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PART I
SPEAKING IN TONGUES

16

“MARINA!” MOTHER SNAPPED.

Marina immediately stopped pacing the vestibule and parlor. “Mother, I’m sorry. I can’t help it.”

Mother harrumphed. Father was in his office counseling a congregant and wouldn’t leave until the woman was properly comforted. Marina glanced at the clock, which had advanced two minutes since the last time she looked.

Dot’s show began at six. Dot, who was the last, was scheduled to take the stage at seven-fifteen. It was now six-fifteen. Though Marina and Dot lived three blocks from each other and Marina’s church was just across the street from the parsonage, Dot’s church building was way out on the other side of Independence and took half an hour to get there. Marina might have gone with Dot and her family, but they had left at five because Bishop had to open up the building and oversee the event.

At six-thirty, Marina decided to go upstairs and read until Father was ready to leave.

• • •

“What happened?” Dot asked soberly Monday morning at school. When Marina had dropped by Dot’s house on her way, as she usually did, Sister Albright told her Dot had already left.

Marina swallowed. “My father,” she murmured, her face hot with shame, her heart thudding with pain, “was in counseling and couldn’t leave.”

“Oh.”

Dot didn’t speak to Marina for the rest of the day except to tell her she didn’t feel like going to Kresge’s, which meant Marina couldn’t go, either.

Marina didn’t think it was fair that Dot was punishing her for missing her activity since it wasn’t her fault. Father had informed her that he had prayed as to God’s will on the matter and while he had been willing to take her, God had other plans, which was to put a parishioner’s family crisis in the way. She tried to explain this to Dot, but Dot murmured, “I understand.”

Not only that, but Trey had not made plans for a Saturday outing nor had he come to church Sunday, which Father had questioned her over. The only thing she could say was, “I don’t know.” She did her chores. She worked on her homework. She read an old Dorothy Sayers novel. Two. Three.

Not even the math test she had almost aced nor her English exam, which she had actually aced, cheered her up. For the first time, she realized that she had no friends. She had no beau. Mother was angry with her for reasons she didn’t understand.

Marina had never felt alone in the world before. She had always had her parents. She had always had Dot, since they were small girls, but Dot was going to leave for college in two years and after that, have a full-time job or a husband. Maybe children would come along. Maybe she would like it in Utah where all her people were and wouldn’t come back to Kansas City at all. Meanwhile, Marina wasn’t going anywhere or doing anything except living with Mother and Father as she always had and doing the same things. And as for a beau … she had only had him for a week and a half, and of course, that wasn’t going to last.

That would teach her to depend on someone’s company, wouldn’t it?

Marina’s mother was less short with her Monday evening, but that was probably because Marina had finished sewing her a new and very stylish pair of trousers from a picture in a magazine. That was nothing. Looking at a picture of a garment and knowing how it was constructed was like reading a recipe and knowing what it would taste like and how to make it better.

Tuesday morning, Dot was her usual bright, sunny self and apparently didn’t think about the fact that Marina was not interested in Dot’s bright, sunny self after being punished the day before.

Marina was polite.

That was all.

“Do … do you want to go to Kresge’s?” Dot asked hesitantly toward the end of the day.

“No,” Marina said quietly.

“Um … I, um … I’m sorry about … well, yesterday. How I acted.”

“All right. Thank you.” Marina walked down the hallway to the front doors.

“Marina!” she cried and started after her.

Marina didn’t alter her pace at all because she knew that any minute—

“Dot!”

“Dot!”

“Dot!”

—a bunch of Dot’s boys would crowd her for attention.

“Marina, wait for me!”

She would do no such thing. She wasn’t punishing Dot. She simply couldn’t get over her hurt feelings as quickly as Dot wanted her to.

Marina trudged down the front stairs of Paseo High School, her head down, letting swarms of people flow around her and jostle her here and there.

“Hey, doll!”

Marina stopped cold on the last landing, her head snapping up to see Trey leaning back against a sleek yellow roadster, top down, parked on the curb right in front of the steps. His arms were folded across his chest and his ankles were crossed. His smile gleamed almost as brightly as his golden hair, and his blue eyes were so vivid she could see them from here.

He was surrounded by people who were ooh’ing and aah’ing over his car, but he didn’t seem to notice. They were trying to get his attention, but he never stopped looking at Marina.

“Missed you at Kresge’s yesterday!” he called, cupping his hands around his mouth.

“I—”

“Come on down so we don’t have to shout.”

Marina’s feet moved because they couldn’t not until she was standing in front of Trey, dazed, looking around at all the people who were now beginning to notice her.

“Hi,” he said cheerfully.

“Hi,” she replied uncertainly. “What are you … ?”

