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vast. They were beautiful, a creamy rich white with a strong, fresh scent.
"The word around is that you've inherited most everything. Is that so?" he asked without delay.
"So that's it." I said turning on him. "You're here to get all the good gossip to spread. I bet you bragged you could get me to tell you all the details. right. Corbette?"
He started to shake his head and I laughed.
"Go ahead. sit. Corbette," I said in the tone of voice I would use on a mischievous little boy. I nodded at the chair to his right.
He did and I sat across from him on the smaller settee. For a moment I just looked at him, fixing my eyes on him intently. It made him a little
uncomfortable.
"You are different," he said. "You seem very bitter. What happened to you in England?"
"I'm not any more or less bitter than I was before I went to England. What happened is I grew up a little more," I said. "You don't look like you have changed much." I didn't mean it to sound like a compliment, but that's the way he took it.
"Hey," he said holding out his arms. "why fix it if it ain't broke?"
"Who says it ain't broke?" I retorted, wiping the smug smile off his face.
He nodded.
"You were always a lot tougher than the other girls at Dogwood. I knew that right away and I liked it," he added with a wide-eyed smile. "You've got spunk. Who wanted just another Barbie doll?"
"Normally, that would be flattering, but coming from you, it almost sounds like an insult. Okay. Corbette," I said sitting back and folding my arms under my breasts, "catch me up on your life. How was your college year?"
"Oh. terrific. I was in a play and I won a big part, too. One of the first freshman to do so, it seems."
"What play?"
'Death of a Salesman. I played Biff You know it. right?"
"Of course." I said. I nodded, "I can see you as Biff"
What I was referring to was someone whose ego had been blown up way out of proportion to what he really was and was able to accomplish, but again. Corbette saw only what he wanted to see. I was beginning to wonder if that wasn't a disease of the rich and privileged in our world.
"I received a lot of compliments for my performance. I'm seriously thinking of going to Hollywood, maybe even before I finish college. A friend of mine at school has an uncle who's an agent and he told him about me. You might see me in the movies," Corbette predicted.
"Somehow, I think that would be very natural for you. Corbette."
He stared a moment, finally realizing that I wasn't being complimentary.
"You sure don't like me. I guess I can't blame anyone but myself "
"I don't think about you enough anymore to not like you. Corbette."
He brightened again, again deliberately missing the point.
"I was hoping we might bury the hatchet and maybe go out or something. I'd love to take you to dinner tonight." He lifted his hands quickly, palms to me. "Nothing bad, no plans to take you to my place. I won't even kiss you good night if you don't want me to," he promised.
I was almost tempted to say yes just to be with someone my age, just to get away from all this tension and turmoil. My hesitation gave him reason to hope.
"There's this great new Italian restaurant I've found. It's small, cozy. We could sit and talk and maybe get to know each other properly. We've got a lot more in common now, you know," he added.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you're a significant landowner in the community. You've inherited some wealth. You're no longer some poor girl from the inner city dependent upon someone's charity. You're different--"
"I'm no different than I was before all this. Corbette. You think just having some money makes me a better person? Is that how you measure people?" I snapped back at him.
"No, of course not." He shook his head. "Damn, you make me think about every word I use as if we're in court or something. Maybe you should study to be an attorney."
"Maybe I will. It seems these days they're just as important as doctors used to be," I said thinking about all that was about