The Special Necklace

 Cathy and Gigi were two best friends that lived in a two bedroom apartment in New York City.

Cathy walked into the kitchen and said, “Good morning.”

“Good morning. Are you going to the dinner dance tonight?”

“Yes. I don’t have to work. Is it at The Plaza Hotel?”

“Yes.”

Cathy walked over to a drawer and opened it. She took out a pearl necklace and said, “I’ll wear this.”

“I’ve always wanted to know why you kept that in there and not in your bedroom.”

“It’s very special. My mom gave it to me for my thirteenth birthday. I don’t want to lose it.”

“Are you going to wear it tonight?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll meet you at the coffee shop on Fifth Avenue after work. I get off at four.”

It was four-thirty, and the two friends were at the coffee shop. They were sitting across from each other at a table next to a window.

“What are you going to wear tonight?” Gigi said.

“A red dress. It’s going to be cold. I’m going to wear tights and a red sweater.”

“I’m going to wear my dress that’s purple and has some shine to it on the top with my black coat.”

“Do you have any jewelry to wear?”

“A bracelet and earrings.”

When they were done at the coffee shop they went back to their apartment. Gigi was showering and Cathy was putting her necklace around her neck.

Gigi walked out of the bathroom with her outfit on for the dinner party.

Cathy turned around and said, “You look beautiful.”

“Thank you. You do too. Are you ready?”

“Let’s go.”

It was seven that night, and the girls were inside the lobby of The Plaza Hotel. There was a band on a stage, tables in the back with eight chairs around the tables, and an area in front of the band to dance.

“Look! There’s Mandy and Roxanne!” Gigi said and the two girls walked over to them.

“Hi, girls,” Cathy said and they all hugged each other.

Mandy and Roxanne were two friends who went to New York University with Gigi and Cathy. They sat at a table that was in front of the band.

“Is your boyfriend playing tonight?” Cathy asked Mandy.

“He is,” Mandy said and she waved to the saxophone player and he waved back at her.

“That’s a pretty pearl necklace, Cathy. Where’d you get that from?” Roxanne said.

“My mom gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday,” Cathy said.

“It’s pretty,” Roxanne said.

An hour later, the girls were in the bathroom checking themselves in the mirror.

“I have to go to the bathroom. Roxanne, could you watch my necklace?” Cathy said.

“Are you afraid it’s going to drop in the toilet?” Roxanne said.

“Yes,” Cathy said and she gave Roxanne the necklace.

“Is everyone ready to go back?” Mandy said.

“I’ll be there in a minute,” Cathy said went into the stall and closed the door behind her.

“Me too,” Roxanne said.

Mandy and Gigi walked out of the restroom.

Roxanne put the necklace into her jacket pocket.

When Cathy was done going to the bathroom she turned on the sink to wash her hands.

“Did the others go back?” Cathy said.

“Yes. Oh no!”

“What’s wrong?” Cathy said and dried her hands off with a paper towel.

“I lost your necklace.”

“But, I gave it to you.”

“I must’ve dropped in the sink or something.”

“I don’t believe you! You’re my friend and you lost something important to me!”

Cathy walked out of the restroom. She walked over and sat with Mandy and Gigi.

“What happened to your necklace? It’s not on your neck,” Mandy said.

“I gave it to Roxanne to watch it for me while I go to the bathroom and she lost it.”

Roxanne came out of the restroom and sat with her friends.

“Cathy told us that you lost her necklace?” Gigi said.

“I told you I must’ve dropped in the sink or something,” Roxanne said.

“Did you see that it dropped in the sink?” Cathy said.

“No. I looked up at the mirror to make sure my hair was okay and I looked down on the counter and it was gone,” Roxanne said.

“Did you hear a clink?” Mandy said.

“No. You can’t hear a clink when something drops in the sink,” Roxanne said.

“I asked you that because maybe it fell on the floor and somebody saw it and picked it up,” Mandy said.

“I don’t know. I’m sorry I lost it,” Roxanne said.

“We’ll find it. Let’s dance because the dinner is almost over,” Mandy said.

Gigi and Cathy were back at their apartment getting ready for bed.

Cathy was in her pajamas sitting at the kitchen table doing nothing and Gigi walked in.

“Hey, are you okay?” Gigi said and sat next to Cathy.

“No.”

“I want you to get some sleep. I don’t want you to sit at the table all night. We both have a lot to do for our classes this weekend and work Sunday. If you don’t get any sleep you’ll be a wreck by the time we go back to school Monday.”

“I’ll go to sleep. Let me have some hot tea first.”

“I can make us a pot.”

“Thanks.”

Gigi walked over to the stovetop and poured water into the tea kettle. She turned the stovetop on high and sat back down.

“I remember I had a pearl necklace like you that my mom gave me and I lost it.”

“You did?”

“Yes. We were friends with Roxanne and Mandy. I gave it to Roxanne….. “

“You gave it to Roxanne? I gave mine to Roxanne. I didn’t lose my necklace, Roxanne stole it.”

“You’re right! Maybe she still has mine. Why don’t we have some tea, get some sleep, and then talk to Roxanne at the coffee shop in the morning.”

The next morning Gigi and Cathy were getting ready to go to the coffee shop.

“Does Roxanne know where to meet us?” Cathy said.

“Yes, and Mandy does too.”

The four friends were sitting at a coffee shop on Fifth Avenue.

“I wouldn’t steal anything like that from you. I told you I lost it,” Roxanne said.

Roxanne took her jacket off she wore to the dinner party the other night. Two pearl necklaces fell out of her pocket.

“Would you look at that!” Cathy said.

“It’s true! Our necklaces weren’t lost you stole them!” Gigi said.

“Roxanne? How could you? I thought we were friends?” Mandy said.

“Not anymore. Let’s take our necklaces and go home. Mandy, you can come with us,” Cathy said.

“What about you? Necklace stealer!” Cathy said and two policemen came in.

“What’s going on here?” one cop said.

“Our “friend” stole our necklaces that fell on the floor,” Cathy said. She picked up the two necklaces and gave them to Gigi.

“What’s your name?” a cop said.

“Roxanne,” Roxanne said and looked down on the floor.

“Roxanne, you’re coming with us. You three ladies go home and have a nice day,” one of the cops said.

Roxanne and the two cops walked out of the coffee shop.

That night, Cathy was in her bedroom putting her pearl necklace in a drawer next to her bed,

Gigi knocked and said, “Good night. Where did you put your necklace?”

“Where you thought I should put it. Good night.”