Scarlet

"Marco's? The couture shop over there?" Karen waved behind them at the row of shops. "I've never shopped there. I can't really afford it."

"Yeah. So, it's more like two hundred though the club gets a huge discount."

"Two hundred dollars? Are those real pearls all over it?" Karen asked not quite jokingly while goggling at the white dress Violet wore.

Strapless, with tiny pearls on the bodice and delicate white embroidery with more pearls along the hem of the skirt, the way it fitted made it look like it was hand made. Just for her.

"Yes. The earrings are real sapphires and sterling silver. The bracelet and bangles too."

"Violet . . . " Karen was stunned. For work clothes?

"Hmmm?"

"I don't understand. You've never mentioned this to me before. I didn't even know you worked here. You're keeping secrets from me."

"I'm not. It's not a secret. Especially if you're going to join the Club. Don't worry." Violet caught the eye of the red jacketed attendant at the head of the restaurant line. Unhooking the red rope barrier, the red jacketed attendant stepped back so they could pass through.

"Good afternoon Mrs. White." The attendant spoke to Violet in soft tones.

"Good afternoon William." Violet smiled at the attendant as she sailed through the barrier with Karen in her wake. After their passage through, William hooked the barrier rope back into place turning back toward the line of hungry patrons waiting for admittance.

"Hey!" One of the waiting guests exclaimed angrily at their admittance ahead of the line.

"VIP members with reservations," William replied calmly, as Violet and Karen moved out of earshot.

Two

"Violet!" Karen hissed quietly a few steps later. "What are you doing? Where are we going?"

"It's ok Karen. We're allowed. It's a private area for club members and their guests. There are only a few people here right now. So it's quiet and safe. We can watch other people while we eat. No one will even notice us. You'll see. It'll be fine. Just follow me."

Violet turned right to walk up the curving and gently sloping ramp alongside the rope barrier. The wine red carpeting on the floor muffling her footsteps. The planters on one side had tiny lights at their bases to illuminate their way. The velvet rope barrier on the other side of the ramp had chrome stanchions every few feet and was open to view from the mall concourse.

The sway of Violet's hips as she climbed the slight slope caused the hem of her dress to swish elegantly from side to side. The front slit allowed her thighs room to move and she flashed quite a lot of inner thigh at each step. Karen turned her head concentrating on her feet to avoid looking at Violet's legs.

"What do you want for lunch?" Violet asked, as they walked upward. Karen, following along almost hunched over to try to avoid being seen, didn't answer.

Turning left onto the first connecting walkway, the silence caused Violet to check to see if Karen was still with her. Reassured Karen was still behind her, she moved toward an empty table set for two. It was nestled in a small alcove on the raised mezzanine deck which floated above the general seating area.

The table had a balcony view over the lower restaurant floor and out through huge panoramic windows. Leafy potted plants on low walls shielded the table from view of other tables in the area. The mezzanine height and abundant planters gave the alcove an illusion of privacy. It could easily be a very intimate setting if someone wanted it to be.

Reaching the table Violet gestured for Karen to sit. Karen flopped heavily into a chair, pulling her handbag forcefully across her stomach clutching it very tightly. With a small frown in Karen's direction, Violet seated herself primly in the opposite chair, knees slightly apart keeping her back very straight.

"I thought we were having lunch." Karen scolded her friend. "Not a parade."

Violet ignored Karen's display of bad temper. She knew Karen didn't mean it and that it would pass quickly unless she commented on it. It was just from the stress of Karen feeling anxious and afraid.

"We are. What would you like? A salad? Or would you like something else instead? You did say you were starving."

"I am, but I'm confused at what's happening." Karen uncrossed her arms and waved one of her hands in the air.

"Why did you make a big fuss to make them let us in ahead of everyone else?"

"I didn't make any fuss. You know that." Violet looked straight at Karen. "You were there. No fuss."

"And, your name is Gandiere. So why did that guy call you Mrs. White like you were someone else? Are you sure we're allowed to be here and won't get in trouble?"

"He knows me. He knows it's not my real name. He calls me that because he's supposed to. It's part of his job to ensure the general public knows that, as members, we get VIP privileges they don't have. Calling me by name, even if it's not really mine, does that. So don't worry. We won't get into trouble. I promise." Violet was speaking in soothing tones to calm Karen down.

