can you keep a secret?

Who: Evelyn and Lily
Where: Alexandrian Library
When: Afternoon
 
 
In exchange for the remainder of the week to herself, Lily came in to pick up Jessica's shift that day. It was, as usual, slow and pretty empty, and Lily was, as usual, reorganizing the books on the shelves. This time in the adult fiction section. "People are so inconsiderate," she muttered to herself, stepping up on the little stool she had and re-organizing the top shelf.

Even with the frustration of careless patrons, Lily was happy and she looked it. She stood straighter, she smiled more, and it was as if a great weight was off her shoulders. Jessica had noticed it, had looked quite surprised and asked if she was feeling alright and Lily was happy to say that she was.

Fiction wasn't Evelyn's usual section in the least. She had only really ventured away from non-fiction -- biographies, current events, technology, travel -- when school had required it, and that had been years ago. In fact, it had been a good long while since she had spent quality time at the library -- save for a brief trip to pick up some etiquette and fine cuisuine books right after getting the job at the Drake.

Which meant some things had moved around a bit and weren't where Evelyn remembered them to be. So when she heard the shuffling and mutterings of one of the librarians, she walked towards it. She recognized Miss Mayfair immediately: even though she didn't stop by nearly so much (or at all, really) now, once upon a time Evelyn had been a fairly common sight here... and she still recalled the librarian from those days. "Hello, Miss Mayfair," she greeted, walking towards the librarian and noting how cheerier the woman looked than she remembered, "How are you?" She had never had much of a chat with the librarians outside of recommending books for such-and-such project or on such-and-such subject, but Evelyn remembered Lily to be one of the nicer one, and felt she should greet the woman before asking for help.

Lily looked down from her perch at the familiar greeting, prepared to see one of the teens but she was quite surprised to see the woman standing below her. She tilted her head slightly, studying the girl for a moment and it was the eyes that triggered the memory and she smiled broadly. "Evelyn?" she asked, putting the books back on the shelf for later and carefully hopping down, the ruffled hem of her skirt fluttering around her calves. "Oh my God, I haven't seen you in forever but please, it's Lily."

It was was always nice to be remembered, especially so enthusiastically. "Alright, Lily then," Evelyn grinned. Unlike with Ian, she overcame her initial awkwardness at calling 'Miss Mayfair' by her first name fairly quickly. She was no longer the middle-school child or high-school teen who viewed adults as Grown-Ups to call 'Miss This' or "Mr. That'. And Lily also wasn't the bosses' boss who wanted to date her. "You look well," she commented. She remembered Miss Mayfair -- Lily -- as being sweet and all, but certainly not beaming.

She shrugged a little bit, but when she caught sight of her bandaged wrist, her beam weakening to something closer to a frown. "What happened?" she asked, genuine concern and worry in her soft voice. A pit of worry had welled up in her gut. "Are you okay?"

Evelyn's grin fell slightly, but she managed pretty well at keeping her own frown hidden away. "Oh, I'm fine," she shrugged, "It just got twisted is all." At the Drake today she had told the lie/half-truth often enough to pull it off smoothly. Hell, had she seen Jesse today instead she might've been convincing enough to fool him... maybe. Internally she expressed gratitude for the hairstyle and neckerchief that covered up the more-noticeable, less easily dismissed bruises. Changing the subject, she gave Lily a reassuring smile, "But I was actually here looking for something. Just some books on the hospitality and tourism? I think they've moved from where I remember."

"Yeah, I did some reorganzing awhile back," Lily said, not pressing the injury subject any furthur. "This way." She waved for Evelyn to follow her down the aisle and towards the reference desk in the middle of the library. "Are you looking for anything specific?" She didn't know what Evelyn did for a living nowadays and Jesse hadn't mentioned it the other night. Then again, they hadn't discussed his siblings jobs, which made her realize that she didn't know what he did for a living. "We don't have much so. Mostly just things about the city."

