make me feel better or superior. It put a rock of
sadness into the bottom of my stomach.
Belinda sulked as we trekked over the beach
toward the car. The music followed us along with the
laughter.
"I'm not going to be around all the time to save
you from yourself, Belinda," I told her when we
reached the car.
"Good," she fired back.
She was fuming all the way home. After we
entered the house, she marched up the stairs and
slammed the door to her room. Daddy came out. "She all right?" he asked.
"Yes," I said. I decided not to give him any of
the gritty details. He didn't seem to want to hear them
anyway.
"Thank you, Olivia," he said. "You're the
strength, the steel spine of this family. You always
will be," he added with a nod. It was as if he had
declared me heir to his throne, whether I wanted it or
not.
It was who I was to be.
I fell asleep dreaming about that sleeping bag
we had left empty on the beach.
3
A Wolf in
Sheep's Clothing
.
For a while I thought Belinda wouldn't attend
the finishing school or that Daddy would give in to her and postpone it until the fall. A few times, he tottered on the brink of caving in to her pleas. She tried desperately to get him to do so, moaning and groaning about not having the summer free to enjoy with her friends.
When Daddy vacillated, I helped prop him up again.