I stared, amazed. Once, I was almost homeless, without anyone, and now, three homes were available to me.
"You and I don't have to fall in love with each other," she continued, "but we can have respect for each other."
"You, respect me?" I almost laughed.
"You have shown some resourcefulness that, as I said, reminds me of myself at your age. I'm a good judge of character, and I think you are even more like me than you want to admit. It's not a sin to be strong, Melody. And Lord knows it's up to the women in this family to be strong, since the men are all weak."
"Cary's not weak," I blurted.
"What Cary is or isn't remains to be seen. He was too attached to his twin sister to show any independence from her. Even since her death I still haven't seen Cary show any sign of backbone. There is a large fortune here and much responsibility to be assumed."
"And you're saying that I will be the one to assume it?" I asked, even more amazed at her proposals.
"We'll see. Let me just say that I am running out of good candidates." She sat back. The
grandfather clock bonged the hour.
"Aunt Sara will be heartbroken," I muttered, thinking aloud.
"What would she be if you moved in with Kenneth Childs? Ecstatic? Can you imagine the gossip, Jacob's ranting? Oh, I know what my son is like. I don't need you to tell me."
/> "I always thought he was trying to be like you," I said. She laughed.
"Do I behave like a woman enveloped in religion? I have no false modesty nor do I pretend to be the most moral person, looking condescendingly on all those who don't pray as much. I attend church on occasion, contribute heavily to its coffers. My son Jacob is a moral snob. Don't look so shocked. I've often told him as much to his face.
"So you see, my dear Melody, you and I might have more in common than you care to admit. You'll move in immediately," she concluded and started to rise.
"I'll have to talk about it with Kenneth first," I said.
"I will not permit Nelson Childs's maudlin confessions to paint profanities across this family's good name," she declared with regal authority. "No one should doubt the firmness of my determination, nor the intensity and impact of my wrath should I be crossed."
Her words resounded like church bells, vibrating through my bones.
"Make your arrangements as soon as possible," she ordered and left the room.
As soon as she was gone I was left to contemplate her words, which still echoed in the room. I gazed about this large house. Once, my mother had lived here, and now, Grandma Olivia was proposing I do the same, ordering, I should say.
I would much rather be with Kenneth, I thought. Despite Grandma Olivia's threats and dire predictions, I was determined to make that my first choice, but I trembled, wondering just what her threats could do. Right now, the last person I wanted to hurt was Kenneth.
Confused, frightened, feeling like a leaf prematurely torn from the branch, driven this way and that by capricious winds, I left the house. Raymond looked up from where he stood by the car as I started toward him. He barely moved. Everything seemed so still. It was as if the world had frozen and I was the only one left moving through the air on a crystal breeze.
And I had no idea where it would take me.
16
A Glimmer of Hope
.
May saw that Cary had looked up sharply from
their Monopoly game when I entered the house and paused by the living room door. She turned too, her eyes as wide and as filled with curiosity and worry as her brother's.
"You were gone a long time," Cary said. "Where's Aunt Sara?" I asked.
"Upstairs with Dad," he replied. His eyes
searched my face. "You all right?" I started to nod and then stopped and said, "No." Cary glanced at May and then back at me.