Vernon Downs by Jaime Clarke

Author:Jaime Clarke
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter III

On his way out for coffee, Charlie didn’t recognize the new doorman, who was leaner and had a militant air about him. He was also appreciably older than the doorman Charlie’d felt friendly toward. “Where’s the other guy?” he asked, but the new doorman just shrugged and returned to sorting some cards on his desk. He reckoned the doorman had taken a sick day, or maybe even a personal day to play hooky. Good for him. Outside, a hulking moving truck idled at the curb. Charlie casually wondered if the woman on the second floor had found another apartment somewhere far away from Summit Terrace.

Waiting at the corner bodega for his coffee and egg sandwich, he flipped through the Post, landing on a small item about Vernon offering to name a character after the person who found Oscar. He was amazed at the press’s preoccupation with every facet of Vernon’s life. Back at Summit Terrace, he exited the elevator to find a woman with a brunette ponytail fidgeting with the lock on her door. “Hold the elevator,” she called out, but he had already let the elevator go.

“Sorry,” he said as he slid the key into Vernon’s door.

“You must be Vernon Downs,” the woman said, apparently forgiving the faux pas. “I’m subletting while my sister is in Paris,” the woman said, the dimples on her cheeks and the tiny cleft in her chin forming a flawless frame for her soft smile. There was a tomboy element buried deep within, Charlie sensed, a toughness masquerading as delicacy. “I’m a huge fan.” She held out a manicured hand. “I’m Christianna.”

He returned the smile and shook Christianna’s hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said. He felt no guiltier about giving this misimpression than he did earlier in the week when someone had mistaken him for someone else, calling and waving from across the street. He’d waved back as a courtesy and the woman moved on. There was little harm in fulfilling expectations, he thought. Besides, he could always plead ignorance with Christianna if the truth emerged, convincing her the miscalculation was her own.

“How long have you lived in the building?” she asked. Uncertain of how long Vernon had been in residence, Charlie was about to cover with “Not long,” but Christianna didn’t wait for his reply and said, “I just have to say”—she put her hand on his arm—“that the party scene in Scavengers, you know, the End of the World party? That’s exactly how it was at my college. The tiki torches, everything. God, I’m sorry I missed your Christmas party.”

“Oh, really? Where did you go to college?”

“That was at Hampshire. I’m at New Haven now,” she said, eager for a reaction. “Drama school. I want to move to New York to be an actress.” She called for the elevator and it opened, having never descended to the lobby. “Well, see you around, Vernon,” she said, and was gone just like that, the swirl of lilac perfume dying in her wake.

He

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.