The building had always struck me as weird. It was too small. Too red. The garden in front was too perfect. It was obviously a building where a princess would live. And that's where Eileen had chosen to stay.
I made my slow, half drunken way to the front door and rang the bell for the 2nd floor, left side apartment. There was a buzz and the door opened. Of course there was no elevator in this tiny place. 2 floors on foot and my head was spinning. I really needed to cut it on the drinking.
The door opened to reveal a yawning young brunette. The smell of coffee brewing filled the place. Eileen made way for me to enter her small, dimly lit, minimally furnished studio. All the curtains were closed.
I liked this place. It was very "her", simple and efficient, discreet and yet with an aura of knowledge you couldn't pass by. Enticing. Shelves lined one wall, full of books about physics and the Universe. The ceiling was painted with galaxies. White walls, a bed, a small table with a couple of chairs and that was it. Except for the adorable little frog in an aquarium.
"Hey Tina, coffee'll be ready soon. What can I do for you? Another seminar coming up?"
I sat down on a chair, uninvited. I could use a coffee. "Nope, not this time love. I have a proposal for you." I took a deep breath, preparing to launch into the monologue I had rehearsed on the way.
Eileen cut me off. "I'm not interested." She went to the small kitchen to pour us some coffee, always the graceful host even when knocking me out verbally. "I don't want to marry, I told you so. What I want is to study quantum physics and have a little garden to plant some vegetables in it. I'm not allowed to use the one here."
I took the offered cup and looked at the frog. "What's its name?" I'd never asked. It never mattered, but now I really needed to actually know her better.
"Vincent. Don't ask me why." She sat down across from me, her face drawn. She wasn't frowning but I could sense her discontent. Didn't bode well.
I sipped my coffee, thinking hard. The fog in my brain wasn't on my side. I had to be blunt. "Okay look Eileen, I know you don't care about men and don't want to marry. Trust me I get that. I don't want to either. But your father made a deal with us so I have to at least try, and there may be a solution. Can you at least hear it out?"
The frog hopped closer to us in his aquarium. I wondered if it was a real one, or someone.
"I can hear you out all you want, Tina, but you know my answer. I wouldn't even marry a physicist, I'm just not into that kind of stuff. So until you give me a scholarship, and/or a garden, I'm afraid you won't get that Happily Ever After your agency advertises for." She took a big gulp of coffee and set the mug on the table.
She seemed upset, and I got it. For 2 whole years we had thrown men at her without caring for what she really wanted. But not this time. I could feel this time was different. A queen, but not a wife.
"I have met a prince." She groaned. I lifted my hand to gesture for her to let me finish. "He's a weird one. I think he's polyamourous, or something. He doesn't want the commitment or anything, just the marriage."
Eileen rolled her eyes. "Like that's gonna help me. I don't want the marriage, Tina."
"I know, I know." I sipped on my coffee again, trying to figure out how to get through to her. She interrupted my train of thought again.
"No, you don't know. You don't know how hard it is for me. How lonely it gets, when everyone around you is talking about love and romance and you're left wondering what's wrong with you. Never being attracted to anyone, not physically, not romantically, not anything, ever. You don't know how confusing it as when you read a book and the story revolves around love like it's the end goal for everyone, and you've never thought about it like that. You just don't know, Tina."
I didn't know what to say to that. As the silence stretched, she sighed. "Fine, tell me about that prince. But take all that into account. Please."
"I've only met him once, and not in the best circumstances. So honestly I don't know. But I'd like you to at least consider it. This would be good, it's just a prince who needs to get married for his kingdom but doesn't want to. You have that in common. And maybe with his help you'll be able to pay for school without working 2 jobs. I'm sure he also has a garden."
No answer. "Please?" I added.
I never said please like that. Ever. Especially not to a princess, because I never needed to. But this was different and Eileen knew it. I had to fulfill this damned contract and she desperately needed money. Her studies were expensive, as was this place.
Eileen sighed again, this time in defeat. "Fine, I'll meet him. But I swear Tina this is the last one. I don't care how much my father paid you, I'm sick of all this bullshit. Clear?"
I finished my coffee and put the mug back on the table. Time to go. "Clear. Thanks love." I made my way out, sending Vincent the frog a smile on the way. You never know.
I went straight to my favorite drinking place. If you can call that straight. I didn't drive and had to take a decent amount of public transportation, standing up, swaying in rhythm with the heavy metal music I put in my ears. I didn't want to hear the mass of people around me. I'd done it once and gotten a headache from it, sober.
The bar was at the end of the street where the subway stopped. It was open. It was always open. One of the reasons I liked it so much. I went in and took my usual spot on my usual half dead red chair, and ordered my usual drink despite my earlier thoughts of whiskey.
The bartender hadn't asked, and I hadn't said a word. Just a silent conversation based on nods. We understood each other. Once settled with my drink, I took my phone out of my purse and called Jo.
"Hey. Spoke to the girl. She agreed to a meeting. Anything on your end?" Simple and to the point, I didn't want to bother with niceties and neither did my boss.
"I couldn't find jackshit about him anywhere so I called. His butler answered, I guess you've met them? They asked after you."
She must have meant Cecile. That bastard. "Yeah, I know them." I took a gulp of my Black Russian and waited for news. Jo always got answers.
She took her time though, dragging the words out. "Yeah. I blew up on them about the net. You're welcome. They told me more about this Gianni person. Looks like they're a real prince after all, one that flew under our radar all these years. I'm pissed off, Tina. We should know about him." I grunted, having no other answer to give her. Looking out for princes wasn't my job. I just got them married.
"Anyway, he's a prince with a small kingdom and guess what… we're in it. How the fuck did we not know that?" I almost spit out my drink. We were in a kingdom? I'd always assumed our town was out of any influence, in the middle of things, on our own.
"You still there?" I nodded, remembered we were on the phone, and muttered a yes. Then took a big gulp. Jo continued. "So we're in his kingdom, well soon to be his, and he wants a local wife. Our girl is the one he picked for some reason Cecile didn't explain. Gianni wants to marry sooner rather than later to have access to his heirloom. Both parents gone before he was 15, the kingdom's been under the care of… You're not listening."
I wasn't. "Sorry Jo, too much info. I got the gist of it. Actual prince, orphan, wants to get it over with fast." She grunted.
"I'll call them back tomorrow to arrange a meeting. Try to not get into any trouble tonight Tina. Do not get drunk. We need you at full capacity from now on. Clear?"
"Cristal." She hung up. I put the phone back in my purse and looked at my hand. It was covering the already half empty glass.
Don't get drunk? How did she want me to not get drunk after the news she gave me? And the day, week, month I'd had? I groaned and took a sip. I was going to have to stop at two tonight, no matter what I wanted. Fucking case.