Page 20 of Roses, Pearls, and Hot Summer Nights
June 12th,1966
Hello,book. I thought about not writing anymore after my first entry. What is the point? But today I want to write again. Otherwise, I feel like my brain might explode. That sounds dramatic of me, but my life has become all about glass.
Which is such a funny thing to write, but my uncle only thinks about glass. It seems his only occupation, day in and day out. He makes the glass that will go into all the huge, towering buildings, so I listen to his stories almost nonstop. I’ve never been so disinterested in anything as I am about glass. Maybe ifI became an expert on the subject under different circumstances … I’ll admit that I went very low today, and I even thought about throwing myself out the window of his Upper West Side apartment. Of breaking the glass. Of making a mess for him.
He called me into his office today and spoke to me sternly. The gray in his hair has gotten more pronounced since I arrived, the lines on his face more drawn out. Then again, perhaps I’m only imagining that because I have no choice but to stare at him all the time.
“I saw you looking at that vase in the store yesterday.”
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. Had I? We had gone into an expensive store to purchase a lamp for the wife of one of his partners for her birthday. I couldn’t remember the vase he meant.
But my six days in his home has taught me to just agree with him. “Yes, Uncle.”
He continued. “You will never have things like that from me. In fact, I have decided that you are already costing me too much money, what, with how much you eat.”
How much I ate? What had I been eating? I didn’t even know.
“You are going to earn your keep here when you’re not in school. I’ve found you a position taking care of our neighbor’s two little girls. Afterward, you’ll give me your wages at the end of every week. We’ll keep a running tab of how much you take versus what you bring in. Eventually, when you move out, you can pay me back over time with interest for the inconvenience of having you here.”
So that, dear book, is how I’m doing.
I swallowedas I closed the book on my fingertip. I realized when she told me she understood me, she really did. His choice of words might be different, but the accounting? I understoodthat clearly. I couldn’t imagine most people had to justify their existence to their own families.
I wiped at my eyes, surprised when I noticed the tears.When did I start crying?Maybe thinking about that lovely woman actually contemplating throwing herself out of the window to escape her own uncle. Then again, maybe writing it down stopped her from thinking things like that again.
I typed quickly, wanting to get back to my reading. I didn’t expect to like the project as much as I did, but so far, I truly enjoyed the experience. Of course, if it became a list of what she wore or ate, I might not love it so much.
Still, even though I’d known her exactly two days, I would gladly help her with her project.
Anytime.
The door to her apartment swung open and I jumped, fully expecting the twins—a smile on Julian’s face and Jeremy’s eyes full of concern—as they watched everything around them.
But it wasn’t them.
A young man, maybe just a little older than the twins, strode into the apartment. He wore a blue polo shirt and a pair of beige chinos. My gaze dropped quickly to his shoes, bypassing his watch, which looked expensive, and his designer sunglasses that he was still wearing inside, to see what his loafers said about him.
Oh, they are a particularly expensive brand.Blue to match his shirt and white soled.
“Are you … Alatheia?” He approached me quickly, finally taking off his sunglasses.
Well, he had me at a disadvantage, but that was life most of the time. “That’s me.” I swallowed. He was handsome, brown-haired with lovely brown eyes like Jeremy’s. A hint of a dimple showed on his left cheek, which probably became more prominent if he smiled. I recognized his eyes, though. Thesame color as his grandmother and Jeremy’s, they were familiar enough.
I wracked my brain for his name, happy when I came up with one. “Barrett?” The one starting at Columbia, and the oldest of the four Lent brothers. It could be Phoenix, but I doubted he would look quite so old.
“That’s me.” He set his sunglasses down on the table with a click of noise. “Where is Granny?”
I motioned toward the back of the apartment just as she entered the room.
“My Heart, you’re here!” She rushed to him and put her arms around him tightly. He closed his eyes and hugged her back. I forced myself to look away from the private moment. Besides, it was a selfish move on my part to stare, since I only wanted to imagine what it would feel like to know I was loved beyond words.
“Did you come to check on the twins? I hear Jeremy is in town. Alatheia told me, but I haven’t seen him yet. I’m sure he’ll be here any minute.”
He smiled, releasing her gently. “They disappeared from the beach, leaving me to handlethatall alone, so yes, I came to see what they are doing. Afterward, I plan to drag them back with me.”
She waved her hand. “None of you ever liked the beach, other than Phoenix. It was the strangest thing. Babies normally love the beach, but you all used to scream except for him.”
“Well, he screams about it now, too. When we see him, anyway, which isn’t much. Julian mentioned you took on an assistant. Is this she?”
