrianne had found herself talking in a rush about Gerald and about the abortion. She had not felt able to confide in her few friends, nor in her mother.
    â€œHow old are you?” Lucille had asked.
    â€œEighteen,” said Adrianne.
    â€œPoor baby,” whispered Lucille, clasping Adrianne in her arms. Aroused by Lucille’s sympathy, Adrianne’s emotions, which had been buried for months, came to the surface. Unaccustomed to tenderness, Adrianne sobbed uncontrollably. She pleaded with Lucille not to tell anyone about the abortion because she wanted to protect Gerald’s reputation at the hospital where he worked.
    Lucille had stroked her hair. “Relax, honey. It’s not so bad. I had two abortions in Juárez. You’re young and beautiful, even if you could lose a few pounds. There’s nothing to be afraid of.”
    Adrianne shuddered. Was she beautiful in anyone’s eyes? She felt overwhelmed that someone as sophisticated and elegant as Lucille should take an interest in her.

    At last Adrianne was standing in the hotel corridor outside Lucille’s room on the sixth floor. Nervous and inexplicably frightened, she smoothed her turquoise print nylon dress over her body, then knocked on the door. She had gained weight since living in Manhattan, and this was evident from the way the dress clung to her. Lucille would tell her to go on a diet. In her presence, Adrianne always felt a bit clumsy, yet she knew that Lucille cared for her with the warmth of the dream-mother of her childhood who used to come to Adrianne at night when she needed reassurance and love
    In a flash, Adrianne remembered the afternoon their relationship had changed. At the time Adrianne had been working as a clerk in a small gift shop. She arrived at Lucille’s late in the afternoon, exhausted from being on her feet all day, and she had lain back in a chair and closed her eyes for a moment. Lucille had started to stroke her hair. Then Adrianne felt the kiss that Lucille placed full on her mouth. When Adrianne drew back in shock, Lucille had whispered, “It’s all right, honey. It’s all right.”
    The door opened, and Lucille stood there, thinner than Adrianne remembered her, in a dark, dappled, clinging dress, its starkness relieved by a strand of pearls. Lucille’s face was unnaturally pale, and her long glossy brown hair had been shorn off just below her ears.
    â€œOh, I’m glad to see you, baby!” Lucille’s voice sounded strained. She pulled Adrianne inside, then shut the door. They embraced. Adrianne could feel the rise and fall of her friend’s chest. Lucille kissed her on the lips, as she had so many times in the past. But Adrianne could sense that something was not right. Lucille’s Chanel perfume mingled with a faint medicinal odor. She pressed against Adrianne, then abruptly pulled away, turning her back as she went towards the closet. “Honey, I haven’t had anything to eat all day, and I’m starved. I thought we could have lunch in the Village.”
    Her voice still sounded artificial. After rummaging a bit, Lucille found a pair of delicate leather sandals. Adrianne noticed that her friend’s fingers were