"Oh, that's perfect, actually," Evelyn replied, following after her. She didn't want to elaborate too much on that though -- Lily knew her name and had kinda sorta known her since middle school; so Evelyn was reserved about letting on too much about her job at the Drake where she went by 'Amelia'. But she figured she should share some information, or at least enough for Lily to point her in the right direction on what to look at. Being a concierge was going to involve a certain kind of etiquette. And she'd have to know the finer areas and such of the city like the back of her hand. "Anything you have on the city's tourism -- what to see, when to see it, where to eat? The finer hot spots, I suppose." It may have sounded odd considering Evelyn had lived in the city her entire life. But, with the exception of working at the Drake, growing up she hadn't experienced anything fancier than a nice movie followed by a very rare dinner out with family... or a date.

It was kind of weird, but from what she'd gathered from things that Jesse had told her about, Evelyn wouldn't know where the "upper crust" would frequent. "Well we do have a few books. Resteraunt review guides and historical areas of the city that some people might find interesting. If I remember correctly, there's a Madame Tussauds in the art district by the museum. Wax figures and the like," she elaborated, unsure if Evelyn would know and casually providing the information if she didn't as to not embarrass her. "And if you stop by Hill Street and the museum, they'll have advertisement on their agenda for the year. What exhibits they'll have, what plays they're planning. I think we're getting the ballet this spring."

Evelyn nodded, mentally noting down everything Lily had said. Although it wasn't far from the Drake, she hadn't really taken to perusing the art district and had been wholly unaware of the wax-figure place. Her mouth quirked a bit as she tried to understand the appeal in that. "I've never been to the theater," she admitted, internally flinching at not taking Jessie last Saturday, "but the museum I know pretty well." It wasn't too far from the Drake, and Evelyn liked to pop in when she could before a late shift or after an early one. She loved the artifacts, and learning of people and civilizations now past -- especially the civilizations, and how these people thousands of years ago had come up with ingenious solutions and systems with very little more than dirt, rocks, and water.

"The theater is nice," she said with a smile over her shoulder and paused in front of a display of books pertaining to the city. "Here, this one is about the more unique places to eat. Like dinner theaters and such." Lily had gone to a few over the years but wasn't really a fan but there were people who liked them. "And this one," she said, grabbing another book. "Is more of the upper echelon of expensive pieces of steak and lobster tails."

"Thank you," Evelyn murmured, figuring unique sounded good as she reached for that book first. To the upper class, standard five star restaurants seemed to be a dime a dozen... even though a dime wouldn't get you a toothpick there. She felt some tension she had been unaware of leave her as she flipped through the book. She had stuck around the hotel after seeing Sullivan to discreetly observe the guests at the front desk... and then it hit her that she really should've taken a moment to think this through. The guests there asked about a hell of a lot more than what the soup of the day was, and they expected whoever they talked to to be an expert on whatever attractions or stores or the like would suit their needs. And that was a world that Evelyn just wasn't familiar with.

So, yeah, she had been apprehensive; and she hadn't realized just how much so until she felt the relieve as she flipped through the books pages. It was quite a bit of information. ...But she could do this. She reminded herself that she hadn't worked in a restaurant nor been anywhere nicer than Nighthawk's before the Drake, and now she excelled at the job and could answer questions on exotic and fine cuisine with ease. She just needed to be prepared! Evelyn looked up from the book, closing it, and grabbed the other one Lily had pointed off the shelf as well. Some of her relief seeped through the smile she gave Lily, "So I've got attractions and dining here, I guess that leaves..." she paused for a moment, talking just as much to herself as she was to Lily, "...shopping?"

"Mmm there's a few," Lily said with a nod, eyes skimming over the books. She bit her lip, worrying the flesh as she walked a few steps away, looking around. "Is this for a job?" she asked, soft, curious, trying not to be invasive in her question.

There was the briefest of pauses as Evelyn debated her answer. "A bit... yeah," she admitted, keeping her eyes to skimming the shelves to find anything that popped out. She had to admit that, at least. It wasn't as if Evelyn had any personal connections that would have brought her to such a subject on her own. But, she was very aware of the double lives she was led; and that meant that anyone who knew her as Evelyn didn't know her as 'Amelia' and vice versa. So the details were kept very vague, "I just... gotta make reservations and stuff." She didn't add that she'd had very little idea of where to start looking; Evelyn didn't admit stuff like that. But it could obviously be inferred by the whole... 'asking questions about that stuff' thing.

