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"I did." She sighed, resting her face in the crook of his neck and liking the way his stubble felt on her skin.
"My dad used to be a big deal on Wall Street. You might have heard of him. He was kind of famous. There was some scandal with the accounting stuff, and he lost his job and we had to leave our apartment. My parents had to sell everything--their art collection, the house here... and we moved to Buffalo."
"Buffalo's not so bad."
"No, it's worse." Eliza moaned. "It's awful. All the kids think I'm a total snob and no one talks to me. And the thing is, I don't even do anything. I don't have anything to be snobby about. My dad's on unemployment, and my mom got a job at Kinko's to make ends meet."
Jeremy was silent and stroked her hair. "It's going to be okay," he whispered, holding her close.
It felt good to talk about all this. Eliza had never really told anyone what happened to her--what her life was really like. She was so comfortable around him, knowing that he wouldn't judge her, somehow knowing she could tell him anything, anything at all about herself, and he would still like her.
"I never realized I was so spoiled before. I used to charge my lunch at this fancy restaurant in the city every day--like,
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thirty-dollar hamburgers and stuff--and I never gave it a second thought. And I would go into Barneys and Bergdorfs and buy whatever I wanted. Sometimes I'd even harass the salespeople to find things at other stores if they didn't have it in my
size."
She paused, remembering those heady, halcyon days, when she had her own Town Car at her beck and call and her AmEx didn't have a preset limit.
"I know this sounds really shallow, but I really miss it. I miss it more than I ever thought I would. Before, I could walk into any room, and everyone thought I was so special just from looking at me. Sugar and Poppy used to be in my clique in high school. They were part of my group. My clothes were always the coolest, the newest, the most expensive. My hair was always the blondest. I had it highlighted every thirteen days. I was thinner than everybody. Even the building we lived in--it was the hardest one to get into in the city. I just had IT, you know? But now I can't afford to have IT anymore. I just look like everyone else."
She looked at him, afraid she would find him laughing at her. Eliza knew they were stupid, silly, material things. But it practically broke her heart when the strap of her Mombasa handbag broke. She knew she would never be able to afford another one.
"I know it's kind of funny. I mean, please, I know people are starving somewhere. But I'm really kind of... sad," she said.
"You have every right to be," Jeremy soothed. "But Eliza-- you have nothing to worry about. The first time I saw you, I
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couldn't take my eyes off you. And it had nothing to do with whatever "IT" is or whether you have the latest Dolce and Gambino or whatever; you just have this glow about you."
He took her face in his hands again, cupping her chin. "You're absolutely beautiful. And I know we're just getting to know each other, but I think you're beautiful inside and out."
It was the nicest thing anyone had ever said to her.
She kissed him long and hard. One day she was going to show him just how much he meant to her.
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the only good thing anna perry has ever said
On Monday morning Anna called an early meeting in her office. Mara and Eliza walked to the third floor, the only level they hadn't yet explored. They found their boss inside a magnificent, book-lined room, sitting in front of a dainty writing desk, dictating a memo to Laurie, who had her pen poised in readiness.
"Thus I feel it is in everyone's best interest that I chair the fund-raiser this year," Anna said crisply. "I expect my choice of lead designer to bring in thousands in guaranteed contributions."
Anna looked up and raised a finger so Mara and Eliza wouldn't interrupt. "All best, Mrs. Anna Farnsworth Perry. The number is on the fax machine."
She waved the girls to sit down. They sank into the velvet- upholstered armchairs. Mara looked around at all the beautiful hard covered books on the walls. She wondered if Anna even bothered to read them. Eliza had a shy smile on her face. She was still thinking about Jeremy.
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"We have to take the kids back to the city this week to meet with their independent private school admissions counselor," Anna said. "So we'll have to skip this week's progress report. You don't mind, do you, girls?" She smiled.
Mara and Eliza shook their heads. Not at all. They didn't mind one bit. Especially since they had yet to have a weekly progress meeting anyway, and they were already more than halfway through the summer.
"By the way, I haven't seen that--Jacqui--around very much. Is she ill?" Anna asked, concerned.
