Page 19 of Vengeful Devotion
“So what happened?”
“Patrick made sure that the wedding never happened.”
The haunted look in her eyes tells me there’s so much more to that story. But I leave it alone. It’s none of my business. I can’t imagine how difficult of a situation that must have been. God, I can’t imagine how it would feel to have someone in your corner willing to fight so hard for you. The thought burns my chest with an ugly truth. I’ll never know what that feels like. As a child, all I dreamed about was love. I’m not that naïve now. My own mother wouldn’t even give that kind of devotion and love to me.
Why would anyone else?
I stare out the window, focusing on the people standing on the sidewalks and not the growing pain in my heart. Even though this city feels like another world compared to Boston, I can spot who is a tourist and who is a resident. It’s easy. The tourists have big smiles and stars in their eyes. All it takes for them to be happy is a woman covered in feathers. The people who live here are so discontent with their lives, they can’t summon enough happiness to smirk. There are so many of them just wading through this city, hoping the daylight will burn away their sins. I can tell them apart even when the traffic moves again, and they blur together.
“We’re here,” Francine says.
As I step out of the car, I look up at the tall building. Standing next to it makes me feel tiny.
Francine grabs my hand, pulling me through the doors. The lobby is quiet, somehow drowning out the busy noise on the street. Besides the four security guards and the smiling blonde sitting at a large desk in the middle of the room, it’s empty.
“Hi, Daisy.”
“Hi, Mrs. McBride.”
“How’s Rex?”
“He’s good, but a little rowdy.”
“That’s how all little boys are, Daisy. Once they get going, they never stop.”
“Great,” Daisy mutters. “Who is your friend? A new intake?”
“No. This is Gemma. My new assistant.”
“Nice to meet you, Gemma.” Daisy stretches her arm out, reaching for my hand.
Shaking her hand, I reply, “You too.”
“Gemma and I will be working from here for a few hours. I wanted to show her around before the big event next week.”
“Okay.”
“Thank you. You and Rex have to come for dinner this week. Okay?”
“I’d love that.”
Daisy waves to us as we step onto the elevator. The doors close, my stomach flipping as the elevator ascends. I keep my eyes on the red numbers above the doors. I’m nervous to see this place. Francine talks about it, but what she says is so vague that I’m not sure what to expect.
“Patrick gave me this place when we moved to America from Ireland,” Francine says, her voice soft. “I wasn’t the happiest person in the world when Patrick decided to expand our business and uproot our family. The moment we landed, he brought me here. It was his way of saying that my dreams were just as important as his.”
The elevator doors creak open, interrupting her words. The office is open. Glass walls allow me to see everything from here. There are desks creating a square in the middle of the marble floor with women sitting at them. A large conference room sits off to the right, with a row of smaller offices on the left.
“When I met Patrick,” Francine continues, as if she was never interrupted. “I was a broken girl. A complete wreck. He healed me. Hesavedme. In doing so, he gave me a dream. I want to save as many women as I can. So, every woman you see here has gone through a trauma.”
“So, this is a shelter?”
“This is more than that. We provide these women with whatever they need. A therapist, a job, a home, even. The other floors in this building are all apartments. This is a safe place for them to heal. A place for them to be reborn.”
The women look up from their computers as we pass by, each of them flashing a grateful smile at Francine.
“This place is for you too, Gemma. You’re welcome here. If you ever need anything, just let me know. You don’t have to wade through life alone,” Francine says, patting my arm.
Her words stir up feelings I’m not ready to face yet. So I disregard them altogether. “What you’re doing here is beautiful, Francine.”