"A concierge, huh?" Lily asked with a grin. "That's a real snazzy job. Congratulations!" She grabbed another book, checking the description to see if it would be appropriate. She hadn't noticed any pause or any evasiveness in Evelyn's voice. She had no reason to expect something like that. "Do you... would you like some help with this?" she asked hesitantly. "I could draw up some lists, give you some more accurate descriptions." Lily smiled a little shyly. "Maybe get you into some of the nicer places?" She wasn't sure how Evelyn would react to the suggestion. If she'd be offended or storm off or something.

"Not a concierge," she replied quickly, and with the vehemence behind it one would figure Evelyn found the idea distasteful. She scrutinized Lily warily when the other girl wouldn't notice. Evelyn would never have figured 'concierge' to be the first thought Lily jumped to -- it wasn't as if a librarian's salary could afford the nicer hotels that had such things. Then again, being a librarian meant Lily could've easily read enough to figure that. Shit. "I work for a lawyer," Evelyn explained, drawing back to the initial job she had moved across town for. "Clerical work, but not anymore. I guess I got promoted a bit? Now I'm more of an... administrative assistant." She forced her voice not to falter there as she internally twitched at being an 'assistant' to her old boss, "But there are some... out-of-town clients, and I'm supposed to figure all this stuff out." She smiled, gesturing towards the shelves as she lied outright through her teeth, feeding Lily pretty much the same line she gave her family.

"But," Evelyn added only the slightest bit cautiously, "the lists and stuff could help." She gave a slight pause as she again re-thought about Lily's offer, "You could... 'get me into some places'?" There she sounded as confused as she was, still not piecing together that Lily was a librarian with connections.

Lily was taken aback by the vehemence that Evelyn had shown when Lily had said 'concierge' and the further ramblings that she had given ticked off little bells in her head. She narrowed her eyes a little bit, peering closer at Evelyn. She took away the scarf and the clothes, replacing it with the uniform of a waiter at the Drake. Yes. Yes, she was right. Evelyn was working at the Drake. "I'm usually under the name 'Pennington'," she said softly, leaning in close to Evelyn, bringing a more secretive quality to their conversation, as if she was hiding something too. In a way, she kind of was. Mayfair was no big name, unless it was to the elderly of the city. Pennington on the other hand was engraved on a pretty gold plaque outside of the museum doors and on a list of benefactors all over the city.

'Oh... fuck.' was the be-all and end-all of Evelyn's thought process as she eyed Lily behind her stoic facade. And thus she watched her fairly good mood from a relatively good day totally crash and burn. She recognized the name all right: at the museum, around town... at the Drake. Thankfully today Evelyn wasn't so off her game the way she'd been the last week. No, today she was taking this information with passive calm as she internally flailed around like a chicken with its head cut off. "As in... Agatha Pennington?" she asked, keeping the tone conversationally light. Her expression adopted a frown that was at least genuine in its confusion if nothing else. Miss Mayfair -- Lily the Librarian -- was somehow related to Agatha Pennington? Um, yeah, she might've needed some clarification there... just to make sure she heard that right.

"My overbearing grandmother who has yet to find out I'm moving out," Lily said with a nod. "But really," she said seriously, kindly. "It's not really my sort of thing. I just stand in the background at all of those sorts of things. Which is why I'm moving out." She smiled a little, blushing and looked back at the bookshelf. "Maybe it'll make me worth something." To someone was implied to an extent but unsaid.

Evelyn caught the implication -- observation wasn't a gift bestowed only on her brother-- but she didn't comment on it. For one: Lily's sudden proximity to the Drake and 'Amelia' had triggered her guard. And two: she didn't know what to say to that anyway. It wasn't that Evelyn was particularly awful with the being comforting and supportive thing, it just required a certain level of comfort or intimacy for her to do that. And 'comfortable' was the last thing she was feeling at the moment with Lily 'grandaughter of Agatha' Pennington. But she understood silence wasn't so great here either,

"Well," she gave a slight shrug. "You've gotta try, right? A bird can't learn to fly without leaving the nest first," she added a bit helpfully, if matter-of-factly. It was a sentiment she had always sort of felt, but hadn't really put words to until she heard somebody mutter the phrase. It was a phrase she had taken to heart enough to become a Matter of Fact for her... even if wasn't really one her other sister's had adopted. Dorothy was the only other one out of the house... but she left only after getting married and still live a couple blocks from their parents.

