Moondance by Karen M. Black

the one with the group of kids just after Tori and Kevin. The green-eyed one. The one that stayed dry in the rain . She had thought about seducing this man, fantasized about it after she saw him, but instead of being drawn to him, she felt her heart contract in fear and she tripped on the curb behind her and fell. She could see his outline as she got up and imagined the amusement in his face. Filled with humiliation, tears of anguish rising in her throat, she turned and ran, her feet slapping the wet pavement, droplets of water in her shoes and on her cheeks.
    A block later, she felt a sharp cramp in her side. Her nose stuffed with tears, she leaned against a telephone pole to steady herself. Thunder rumbled and it began to rain. She felt bewildered and confused at her own reaction. She was shaking. What was happening? Tentatively, she walked, hunched over, sobbing softly, wanting to fall into bed, wanting to turn time back, wanting to be invisible. They aren’t worth it . Sophie’s voice. I understand anger . Celia’s voice.
    Althea walked, one step in front of the other, forward and then left and then right and right again, moving into the anger because it hurt less, immersing herself in the physical, what was in front of her, how it felt to move, the rain on her face, the white of her breath in the chill air.
    I chose to forgive her , Celia said, and Althea walked faster they betrayed me, I owe them nothing .
    Or do you?
    A dog bounded toward her, undernourished, hair matted, black and white, some spaniel blood. Althea stepped out onto the road, her hand stretching toward it. The sound of a car screeching to a halt startled her and she locked eyes with the white-haired driver whose slack mouth tightened into a lipless line.
    Althea turned away from the man, her eyes darting left as if in slow motion, from street sign to street sign, turning in a circle until she was in her original position, Celia’s voice and the flash of green eyes far away.
    Althea blinked. She didn’t know where she was.

chapter 13

    “I’M HERE TO SEE Stephen Wu,” Michael said.
    The woman was skinny, impeccably dressed, with glowing bronze skin. She wore three silver rings on her right hand. Her left hand was bare. She had a lovely accent he couldn’t quite place, possibly South African.
    “Mr. Wu has been called home on a family emergency. We are uncertain of his return. He asked if we could call you to re-schedule.”
    Michael felt a mixture of relief and frustration settle over him. This would have been his third interview with the bank. Stephen Wu was the senior vice president of the Wealth Management division. The position was a stretch for Michael, but the bank was willing to talk with him because of Lara. The position offered a significant increase in salary, but the truth was that he wasn’t sure banking was where he wanted to be.
    He was told to block two hours for the interview, so he wasn’t expected back at work right away. In the building’s granite-lined concourse, Michael headed toward First Canadian Place in search of a Starbucks. The working population’s drug of choice.
    As he walked, he tried to remember the grid in this area of downtown. He followed his hunch and turned right. No more signs for First Canadian Place. Swearing softly, he turned and felt something push his left arm, followed by stinging heat.
    “Oh fuck, I’m sorry sir!” The woman was short and round, with a piercing stare, a pale complexion, frizzy red hair, and an expression not unlike the woman he saw last fall on the side of the road. But unlike that woman, this one wasn’t afraid to say what was on her mind. She had been carrying a Styrofoam tray of coffee. Now much of it was cooling on Michael’s shirt.
    “You’re coming with me.”
    Michael had an image of being carried back to the woman’s office, where she asked him to take off his clothes and change into something more comfortable. He bit his cheek to stop himself from