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[ They're standing on the wrap-around porch of the old, Victorian mansion, a large home so old it's never been equipped with air conditioning. A terrible injustice to overhaul it all out, his mother had said, I wouldn't even contemplate it. We'll do just fine with fans. It conserves energy. It's good for the earth.
Anath is clearly nervous and he grinds his teeth together so hard he worries he might chip a tooth. ] Just be... wary, okay? I think the number one rule should be 'never get close with my mother'. [ Even his accent is being held back. He's already speaking more properly. Inhaling sharply he reaches out and rings the gentle, clipped chime of a doorbell. An injustice to overhaul it for good air conditioning, but apparently it's just fine to install a doorbell. ]
Anath is clearly nervous and he grinds his teeth together so hard he worries he might chip a tooth. ] Just be... wary, okay? I think the number one rule should be 'never get close with my mother'. [ Even his accent is being held back. He's already speaking more properly. Inhaling sharply he reaches out and rings the gentle, clipped chime of a doorbell. An injustice to overhaul it for good air conditioning, but apparently it's just fine to install a doorbell. ]
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She already has a negative opinion of Anath's mother. It seems simple. She didn't take care of him when she should have, and Jac is more than a little protective of him at this point, so this woman ranks fairly low on the list of people she'd like to see. But they're here, and she has manners, so she doesn't foresee any altercations in the near future. She's good at disliking people from afar.]
Will you just breathe? [She smooths a wrinkle from his shirt and touches his cheek gently, playfully. She smiles.] I'm on your side, okay?
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I debated whether to phone her first and decided against it three blocks from home. It was too late to call, too much misguided courtesy. Once you’ve crossed state lines, you don’t phone to ask if you can drop in. My mother’s massive house is at the southernmost point of Wind Gap, the wealthy section, if you can count approximately three square blocks of town as a section. She lives in—and I once did too—an elaborate Victorian replete with a widow’s walk, a wraparound veranda, a summer porch jutting toward the back, and a cupola arrowing out of the top. It’s full of cubbyholes and nooks, curiously circuitous. The Victorians, especially southern Victorians, needed a lot of room to stray away from each other, to duck tuberculosis and flu, to avoid rapacious lust, to wall themselves away from sticky emotions. Extra space is always good.
The house is at the very top of a very steep hill. In first gear, you can drive up the cracked old driveway to the top, where a carriage porch keeps cars from getting wet. Or you can park at the bottom of the hill and walk the sixty-three stairs to the top, clutching the cigar-thin rail to the left. When I was a child, I always walked the stairs up, ran the driveway down. I assumed the rail was on the left side going up because I’m left-handed, and someone thought I might like that. Odd to think I ever indulged in such presumptions.
If Jac wanted to know him, then she would know him. And to do so, he has to bring her here. He rings the doorbell again, which had been a cat-calling screech when he was very young, now subdued and truncated, like the bing! you hear on children's records when it's time to turn the page. It's 8:15, just late enough they may have gone to bed. ]
Who is it, please? [ His mother's reedy voice behind the door. ]
Hi, mum. It's Anath. [ He tries to keep his voice even. ]
Anath. [ She opens the door and stands in the doorway, doesn't seem surprised, and doesn't offer a hug at all, not even the limp one he'd expected. ] I know I invited you, but it's courtesy to RSVP. You never did. I assumed you weren't coming. Well, goodness, I'm sorry, sweetheart, come in, come in. The house is not up to par for.. visitors, I'm afraid. [ Stressing the plural. But the house is perfect as they're led inside, down to the dozens of cut tulips in vases at the entry hall. The air is so easy with pollen his eyes water. His mother rarely asks questions of any potency. It's either an exaggerated concern for others' privacy or she simply doesn't care much about much. ] Jacqueline, I presume. Can I get you something to drink? Alan and I were just having amaretto sours. [ She motions to the glass in her hand. ] I put just a little bit of Sprite in it, sharpens the sweet. But I also have mango juice, wine, and sweet tea, or ice water. Or soda water. Are you staying with us as well? With Anath nothing is ever officially confirmed until he decides to show up. [ Spoken gently, in every facet of a well-learned hostess. ] Jacqueline, my dear, he's said so much about you. How wonderful it is to finally meet you.
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She gets over the initial surprise and turns her smile to his mother, suddenly intensely curious about what Anath might have told her. She offers her hand, nails perfectly shaped, painted a tasteful peachy hue.] It's a pleasure, uh - [Names, names. What the hell is Anath's last name?] You can just call me Jac. You have a beautiful house. Oh, and a glass of wine would be lovely. Wine for you, too? [She looks at Anath encouragingly.]
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[ Adora takes scope of her son's guest. Everything is to perfection. She pours them both carefully leveled glasses of wine. ] I always wanted a daughter. I had one, once... but she passed away years ago. [ Tired, ] And we should have all went with her. But here we are, aren't we? Tell me about yourself.
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A deceased daughter. Not something she'd mention within the first thirty seconds of meeting someone. She tones down her smile at that, grasping both glasses and handing one to Anath before turning back to his mother.] Uh, well - I'm a makeup artist. I do hair as well, and make jewelry and clothes sometimes, too. That's actually sort of how I met Anath. He modeled some of my clothes for me.
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[ Laughable. Any time he's ever called her it's been clinical at best, like updating your doctor on your health. ] Sorry, mom. [ He shrugs. ] It's been, you know - busy couple of years.
Mm. Well. Hair, jewelry, makeup - that all sounds like so much fun. [ She smiles. ] How much do you charge? You could be very useful whenever I must entertain guests. I like a natural look.
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She returns her gaze to his mother.] Well, technically you'd have to have a membership to our salon, but I don't mind doing a favor now and again.
How long have you been here? [She wants to steer the topic away from herself, just in case, and besides that, she's curious. The house is enormous; Adora is clearly very well off. The opposite can be said of Anath, and reconciling the two is a little difficult.]