The alarm went off at 6:00 a.m. and Jasmine's eyes slowly fluttered open as she stumbled for the snooze button. Successful, she rolled onto her back and stretched, flinging out an arm as she reached for April. Finding the bed empty, she propped herself up on her forearms and looked around the room. She spotted April sitting in the couch, fully dressed, in front of a low burning fire; just enough to take the chill out of the room.
April stared blindly into the fire, lost in thought. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jasmine walk around the end of the couch. She watched her as she sank down beside her on the couch, curling her legs under her. Jasmine snuggled into the crock of April's arm and tilted her head back, nervousness creeping in when the serious expression on April's face didn't change.
"Penny for your thoughts, cher."
April sighed and rested her forehead against Jasmine's, just enjoying the feel of her in her arms, saying nothing.
"Are you worried about tonight?"
"Um hum."
Jasmine leaned back so she could see April's face. "What's the matter, April? I thought we had everything planned out."
"Um hum." April wanted to just treasure this moment, sitting here holding Jasmine in her arms; wanted to hold on just a little longer.
They sat in silence for a few moments before Jasmine's impatience, and worry, won out.
"April, talk to me," Jasmine pleaded.
April pulled her head back. It was now or never. "Angel, please don't be mad at me, but we can't go as a couple tonight. In fact, you can't even acknowledge that you know me at all."
Jasmine just stared at her for a few minutes, eyes blinking, before she found her voice. "What? Why? Honey, I don't understand."
April sucked in a breath. "I've been up all night thinking."
"Didn't you go to bed last night?"
"No. Now hold on, angel, hear me out. I've been thinking. I'm afraid Lonna won't take the bait tonight, at least not from John, like we originally planned. I think Lonna's too sharp for that. I've got a backup plan that I've been thinking through all night, but it won't work if I walk in there tonight with you. The minute I do, the whole room will know exactly who I am."
"April, they already do."
"No, they don't. They know of me, but nobody's met me yet. They're going to be looking for whomever you walk in with, and I want you to walk in with your uncle and Mama, and stick to them like glue tonight. No matter what you see, what you hear, do NOT acknowledge me. Just act like I'm just another face in the crowd." April gave Jasmine a long look. "Can you do that for me, angel?"
Jasmine nodded.
April planted a kiss to her forehead. "Just trust me, Jasmine. I know you're confused; that none of this makes sense to you, but it's our only chance. If Jade doesn't walk out of there with us tonight, we might never get her back, and I, for one, can't live with that."
"April..."
She laid a finger to Jasmine's lips. "Shush baby. I know, I know." She forced herself to pry herself away from Jasmine and stood up. "Now, you have to go to work, and I've got some errands to run. We won't see each other again until the party." April walked around the back of the couch, heading for the closet to get her costume for tonight. She hesitated for a minute, a few feet away from the couch, then turned around and walked back. Leaning over the back of the couch, she buried a hand in Jasmine's hair, angling her head up, and gave her a deep, passionate kiss. "After tonight, angel, it'll be you and me, together forever. We'll be a family, with Jade and John right beside us. Whatever happens tonight, remember that." April sauntered off to the closet, grabbed her Zorro costume, and strode out the bedroom door; she had too many appointments and not enough time.
##
At 8:00 p.m., Halloween night, a black stretch limo pulled up in front of The Magnolia, one of New Orleans oldest, most prestigious, country clubs. The driver parked, leapt out, and opened the back door. Two women emerged; the first was dressed in a pin stripe suit complete with vest, a black pair of men's dress shoes, a red handkerchief tucked into the front breast pocket of the suite, and a black fedora. Stepping out, she turned back towards the limo and reached out a hand. Those standing nearby only saw one slim, bronze hand as it accepted the first woman's.
Slowly, a slim, gorgeous, raven-haired beauty emerged from the limo. People stared as multiple layers of tiered fringe, which made up the red flapper's dress, swayed with the woman's movements while the dressed hugged every curve. It was held up by the thinnest pair of spaghetti straps and she wore matching red gloves which ran up her arms, past her elbows, and ended halfway up her upper arms. The headpiece was just a thin red band that encircled her head, stretching across her forehead, and a little red feather stuck up on one side, her hair hung straight and long down her back. Her mascara was dark and thick, her lips ruby red, and the whole costume was set off with a pair of red pumps with stiletto heels, adding at least three inches to an already tall body.
The woman dressed as a 1920's gangster, went to great pains to make sure everyone saw her and the incredible woman accompanying her. She barely contained her smirk as she saw men staring, their eyes bulging out of their heads, as they walked past them down the red carpet that snaked it's way into the grand ballroom.
Inside, Lonna made a show of pulling out a chair for Jade. As she pushed it in, she leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"Oh look, darling! Your family is sitting at the very next table. How convenient."
Jade tried not to wince, Lonna's voice both smug and condescending. She'd already been given strict orders not to attempt to talk to her family; in fact, Lonna wanted her to make a show of snubbing them. She'd threatened retribution, once they got home tonight, if she didn't do exactly what she was told, but it was killing her, sitting only a few feet away from Jasmine, who looked amazing dressed as a Spanish Countess. Jade could see her out of the corner of her eye, knew Lonna had seated her here just for that purpose, and she wanted to cry as she fought the urge to run over and hug her sister.
