Girls in White Dresses - JENNIFER CLOSE [17]
“There’s nothing on,” Isabella said. Little girls marched across the stage with their faces full of makeup. JonBenét stood in the middle of them, twirling an umbrella and smiling.
“This is really creepy,” Ben said.
“I know.” Isabella couldn’t take her eyes off the screen. They were such little girls, but their hair was so big.
“I know a girl who looks just like her,” Ben said.
“Like who?”
“JonBenét,” he said.
Isabella turned to him. “You know a little girl who looks like her?” she asked, and Ben shook his head.
“No,” he said. “You know my buddy Mike? His girlfriend looks just like her. It’s fucking creepy.”
Isabella didn’t believe him. “Ask my friends,” he said. “I swear, she looks just like her.”
All of his girlfriends confirmed the story. “She’s a dead ringer for JonBenét,” they said, and then they laughed. “Plus,” they told Isabella, “she’s crazy. She’s obsessed with getting married and talks about it all the time. She introduces herself to people as ‘Mike’s girlfriend and future fiancée.’ She sends him pictures of engagement rings constantly. She buys bridal magazines and carries them around with her!”
Isabella wasn’t sure she believed all of it, but she still couldn’t wait to meet her.
She looked around the church for someone who fit the description. “Is that her?” she whispered to Ben, and pointed to a small blond girl sliding into a pew in front of them.
He shook his head and smiled. “No,” he said. “When you see her, you’ll know. And you’ll die.”
Ben hadn’t officially moved in, but he was in between apartments and his stuff was overtaking Isabella’s place. When the lease was up on his old apartment, she’d told him he could stay with her until he found a new place. They hadn’t talked about it since. That was three months ago.
“I can’t believe he’s still staying with you,” Lauren said one night. “You only let me stay with you for two weeks.”
“I never kicked you out,” Isabella said.
“Yeah, but you made me sleep on the couch after the first two days,” Lauren said.
“That’s because you licked me in your sleep,” Isabella said.
“I told you, I was having a dream,” Lauren said.
“That doesn’t make it okay,” Isabella said. “Anyway, I’m sure Ben will find a place soon.”
“Maybe you should ask him,” Lauren said. But Isabella didn’t want to, which she knew probably meant that she really should. Instead, she decided she wouldn’t worry about it for a while.
Ben sold medical supplies for a small company based in Tennessee. Isabella wasn’t sure what it was he actually did. He didn’t go to an office. He worked from his computer at home, and then drove around in his car, delivering products and doing presentations. His workday lasted from about eleven a.m. to three p.m., when he returned home to watch The Simpsons and smoke a joint.
Isabella was home sick when she discovered this. “Why are you home so early?” she asked. For a second she thought he’d come back to take care of her. Maybe he’d brought her soup or ginger ale.
“I’m usually done around this time,” Ben said. He settled himself on the couch and Isabella sniffled into a tissue. She stood there waiting for him to ask her if she needed anything. “What?” he asked her.
She shook her head. “Nothing.” She took a NyQuil and went back to bed. She had fuzzy dreams until Ben turned on the television in the bedroom and woke her up. Isabella stared at Ben that night while he slept and tried to figure out how he’d gotten there.
Isabella and Ben fought all the time. They even fought the first night they met, when he cut in front of her to go to the bathroom at a bar. She yelled after him and continued to yell at him through the door. “Sorry,” he said when he came out. “It was an emergency.” Ben was tan with messy hair and a white smile. Isabella forgave him and went back to his apartment that night. He had black lights and a gravity bong. He reminded her of the boys she’d been in love