39
Laurie glanced at her watch. It was already nine o’clock. They had been having such a fun time at the piano bar that she had completely lost track of time.
She started to signal for the check, but Charlotte quickly grabbed her hand and pulled it down beside her. “First of all, brides-to-be do not pay for their own parties. And second, you can’t go yet. I heard that couple over there ask the pianist to play ‘Schadenfreude’ from Avenue Q. From the gleam in their eyes, I think they have something hilarious planned.”
“I wish I could stay. This has been such a blast, but I’ve got to get back home for Timmy.”
“I assumed your dad was with him tonight when we made drink plans,” Charlotte said.
“Nope. He had a dinner thing to go to, but Timmy was over at a friend’s working on a science project and was eating over there. The plan is for the parents to walk him back to the apartment at nine-thirty, so I really have to scoot.”
“Such a good mom,” Charlotte said, giving her a hug before signaling for the check.
As Charlotte fought off Jerry’s and Grace’s attempts to kick in for the bill, Laurie began to stack the gifts they’d brought inside the duffel bag Charlotte had given her. It was a new addition to the Ladyform line, and the leather was thick and buttery. Charlotte had made a point to say it was for the honeymoon, but tonight, it was perfect to transport all of these presents. As much as Laurie loved the bag, her very favorite gift was the framed photograph of her and Alex. It was from the set of the first episode they had filmed together. Even though their relationship was strictly professional at the time, the camera had managed to catch the obvious feelings between them.
As a final step, she tucked her briefcase into a gap at the side of the bag. “This thing is ginormous!” she said, showing off her accomplishment of fitting everything neatly inside.
They had just risen from the table when the pianist announced the next number. It was the funny song from Avenue Q that Charlotte had anticipated. An enthusiastic couple two tables down jumped up. Their friends cheered as they made their way to the stage. Charlotte looked at Laurie with pleading eyes.
“Seriously, I’ve got to go. You guys stay, though. I can tell you want to.” She hoisted the duffel bag over her right shoulder, making clear that she was fully capable of lugging it to a cab on her own.
Charlotte sat and signaled for Jerry and Grace to do the same. She gave a quick final wave to Laurie and mouthed “good night” as the piano began to play.
As Laurie walked toward the exit, she felt the thud of her bag bump someone at the bar and yelled out an apology over the music.
Outside, she had her back to the door as she monitored 46th Street for an available taxi. She was cutting it close to get home before Timmy, and it could be tough finding a cab this time of night in the theater district. She thought about ordering an Uber, but her phone was in her briefcase, which was zipped inside the giant bag over her shoulder. The last thing she wanted to do to her beautiful new duffel was drop it on a city sidewalk.
Her mind eased as she spotted the lit medallion number of an approaching cab. She took two steps out from the curb and raised her left hand enthusiastically. Please, she thought, do not let this be the night some jerk appears out of nowhere to steal my ride home.
She sensed motion behind her and, on instinct, waved her hailing hand even higher as the cab began to slow. My cab. This is my cab.
The impact was fast. And hard. It felt like she had been head butted by a professional football player. Before she knew it, she was falling onto the street, the skin on her left calf scraping against the rough concrete. She screamed as she saw headlights approaching at eye level. The cab’s tires made a skidding sound as the car came to a sudden halt, stopping just in time not to hit her.
She scrambled to her feet, losing one of her sling-backed heels in the process. Her bag was gone. She spotted a man dressed in dark pants and a hoodie running toward Eighth Avenue, her bag in his right hand, and began to yell.
“Stop! Someone stop him! He mugged me! That’s my bag!”
The taxi driver was out of his car, asking if she was okay. A woman stopped to pick up her shoe from the street and return it to her. Other pedestrians simply continued on their way, pretending not to have noticed a scene that was none of their business. No one had tried to stop the man from running away from the lady wearing a ridiculous purple boa.
“Please, can we go follow him?” Laurie asked the driver.
He held up both palms and waved them. “That is a job for the police, ma’am,” he said in a lilting accent. “I have a wife and five children. I can’t go playing hero.”
She nodded her understanding and then watched as a man in a well-tailored suit got into the backseat of what was supposed to be her cab.