Their uncle sat to Jasmine's left, going the safe route with an old fashioned Dracula costume, the same one he wore every year. Mama Dubois sat on the other side of Jasmine. She wasn't really wearing a costume, just decked out as if she was going to some swank jazz club. Jade continued to scan the table, without actually looking at it, searching for April. No one else at the table even remotely resembled her, and Jade felt a moment of panic thinking April wasn't here, and wasn't coming. She had just been so sure that April would use tonight's event to her advantage.
Lonna sat down beside her and gave the Dupree's table her most sincere smile. Jade wondered if she realized how smug she looked. Knowing Lonna, she did, and had done it on purpose. Jade had come to know Lonna well enough to realize the woman's every move was thoroughly calculated; to her advantage.
It was too painful to see her family and not be able to talk to them, so she twisted a little in her chair, towards Lonna. This gave her back to her family, which Lonna took as a public snub and grinned her approval, but Jade had done it out of a sense of self-preservation. She had to survive tonight's party, and silently prayed that April really would rescue her. She just couldn't take living with Lonna, practically in captivity, much longer.
Jasmine's eyes darted from Lonna's smarmy face to the back of her sister's head. When Jade had walked in, it took everything she had not to jump up and run over to her, but April's words from this morning kept ringing in her head, 'We'll be a family'. After tonight, they'll all be together, she just had to keep calm and play along, just for this one night.
She felt Mama lay a reassuring hand on her arm. Jasmine covered it with her own and turned towards her, returning the smile. On her other side, she could hear Uncle John grinding his teeth together, the one sure sign that told her that he was barely able to keep his temper in check. For some reason, she found it more reassuring than Mama's efforts, and felt her insides calm down a little. She started scanning the room for Zorro's. To her dismay, there were quite a few of them tonight, more so than any other past party, that she could remember. Jasmine shook her head at the odd though. Lord, she was so nervous she had resorted to counting costumes!
Across the room, two particular Zorro's were whispering back and forth to each other while they drifted around the buffet, trying to pretend they didn't already know each other. A third stood somewhere in between, smiling into her cup of punch as she listen to the other two trying to play super spy. Bowing her head to take a sip, she whispered into the minuscule microphone clipped inside the neck of her cape.
"Sit tight a little longer, John, maybe another half hour, twenty minutes, then go over. I can see the bitch's smug smile clear over here, so she's really enjoying the show at the moment. Let her eat it up a little longer before you strike up a conversation."
April heard John's whispered, "Ok," in her earpiece. Taking her time, she turned away from the buffet table and started to meander towards the two tables. "Pipe down," she ordered Trina and Sam as she walked past. The two lovers' conversation was starting to increase in volume, and she was afraid someone would soon notice their bickering and realize they were together.
They instantly shut up at her command and she shook her head, chuckling. Nearing the tables where Lonna, Jade, and the rest of the Duprees sat, she quickly grew serious as she concentrated on the business at hand. She stopped at the table in front of Lonna and Jade's, at the farthest end away from them, and struck up a conversation with the middle aged couple occupying the chairs closet to her. She had no idea who they were, but it didn't matter. This was the kind of event that was chocked full of the upperly mobile types, who would rather die before they ignored a stranger, just incase it was someone really important.
The wife was something of a chatterbox, which suited April's needs just fine. This way, she could watch the tables she needed, without having to put too much concentration into the conversation, just nod her head and agree at all the key points. Minutes later, she watched John get up from the table and walk towards Lonna. Glancing at her watch she noted that it was exactly twenty minutes from when she last spoke to him. He must have sat there and timed it.
As he came around the edge of the table, farthest from Jade and closer to her, she watched Lonna stand up and intercept him. She was being careful not to let John get too close to Jade, but thankfully they stood off to the side just enough to not block her view of Jade. She glanced briefly at Jasmine, watched for a moment, then tried not to smile when she realized Jasmine was scrutinizing every person in the room dressed as Zorro. The fact that Jasmine was looking for her gave her a warm feeling. Yeah, she was really getting used to this partners thing.
She and John were wired with the same equipment, so she could easily hear his conversation with Lonna. John was trying to play it casual, "Oh, Lonna, nice to see you again. It's been so long. How are you?" He was doing a good job of it. April almost couldn't tell that he was fighting the urge to knock Lonna on her ass, and she knew John to be the last man on the planet to ever hit a woman. Well, she was hoping one of them would get that treat later tonight.
April nodded at the woman she was chatting with, noting that Lonna was playing right along with John, but she could tell Lonna wasn't buying any of it, not for a minute. This was what she had been afraid of. Lonna was too sharp to fall for something so simple, but April hadn't realized it until after the party invitation had already been mailed out. It was ok though; this would work in their favor because now, Lonna would think this was it. The Dupree's had played their hand, they failed, and she'd spend the rest of the night smug and happy in the fact that they hadn't been able to trick her into confessing anything. Actually, everything was working amazingly well for such a last ditch, spur of the moment plan.
