Chapter Ten

In early December, Robert and Karla LaFramboise gave a huge Christmas party at Raspberry Hall. They did this every year. It was one of the most important social events on Mt. Desert Island. The guest list varied from year to year, and sometimes there were more than a few important people. One year there had been a former president and first lady. Another year there was a famous film actress and a well-known British duchess. There were also the regulars, people you’d see around town on a daily basis. Karla usually started planning for the event in August. She hired a full staff and the best caterer in Maine. And Sienna’s job was to help make sure everything and everyone was organized. And that wasn’t easy, because Karla was usually a complete wreck a week before the party.

On the morning of the party, a cold Saturday with a dark, overcast sky, Sienna dressed in warm clothes and went outside to start her old Camaro. She’d worked late the night before at Applejacks. The bar had been crowded and she hadn’t stopped moving and serving drinks all night long. Avenir had been there, and she’d barely had a chance to talk to him. They hadn’t been alone together since the night he’d had the allergic reaction to the seafood. He was always at the bar, but he seemed to hesitate when it came to moving forward with their relationship. And she couldn’t get him out of her mind. She went to bed dreaming about his strong body; she woke up kissing her pillow and pretending that it was his face. Sienna knew she was falling in love with him, but she wasn’t sure he felt the same way.

When she put the key into the ignition and the motor turned over, she heard a loud scream coming from under the hood. She quickly switched off the engine and got out of the car. She popped the hood to see what was there. And when she lifted the hood and looked down, there was a small, white kitten resting on a thick, black engine hose. It couldn’t have weighed more than a few pounds. She smiled and reached out to pick it up. The kitten jerked back once, and then opened its tiny mouth and meowed. She placed it in her right palm and pressed it to her warm chest. It snuggled into her wool coat and rubbed its head up and down against the buttons.

The last thing she needed was a pet, especially a tiny kitten. And she wouldn’t have gone out looking for it on purpose. But she also believed in destiny, and this cat had come to her for a reason. So she turned it upside down to see if it was a male or female and said, “I’m going to have to come up with a name for you.”

The kitten meowed again and she rubbed its soft body along the side of her face. It was a male, a helpless little creature with nowhere to go. “I think I’ll call you Latte, because your face looks just like the little white star they put in my café latte when I go to the coffee shop in Bar Harbor.”

She went back to the car and started it again so it would warm up, then she brought Latte upstairs and placed him in a dresser drawer lined with one of her old sweaters. She had to run a few errands for the party, and now she’d have to stop by the pet shop in town to pick up the necessary things she’d need for a kitten. She’d never actually owned a pet. Karla and Robert weren’t fond of animals. They’d never even let Larson have one. And when he was a child, he’d begged for a puppy.

After that, the day passed quickly. She ran her errands and bought pet supplies for Latte. She wanted to stay in her apartment all day and get to know Latte better, but she kissed him good-bye and went down to the main house to help the hired staff prepare for the party.

By seven o’clock that night, the first guests started to arrive. She wore a tight black dress, a vintage Marcasite circle pin, and black pumps with a high heel. She was greeting people in the entrance hall when she noticed Avenir’s old friend walk through the front door. She lifted her eyebrows and smiled. She hadn’t seen him since she’d met him that one night at the bar. She didn’t even know he was still in town. Avenir never mentioned him. He wore the same black suit, with the white shirt open at the collar.

When he saw her, he smiled and crossed to where she was standing. “It’s good to see you again, Sienna,” he said.

She smiled. He was a good-looking man, but his face was pale and gaunt. “It’s good to see you again, Bowen.” She silently patted herself on the back for remembering his name. She usually wasn’t good with names.

Then Robert LaFramboise saw them talking and he quickly walked over to where they were standing. He extended his right arm and said, “I’m glad you could make it, Bowen. Welcome to our home.” Robert put his back to Sienna’s face, ignoring her, treating her like he treated all the other hired help in the house. Robert must have thought Bowen was someone important. He never would have bothered inviting him to the party if he hadn’t.

Robert also gave Sienna a quick look to let her know that she was in the way, and that she was not part of their conversation. Sienna wasn’t actually a servant that night; she wasn’t being paid. She was helping Karla oversee things and greeting the guests in the center hall. But she wasn’t technically an invited guest, either. She was never exactly sure what she was at these parties. So she pressed her lips together and stepped back, then she silently vowed that this would be the last Christmas party she’d ever experience again with Robert and Karla LaFramboise. She clenched her fists and tightened her lips. She was tired of them both and she deserved to be treated better than hired strangers.

