Thirteen

MIKI SCREAMED, BUT before she could react, Davin was beside her. He yanked the elastic top of the skirt down, pushed Miki to the floor, and smothered the flames with his body.

“Miki!” Paige knelt beside her. “Are you all right? What happened?”

“I—I don’t know. Suddenly my skirt burst into flames.”

“You must have gotten near a candle.” Paige squeezed Miki’s hand. “You could have been badly burned.”

“Davin.” Miki sat up, remembering who had saved her. “Davin, you’re hurt. You must be.”

As Miki got to her feet, a searing pain shot through her ankle. She looked down. A long patch of skin on one leg was red.

“Oh, I’m burned. I just realized it.” Shock from the accident started to wear off. Miki stared at the raw red wound and realized she could have been burned like that all over. Davin had reacted so quickly and without fear for himself.

“Here, let me.” The young woman from behind the counter knelt beside Miki with a towel filled with ice. “Sit back down. Good thing we have ice in the back for drinks.”

“Yes, we use ice for burns at home. That will feel good.” Miki was glad the woman had acted quickly.

“I was admiring your skirt when you came in, and then I realized that was the style that was recalled because they catch on fire easily. A friend of mine took two back, reluctantly though, since they’re so beautiful.”

Taking Miki’s foot and cradling it to her stomach, the woman chattered as she held the icy towel to the burn. Immediately the pain receded and Miki felt relief, unless the burn was just numb. But still …

“Davin.” She called his name, looking all around. “Davin’s hurt too. He must be.”

He returned from the front and knelt beside her. “I threw your skirt onto the curb, Miki. Are you all right?”

“I will be.” Miki saw Davin’s hands. “Your hands, Davin. No, oh, no. You’re the one who’s badly burned. Here, you need help more than I do.”

Miki took the towel from her leg and held the ice to Davin’s long slender fingers. Both his hands were red and puckery, already blistering. She felt like crying looking at them. This was all her fault. Why hadn’t she listened to Paige? Been sensible, instead of stubborn and vain?

“We need to get you to the hospital, Davin.” Miki turned to the shop woman who had helped her. “Call for help.”

“No!” Davin’s voice was sharp. “No, that’s not necessary. Some minor burns is all it is. I have no need for medical attention.”

He spoke in a formal manner, his tone forceful and adamant. “I do not need a doctor.”

“But—”

“I do not want a doctor, Miki.” Davin stared at her. Miki felt a bit frightened by the look in his eyes. All protests, all words shriveled on her tongue and she looked away. She went back to holding the ice to his hands, his beautiful hands.

“I know what happened, Miki.” Primavera stood nearby watching. But apparently she hadn’t heard the shop person. “You were wearing one of those imported skirts from India that are being recalled. They passed no tests for safety in this country. I read a newspaper article that said they would go up in flames easily. It would seem you have proved they are right. How did you catch your skirt on fire?”

People kept asking Miki how this could have happened. She had no idea. She wasn’t close to any candles. And a candle would have to be burning on a low table to reach her skirt. Glancing around, there was no evidence of that happening. The only candles on low tables were near the wall of the store, and she hadn’t been over there.

Suddenly she felt nauseous, cold, and frightened. “I think I’d better go home.” She put one hand to her face and felt her knees wobble. Romney and Kyle suported her on either side. Someone removed the ice and towel from her hands.

“You are ill,” Romney said.

“We will take you home.” Kyle pulled at her arm.

The store manager stood watching them. “I’d feel better if we called someone, reported this accident.”

“No, it’s not necessary.” Davin led the way from the store. “I promise you, we’ll cause no trouble over this. And Miki’s burn is insignificant.”

If being sued for having dangerous candles burning so that Miki could catch fire was the manager’s worry, she’d have to settle for Davin’s statement. They were all on the sidewalk outside the store in a few seconds.

“Wait here,” Davin ordered. “I’ll get the car and bring it around to get you.” He started away down the sidewalk.

“But Davin—your hands.” Miki couldn’t imagine that Davin could drive. He must be in incredible pain. Just the slight burn on her leg ached.

“He’ll be all right.” Rima’s voice suggested that this whole affair was a nuisance, interrupting their evening out. She stood, watching Davin leave, her body posture unconcerned and pouting. How could she be so uncaring?

