Read Online The Family Fortune by Laurie Horowitz - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Laurie Horowitz
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wintering in Palm Beach,â Teddy said. âI donât mind the sound of that.â
Miranda walked over to the window, tied back the drapes, and gazed out. âNo Christmas party.â She released a theatrical sigh.
âThere are worse things than wintering in Palm Beach,â Priscilla said.
I, for one, couldnât think of any. I hated the bright yellows, greens, and pinks of country-club chic. I couldnât see myself walking the streets among the tanned and the leathered. I wasnât big on drinks with little umbrellas in them. And though I could probably run the foundation from anywhere, it helped if I showed up at the office occasionally.
âIf we went away for the winter,â Teddy said, âno one would have to know the truth.â He stood up and looked stronger, less disheartened.
âWe could blame it on your health,â Miranda said.
âThereâs nothing wrong with my health.â
âI think we should tell people whatâs easiest for them to hear,â Miranda said.
âIt might be easier for you to have people think Iâve lost my health, but it would hardly be easier for me.â Teddy was proud of the fitness heachieved at the Boston Athletic Club. Being known for his youthfulness and robust constitution was not one of the things he was willing to sacrifice to maintain any other part of his reputation. The evening wasnât bringing out the best in either Teddy or Miranda. They were usually willing to sacrifice me to any cause, but when they started to sacrifice each other, the situation was grim.
Maybe no one would care that the Fortunes had fallen upon hard times. Perhaps we were foolishly guarding a reputation that wasnât worth a thing to anyone but ourselves.
The meeting was over. Our lives were going to change. What else was there to say?
âCome on, old lady, walk me home,â Priscilla said. Her voice had the calm intimacy I had learned to associate with what was maternal in my life. Priscilla had always been there to pull me through the difficult times. Without her, I donât know what I would have done after my mother died.
Priscilla and I walked outside. I was grateful to be in the crisp air. It was sweater weather, and even though we were still in daylight saving time, it was getting dark much earlier. That, to me, always signaled the end of summer.
âTheyâve asked me to come and speak to some of the girls at Wellesley,â I told Priscilla.
âWhy?â There was an inherent insult in that questionâthe assumption that I had nothing to offerâbut at the time I let it pass.
âTo the girls who want to be writers,â I said.
âThatâs nice.â She seemed distracted.
âIâm afraid of public speaking.â
âYou canât be afraid all your life,â Pris said.
âDo you think Iâm a very fearful person?â I asked.
âI would never call you a risk taker, but then none of you girls is. Your mother wasnât much of one either. Thatâs why she married your father. It was the safe thing to do.â
I left Priscilla at her door and walked home. The first fires were being lit in fireplaces and the city was beginning to smell like autumn.
C hapter 9
Eight bedrooms, fully furnished
It isnât easy to find someone to rent a house as big as ours, a situation made more difficult by my fatherâs refusal to have the rental formally put on the market. He wanted to be discreet. To Littletonâs credit, he was able to find a tenant even with these limitations.
We were seeing a lot more of Littleton lately. He had shown up several Sundays in a row and he always brought Dolores with him. In between Sundays, Miranda and Dolores went shopping together, even though most of Mirandaâs credit cards had been shredded in a depressing ceremony at the dining room table. Priscilla had been in charge of cutting up the credit cards. Shesent Miranda to
Miranda walked over to the window, tied back the drapes, and gazed out. âNo Christmas party.â She released a theatrical sigh.
âThere are worse things than wintering in Palm Beach,â Priscilla said.
I, for one, couldnât think of any. I hated the bright yellows, greens, and pinks of country-club chic. I couldnât see myself walking the streets among the tanned and the leathered. I wasnât big on drinks with little umbrellas in them. And though I could probably run the foundation from anywhere, it helped if I showed up at the office occasionally.
âIf we went away for the winter,â Teddy said, âno one would have to know the truth.â He stood up and looked stronger, less disheartened.
âWe could blame it on your health,â Miranda said.
âThereâs nothing wrong with my health.â
âI think we should tell people whatâs easiest for them to hear,â Miranda said.
âIt might be easier for you to have people think Iâve lost my health, but it would hardly be easier for me.â Teddy was proud of the fitness heachieved at the Boston Athletic Club. Being known for his youthfulness and robust constitution was not one of the things he was willing to sacrifice to maintain any other part of his reputation. The evening wasnât bringing out the best in either Teddy or Miranda. They were usually willing to sacrifice me to any cause, but when they started to sacrifice each other, the situation was grim.
Maybe no one would care that the Fortunes had fallen upon hard times. Perhaps we were foolishly guarding a reputation that wasnât worth a thing to anyone but ourselves.
The meeting was over. Our lives were going to change. What else was there to say?
âCome on, old lady, walk me home,â Priscilla said. Her voice had the calm intimacy I had learned to associate with what was maternal in my life. Priscilla had always been there to pull me through the difficult times. Without her, I donât know what I would have done after my mother died.
Priscilla and I walked outside. I was grateful to be in the crisp air. It was sweater weather, and even though we were still in daylight saving time, it was getting dark much earlier. That, to me, always signaled the end of summer.
âTheyâve asked me to come and speak to some of the girls at Wellesley,â I told Priscilla.
âWhy?â There was an inherent insult in that questionâthe assumption that I had nothing to offerâbut at the time I let it pass.
âTo the girls who want to be writers,â I said.
âThatâs nice.â She seemed distracted.
âIâm afraid of public speaking.â
âYou canât be afraid all your life,â Pris said.
âDo you think Iâm a very fearful person?â I asked.
âI would never call you a risk taker, but then none of you girls is. Your mother wasnât much of one either. Thatâs why she married your father. It was the safe thing to do.â
I left Priscilla at her door and walked home. The first fires were being lit in fireplaces and the city was beginning to smell like autumn.
C hapter 9
Eight bedrooms, fully furnished
It isnât easy to find someone to rent a house as big as ours, a situation made more difficult by my fatherâs refusal to have the rental formally put on the market. He wanted to be discreet. To Littletonâs credit, he was able to find a tenant even with these limitations.
We were seeing a lot more of Littleton lately. He had shown up several Sundays in a row and he always brought Dolores with him. In between Sundays, Miranda and Dolores went shopping together, even though most of Mirandaâs credit cards had been shredded in a depressing ceremony at the dining room table. Priscilla had been in charge of cutting up the credit cards. Shesent Miranda to
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