"Yeah, I guess." Lily looked away, ashamed and embarrassed, shoulders drooping as she turned back to the bookshelves. It wasn't that she was embarrassed about her current life situation. It was for scaring Evelyn, who she hoped might become a friend. So she took a step away from Evelyn's personal space in apology. "I won't tell anyone," she promised fiercely, meeting her eyes. "It's not my secret or anything to tell and if you don't want anyone to know what you're doing, then you've got a good reason. I won't take that away from you, but I'd still like to help." I won't tell your brother.

Again the confusion on Evelyn's face was actually genuine; it was only her construing it as 'I don't know what secret you're talking about' that wasn't. But what she was really confused about was who exactly Lily could've told anyway. As far as Evelyn was aware, the only mutual connections Lily and her shared were the other librarians... well, no. Agatha Pennington's granddaughter might know people at the Drake... that could be a problem. Although the only people Evelyn really knew there were the staff, and she certainly didn't recall Agatha Pennington getting chummy with the staff: the guests usually didn't unless they wanted something more 'physical'. And the only staff member Evelyn could think of that the Pennington's and other super-important guests really talked to was... Sullivan.

She eyed Lily in silence for a moment, finding that her knowing Sullivan would be a problem... and also finding that irked her on another level as well. For all her lack of intentions on doing anything there, apparently some part of her enjoyed being the apple of his eye. Evelyn was sorely tempted to ask Lily just who she wouldn't tell, but that conflicted with the Stubbornly Deny Everything plan. "I think I've got what I need," she flash Lily a bright smile, wholly passing over what the girl had just said as she removed one last book from the shelf. "I guess I just need to check these out."

"Sure," Lily said tightly, holding her hands out for the books. "Do you still have your card?" She felt like she'd been scolded or something which was ridiculous because she hadn't. Part of her wanted to be spiteful, to tell Evelyn to 'say hi to Jesse for me when you see him', but that wasn't how Lily was and she wasn't sure why she felt that way.

"Yeah," Evelyn replied, a bit relieved to be off that subject at least... even if the whole 'Lily recognizing her from the Drake' thing had still kicked her nerves back to Overload. Fuck fuck fuck! she muttered internally as she reached into her purse to get her card, still keeping the 'nothing wrong here!' smile plastered across her face. Pulling her wallet out of the purse, Evelyn pulled the library card out, "Found it."

She then gave Lily an apologetic, somewhat self-deprecating smile, "Is there someone already at the desk, or will I have to bother you further?" Despite the joking, friendly tone, the wording was deliberate. Phrasing it as if Lily would benefit from their parting ways, Evelyn was trying to give herself an out here. Having her secret stumbled upon for the second time in one week really didn't feel good for her.

She wished there was but, "No, it's just me," Lily said quietly, good mood evaporated. She took the books and the card without another word, doubting the sincerity in Evelyn's smile and voice. It didn't matter, she told herself, walking to the circulation desk and getting the stamp pad and a pen. She scribbled Evelyn's name on the book cards, stamping the date carefully into the free spaces. "Is this all you needed?"

"Yes, thank you," she replied, fighting the strong urge to fidget with the exit so close as she casually took the books. She saw that Lily wasn't nearly as cheery as she had been in earlier, and that made her feel pretty bad, because she knew it was her fault. And she reallydidn't like hurting people. But Evelyn like disclosing the messy details of her life and Bad Decisions even less, so she still refused to mention the Drake between them.

But she did pause awkwardly just a moment before finally murmuring, "Good luck with moving out." And she honestly meant that. It was the most sincere thing she had said throughout their encounter. Unfortunately, if Lily had caught on to the not-quite-sincerity of her earlier avoidance tactics, then her well-wishing probably came off just as insincere. "Bye," Evelyn cradled the books in her left arm and headed towards the door. Even though she walked with all the composure in the world, once she was outside and down the steps her steps hurried her away from the library, punctuating each internal fuck fuck fuck!