Music in the Night (Logan 4)

Olivia's pet peeves was the way young people

slouched. She claimed posture showed character and

embellished good health.

I never told anyone except Cary, but I actually

felt sorry for Grandma Olivia. Sure, she had a big,

beautiful house filled with extravagant furniture,

paintings, and decorations. Her dinners were elaborate

and served on expensive china with fine crystal

glasses and real silverware.

Yet for all her extravagance, her important

acquaintances, and her gala affairs, Grandma Olivia

never looked happy to me. If anything, I thought she

was trapped by her wealth and position. How sad it

must be, I concluded, to go through your life never

letting your hair down, never walking barefoot on the

beach, never just being lazy or having a potluck

dinner, in short, never doing anything spontaneously,

but always first having to go through the proper

arrangements, as if your whole life had to be lived

according to Emily Post.

I knew very little about my grandmother's past. She never volunteered any information and rarely, if ever, told any stories, unless of course, they were to illustrate and support some rule of behavior. Whenever I asked Mommy questions about Grandma Olivia, Mommy would shake her head and say, "Your grandmother had a difficult childhood because of the problems caused by her sister Belinda." What those problems were and how they had made Grandma Olivia's life difficult was left a mystery. Belinda had problems with alcohol when she was younger and eventually ended up in a rest home nearby. Whenever I visited with her, she told me stories and made references to her and Grandma Olivia's youth, but her stories were almost impossible to understand because Aunt Belinda confused the past and the present, mixing up people and places. Sometimes when she saw me, she called me Sara, thinking I was my

mother, and once, recently, she called me Haille. I know Grandma Olivia did not approve of my

visiting Aunt Belinda. She treated her sister as if she

were poisonous and could infect one of us with her

outlandish stories and statements. I rarely brought up

her name in front of Grandma Olivia because I knew

what sort of reaction I would receive.

With all these no-no's and strict rules to follow, Cary, May, and I practically tiptoed around the big house and grounds, keeping our voices low and keeping ourselves as much out of sight and out of

mind as possible.

After we were all dressed, Daddy looked us