"Well, that's not the only thing. How can you afford a really expensive designer dress and expensive earrings and those shoes? I know you don't have that kind of money!"

"Is that all you want to talk about? My job? My dress? I was hoping to talk about you. What you're doing here. And maybe gossip some." Violet knew that Karen's anxiety was keeping her from remembering the things she'd already been told. She just needed to sound calm and keep repeating unimportant things until Karen stopped feeling afraid.

"Well, no, but . . . " Karen burst out. "I want to know what's going on!"

"I will tell you. Honest. But first, you should eat. So, a salad? Or something else? Tea or wine or . . .?"

"Violet!" Karen conceded with another slump when Violet merely looked at her across the table.

"Ok. I'll order a BLT and a small house salad with hot tea. But, only if you have something too. Happy now?"

"I will have a glass of iced tea and a cheese appetizer if you insist."

"I do." Mulishly Karen slumped further into her seat, crossing her arms over her bag again. She squeezed, the bag bulging from the pressure as Karen took comfort from its presence.

Wondering how Karen got away without continuously crushing the bag's contents, Violet reached across the table and pried Karen's arms away from her bag. She took one of Karen's hands in her own, looked at Karen squarely and explained.

"Love, I'm a member and I work here too. I told you already. Remember? As for the rest of it, part of the member benefit is being treated like a VIP. I can come here as often as I wish, whenever I wish.

"Even if I'm not actually working, this is my favorite place to be. I love the people I work with. I'm allowed to be here any time so I often come here on my days off. Since I am a member, I can go anywhere and bring you with me too.

"Today I'm working. My job is to make people happy while they are here. I can even bring you into some of the private areas if that's what it takes." Violet explained in soft tones. "As my guest."

"So your job is just to make sure I'm happy today? Even if it means we cut ahead of the line in front of all those people? They all stared at us! You know how I don't like that. And, that creepy guy who got angry at us for cutting the line made me uncomfortable." Karen squeezed her bag again.

"Don't worry about them. Focus on being here and having a good time with me. Making you happy today will be my pleasure." Violet smiled as she released Karen's hand with a little tap. "It is truly my heart's desire. All you need to do is relax and be with me. It's just the two of us here right now. No one else will bother us. Just us together."

"Oh. Ok. So what about the dress? And, the jewelry? And, the shoes? I'd kill for a pair of those shoes. Not that I need heels that high, but still. And, why did that guy specifically call you Mrs. White?"

"I told you; The dress, jewelry and shoes are my work clothes. The Club supplies me with them to wear here when I'm at work. A service delivers them to our condo. They take them away to be cleaned on a regular schedule. They have a key so I don't even have to be there for the delivery. It's really cool. The jewels I leave here at the end of my shift. Dominick thought it was strange at first. But he's ok with it now."

"Can you wear them anywhere? Anytime?"

"Yes, but they're a bit extravagant to wear while grocery shopping or taking Cooties to the vet don't you think?"

"Violet! Stop kidding." Karen chastised her even though the mental image of Violet, in that dress, carrying her tabby cat into the animal clinic made her grin a bit. Cooties was nearly as big as Violet.

"I'm not kidding. Well, I am a little."

Violet smiled as Karen began relaxing again. Karen's tension at being in public was waning because there was nothing to stimulate her fears of being noticed, groped, or assaulted again.

"If I wear them somewhere other than at work I have to have them cleaned myself or I won't have enough clothes to wear to work. Does that answer your questions?" Violet talked as if nothing was important, except answering Karen's questions.

"About the dress, but what about the Mrs. White thing?"

"Mrs. White is a code phrase. It's so everyone on staff knows who I am, what I do here."

"A code? Like in hospitals? Code Blue or something?"

"In a way, yes. Except we don't announce it over the intercom. We want it to be very low key because there are a lot of us and a very large staff. By using the code phrase the staff doesn't have to memorize a bunch of names of all the people who volunteer, which change all the time. They just have to remember the code phrases, for the various club members who do special jobs as part of their membership.