“I missed you at Kresge’s yesterday,” he repeated. “What happened?”

Her brow wrinkled because he had said nothing about Friday night or Saturday or Sunday. “Um … it’s … a long story.”

His smile faded and he tilted his head. “Are you … angry with me?”

She bit her lip.

“Aw, c’mon,” he murmured, pushing away from his car and throwing an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go for a walk and see if we can’t straighten all this out.”

“All right,” Marina said softly, thrilled with the feel of his body against hers.

“Marina!” Dot called from the top of the stairs. “Marina, wait!”

“Do you want to wait up?”

“No.” She wanted to get away from Dot before she exploded with a whole bunch of words that wouldn’t say anything she meant even if she knew what she meant.

“Uh … allrightythen.”

“Marina, wait! Trey, wait! Stop! Trey!”

“Dot!”

“Dot!”

“Dot!”

“Marina, please wait!”

Trey and Marina kept walking and somewhere in the back of her mind, she realized that everyone at school would now know she had a beau, he was a grown man, and he had a ritzy car.

And then she wouldn’t and everyone would know he had dumped her.

Once they were clear of the crowd, he removed his arm and murmured, “You’re on the outs with Dot?”

“I … She was angry with me because I couldn’t come to her show Friday night. I told her it wasn’t my fault, that Father was in counseling with one of the parishioners, which obviously means God didn’t want me to go, but she wouldn’t speak to me. I can’t go to Kresge’s alone.”

“Oh. Gene, uh, told me you weren’t there. I thought your father had changed his mind.”

That was when she looked up at him. “So you weren’t there, either.”

“I had an emergency, doll,” he said quietly. “Took all weekend.”

Marina gaped. “Oh, I am so sorry!” she breathed. “I— I thought—”

“You thought I ran out on you,” he said with a hint of chastisement.

Marina felt herself flush. “Well, yes. Is— Your emergency … What happened?”

“I’d rather not speak of it, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, of course, of course.”

“Why don’t you and I go to Kresge’s?”

It was her turn to be disapproving. “You know I can’t walk out with a boy alone.”

“But I’m not a boy,” he teased lightly, then winked.

She couldn’t help but smile. “Father says we must observe the spirit of the law.”

“My spirit would like to observe your spirit.”

That made her laugh outright. “Another double IN-tin-der.”

He flashed a grin. “How do you catch those?”

“It’s in your voice. I told you.” But should she tell him that wasn’t how it was pronounced? She didn’t want to embarrass him because her English teacher had told her that it was a mark of someone who read widely but had never heard the words, which meant he wasn’t around people who were as well read as he was. Not only that, but it was a French word.

But he’s the one who helped you with Dickens?

Yes.

He sounds like a very smart young man.

“Marina!”

She stopped and turned to see Dot running to catch up. She wasn’t so angry that she would turn her back this time.

“Marina,” she gasped when she caught up to them. She dropped her books and bent over and braced her palms on her knees while she caught her breath. “I’m sorry,” she said abjectly when she straightened. “I’m— My mother said I was cruel to you because it wasn’t your fault, and I don’t want to be cruel, especially not to you. I was just— I was so looking forward to—” She switched her gaze to Trey. “You weren’t there either,” she accused.

“I had an emergency,” he repeated gently.

Dot flushed and looked down at her hands, which were fiddling with her handbag. “Oh. I’m … sorry. I … ”

“What about Gene?” he asked.

Her head came up again and she smiled. “He was there. He laughed.”

Trey’s eyebrows shot up. “He laughed? I’ve never seen him laugh.”

Dot looked confused and picked up her books. “He laughs all the time.”

“Well, Miss Albright,” Trey said, turning with a gesture to invite her to walk with them. “It seems you have found El Dorado.”

“What’s that?”

“An ancient lost city made entirely of gold.”

“Pffftt,” Marina and Dot said at the same time.

Trey laughed. “Gene informed me he enjoyed himself and that you were magnificent.”

“He did?!” Dot squealed.

“He did. He also thought your mother was lovely, although he was sorry he couldn’t meet your father.”

“Daddy had to go deliver a foal. He’s a veterinarian.”

“He is?”

“Yes.”

“Oh,” Trey said, clearly surprised. “I … That’s … interesting.”

“Interesting?” Marina asked lightly.

He flashed another grin at her. “Interesting, Miss Scarritt. I said what I meant and I meant what I said.”

Marina couldn’t help her answering smile, nor her blush, nor ducking her head.

“So, ladies, are we all friends again? Everyone’s feathers unruffled?”

“Yes,” Marina and Dot said, once again, in unison.

“Then shall I take you to Kresge’s? I think we can all squeeze into my car.”

16

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Speakeasy staff.