WHEN: the night of the founders ball, somewhere around 12.30 am
WHERE: the Catalina Island Casino, second floor.
WHAT: Miles comes face to face with the secret that has plagued him his whole life.
Mentions: a few of the housewives of Catalina Island, Madeleine Walker, Claire Woodrow-Marlowe (only NPCs), Reina Rhodes.
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It had been a few hours, and most of the crowd was getting tipsy when he got to the bar and ordered another alcoholic beverage, when he managed to catch someone’s attention. Madeleine Walker herself, raising her glass to him and he in turn did the same. “You know…” Miles didn’t want to talk to this woman right now, because whatever she had to say, she was going to be drunk and he didn’t have the patience for rambling. “You know...you look so much like my son…”
Working in the City Hall meant that Miles had gotten good at snooping and record keeping. Once he got his way around the system, just checking up on the regular man’s records was a piece of cake. Some might call it snooping, but for Miles it was just gathering intel. Years of being on his own, and then the life of crime, meant that he was always looking behind his shoulder, and being cautious. Know thy enemy. That was the only thing he cared about, knowing who his neighbours were.
So the casual snooping had gotten him the records of the Walker family; two parents, one son. What had caught his eye was Madeleine Walker though; just the angle of her face, the smile looking so familiar, till he realised where he had seen that before, on his own fucking face. It had to be a coincidence, because people looked like other people, there was nothing wrong in that. But there was something about her that bothered him so much, he decided to keep an eye on her. After all, Reina was always having these ladies over for luncheons and usually more catfights than he’d prefer. But if Madeleine was going to pose a threat to his family, he had to know about it first. After all, that’s the only reason why his gut instinct was to be trusted.
It had been a few days before the event, actually. He was at work, typing and filing as he usually did. When his curiosity struck again, and he searched for Madeleine Walker. Reading through her history, which wasn’t a lot, he was surprised by the last name, Ellis. Not uncommon, of course, but the coincidence was too much for him to handle. He closed the file and refused to dig any deeper than he had to. Miles could sense he was digging into something that he didn’t like, and he wasn’t about to kick the hornet’s nest.
At the event, behind all the glitz and the glamour, and the masks and all of the perfumes in the air that threaten to keel Miles over in sneezing fits as he entered the place, his steps were light and he was on guard about something. Dressed like Reina had asked him to, hand in hand with Naomi as they entered the Casino, his eyes were restless, as if he was looking out for something, or someone. His gut was telling him something wasn’t right, and he decided to ignore it. Miles thought he was just being paranoid, and he decided to focus on the party instead, feeling for his knife tucked away in a secret pocket of the blazer.
It had been a few hours, and most of the crowd was getting tipsy when he got to the bar and ordered another alcoholic beverage, when he managed to catch someone’s attention. Madeleine Walker herself, raising her glass to him and he in turn did the same. “You know…” Miles didn’t want to talk to this woman right now, because whatever she had to say, she was going to be drunk and he didn’t have the patience for rambling. “You know...you look so much like my son…”
Miles politely set his glass down, “maybe it’s in the hair style.” He’s met Madeleine’s son, and that boy has a good head on his shoulders.
“No, no, not Kai. He’s his father’s boy…” Who knows why Madeleine was feeling so chatty today, she usually never talked at the luncheons. That honour went to Claire Woodrow-Marlowe, who was no doubt, eyeing this conversation with an interested gaze from underneath some mask or the other. Madeleine was still talking, but Miles had zoned her out, “....in Memphis….” His gaze snapped back to her, meeting glassy eyes with a confused stare. “Huh?” He asked, trying to make himself less sharper than his tone was.
“I was talking about home, in Nashville. That’s where I’m from. I used to be a beauty queen, you know? Pageant princess, darling of the south and a professional at that. But then...that wretched man left me with a fucking baby. He was a friend of a friend, and my father’s employee. But he said he loved me and then left me with that squalling brat. I had to travel to Memphis to give birth. Sodding thing tore me right open…” Madeleine paused to drink, and Miles could feel the blood rushing to his head. “Two days. I took him and then I tried to be a mother, but it’s hard when you’re hungry and your Papa would give you a smack behind your ears if he heard of this. So I left the baby on the steps of a church, said some grace and hoped for the best.”
Miles tried to keep his gaze steady, as if the story had nothing to do with him, even though his hands shook and his face had turned red as he tried to keep this all inside. “Uh huh…” He barely managed a response. Madeleine didn’t seem to care, and she was saying something more, but Miles wasn’t listening. And Claire had decided to come join the conversation, so he made his polite exit and made a beeline to the men’s room.
