21 Questions by Dixon Mason

Author:Dixon, Mason [Dixon, Mason]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
ISBN: 9781626397255
Publisher: Bold Strokes Books
Published: 2016-11-15T05:00:00+00:00

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Kenya leaned back so the butler could clear her plate from the last of her five courses. She felt like she had wandered into an episode of Downton Abbey minus Maggie Smith’s withering putdowns. The Richardsons didn’t seem to be as hung up on decorum as the title-bearing family in the popular BBC series, but the opulence surrounding them was on the same level. Kenya was tempted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. This was a fairy tale, not real life. And she was Cinderella, praying the clock wouldn’t strike midnight.

Rafaella Cocconi Richardson, Mackenzie’s mother, dabbed the corners of her mouth with her napkin and pushed her chair away from the table. “Kenya, would you like to take a walk with me?”

The request sounded more like a command than a question. Kenya felt compelled to respond in the affirmative. “Of course.”

Michael and Mackenzie stood in unison. “I think that’s our cue to fire up some Cohibas, don’t you?” he asked.

“Sounds good to me.”

Apparently sensing Kenya’s discomfort, Mackenzie caught her eye and gave her a nod. Kenya felt a growing sense of solidarity. Whatever this was, at least she and Mackenzie were in it together.

Rafaella had been a ballerina before she met Michael and abandoned hours spent at the barre for a life of luxury. Kenya could see the lasting influence of Rafaella’s former profession in the straight lines of her back and shoulders and the gracefulness in her gait as she walked from the dining room to a glass-filled sunroom bathed in lunar rather than solar light. Rafaella flipped a switch that added muted artificial light to the room. When Kenya looked at the stars overhead, she felt like an astronaut floating in space.

“It’s so peaceful here.”

“Isn’t it?” Rafaella sat on an overstuffed divan and invited Kenya to do the same. “Don’t worry. I didn’t bring you in here to bombard you with a slew of personal questions that are none of my business. Mackenzie doesn’t involve Michael and me in her personal affairs and, to be frank, I prefer it that way. She’s a grown woman. She’s free to do what she wants.”

“Then why am I here?”

Rafaella’s smile was filled with a mixture of pride and love. “Mackenzie and Michael are so much alike they could be clones. If I didn’t have the stretch marks to prove I carried her inside me for nine months, I would be tempted to believe he gave birth to her instead of me.” She folded her hands in her lap like she was performing the lead role in Swan Lake. “I brought you in here to give them time to smoke a cigar or two and compare their latest acquisitions.” She eyed the bracelet on Kenya’s arm. “Is that what you are, Mackenzie’s latest acquisition?”

Kenya bristled at the question. “I’m not for sale,” she said, fighting to keep her voice steady.

Rafaella looked at her long and hard. “No, I don’t think you are. I’ve never tried to dictate whom Mackenzie

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