Plantation by Dorothea Benton Frank Read Free Book Online Page B

gonna be slaving away for him! That’s what Frances Mae does!”
    “Yeah, well, we’ll see about that. Your room okay?”
    “Oh, fine, fine. Frances Mae has got her feet up; says her ankles are swollen from being in the family way. I reckon I’ll mosey on down to the bar and see what kind of riffraff I can find to keep me company around here. You want to come over?”
    “I’d love to! I’ve been walking around this apartment going nuts, waiting for Richard to come home. You buying?”
    “Yep,” he said. “Leave him a note!”
    “Good idea! See you in ten minutes.”
    I called Richard’s office and got his service.
    “Do you know where I can reach Dr. Levine? This is his fiancée.”
    “No. Dr. Levine had an emergency out in Long Island and left his office at two o’clock. Would you like me to call him?”
    Long Island? That was where Lois, his ex-wife, and son lived!
    We didn’t have any friends out there and Richard’s patients were usually from Manhattan. “No, that’s all right. I’m sure he’ll be home soon. Thank you.”
    He had probably gone out there to calm Lois down. She was having a giant temper tantrum because we were getting married. I didn’t blame her for that. She was a stupid ass to let him get away in the first place. I never could figure out why either. I wrote him a note, taped it to the front door, and left.
    It was freezing outside, low twenties. Just last week we had a snowstorm that left Manhattan covered in twenty inches of snow.
    After it was shoveled and banked, it froze. The doormen of all the 3 6
    D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k buildings in the city had to cut passageways in the banks so people could get off the curb to a cab without climbing a wall. The cold didn’t bother me. In fact, I loved it. I pulled my black coat around me and walked quickly to the Pierre.
    By six o’clock, Trip and I were way ahead of Mother and Millie in the alcohol consumption department. I have to say, they made a heroic effort to catch up as quickly as possible. Mother thought I was too thin; Millie thought I looked the same. Mother didn’t like my haircut—made me look older; Millie thought it was chic. Mother said she didn’t like New York; Millie said she thought it was exciting. Frances Mae sat silently, sipping on orange juice, picking at the nut bowl, and finally, at six-thirty, Richard appeared. I spotted him and got up to bring him over to our table.
    “Ooh!” Frances Mae said, “he’s a hot one!”
    “Yes, he is!” I said.
    “For God’s sake, Frances Mae!” Trip said, rolling his eyes.
    I put my arm through Richard’s and whispered in his ear.
    “Where have you been, darling?”
    “Fighting with Lois, darling,” he whispered back. “But, you look beautiful tonight, darling!”
    “Come meet my family, darling.”
    My scowling mother had him in her sights and he went directly to her side, taking her offered hand in between both of his.
    “It seems that I have made the greatest mistake of my life, Mrs. Wimbley,” he said to her.
    “Oh?” she said.
    “Yes. I’m marrying the daughter when it’s her mother who has stolen my heart on sight.”
    “Suh? That is one crock if I ever heard one, but you just go on and flatter me to death!” Mother was grinning from ear to ear, fingering the pearls . “Do call me Lavinia, won’t you? Come sit next to me, you adorable man. Isn’t he adorable, Trip?”
    “Just precious, Mother,” Trip said.

    P l a n t a t i o n
    3 7
    Richard shook hands with Trip, gave Frances Mae a peck on the cheek, and finally turned to face Millie.
    Millie looked more elegant than I had ever seen her. At five feet tall and maybe one hundred pounds dripping wet, she didn’t look a day over forty, even though she was in her fifties. Her laser eyes cut right through you and could see your soul naked. I used to tease her that the long braid she wore around her head was where she hid her third eye! She was wearing a pale pink wool bouclé suit