Annihilate Me 2: Vol. 1 (15 page)

“You’ll notice that Lady
Molesworth
isn’t here tonight,” Frieda said with a
self-satisfied smile.

“I didn’t notice,” I said.
 
“But I do hope she’s not making more
telephone calls with that extra time she has on her hands…”

A waiter stepped beside us with a
tray full of glasses of bubbling champagne.
 
I took one just as the crowd surrounding
Henri started to ease away in a flurry of kisses.
 
When they turned to leave, only one
person bothered to speak to me.

“Good-bye, Jennifer,” Count
Luftwick
said.
 
“And thanks for the show.
 
You always know how to keep things interesting.
 
And thank God for that.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“Thank you for arriving when you
did,” Henri said.
 
“God, they’re
boring.
 
And condescending.
 
I’m sorry for the way they treat you,
Jennifer.
 
And for the way they’ve
always treated you.”

“I’m not,” I said.
 
“There’s something to be said for being
an outsider—and I am an outsider.
 
I find them fascinating.”

“You shouldn’t, because they’re
not.
 
But at least you gave it back
to them.
 
Luftwick
was right—you keep things interesting.”

“My wife has a way of doing that,”
Alex said.

“You’re a lucky man.”

“I know I am.”

“I like to think that we’re both
lucky,” I said.

“You are,” Henri said.
 
“Now give me a kiss—it’s been too
long.
 
Are you OK with being
here?
 
After what happened?”

As I kissed him on each cheek, he
took each of my hands in his own and gave them an affectionate squeeze before
kissing me on each cheek.

“I’m fine.
 
The past is the past.”

“Too many people here like to keep
the past in the present.”

“They don’t bother me, Henri.
 
At least the count has always been kind
to me.
 
As for the others,
well—not so much.”
 
I
shrugged.
 
“But it doesn’t matter,
does it?
 
I’m here with the most
important man in my life and now I get to spend time with a dear friend of
mine—you.
 
That’s what
matters.
 
So, I’m happy.”

“You look ravishing, but what else
is new?”

“Believe me, I get a lot of help,
but thank you.”

“You’re too modest.”

“And you’re as handsome as ever.”

“I’m wearing elevator shoes,” he
said.
 
“Can you tell?”

“You do seem taller.”

He looked at Alex.
 
“And that’s why I adore your wife.
 
Anyone else would have bullshitted
me.
 
‘Oh, no, Henri—you look
the same.’
 
I swallow it because I’m
in business with most of these fools, but I hate the lies.”
 
He motioned toward me.
 
“But this one?
 
This one tells it like it is.”

“Best to keep it real,” I said.

“Tough to do that in this crowd.”

“But you see?
 
I’m not part of this crowd.
 
I’m an alien.
 
Some don’t care that I’m married to
Alex—they’ve accepted me for me.
 
Others know that I come from the wrong side of the tracks, and they’ll
never get over that.
 
Sometimes it
stings, sometimes it makes me want to be a little mischievous, but mostly I
just ignore it.
 
It’s not as if I’m
going home with any of them.
 
This
is a party—and a grand one, in fact.
 
How do you even pull anything like this off, Henri?
 
It’s remarkable.
 
Look at this place.
 
Look at how many people came.
 
I always feel lucky to have these kinds
of experiences, so why should anyone ruin that for me?
 
I refuse to let them.”

At that moment, Henri’s father,
Audric
, zipped up in his wheelchair, blew his horn, and
stopped beside us, startling all of us.
 
Now that I could see him up close and not just in a passing blur
shooting by us, I could see beyond his years.
 
At one point in his life, he must have
been extremely handsome.
 
He had a
full head of white hair neatly combed back and an inquisitive face that
brightened when he saw us.

“
Père
,”
Henri said.
 
“You’ve been up to no
good all night.”

“That was the plan,” he said.
 
“And stop trying to look so
serious—it doesn’t work.
 
I
know that you were enjoying it, too.”

“Maybe a little.”

“Maybe a lot.”

“
Père
,
you know Alex, of course, but I don’t think you’ve met his lovely new wife,
Jennifer Wenn.
 
Jennifer, this is my
father,
Audric
Dufort.”

“It’s good to see you again,
Diana.”

And at that, Henri looked aghast.
 
“No, this is Jennifer,” he said.
 
“Alex’s first wife, Diana, passed
away.
 
You remember that, don’t you?
 
But maybe you don’t.
 
That was years ago.”
 
When he looked up at Alex and me, I
could see the discomfort on his face, and my heart went out to him.
 
Obviously, his father had memory
issues.
 
“I’m so sorry,” he said.

“There’s nothing to apologize for,
Henri,” Alex said, turning his attention to
Audric
.
 
“We’ve been watching you tonight,
Audric
.
 
Have
you claimed any lives with this chair of yours?”

“Unfortunately, not a one, my dear
boy,” the man said.
 
“But the night
isn’t over yet—so there’s hope.”
 
He held out his hand to Alex, and Alex shook it.
 
“How are you?
 
I haven’t seen you in God knows how
long, and I’ve missed you.
 
How are
your parents?”

Alex didn’t even blink at
that.
 
“They’re fine,
Audric
.
 
They’ve
asked for you.”