Actually, she felt like pouring a drink over Robert’s head when she saw her brother, Jaydin, cross through the front door. Her shoulders went back and her eyes popped, so she walked over to him and said, “What on earth are you doing here and who is running the bar?” He wasn’t dressed like a servant. He was wearing a tuxedo, and it wasn’t rented. “And where did you get that formal?” He hadn’t been invited to one of these Christmas parties since he’d moved in with Mickey and opened Applejacks.

He didn’t have a chance to answer, because Larson LaFramboise stepped up behind him and said, “He’s my guest tonight and Grace is taking care of the bar. I invited him earlier today, and I loaned him one of my formals.” He tipped his head to the side and raised his eyebrows as if he was defying her to argue with him.

Jaydin shook his head and said to Larson, “This is a mistake. I feel like a fool, and I’m certainly not a welcome guest of your parents. I should leave before they see me.”

“I’ll handle my parents,” Larson said. “You are like a brother to me, and you’re welcome in my home at any time.” Then he placed his palm on Jaydin’s back and led him into the house without blinking.

Sienna turned and watched them walk toward the living room. She pressed her palm to her chest and wondered when they’d resumed their friendship. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned around fast. Avenir was standing behind her, wearing a black tuxedo. His other hand was in his pocket and there was a huge grin on his face. “I like that dress,” he said. “It looks great from behind.” Then he reached down and gave her a harmless pat on the buttocks.

“Stop that,” she said, “and be good.” But she wanted him to do it again. He looked handsome in his black formal. His thick hair was neatly styled with product and his tanned face looked both gentle and rugged at the same time. “I don’t want any gossip.”

Then Karla shouted his name from the other side of the hall. He looked up and smiled, but he whispered to Sienna, “I have something of the utmost importance to tell you later. It’s about the painting your grandmother keeps talking about. I think you’ll find it very interesting.”

Sienna’s head went back and she gave him a confused look. When he spoke this way and used words like “utmost importance” he sounded like an old man instead of someone in his early twenties. And he sounded this way often. There was something very odd about Avenir that she couldn’t pinpoint yet.

She lifted her head as if she was about to speak. But before she could open her mouth, Karla pounded toward them. Karla wore a red sequined dress that flowed and gathered in awkward places. It bunched up in the back and made her behind look larger than it already was. Her hair was teased and big, with a ridiculous tiara wedged between lacquered curls. She grabbed Avenir by the arm and said, “It’s been so long since we’ve seen you, cousin. You must come with me right now so I can introduce you to a few old friends in the library. They are dying to know what you’re up to over at Oceanview.”

Avenir pulled his arm back and looked at Sienna. “Would you like to come, too?” he asked.

Karla’s eyes opened wide and she stared in Sienna’s direction.

Sienna smiled and said, “You go with Karla. I’ll stay here a little longer and greet the guests.” She didn’t say this because she wanted Karla to think she was dedicated. She said it because she didn’t want to get trapped in the library with Karla’s dull, lifeless friends for the next hour.

The evening moved slowly, but it wasn’t completely unremarkable. Sienna was in the dining room when Karla finally noticed that Larson was with Jaydin. The two guys were standing near the buffet with small plates in their hands, and Larson was filling his face with food. They were laughing and talking as if no one else was in the room. Sienna was behind them having a conversation with the former mayor of Glendale Harbor, the one Robert LaFramboise had defeated because he’d bribed his way into office (she didn’t have proof, but she’d heard talk around town). Sienna watched Karla walk up to her son and place her palm in the middle of his back, then she heard Karla say, “Jaydin, I didn’t know you’d be here tonight, dear.” Sienna clenched her teeth and remained quiet. She knew that Karla was implying that Jaydin had crashed her party. The protective instincts Sienna felt for her brother kicked in and she wanted to push Karla’s face into the punch bowl.

Larson stepped away from his mother and said, “I invited him. He’s here with me.” He looked her directly in the eye. His voice was soft, but with an emphatic tone.

Karla forced a smile and pressed her palm to her throat. “Ah well,” she said, “we’ll talk later, dear.” Then she raised her pointy chin, shifted her body to the right, and left them alone without even welcoming Jaydin to the party.

When she was gone, Sienna overheard Jaydin say, “She doesn’t seem too happy about me being here.” He put his plate down on the buffet and stared at the floor.

