Read Online A Perfect Life: A Novel by Danielle Steel - Free Book Online
Authors: Danielle Steel
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said he couldn’t. He found parenting any child hard enough, but doing so for a blind one was too much for him. It was easier for him to ignore her.
“What do you want to do after lunch?” Blaise asked her, as Abby put the dishes in the dishwasher Blaise had bought them.
“How about a movie? I just got two new ones.” She particularly loved musicals. She had “watched”
Annie
and
Mamma Mia!
and
Mary Poppins
and
The Sound of Music
hundreds of times and sung along.
“Why don’t we get some air?” Blaise suggested. “You can watch a movie anytime. It’s a beautiful day outside.” It was the one problem Blaise always had with her. It was hard to get her out of her comfort zone, even to go for a walk on the grounds. She didn’t like to go out unless she had to, and Abby didn’t push her. She hatedmaking Salima unhappy, and Salima liked to stay home in the cozy cottage. The only time she left it now was to go to school.
“Tell me about your trip,” Salima said, trying to distract her from insisting on a walk, but genuinely interested too. Blaise told her about both interviews, and how fascinating both subjects had been. She told her all about Dubai, or what she’d seen of it, and the diamond bangle from Cartier. She had Salima feel it on her wrist.
“It feels expensive,” Salima said with a grin. “He must have liked you a lot.”
“No, he was just generous. Saudis are. And how would you know it’s expensive?” Blaise was intrigued.
“It’s heavy, and I can feel the diamonds all around it. It wasn’t cheap.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Blaise agreed with a smile.
“Was he handsome?” She loved hearing about her mother’s trips, and listening to her interviews. She was Blaise’s biggest fan. And her mother was hers. Salima was a remarkable girl, and had been since she was a child. She was sad that Harry hardly knew her, and that she herself didn’t have more time to spend with her. The years had flown by.
“He was very handsome, and extremely smart,” Blaise said about the Saudi prince.
“Was he hot for you, Mom?” Salima teased her, mostly because of the bracelet. But she knew her mother was beautiful. Everyone said so.
“No. I’m about ten or twelve years older than he is, so that rules me out. And he already has three wives. That’s three too many for me.”
Salima knew all about her mother’s romance with Andrew, and how it had turned out and why. She had met him and liked him, and he had made an effort with her, but she didn’t like how it had ended, or how dishonest he had been with her mother. Salima had been fourteen at the time, and her mother’s voice had sounded so sad afterward, for months, maybe a year. It made Salima’s heart ache to hear her. Salima herself had had a couple of romances at the school, but all the boys there were too young for her now, and she hadn’t met anyone at college. She was always with Abby, and they came and went for her classes and never stuck around. And Salima was shy. With sighted people, she was self-conscious about being blind. And the only sighted people she knew were teachers, not kids. It was the downside of living at a school for the blind. She had no idea how to behave around people who could see. All her peers were blind, and had been for the past eleven years, since she was eight years old. But Blaise was still convinced that she was better off here. But as the years went by, Salima was less and less familiar with the outside world. New York would have been a jungle for her now, and far more dangerous than Blaise was willing to deal with. At Caldwell, Blaise knew she was safe. And Salima never asked to come home. She only did so when she had no other choice, when school was closed for vacations.
It took some doing, but Blaise finally convinced her to go for a walk. She described the trees to her, turning orange and scarlet, and Salima tucked her hand into her mother’s arm as they walked, while Abby walked right behind them and
“What do you want to do after lunch?” Blaise asked her, as Abby put the dishes in the dishwasher Blaise had bought them.
“How about a movie? I just got two new ones.” She particularly loved musicals. She had “watched”
Annie
and
Mamma Mia!
and
Mary Poppins
and
The Sound of Music
hundreds of times and sung along.
“Why don’t we get some air?” Blaise suggested. “You can watch a movie anytime. It’s a beautiful day outside.” It was the one problem Blaise always had with her. It was hard to get her out of her comfort zone, even to go for a walk on the grounds. She didn’t like to go out unless she had to, and Abby didn’t push her. She hatedmaking Salima unhappy, and Salima liked to stay home in the cozy cottage. The only time she left it now was to go to school.
“Tell me about your trip,” Salima said, trying to distract her from insisting on a walk, but genuinely interested too. Blaise told her about both interviews, and how fascinating both subjects had been. She told her all about Dubai, or what she’d seen of it, and the diamond bangle from Cartier. She had Salima feel it on her wrist.
“It feels expensive,” Salima said with a grin. “He must have liked you a lot.”
“No, he was just generous. Saudis are. And how would you know it’s expensive?” Blaise was intrigued.
“It’s heavy, and I can feel the diamonds all around it. It wasn’t cheap.”
“No, it wasn’t,” Blaise agreed with a smile.
“Was he handsome?” She loved hearing about her mother’s trips, and listening to her interviews. She was Blaise’s biggest fan. And her mother was hers. Salima was a remarkable girl, and had been since she was a child. She was sad that Harry hardly knew her, and that she herself didn’t have more time to spend with her. The years had flown by.
“He was very handsome, and extremely smart,” Blaise said about the Saudi prince.
“Was he hot for you, Mom?” Salima teased her, mostly because of the bracelet. But she knew her mother was beautiful. Everyone said so.
“No. I’m about ten or twelve years older than he is, so that rules me out. And he already has three wives. That’s three too many for me.”
Salima knew all about her mother’s romance with Andrew, and how it had turned out and why. She had met him and liked him, and he had made an effort with her, but she didn’t like how it had ended, or how dishonest he had been with her mother. Salima had been fourteen at the time, and her mother’s voice had sounded so sad afterward, for months, maybe a year. It made Salima’s heart ache to hear her. Salima herself had had a couple of romances at the school, but all the boys there were too young for her now, and she hadn’t met anyone at college. She was always with Abby, and they came and went for her classes and never stuck around. And Salima was shy. With sighted people, she was self-conscious about being blind. And the only sighted people she knew were teachers, not kids. It was the downside of living at a school for the blind. She had no idea how to behave around people who could see. All her peers were blind, and had been for the past eleven years, since she was eight years old. But Blaise was still convinced that she was better off here. But as the years went by, Salima was less and less familiar with the outside world. New York would have been a jungle for her now, and far more dangerous than Blaise was willing to deal with. At Caldwell, Blaise knew she was safe. And Salima never asked to come home. She only did so when she had no other choice, when school was closed for vacations.
It took some doing, but Blaise finally convinced her to go for a walk. She described the trees to her, turning orange and scarlet, and Salima tucked her hand into her mother’s arm as they walked, while Abby walked right behind them and
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