"My job as a concierge, is to head problems off by either getting what the guest wants, or changing the dynamics of the situation. To me it's just helping visitors and guests have a good time while they are here. Which I want to do."

"Weird. So you're Mrs. White just because you volunteer to work here?"

"I'm not the only Mrs. White. There are several of us who are concierge or staff volunteers. There are also a few others named Mrs. Green, Smith and Black. There's even a few Misters' Jones too. Quite a few of us do things as part of our required membership obligations."

"But, do they all get to wear expensive dresses?"

"Well, I think the men wear expensive suits." Violet said facetiously.

Karen had unwound from her earlier emotional tension as they talked without any interruptions. She circled her right hand in Violet's direction indicating the dress.

"You know what I mean. Do the other Mrs. Whites and the rest all get to wear pretty dresses and look oh so beautiful like you do?"

Gracefully turning her head and looking out across the lower tier of the restaurant, Violet carelessly replied.

"Pretty maybe, but not beautiful."

"But, in that dress you are!" Karen exclaimed sharply while sitting bolt upright. "Look at you! You are so yummy looking even I want to kiss you. I know you don't like girls, but I'd still do it anyway. For you. In that dress."

Violet smiled at her friend. Karen knew her better than that.

"You know you don't like girls either, so don't go getting all like that with me. Besides, with my freckles and this hair, I am in no way able to compete with someone like you. Even in a dress like this!"

Violet lifted her fingers and pulled a strand of her hair forward and showed it to Karen.

"Look at it. It's orange for heaven's sake." Violet flapped the strand to indicate the color of her hair.

"It's not orange. It's auburn. You are beautiful. Not like me . . . "

Violet forestalled Karen from lamenting further with another pointed finger. "Stop. Just stop. You know I'm right. In your head you know it's true. You just don't want to admit it to yourself."

Karen tensed and clutched her stomach again as Violet's comment reminded her how other people, men, always looked at Karen as a sex object. Violet reached over pulling Karen's hands away from her stomach. She held one of Karen's hand gently.

While Violet was reassuring Karen, a man in a red jacket holding a serving tray stopped at their table. He began to set plates and glasses in front of them. Miraculously, Karen's BLT, salad and hot tea appeared. The server set a glass of tea in front of Violet along with a small plate of crackers and cubed cheeses with colored toothpicks stuck in them.

"Thank you Robert." Violet gave the server an open smile.

"My pleasure Mrs. White." Robert gave them both a shallow bow before turning away.

As the man had appeared Karen had shrunk away slightly until he started placing their things on the table. Now, once he was gone, she just looked at the food, pointedly at Violet, then back to the food with a question in her eyes. Violet quirked up an eyebrow.

"Yes?"

"Umm, what's this?"

"Your lunch." Violet took a small sip of her tea and suppressed another smile by rolling the rim of the glass across her lips. There was no way to hide the playful twinkle in her eyes but Karen wasn't looking.

"But, I didn't order it."

"Isn't that what you wanted?" Another roll of the glass.

Karen took a deep breath. "Ok, let me rephrase. I didn't order it yet."

Violet laughed and put down the glass. "The staff here is good. Very good. Since I'm wearing some very valuable things, those things make me valuable. Because of it, security keeps an eye on me. Us, actually. All of us who do this job I mean, not just you and me today. Whenever I ask someone something they notice. They pass it along if they think it's necessary or helpful. If I wasn't here you'd have to order your lunch the ordinary way."

Karen thought for a moment. "Security keeps an eye on you? How? Where?"

"There are cameras and microphones almost everywhere. Anytime one of us stands up, security notices and tracks us wherever we go."

"Even to the bathroom?" Karen leaned forward and asked in a soft whisper.

"Everywhere." Violet replied calmly taking another sip of tea.

"What about privacy?"

Violet put down her glass and looked at Karen. "They don't watch everyone. They are watching us. Well, again, me and the others. Not you or regular guests. To me, it's a small price to pay. Honestly, I don't even notice it any more. It's just a part of the job."

"Ok. I think it's weird, but if it's ok with you I guess it's ok. As long as they don't look when I'm in there, that is."

"They don't. There aren't any in the public restrooms. It's not that intrusive anyway, even in the employee ones. Just a camera which shows who goes in and out. That's all."