The truth should have set him free, but instead it had broken his heart. Miles knew the story; the orphanage never let him forget who dropped off a bastard child to be purified, but instead left the nuns a devil in the form of an angry boy. The maiden name, the drunken stories, the lines on her face….Miles knew. And in his silent rage, he let out a scream and then he cried. All while he stood before the sink, studying his face in the mirror and trying to keep it all together. Nobody could know what he knew, not even Madeleine, and certainly not Reina.
Lourdes had been looking for Cleo all night. And when she finally managed to come into close proximity to the woman, something inside Lourdes just chickened out, unable to talk to the other without feeling something constricting her chest. The blonde’s replies to Cleo had been unnecessarily cruel and she knew that. In the moment, it had felt right to lash out at the person who caused her pain. But when the dust had settled and she was more collected, Lourdes immediately regretted saying all of those things. She had acted petulant, and most importantly, she had acted like a callous friend.
It had been a long week without Cleo’s company, and yet she kept getting cold feet about apologizing. What was she going to say? A lame apology felt empty, and for all she knew, the raven haired woman would throw it back in her face and for all it was worth, Lourdes would deserve it. Yet, she floated next to the bar, watching the other’s golden dress and smiling wistfully at the design; something she would have definitely either coveted or suggested. A small bump sent Lourdes tumbling forward, right into the former’s periphery and she immediately froze, unable to look away from Cleo. “....Good.” The blonde haired girl stammered for words, unable to speak even the most primitive words and just blurting the first thing she could think of. “I mean, you look good.” Lourdes most definitely didn’t want to do this.
“Blink twice if you’re here against your will and want to do nothing more than just leave. Blink once if you want me to end this all for you.” Miles joked with the woman sitting next to him, indulging in his beverage choice and trying to make some small talk.
“Oh my God I thought I’d never see you again!” Lourdes ran through the crowd, right towards Julie and threw her arms around the woman, locking her in a tight hug. “I have missed you so much, please never leave like that! I missed you!”
Lourdes could mostly pretend that all of last week didn’t happen. She could pretend her happiest week was leading to another good one, and everything on the weekday just didn’t happen. But to pretend it never happened wasn’t leading to anything good. She had a lot of time to just sit at home and ponder on her misbehavior, the way she lashed out at Reina. As much as she wanted to justify her actions, there was no way she could do that without....well, there was no way she could justify herself. She had failed to do her job. And most importantly, she had broken Reina’s trust in her, and that was just the worst thing she could have done. The only older person who believed in her, besides Christian, and she had let her down too.
So she circled Reina’s table a couple of times, pretending like she wasn’t watching her as she took pictures with whoever wanted to come up to her. She was trying to gather the courage, her hands fiddling with her purse. Biting the bullet, the moment the seat opposite to Reina was free, she swooped in, “Is this seat taken?” Not waiting for her answer, Lourdes sat down. “Uhh...you look...really pretty, Reina. Is this a good time to talk, please?” Lourdes had promised herself she wasn’t going to cry, but the waterworks slipped out anyways.
Keep calm and carry on. Miles was trying to do just that, trying to pretend that he was okay, and that suddenly his life hadn’t just changed. All his life, he had only ever known two parental figures; they didn’t exude the warmth of a loving family, but there was love to be had there. And to know that if things had been different, Miles would have been a different person all together. And speaking of parental figures, he saw his Ma, making conversation and being so normal. It almost hurt and he was tempted to just make his excuses and go.
But instead...instead, he found his two feet walking right towards Reina, stopping right beside her. “...” Miles didn’t know what to say, really. How was he supposed to carry on like nothing happened, even though his world changed in an instant. “....can I get you a refill on that glass, Ma?” He was going to have to pretend everything was okay, even though his jaw was clenched, and that smile on his face was hollow and devoid of anything happy.
Standing before Naomi, Miles decided to behave like a gentleman for once in his life. Maybe it was all the Scotch in his system, or perhaps he was just feeling mushy. Either way, seeing Naomi in that dress and being in this moment felt so different, and he was going to try. “Care to dance with me, Miss Rhodes? And no, you can’t say no, sorry.”
“Look at me, straighten up, lift your chin up!” Lourdes was giving Charlie’s outfit a once over, making sure he looked as prim and proper as she had envisioned. She fussed over like a mother, removing invisible lint and trying to brush away wrinkles that weren’t there. “You look amazing, and I will not hear anything else from you. Do I look amazing? Then rest assured, you look even better!”
