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thousand square feet. And my cousin s husband was the contractor. I got
a sweet deal. My brothers have big houses. Big, showy houses.
I wasn t certain, but I think I detected a note of distaste when she
talked about their homes. Given that she still hadn t mentioned their
names, I was getting the impression that the family wasn t super close.
Well, your house isn t big, but it s very well put together.
Thanks. I love design. I m probably gonna turn this one over pretty
soon. I had more fun designing and decorating this house than I ever
would have imagined.
You did this yourself? I was stunned. Truly stunned.
I didn t draw the plans or anything, but all of the ideas were mine. I ve
been into home design since I was twenty. I m really into it, she said,
smiling. You still haven t answered my question, you know. Does it
bother you that I have some money?
No, no, why would anyone mind dating someone with money? I
knew I was scowling, but couldn t seem to erase it. It s just& it changes
my image of you. Like you have this secret life.
I wasn t trying to be secretive, she said, jumping in quickly. I just
don t feel comfortable telling people I own the ferry. I mean, you ve never
really asked me any questions about my job. I would have told you all
about it if you d asked.
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Susan X Meagher
Scratching my head, I said, I didn t know I should ask. You told me
about having to work since you were in diapers. I thought you were
poor.
Looking at me with a very confused expression, Gina said, Oh! I
didn t say I had to work. I said I worked. We got a very small allowance,
so I worked at my dad s office for extra money. He wanted to teach us to
be industrious.
Still& I drank some more of my Port, swirling it around in my
mouth while I thought. It just changes my image of you. Like finding
out you have an ex-husband and three kids. It s not bad. It s just not what
I thought was& you. I looked at her for a second. Does that make any
sense?
I guess. But you know everything important. Does it bother you that
I m more like you? I mean, you grew up around a lot of dough and a lot of
class.
That doesn t make you more like me. We didn t have a lot of money.
Hayden, I saw where your mom lives. Give me a break.
No! I said this louder than I had to. But she had me all wrong. My
mom and Roger have money. But we didn t have money when I was
growing up. High school teachers don t make a lot of money, you know. I
was one of the scholarship kids in high school. Me and the smart kids
from the inner city who did well on the entrance exam.
What? How can that be?
It just is. You didn t ask, I said, giving her a well-deserved glare.
But you went to all of those schools. Ruby told me how much schools
like that cost.
I got academic scholarships. I never had to pay a dime of tuition. I
must have looked as proud of myself as I really was because Gina beamed
at me.
I admire that so much more than thinking you had it handed to you.
And even though I had the ferry handed to me, I ve worked on it from
the time I was about twelve. I never had a summer off. To this day.
I took another drink, letting the liquor warm me from the inside out. I
guess getting to know someone is all about adjusting your expectations
and beliefs. We just have to roll with the punches.
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Cherry Grove
Fewer punches, okay? You almost loosened a tooth.
Oh, God. I put my drink on the gray steel table by my chair. My
head dropped into my hands. I will never be able to explain that. Or
apologize enough.
It s okay. Gina got up and knelt beside me. She hugged me tightly
and then said, We ve had a tough week. Let s go to bed. She stood and
picked up both of our glasses. Follow me.
I did. We ascended the stairs after she touched a switch, and the lights
in the living room dimmed and then went out. Another touch made the
upstairs lights power up.
I d climbed a few spiral staircases, but never a modern one. This one
looked like it was made of stainless steel, but I guessed it was aluminum.
It was sleek and shiny and very minimalist. A little like Gina.
There were two bedrooms upstairs, but one served as a den. We
bypassed that one and went into her bedroom. It was just as modern as
the living room, but the color palette had changed to warm off-whites and
pale blues. It was also more restful than I would have guessed. Gina s low
platform bed had an angled headboard with pale blue cushions, and I
could imagine sitting in bed reading for hours.
She obviously did what I imagined doing, since the floor on one side of
the bed was a repository for a neatly piled stack of hardbound books. One
book was open and lying on its face on the floating nightstand. It was
mine. We locked eyes, and she said, I had to search for it. Amazon had
the paperback, but I had to have the cloth.
I reached for her, and we held each other for a while. You make me
feel so, so special.
I wasn t going to tell you I found it until I d finished, she said. I had
no idea you d come over before I could tell you how much I love it.
I ve never been more tempted to tell a woman I loved her. But it had
been too hard a week, too long a day. And I didn t want it to seem like I
loved her just because she d gone to the trouble to hunt down my
dissertation. So, I kissed her instead.
)
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