“What?”
Leisel laughed at my confusion. “I think it’s a shame that no one will actually get to see you in this dress. Everyone will think you’re me. You’re helping me out so much, Sunny, the least I can do is let you borrow it for when you marry that handsome man you were telling me about last night.” She smoothed my hair back into a ponytail. “And I hope you’ll let me be part of your special day, too.”
I had to think about what she was proposing: me in a big white wedding dress, down in the Pit, marrying Reyes, with bourge as guests. And not just any bourge, but the president’s daughter. Somehow, I just couldn’t see it happening, though the image was nice. I managed to stifle my laughter, but I still broke into a huge smile.
“See, I knew that would make you happy.”
“It’s not the dress that makes me happy. It’s the thought of living in a world where I could have a wedding with you there as my friend.” I spoke the truth, even though I knew it was a fantasy.
“That’s the world I want to live in, too. I’ve never had a best friend before, Sunny. I don’t ever want to lose our friendship.”
Our eyes met in the mirror, and I searched her face for a hint of sincerity. With all my heart, I wanted to believe her.
“Well, don’t make me cry! My makeup is going to run, and Jack and I have a televised interview this morning. Do you believe people want to know about us?” Leisel shook her head in disbelief. “Why? We’re so boring.”
Too swept up in our plans, I had forgotten all about the excitement rippling through the Dome about the upcoming nuptials. They had been showing the young couple on television as often as possible, getting everyone excited. Although, down in the Pit, people were more excited about being treated to a feast than they were about watching the wedding. But that wasn’t something I would ever tell Leisel.
“I don’t think you’re boring. I think sharing your wedding day with everyone makes you closer to them.”
Leisel hugged me. “You’re so sweet. But speaking of the interview, I need to finish getting ready. I’ll just slip you out of the dress—careful of the pins. They need to stay exactly as they are. When we switch in the Registry room, I can just remove them and the dress will fit me again.”
I put Jack’s robe back on while she carefully tucked the dress away into the garment bag.
“I probably won’t see you again until tonight. But you look like you should get some sleep anyway. I didn’t want to say anything, Sunny, but you look exhausted.”
And then she was gone.
Jack peeked around the corner.
“All clear?”
I nodded. “Leisel’s gone to get ready for the interview.”
“About that,” Jack said, coming into the living room. “I’m not going to be here most of the day, so you’ll be on your own. Once I lock the door, I’m the only one who can unlock it, so you won’t be able to leave. Which is for the best, because if you’re caught walking around up here unescorted, it won’t be good for you. Do you understand?”
“Can’t I just go home, please? I promise to come right back. You don’t need to hold me prisoner.” I really needed to check on my dad.
“I’m sorry, but that’s just not possible. I want you to know that your loyalty to my fiancée won’t go unrewarded. Once we’re married, I’ll make sure you and your family are taken care of—it’s the least we can do.”
I was sickened when I realized he thought I was doing this for my own personal gain. I wanted to say something, but the doorbell rang again. Jack motioned for me to go into the bedroom. A few seconds later, he told me I could come back.
“Here’s your breakfast,” he said, setting a tray on the table.
There was a time when the Dome used replicators for meals, but someone discovered that processing the food that way resulted in lost vitamins and enzymes. Now the kitchens produced food the old-fashioned way and served it in cafeterias throughout the Dome. I shouldn’t be surprised that Jack Kenner had his meals delivered, though. He came from an important family and would one day be the most important person in the Dome. The evidence that he had personal servants reminded me of just who I was dealing with.
“I can trust you alone here today, can’t I?”
Heat crept up from my neck to cover my cheeks.
“Yes, sir.” I looked at the floor. I was too humiliated to look him in the eyes. I heard the door open and close.
I was alone.
Chapter Seven
My feet seemed rooted to the spot where I was standing. I listened and waited. Waited for what, I wasn’t sure. A hand turning the doorknob? Guards to come crashing through and arrest me? But the only sound in the apartment was of my own breathing. I took a tentative step forward, heard the whisper of my foot sinking back into the carpet, and froze. Was anyone in the hallway? Could they have heard it too? I waited and listened again. No one was coming. I was being paranoid. Why would anyone come barging into Jack Kenner’s apartment without permission?
My focus turned to the tray of food sitting on the table, and my stomach growled. I put my hand over my tummy to muffle the sound. I was pretty sure they heard it all the way down in the Pit. I grabbed the tray, ran on my tiptoes into the bedroom, and sat down on the floor where I’d slept the night before. I felt safer here. If someone did come into the apartment, I could roll under the bed and hide.
I took the lid off the tray and savoured the smell of breakfast. Two eggs, a piece of ham, bread, and fruit. It was more food than I was given in the Pit in an entire day. I ate one egg and some of the bread, then replaced the lid and tucked the leftovers under the bed for later. Then I sat there on the floor with absolutely nothing to do.
After a moment, I tiptoed back out into the living room. I wanted to turn on the television to watch the interview when it aired, but I was afraid it would make too much noise. I had never been interested in the royal couple before, but now that they wanted me to dress up as a decoy bride for any would-be assassins, my interest in them had been piqued. Sure, I had seen them on television before, but they were just images on a screen then. Now I knew them personally.
Did they really want to change the Dome for the better?
Maybe I could find out more about Jack Kenner. I was alone in his apartment, after all. I knew I shouldn’t snoop in his personal things. In fact, I had told him that he could trust me. But if I was going to risk my life for him so he could one day hold the office of president, then I owed it to myself to make sure he was worthy of it.
I opened the cabinet doors on either side of the television and was pleasantly surprised to discover shelves full of old books and magazines. Some of the magazines dated as far back as the 1990s. They looked original, not like the stiff and glossy replicated ones. A pair of white gloves sat on one shelf, and I assumed they were required before touching the antique paper.
I closed the cabinets and continued my search. I went back into Jack’s bedroom, but all I found in his closet and dresser drawers were clothes. There didn’t seem to be anything personal in the apartment at all. No diaries, letters, or photographs. Only the library of old books.
I went back to the cabinet and put on the gloves. I recognized many classics I had learned about in school but never read, like Pride and Prejudice and Paradise Lost. Although I would’ve loved to read them, I was still hoping I wouldn’t be there long enough to finish them. Instead, I turned my attention to the magazines. They ranged in topic from news to nature, from architecture to computers. I took one out and looked at the front cover; it was dated April 2012, and the headline read “US and NATO Plan Defence Project.” The next one was dated May 2012: “Russia Vows Pre-Emptive Strike Against US and NATO.” I jumped ahead to the most recent magazine, and the headline read “Korea Not Happy with Vice President Kenner’s Visit.” The name Kenner caught my attention.
The article was a short commentary on Vice President Theodore Kenner’s meeting with North Korea’s leader about working together to solve the current nuclear crisis. The meeting didn’t go well because the North Korean leader expected President Taylor herself, not the vice president. The article went on to say that instead of repairing relations between the two countries, the rift had grown larger. It was dated January 2024. The nuclear holocaust happened February 2024. Was the Kenner family somehow implicated in the start of World War Three?