The Julius House Page 0,18
seeing a counselor for a year afterward. According to my father's rare letters, Phillip was fine now. Then, as we parked at Eileen's house, I caught a glimpse through the picture window of a table covered in white with white and silver wedding bells hanging from the light fixture, and Eileen carrying in a big tray of something sure to be edible, and Sally Allison, her cohostess, stirring a huge silver bowl of punch. On a table nearby presents wrapped in white and silver and pastels were heaped. Sally and Eileen were dressed to the teeth. As I slid out of the car it hit me smack in the psyche.
This was for me.
I was getting married.
I put one hand out to the roof of the car and the other touched my chest as if I were pledging my allegiance.
I knew a moment of delight, followed by a groundswell of panic.
"Just hit you, huh?" Mother asked.
I nodded, unable to say a word.
We stood in the dark, looking through that window, for a couple of minutes. It was oddly companionable.
"Which way is it going to be?" Mother finally asked.
It was the first time she'd spoken to me as if I were absolutely grown up.
"Let's go in," I said, and started up the sidewalk to the front door.
Chapter Four
MOTHER AND I stood nervously in the foyer waiting to say hello to the first arrivals before being put wherever we were supposed to sit during the present opening. Though Mother was nervous, she looked as composed and cool as she always did, as though she couldn't sweat. But one eyelid twitched from time to time.
One of Mother's friends came in first, and then Amina's mom, Miss Joe Nell, one of my favorite people. And then the guests came too fast for me to talk much to each one; it was like a "This Is Your Life" theme party. The pile of presents rose higher and higher, and the room got fuller and fuller, and older women who had been my mother's friends for years mixed with women my own age whom I'd known all my life - Susu Hunter, Lizanne Buckley Sewell, Linda Erhardt, and several other - and women who had to be asked because of some connection to my life, like Patty Cloud, my mother's office manager, and Melinda, wife of my mother's husband's son, and a couple of women I'd asked just to say "Ha!" such as Lynn Liggett Smith (wife of my former flame Arthur Smith) and Emily Kaye (love of my former flame the Reverend Aubrey Scott). After the usual twenty minutes or so of chatter, during which I answered the same questions six or seven times, Sally made a little speech about my upcoming marriage, including a joke about how long we'd all waited for that day - thanks, Sally - and then the present opening began. I had registered my color preferences in towels and bathroom items with the local stores, and of course I got lots of those, and toothbrush holders and wastebaskets and even a monogrammed towel rack, which left me practically speechless. I could hardly wait to show it to Martin, and picturing his face started a fit of the giggles I had trouble suppressing. I passed each present around the circle of women so it could be admired and its giver complimented on her choice. It was the lingerie, of course, that provoked the most oohs and ahhs. I got a leopard print teddy from Susu, which engendered quite a few risque comments, and some silk pajamas from my mother in a champagne color, and from the shower hostesses a truly gorgeous negligee set in black lace. Showing that to Martin was going to be fun, too.
Sally and Eileen had popped in and out during the present opening, vanishing to the kitchen after commenting on a gift or two, and now they both appeared and took their place at the loaded dining-room table, Sally pouring punch into delicate glass cups and Eileen cutting and serving the cake on her best china at the opposite end. As the honoree, I was expected to go first, one of the other nice things about being a bride. We all made the ritual comments about how good everything looked, and about how we'd just eaten supper so we weren't sure we could jam in another bite, and then we loaded down our plates and stuffed ourselves.
Of course it was all good, but it could have been