'Taken care of.' Lucy echoed. 'How?'
As if they had been waiting for their cue, Gabriel and Raphael entered the room. Lucy wondered if they had been listening at the door, waiting for Michael to say his piece. Her brothers were weird enough for anything.
She quirked an eyebrow at Michael but it was Raphael who answered.
'Michael rang me at work this morning to tell me he was considering letting you off. I wasn't surprised,' He grinned. 'There's a soft heart in there somewhere.'
Lucy caught a look that passed between her brothers and a little voice in the back of her head whispered softly -
You are not going to like this.
'I had just come out of theatre when he rang and I decided to take some air outside - clear my head before I did my rounds. I started thinking about you and how you would want something pretty to wear and how Mr Stubborn here had left you very little time.'
'So,' He continued, grinning proudly, 'I came up with a good plan. I rang both boys back and everyone agreed it was the answer.'
The voice in Lucy's head was louder -
You are definitely not going to like this.
'I had some time before I had to start my rounds so I hopped on my motorbike and rode into Bridgeport.'
'Bridgeport?' Lucy felt a cold dread settle somewhere in the pit of her stomach.
'Yes, I knew there wouldn't have been much left in the shops here and that bike just eats up the distance like it is candy.'
'You actually rode to Bridgeport to buy me a dress?' The words felt thick in her mouth. This should have been a joke but no-one was laughing. Her brothers all had the same pleased as punch expression on their faces so she knew it was serious.
'The sales lady was very helpful.' Raphael added, 'And cute.'
Lucy somehow forced a sickly smile while inside she felt all her former happiness swirl and whirl away, leeching out of her pores and leaving just a horrified disbelief behind.
'It's upstairs on your bed. Why don't you go and try it on and we will wait down here for you.'
'Right.' Lucy's feet felt as leaden as her heart as she climbed the stairs.
Raphael's world was IV lines and kidney dishes. What would he know about buying dresses?
What did Raphael know about women?
The last time a woman had flirted with him.
He had stuck a hypodermic in her arm and then wondered why she'd run away.
The 'cute' sales lady was probably a nasty crone who was, even now, still rubbing her hands together in glee at having gotten rid of the left-over ugly from ten seasons ago.
She reached the top of the stairs and opened the door to her room.
