Description: While Eve strikes poses in front of the mirror and hams it up with her pretend boyfriend, Julie mentally prepares herself for another afternoon on the town with the whistle-blowing informant known as Pike Setter.
Eve Goes to New York. PART 29.
Back at the Hotel Star, Eve spun around in front of the closet door mirror for another hour and a half in a beautiful silver and steel-blue evening gown. It was just like posing for photos – a lean here, a sway there, a dainty touch to the cheek, a smile… A week had passed since she had arrived in New York City, and she was already starting to feel like a superstar.
While Julie was getting dressed for an afternoon on the town, Eve gave herself some positive self-talk that sounded more like a private conversation with a pretend boyfriend: Oh, you really think so? You don’t think it’s too long? My, you are full of compliments. Thank you so much! I think the glint of the silver satin fabric in the hem looks fabulous, don’t you? You do, too? I love the way you gush over me. Don’t stop, but please tell me the truth. Oh, well, I wouldn’t go that far. I admit, it is one of the best gowns that I have, but the word “princess”…
Julie was buttoning up her jacket and watching Eve from across the room, stifling a smirk, eavesdropping on Eve’s conversation with her fake boyfriend. She was Eve’s-dropping.
Eve caught Julie watching her out of the corner of her eye. “For the finale, we appear in evening gowns,” she explained to Julie as she watched herself in the mirror, striking poses. “All we do is smile and curtsey, maybe blow a couple of discreet kisses, Mr. Sabine says.”
Julie heard what Eve said, but her mind slipped back into date-mode with Pike Setter. Reluctantly, she was beginning to call them “dates,” but they were simply meetings that he had arranged to “discuss” how to deal with phony Glenn Sabine and his racketeering job called the Miss Teenager contest. Pike had ideas of his own, and Julie was willing to listen, if only to protect her little sister from imminent disappointment. There was always that warning in the back of her mind, clanging like a church bell on a steeple and waking her up to the fact that this whole operation led by Sabine and Setter was on stilts and could crumble at any moment, taking Eve’s heart with them. So to keep that from happening, Julie knew that it was best to keep informed, to stay in the know, and Pike Setter was the only link for her to do that.
As the night of the pageant approached, Julie was becoming more impatient for a solution, and she was sick and tired of being dragged all over the city just to meet Pike in a “private” location, far from the prying eyes and ears of his allegedly devious employer.
As Julie reached for the door handle to leave, Eve spotted her reflection in the mirror. “It’s pouring, Julie,” Eve exclaimed. “Where are you going?”
“Business appointment, Eve,” Julie replied, not exactly lying. “Be back in time for dinner.”
It was indeed raining cats and dogs as she exited the hotel into the chaos of the city streets. The sounds of car horns, rushing automobiles, shouting obscenities, and heavy rain flooded her ears. By the curb, she noticed a cab waiting and Pike stepped out of the back when he saw her exit the building. A kind concierge appeared out of nowhere, startling Julie at first, but then put her at ease by holding an umbrella over her head and escorting her through the pouring rain to the taxi.