Larson shrugged his shoulders and popped a small canapé into his mouth as if he couldn’t have cared less. She’d always thought that Larson was dumb, just another jock with a great body going through life clueless. But lately she’d been noticing that there was more to him then she’d realized. Since Mickey’s death, he’d begun to help Jaydin at the bar without having to be asked first and he’d quit smoking. She hadn’t seen him picking up different women every night of the week. And he’d stopped parking in the handicapped parking space out front. He still wasn’t a genius, and he’d never become a brain surgeon, but she was beginning to think he wasn’t a complete moron.

At the end of the party, Sienna was in the front hall saying good night to the guests. The high heels killed her feet and she couldn’t wait to go back to her apartment and spend some time with Latte. The poor thing had been alone all day and she was worried about him. Avenir was talking to one of Karla’s friends near the staircase, but he kept glancing in her direction. He was smiling at first, but when he saw Robert LaFramboise and Bowen walk over to her, he shoved his hands into his pockets and frowned.

Sienna felt a hand between her shoulder blades, and then the hand slid down to the small of her back. When she jerked forward and turned around to see who was there, Bowen stared down at her with a huge grin on his face. She pressed her palm to her chest and smiled. “You scared me to death,” she said. “I didn’t know anyone was behind me.”

He smiled and rubbed his hand up and down her back with innocent, gentle strokes. “Robert tells me that you live on the property, above the garage.”

Robert was standing next to Bowen. He was rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet. “I raised her like my own daughter,” he said.

She ignored Robert and looked Bowen in the eye and smiled. He seemed like such a nice man, with a strong fatherly approach. She couldn’t understand why Avenir had been ignoring him all night. “Yes,” she said, “I have a nice little hideaway.” She couldn’t tell him that it was a dump and that she was counting the days until she could leave. It was pointless to mention that Robert had swindled her out of half the Harrington fortune when her mother died because she hadn’t left a will. And she would have sounded like a loon if she’d mentioned the hidden painting and her mother’s lost will. So she smiled and lied.

Bowen moved in closer, but before he could even say anything, Avenir was standing beside Sienna and his hand was wrapped around Bowen’s wrist. He lifted Bowen’s hand up over his head and held it in the air. Then he grabbed him by the collar, pushed him into the wall, and said, “Get your hands off her.”

Bowen’s eyes widened and his face went blank. “What are you talking about? I wasn’t doing anything wrong, Avenir. Have you lost your mind, buddy?” He could have been laughing, but Sienna couldn’t be completely sure.

Robert stepped away from them, but his mouth was open. He reached to move an expensive vase on a pedestal so it wouldn’t get broken if there was a fight.

“Avenir,” Sienna said, “What are you doing?” The murky, serious expression on his face frightened her. Bowen hadn’t done anything wrong, and Avenir had no right to cause a scene. “Take your hands off him.”

Avenir ignored her. He squeezed Bowen’s collar even tighter and shouted, “Leave her alone or I’ll make you a very sorry man.”

The house went silent, and the few remaining guests stood there waiting to see what would happen next. Sienna spread her arms wide and shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re behaving like this, Avenir,” she said. “You’re way out of line, and I’m leaving.” Then she clenched her fists and stormed out the front door.

Avenir let go of Bowen and followed her down the front walk. When they reached the side of the house, not far from the garage, he grabbed her arm and said, “I was only trying to protect you. I know Bowen very well. You should be mad at him, not me. Why can’t you see that?”

She yanked her arm out of his hand and turned to face him. She bent forward and pointed her index finger in his face. “You don’t own me,” she said. “Bowen wasn’t doing anything wrong, and he’s a very nice man. You made me look like a fool in front of everyone. And now I’ll have to apologize to both Karla and Robert tomorrow, and then I’ll have to apologize to Bowen.”

He lifted his arms in the air and said, “Apologize to Bowen? Why would you apologize to him?”

“For your rudeness,” she said. “He was just saying good night, and then you decided to go after him like a maniac.” She turned and walked toward the garage. She’d thought that Avenir was a gentle man, but now he only seemed like crazed lunatic with too much testosterone.

“Sienna,” he shouted. “Wait. I was only trying to protect you from him.” He made a fist and punched a cement urn.

But Sienna didn’t turn around. She folded her arms across her chest and disappeared behind the garage. And when she went upstairs and looked out the front window to see if he was still there, the driveway was dark and empty. And there was a broken cement urn, tipped sideways, on the edge of the driveway.