Mayor Conrad Moser’s charity dinner is an absolute snoozefest. Nothing more than a four-course meal in their grand ballroom, packed with round tables for the most elite New York families to pretend like they care what each other has to say.
Mom insisted we attend tonight when Mayor Moser extended the invitation. This is their first social gathering in their new luxury 5th Avenue penthouse, since typically parties were thrown at their main residence, Gracie Mansion. Mom gushed about how close theylive to the Met, if only part-time, and how she couldn’t wait to see it because it was a tri-level penthouse—a unique rarity at this level of extravagance. So naturally, Father accepted the invitation, and here we are.
The auction was the most entertaining part of the evening, and even that was hardly bearable.
Leaning against my mother's shoulder, my finger traces along the extravagant beadwork on her tight champagne and gold gown. I was underdressed in comparison to her, but as she liked to remind me, “it’s not your job to stand out, Vincenza.”
Yet.
It’s not my job to stand out,yet.
But I will, someday soon.
“Mom, can I go find the boys?” I ask, waiting until there is a lull in her conversation with Mayor Moser’s wife, Elena. My brothers had slipped from the room ages ago and were probably exploring the grounds or playing with some of the other kids I saw earlier who have also disappeared. Who I really want to find, though, is Mason.
Looking around the ballroom, I realize I’m the only kid still sitting with their parents.
“Sure, sweetheart, but be careful wandering about on your own until you find them.”
Smiling tightly, I stand and slightly bow my head as a sign of respect to Mrs. Moser. “Dinner was lovely. Thank you so much, Mrs. Moser.”
“What a well-mannered daughter you have, Leighton,” she praises. “A little not-so-well-kept secret,my dear. If you go through the main doors and up the staircase to the third floor, you’ll find an access door to the roof. Somehow, all the children find a way to sneak into my rooftop hideaway. It’s not much, but the view of the city is breathtaking.”
“Thank you,” I tell her, then spin on my heel and force every bone in my ‘well-mannered’ body to walk,not run, across the ballroom and to the stairs.
My nude sling-back kitten heels echo against the dark wooden staircase as I climb higher, craning my neck to see if anyone is on the second floor. It’s quiet up here, so I turn immediately and climb the second staircase leading to the third floor.
Once at the top, I find the door Mrs. Moser mentioned will take me to the roof. For whatever reason though, I hesitate before stepping toward it.
My gaze sweeps over the ostentatious landing of the third floor and catches on a set of glass French doors that are slightly open. A light breeze ruffles the sheer curtains of the window next to it, the sounds of the bustling city pouring in.
I cross the space, drawn to the open doors, and push one just enough for me to slide through the gap.
Pressing my back against the door, it clicks into place, and the moment it does, a boy about my age slips out of the shadow cast by the wall of the balcony.
He wears simple black dress pants and a crisp white buttoned shirt, with a plain maroon tie hanging around his neck. But perhaps the most captivating thing this boy wears is his expression.
He looks sad, and angry, and above all, he looks lonely.
Something about his scowl makes me want to take his sadness away. I want to make him smile.
“Hi,” I say shyly, tucking a lock of hair behind my ear.
“Hi,” he replies, and takes a seat on the stone bench in the center of the balcony. From there, he stares straight out at the lights of the city.
“What are you doing up here?”
“Probably the same thing you are.”
“Oh. Well, I was actually looking for my brothers.”
“Haven’t seen them,” he says with boredom. It makes me deflate a little inside.
“Do you want company?” I ask as I take a step forward.
His head swings toward me, and he looks me up and down before turning back to the city. Nodding once, he says, “Sure, but can we not talk?”
“Okay.”