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Finally I promised him I would come even if Clara Sue attended as well. He was so grateful, I became embarrassed and looked for an excuse to end the conversation.
I still had a hard time accepting compliments from Philip. I could sense his underlying passion for me, the words between words, the feelings just below the surface that behaved like little animals threatening to break out any moment. I only hoped that his marriage to Betty Ann would put an end to it. But when I finally got to meet her, I wasn't optimistic.
Mother staged one of her most elegant dinner parties. Although she had proposed the dinner party as a way to introduce Betty Ann to the family, she decided to invite some of the more prominent citizens of Cutler's Cove as well. I knew we were in for a more elaborate evening when she sent out formal invitations describing the affair as "black tie." She began with a catered cocktail party and had a three-piece band providing the music. It seemed Mother never missed an opportunity to reestablish her social standing in the community.
So when Jimmy and I arrived we were not surprised to see a line of limousines parked along the driveway. It was a warm evening with barely a cloud in the sky, so that the stars were twinkling everywhere, especially over the ocean. The chauffeurs were gathered in a small circle conversing, and Julius went to join them. Bronson greeted us immediately after Livingston had opened the door.
"Your mother is in top form tonight," he informed us. To me it sounded more like a warning. Moments later she pulled herself away from some of her guests in the marble corridor to receive us. She wore a black velvet gown with her usual low-cut neckline. I recognized a dazzling new diamond necklace and matching earrings. She was as radiantly beautiful as ever, her hair styled in an elegant upsweep. Her eyes were full of glitter, borrowing the sparkle from her gems.
"Dawn, darling," she cried, "and James. How nice to see both of you looking so well."
She hugged me to her quickly and then gave Jimmy her hand to kiss.
"I just saw you day before yesterday, Mother," I said dryly. She flashed a smile at some of her guests before responding.
"Was it only two days ago? It seems like ages and ages. Oh, Dawn, Jimmy, you know Mr. Parkins, the president of Seaside Savings," she said as an elderly gentleman passed nearby. He stopped to be introduced. As soon as he left us I seized Mother's hand and pulled her to me.
"Mother, I thought this was supposed to be a simple family gathering to introduce Philip's fiancée and give us a chance to get to know her, and her a chance to get to know us. How do you expect that to happen with all these people here?"
"It was my intention," she said, batting her eyelashes. "But after giving it some more thought, I realized it would be foolish to waste an opportunity to introduce some of our finer citizens to Betty Ann and she to them before the wedding. We'll all have plenty of time to get to know one another . . . lifetimes. Besides," Mother added, "I think we all need some extravagance in our lives these days. It drives away the gloom and doom."
"Where are Philip and Betty Ann?" Jimmy asked, looking around. A waiter came by with a tray of champagne, and Jimmy took a glass for himself and one for me.
"They haven't arrived yet," Mother revealed, leaning in to whisper. "I told them not to come until I was sure all my guests had arrived. It's more dramatic, don't you think?"
"Where do you have them waiting—in the shadows outside?" I asked.
Mother laughed and scooped us both under the arms.
"Come into the living room. I have some more people to introduce you to," she said. I looked at Bronson, who gave me his "I told you so" smile.
A good half hour later Philip and Betty Ann finally arrived. I hadn't seen Philip for quite a while. I thought he had grown to resemble Randolph even more. He looked taller, his face more mature. He had kept himself slim and had his usual tanned, rich look, his debonair smile and his laughing blue eyes. He looked handsome, successful and very rich in his black tux.
I think Philip's handsomeness and buoyant appearance sharpened and emphasized his fiancée's ordinary face. If anything, her mouth was too small and her brown eyes too close. Her pale complexion looked positively sickly beside Philip's tanned skin. She had lackluster brown hair brushed too far back, thus revealing the wideness of her forehead. Her black satin gown did little to enhance her figure, even though it was obviously an expensive designer dress.
With nothing about her looks to recommend her, I wondered what it was that had first attracted Philip to her. I imagined she had a winning personality and must be quite bright. But when we were finally introduced, even those areas seemed deficient.
She followed everything she said with a silly little laugh and pronounced my name "Don" instead of Dawn. I felt like a dentist when we spoke because it was just like pulling teeth to get her to say more than one or two words. She answered every question with a simple "uh-huh" or "no." I thought it was probably because she was distracted and overwhelmed by all the attention.
Mother seized her by the wrist as soon as she could and dragged her around the large room to introduce her formally to each and every guest. When she introduced her, she spoke about her as if she were a prize or something Philip had bought at Tiffany's, and during the descriptions of her father's estates and vacation homes, their yacht and plane, Betty Ann stood with that idiotic smile frozen on her face.
At first I felt sorry for her, but after a while I became amused. Nothing Mother did or said seemed to change or warm Betty Ann. She resembled a life-size doll that could curtsy properly, bat an eyelash on cue, smile as expected and recite the same polite lines. She had perfect posture, took measured steps, sipped her champagne with clockwork regularity and punctuated her sentences and things said to her with nods and laughs. It was as if P
hilip had laid claim to some human trophy awarded to the outstanding member of a college fraternity in an Ivy League school.
"What do you think of her?" he asked me as soon as we had a private moment together.
"It's too soon to make any judgments, Philip," I responded diplomatically. "But if you love her and she loves you, what other people think shouldn't really matter."
He fixed his eyes on me, his lips trembling into a small smile.
"You're not other people, Dawn. You never will be other people to me," he said. There was pain in his deep blue eyes. I had to look down.
"You know what I mean, Philip."
"Of course," he said, restoring a note of happiness to his voice. "Betty Ann's devoted to me," he said. "She never stops telling me how lucky she is to have me. She's very sweet. And very, very rich," he added.
"I'm happy for you, Philip, if you're happy," I said. His eyes moved to clash with mine.
