Page 36 of All These Beautiful Strangers
“That’s the whole point,” Teddy said, popping another salmon puff into his mouth and talking over it as he chewed. “It wouldn’t feel so gratifying if there weren’t any challenge to it.”
“Don’t tell me you’re still playing that stupid game,” I said. “Bingo for Dingoes?”
I was annoyed, but also relieved to hear that Teddy’s appearance here, his punctuality, his crisply ironed suit, were all part of a silly game, and one that had nothing to do with me or the Calloway Group.
“It’s called the Board of Conquests,” Teddy corrected me. “And I’m about to get four in a row.”
“Is that right? And what box is Grace checking for you?”
“We’ve added townies to this round,” Teddy said. “I met Grace at the public library.”
“What in god’s name were you doing in a library?”
“I got lost,” Teddy said.
“Every time I’ve convinced myself you’ve gone as low as you can go, you find a way to sink to new depths.”
Teddy clapped me on the back and smiled. “Well, we’re always trying to outdo ourselves, aren’t we? It’s the Calloway way. Come on, I’ll introduce you. I’ve got this whole ‘heart of gold’ shtick going. You know, I love my family, we’re so close, yadda yadda yadda. You can play the part of doting big brother and help me sell her on it.”
“Sounds exhausting, and I’m tired,” I said.
Now that I knew what my brother was up to, I was bored. I had no interest in playing his stupid little games.
“What if I make it worth your while?” Teddy asked.
“What were you thinking, exactly?”
Teddy looked as if he were deep in thought. “Next summer when Dad asks me to intern at the office, I’ll blow him off. I’ve got this friend with a boat off the coast of Uruguay. We’ll be off the grid for two months at least.”
“Let me get this straight,” I said. “Your idea of doing me a favor is blowing off a crappy office job to go hang out on a yacht all summer?”
“Or,” Teddy said, “I could pull Dad aside right now, have a real heart-to-heart. You know, tell him how I’ve really been thinking things through lately and how sorry I am for the way I’ve acted. How I’m going to start taking my classes seriously, and how I’d really like it if I could start learning the ropes at the office.”
Most of the time, it seemed like Teddy was a complete idiot, but then there were moments like this, when I knew it was all just an act, and underneath all the feigned laziness and stupidity, he really was one of us: sharp and shrewd and cutthroat. He was a Calloway through and through.
“Fine,” I said. “Introduce us.”
Teddy slung his arm around me and pulled me over to where Grace and Eugenia stood.
“Grace,” Teddy said, “I’d like you to meet Alistair, my brother. He’s a Columbia alum; he works at the Calloway Group with our father.”
Grace looked at me. There was something about her that seemed familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. Her eyes were gray, with swirls of pale yellow. I hadn’t been able to tell what color they were from across the room. But up close, they were stunning.
“Nice to meet you,” Grace said. “Teddy’s told me so much about you.”
It took me a moment to realize she had extended her hand in my direction.
“Oh, right,” I said, and took her hand. It felt so different from the meaty fists I was used to shaking all day at the office. It was small and warm and fragile in my palm, breakable.
“Alistair, this is Grace Fairchild,” Teddy said. “She’s a painter.”
“Well, not professionally,” Grace said. “I’ve never actually sold any of my paintings.”
“A lot of great artists weren’t appreciated initially,” Teddy said. “Van Gogh, for instance, only sold two paintings in his lifetime, and now his work goes for millions. It’s extraordinary, really, how long it can take people to recognize the value of something right in front of them.”
He slipped his arm around Grace’s slim waist. It bothered me to see how easily he touched her—as if she already belonged to him.
“Yes, well, Teddy finds a lot of things extraordinary,” I said. “A suit. A clean shave. Showing up on time. But I guess, to be fair, we all found that extraordinary.”