“I have to say that I never liked
your mother—I always thought she was kind of a bitch.
 
And your father is nothing if not a
control freak, but at least he knows business.
 
I respect him for that.
 
We’ve done a few fine deals
together.
 
Hope to do a few more
before either of us kicks the can.
 
Why aren’t your parents here?”

“They had other plans.”

“What other plans?
 
Look at this place.
 
As usual, Henri has put on one hell of a
show.
 
This is the place to be.”

“They hope to see you soon,” Alex
said.

“I should hope so.
 
But I won’t be here long.
 
Time’s ticking, my boy.
 
I could be gone in an instant.
 
All night long, people have been looking
at me with sorrow in their eyes.
 
I
know I’m old.
 
I know I can’t
walk.
 
I know that I have pretzels
for fingers and legs, and that I’m a slave to this wheelchair.
 
Do they think I’m a fool?
 
Jesus, these people make me itch.
 
I’ve never gotten used to
them—never will.
 
But I put up
with them—just as my son does.
 
And do you want to know why?
 
I’ll tell you why.
 
As well
schooled as they are, most of them are suckers.
 
They didn’t start out like I did.
 
None of them ever had to get their hands
dirty.
 
I came to this country with
nothing—but I got rich because I worked hard, and because I used
them.”
 
He pointed at Alex.
 
“So did your father.”

“I know he did.”

“When are you planning on taking
over Wenn?”

“Soon, I think.”

“You’ll do well,”
Audric
said.
 
“Why?
 
Because you’re
bright.
 
I’ve always liked you,
Alex, ever since you were a kid.
 
Now you’re a man, you’re still married to Diana, and your whole future
is ahead of you.
 
When are you two
going to have children?
 
Don’t wait
too long.
 
The longer you wait, the
longer you’ll postpone your retirements.
 
You want those little bastards out of the house
toute
suite
.
 
Trust me on this.
 
I ditched Henri and put him to work as
soon as I could.
 
And now look at
him.
 
He’s one of the best things
that has ever happened to me.”
 
Audric
looked up at his son, and what I saw in his eyes
wasn’t confusion, but unqualified love.
 
“Don’t let that go to your head, Henri.”

“It won’t,
père
.”

“But you know it’s true.
 
You know your old man is proud of
you.
 
I probably should say it more
often than I do.
 
I have no idea why
I’m saying it now.
 
But it’s
true.
 
You’re a gem, Henri.
 
And you’re not a pussy—thank God
you didn’t turn into one.”

When Henri put his hand on his
father’s shoulder, I was deeply moved.
 
His father obviously was ill, but the love between them was
palpable.
 
I’d never had that with
either of my parents, so it was always good to see others who had that bond.

Audric
turned to me, and it was clear by his expression that he thought this
was the first time that he’d ever seen me.
 
He looked up at me with a smile.
 
“And here you are, Diana, as beautiful as ever.”

“Thank you,
Audric
.”

He lifted his head at me with
clouded green eyes that reminded me of the sea at dusk.
 
He reached out his hand for me to shake,
and here is where I felt his frailty.
 
His skin was soft and papery.
 
His fingers, wrecked by arthritis, were so slender, they felt like they could
snap with a brisk shake.
 
On the
back of his hands were brown spots and purple bruises.
 
It reminded me of my grandfather’s hands
not long before he died, and the sight of it depressed me.

“It’s good to be out tonight,”
Audric
said.
 
“I
don’t come out often enough—and I’ve had fun!
 
I even nipped at some old
bitty’s
heels with this damned machine, which gives me all
the excuse I needed for doing so.
 
What was she going to say to me—‘get off my ass, cripple’?’”
 
He looked around the room with a wistful
glance.
 
“You all realize that I
could be gone at any moment, don’t you?
 
So, you know, you should prepare yourself for that.
 
I could just slump over in my chair,
shit my pants, and that would be that.
 
Lights out for
Audric
.
 
That’s what it’s like at my age.
 
You never know when death is going to
hit.
 
Being this old is the most
surreal experience.
 
I go to sleep
at night and think, ‘Well, that’s it.
 
Surely, I’ve snuffed the final candle by now.’
 
Then, I wake the next morning, stunned
to realize I have a shot at another day.”

At that moment, the photographer
who’d photographed Alex and me earlier came over and asked if he could take a
group photo of all of us.

“I look like a poached egg, but to
hell with it,”
Audric
said.
 
“Capture my son and me together while
you can, and you might as well include these two.
 
Are you capable of making me look
young?” he asked the photographer.

When the man didn’t speak,
Audric
laughed.
 
“Didn’t think so, kid.
 
Go
on—take the photo.”

“If I could just have everyone pull
in,” the man said.

We did, and he took several
photographs just as a piercing, unmistakable voice cut through the crowd:
 
“
Papi
!” a
woman called.
 
“
Yennifer
!”

“That will be all,” Henri said to
the photographer, but when the man receded, I was aware of him moving only
slightly into the crowd, where he hovered along the periphery.
 
I knew why.
 
Epifania
Zapopa
was closing the distance between us, a smile as
massive as her personal fortune on her face—and this man didn’t want to
miss a moment of it.

“It’s
Epifania
Zapopa
,” I said.

“What’s an
Epifania
Zapopa
?”
Audric
asked.