The fresh air cleared Miki’s head. She walked to the curb, ready to get into the car when Davin came around. An acrid smell directed her attention to the charred heap in the street.

Her lovely brown and rust skirt was now mostly black, only a smattering of purple showed from under the burned mess. It had been the only thing she’d bought to wear in a long time. She had been so vain, had loved the way the chiffon overskirt swirled and billowed around her ankles.

A shiver riffled along her spine at the image of her whole body being charred, lying alongside the burned fabric. Immediately she closed her mind and shut down her imagination to all the possibilities. Davin had saved her.

Primavera stepped up behind her and placed the lovely new cape around Miki’s shoulders. “You’re shivering. That’s a reaction to the accident. Drink something hot when you get home and go right to bed.” She squeezed Miki’s shoulders. Her heavy gardenia smell mixed with the odor of charred cloth making Miki feel sick to her stomach again. She hugged the cape tightly.

Davin pulled the long, black car to the curb. Romney opened the front passenger door and helped Miki slip inside.

“Paige, sit here beside me,” Miki said. “Please. I’m cold.” Miki was no longer shivering, but she wanted only Paige beside her. Even Davin felt remote on her other side.

The car reeked with the smell of burned cloth. For the first time Miki noticed that the front of Davin’s silk shirt was charred and tattered. Was his chest covered with burns the same as his hands?

All the way home she caught glimpses of his hands on the steering wheel. His pale white skin was reddened. Watery blisters pocked the backs of his hands, and small blemishes shown between incredibly blue veins. Davin seemed not to notice. He drove with precision and skill, straight to Miki’s door.

How did he know where she lived? She hadn’t directed him. Paige had said nothing the whole drive home. Miki was sure now that Davin had been the one following her the other night. He had accompanied her home even though she had told him she would prefer to go home alone. Had he been concerned with her safety, or curious about where she lived? This was something to think about or ask him about later.

He stopped at the curb, saying nothing. Paige unlatched her door and pulled Miki across the seat, helping her step onto the sidewalk and stand.

“Davin—” Miki wanted to insist that he get some medical attention.

“Please. Do not worry about me. Take care of yourself. Take care of Miki, Paige. She must dance tomorrow.”

Tomorrow? No way could Davin dance by the next day. But Miki said nothing, didn’t argue.

The car sped away the minute Paige closed the door, leaving her and Miki watching them leave.

“Come on, Miki. You can’t worry about Davin.” Paige read her mind, sensing that she was more concerned about Davin than she was about herself.

Miki was grateful that her mother wasn’t home. Paige helped Miki get into a nightgown, and then rubbed her ankle with burn ointment she found in the bathroom cabinet.

“Please don’t tell my mother, Paige. It doesn’t hurt so much. And she would only worry needlessly.” Miki looked at the red streak. “I think putting that ice on it helped a lot.”

“I’m going to heat you some milk, Miki,” Paige said. “And put some honey in it. Maybe something stronger if I can find anything. You stay right here and try to relax.”

For a few minutes after Paige left Miki did relax. She sent her mind into a limbo that allowed no thinking, no replaying of the accident. Nothing but a soft, cottony warmth.

Just as Paige returned carrying a saucer and cup, however, something clicked into place.

“My skirt wasn’t purple, Paige.”

“Your skirt? Of course it wasn’t purple, Miki. You never wear purple. What made you say that?”

“At the curb where the burned skirt lay there was purple … something purple underneath it.” Miki stared at Paige, both thinking, remembering at the same time.

“Rima wore a purple scarf around her neck.” Paige sat on the bed and set the cup and saucer on the bedside table. “A chiffon scarf.”

“If my chiffon skirt would burn, so would a scarf.”

“Do you think Rima lit her scarf and held it to your skirt without your seeing her?”

“I—I—” Miki shook her head. “I don’t know what to think.”

“She hates you. That’s obvious.”

“Enough—enough to—”

“To hurt you? Miki, you went up in flames instantly. I was looking right at you. I was too terrified to move. If Davin—if Davin hadn’t acted so fast …”

Miki leaned back on her pillows, completely drained of all strength. Did Rima hate her enough to kill her?