Karen looked thoughtful then waved her hand. "Go on."

"Look at the benefits. I have a wonderful job I love to do, in a place like this. I also get to wear wonderful clothes and pretty things I don't have to pay for. I have friends here and people who look out for me. People who keep me safe. And, trust me, I've done a lot more private things in public than merely peeing in a bathroom with a hidden security camera pointed at the door."

Karen looked at her friend. Though they were fairly open with each other their whole lives, this was a side of Violet Karen wasn't that familiar with.

"Like what exactly?"

"I'm not going to talk about it. Especially in public and before lunch. Speaking of which, you aren't eating. The chef will get upset with us if you don't." Violet pointed at Karen's food.

"But . . . "

"EAT!"

"But . . . "

"Karen, please don't pry. Eat your lunch like a good girl."

"Ok. I'll eat. But, I am going to find out. Someday you'll tell me."

Violet sighed. "Maybe someday, but not today love. Not today."

Karen grinned. "Wanna bet?"

Three

Karen prompted Violet with questions about what her job was like. Violet explained that what she did was make people happy. Whatever they needed, if she could do it, she did. She read the newspaper every morning. She knew what was going on locally and all over the world. She read the social sections. Even though she didn't like sports, nor did she really understand the financial section, she skimmed through those too. That way she could talk to people about anything current.

"Sometimes, it's very difficult depending on the person," she said. "I have to evaluate them so I can relate on their level and not seem like I'm condescending or anything. It's really hard sometimes. Sometimes it's really simple. Sometimes they just want someone to talk to."

As an example, Violet related a tale how she once saw a gentleman sitting alone in the dining area. He was older and well dressed. She asked him how his visit was going and if he was meeting with anyone.

He replied that he was new in town. He didn't really know anyone. Someone had recommended the club restaurant to him. He came for lunch to see if it was true.

Violet talked with him a few more moments before she realized he was actually feeling a bit lonely. She asked to sit with him. He hesitantly said yes. She got him to talk about why he was in town, where he was from and even some about his family. They had talked the whole time he was eating. Nearly an hour.

At the end of his visit he had thanked her for her company, even though he wasn't really sure why she sat with him. She told him her job was to make people happy while they were there. Sitting with him had been both enjoyable and a pleasure. She gave him a courtesy card for his next visit telling him to please come back soon.

"Sometimes they aren't nice like he was. Sometimes they think I'm trying to pick them up. Once in awhile security has to remind people to not touch. Never touch."

Karen had been content to just eat as Violet talked about her job. Violet had positioned herself in a beam of light from the overhead skylights. The light giving her eyes a soft luminescence while adding highlights to the curves of her cheeks. So typical of Violet to do the right thing so everyone notices her.

Not like Karen's efforts to try to stay unnoticed. Not that anything she did really worked. It was like she was always wearing a sign saying; 'Hello! Tall blond sex machine here!' which she couldn't ever take off.

While Karen ate and thought about her own problems, Violet stopped talking. Sitting quietly in self contemplation, she had an empty expression on her face while one hand was held flat over her stomach. The other had was cupped over her lower abdomen. Remembering. Dreaming.

The tiny golden bracelets on her wrists glinting. The short links of chain swinging from the cuffs. "You will be allowed three months for breeding purposes. . ."

The long faced woman's words tiptoed through Violet's memory. A baby. She was allowed to have a baby. Please let it happen. Please.

Just the happy thought that it might happen was a distraction and she was always thinking about it. Even when she should be paying attention, her thoughts were always reverting to the dream, the fantasy, the desire. A baby.

Karen had no idea what Violet was thinking about. She just knew Violet seemed to have forgotten about their conversation in the middle of a sentence.

"So, your 'heart's desire' huh?" Karen asked around her last mouthful of sandwich reminding Violet of what she'd said earlier while breaking the silence.

"Absolutely," Violet came back to reality with a small start. She turned back toward her best friend at the question. "Anything you want, I'd be happy to help you get it."

"Ok. How about me getting a position like yours here? Mitch would be pleased. We could get back that enormous membership fee I just paid." Karen looked down to spear a bite of her salad. "Who do I have to see about that? Where do I apply?"