Read Cutler 04 - Midnight Whispers for Free Online Page B

and toughest are more sensitive than they care to admit."
    "I know. Gavin's like that," I said.
    She stared at me a moment, that angelic smile on her lips.
    "You like Gavin very much, don't you?" she asked.
    "Yes," I said tentatively. She nodded as if con-firming a suspicion.
    "Don't you like him, too, Mommy?"
    "Oh yes. He's a very sensitive and polite young man, but you have a long time to go before you fall in love with anyone," she said. "You will have dozens of boyfriends."
    "You didn't," I said quickly. "Are you sorry you didn't?"
    She thought a moment.
    "Sometimes," she confessed. "I wouldn't trade Jimmy for anyone, but I wish I'd had a normal childhood and gone to lots of dances and on dates and . . ."
    "You had no boyfriend when you went to high school and didn't go on dates?" I asked. Her dreamy look instantly faded.
    "Not really," she said quickly. "Oh Christie," she added, "let's stop talking about depressing subjects and just think about your wonderful party. Back to work," she commanded and we returned to our hair and makeup.
    But why, I wondered, was talk about high school boyfriends so upsetting? Every time I learned something new about my mother, it brought a lot of mysterious baggage along with it. One puzzle was no sooner solved when another was just as quickly born. Questions fell like rain around me.
    After we completed our hair and makeup, Mommy went to her room to dress and I put on my gown. I had just slipped on my shoes and gone back to the mirror when Aunt Trisha knocked on my door.
    "Can I have a peek?" she asked, poking her head in.
    "Yes, of course."
    "Oh honey, you look so beautiful. I hope they take dozens and dozens of pictures," she exclaimed.
    "Thank you, so do you, Aunt Trisha." She still had her hair up but now she wore a dress of shimmering periwinkle blue. Around her neck was the most beautiful pearl necklace I had ever seen and on her ears were matching pearl earrings. Her green eyes sparkled when she smiled at me.
    "Well," Daddy said, coming up beside her. "How foolish do I look?"
    "Oh Daddy!" I cried. In his black tux and tie with his dark hair neatly brushed and his deep tan, he looked more handsome than anyone I had ever seen. "You look like . . . like a movie star," I said, blushing as I recalled the way Mommy had described my real father. Aunt Trisha laughed.
    "I don't feel like a movie star; I feel like a store front mannequin," he replied, pretending to be in pain.
    "You're nothing of the kind," Mommy said, coming up behind them. She wore a luminous gown of white satin that was very low-cut and was held up at her shoulders by spaghetti straps. The bodice of her dress fit snugly; then at her waist the skirt flared out like a fairy princess's all the way to her ankles. With her diamond and ruby necklace and her diamond earrings, she looked like royalty.
    "Mommy, you look beautiful!" I exclaimed.
    "I have reason to be," she replied. The three of them gazed in at me. "Isn't she gorgeous, Trisha?"
    "Absolutely. Agnes Morris would cast her as Juliet or Cleopatra immediately," she said and they both laughed.
    "Who's Agnes Morris?" I asked.
    "Our house mother when we were at Sarah Bernhardt," Trisha explained.
    "I'm ready," we heard Jefferson cry. He came running out of his room where Mrs. Boston had helped him dress. In his little blue suit and tie with his hair neatly brushed, he looked adorable.
    "What a handsome young man," Aunt Trisha said. "Would you be my date tonight?"
    "Uh huh," Jefferson said, looking up at her with wide eyes. Everyone laughed and we started for the hotel. My heart was pounding so, I thought I might faint on the stairway. Mammy saw the tension in my face and put her arm around me quickly and kissed me.
    "Everything is going to be wonderful," she promised. "Just enjoy."
    "Thank you, Mommy. I have the best parents a girl could have. Thank you for loving me so much," I said. She smiled, but her eyes were filled with tears.
     
    At night, with the band playing, the