I was just-"
" - goofin wit me, right It was... I was just-"
" - goofin wit me, right It was impossible to
tell if she was amused or exasperatedThe
connection was good but not that good The subtext of that one to come through
loud and clear: Want to make something of it?
I most assuredly did not want to make something of
it"Well, I'm glad you made a friendDoes he
wear a beret?"
To my immense relief, she laughedWith Lin, it
was impossible to tell which way a joke was going
568
to go, because her sense of humor was as
unreliable as an April afternoonShe called: "Ric!
Mon papa" Something I didn't catch, then: "
si tu portes un béret!"
There was faint male laughterAh, Edgar, I
thoughtEven overseas you
d&g fashion lay them in the aisles,
you pere fou
"Daddy, are you all right?"
"FineHow's your strep?"
"All better, thanks
"I just got off the phone with your motherYou're
going to get an official invitation to this show
I'm having, but she says you'll come and I'm
thrilled
"You're thrilled? Mom sent me some of the pictures
and I can't waitWhen did you learn to do that?"
This seemed to be the question of the hourAre the others as good?"
"You'll have to come and see for yourself
"Could Ric come?"
"Does he have a passport?"
"Yes
569
"Will he promise not to poke ze fun at your old
man?"
"He's very respectful of his elders
"Then assuming the flights aren't sold out and
gucci wholesale you
don't mind sleeping two to a room - I assume
that's not a problem - then of course he can
come
She squealed so loudly it hurt my ear, but I
didn't take the telephone awayIt had been a long
time since I'd said or done anything to make
Linnie Freemantle squeal like that"Thank you,
Daddy - that's great!"
"It'll be nice to meet RicMaybe I'll steal his
beretI'm an artist now, after all
"I'll tell him you said that
"Have you talked to Ilse yet?"
"No, why?"
"When you do, don't say anything about Ric coming,
okay? Let me do that
"I hadn't planned to
"Because she and Carsonshe said she told you
about him
570
"Well, I'm pretty sure there's a problem
dior replica handbags there
Illy says she's 'thinking things over' That's a
direct quoteHe says you
should never trust a person who prays in public
All I know is she sounds a lot more grown up than
my baby sister used to
Same goes for you, Lin, I thoughtI had a
momentary image of how she'd looked at seven, when
she'd been so sick Pam and I both thought she
might die on us, although we'd never said so aloud
Back then Melinda had been all big dark eyes, pale
cheeks, and lank hairOnce I remember thinking
Skull on a stick and hating myself for the thought
And hating myself more for knowing, in the deep
reaches of my heart, that if one of them had to
sicken that way, I was glad it had been
cartier tank louis herI
always tried to believe that I loved both my
daughters with the same weight and intensity, but
it wasn't trueMaybe it is for some parents - I
think it was for Pam - but it never was for me
And did Melinda know?
Of course she did
"Are you taking care of yourself?" I asked her I could almost see her rolling her
eyes"How many bunches?"
"A million and one for under your pillow," she
said, as if humoring a child
I sat there for a little while, looking out at the
water, rubbing absently at my eyes, then made what
I hoped would be the day's last call
vii
It was noon by then, and I didn't really expect to
get her; I thought she'd be out eating lunch
balenciaga the day bag with
frien