Whitefern (Audrina 2)

“You sure you’ll be up for it now?” he asked.

“Oh, yes. I don’t want to disappoint her. Or myself,” I added.

He smiled. “Nor should you, nor should any of us. I’ll make arrangements with Mrs. Matthews and come up to shower, shave, and dress. I’ll think of something to celebrate,” he said. He turned to start away.

“We’ll wait for Mrs. Matthews to examine her, but in my heart, I feel Sylvia was right,” I said.

“What?” He turned back. “About what? She didn’t diagnose herself, did she? You haven’t educated her that well.”

“No, but if you’ll remember, she was the one who predicted that there was a baby coming,” I said.

He shrugged. “You’re a tribe of witches. What can I say?” He laughed and walked on.

If Sylvia had even the slightest suspicion that I was worried about her now, she didn’t show it or maybe even care. She was too excited about going to a restaurant for dinner. She flitted about, gazing at herself in the mirror every ten seconds, checking her hair and her makeup. I continually had to assure her that she looked pretty enough to go out. Finally, I decided to share some of Momma’s jewelry with her, something I rarely wore myself.

She was stunned when I opened the case with the rectangular diamonds in a necklace and matching earrings.

“You can wear this tonight, Sylvia.”

“Me?”

I plucked the necklace out and put it on her. She sat gazing at herself in the mirror. It lay just at the peak of her cleavage. She touched it, her eyes wide with more feminine pride than I ever thought her capable of having. Then I showed her how to put on the earrings. She looked at me to see if I approved.

“It all looks beautiful on you, Sylvia. Momma would have been very proud.”

“But what will you wear?”

“I have something Arden bought me four years ago. Don’t worry.”

She turned to look at herself again and ran her fingers over the diamonds.

For a few minutes, at least, I thought maybe I could, for the evening, put aside my fears and anxiety and really enjoy myself. Helping her choose what to wear, sitting beside her at her vanity table, and doing my own makeup, I did feel as I had dreamed I would with my younger sister, two young women giggling and flirting with their images in a mirror.

Aunt Ellsbeth, Vera, and even Papa would surely be sitting up in their graves, astounded that I had brought her so far from the disabled little girl who had been brought to Whitefern and left for us all to treat as a burden. Of course, she was still a far bigger responsibility than a young woman half her age would be. Pregnancy would be terrifying for her. No matter how many times I explained things to her, she would be confused. I hoped this Mrs. Matthews would be sensitive to all that. I made a mental note to be sure Arden impressed her with just h

ow special this patient would be.

Arden was dressed to the nines, as Papa would say. He had never looked more handsome and successful in his charcoal-black suit and silver tie. And when Sylvia and I descended the stairs, he raved about how beautiful we were. Sylvia actually flushed with embarrassment when he winked at me and gave her a kiss before hooking his arm with hers and then with mine.

“I’ll be the envy of every man there,” he declared. He walked us out and then surprised me by saying, “Why don’t you two sit in the back? I’ll be like your chauffeur tonight.”

He followed that with a look suggesting that I should stay close to Sylvia and keep her comfortable and confident. He held open the door for us, and we got into the car.

“I have the Whitefern girls,” he declared. “No man could ask for more.”

There was probably no one better at ignoring and avoiding unhappy thoughts than Arden. Look at how well he had done with all that had happened to me. The way he was behaving right now made it seem like everything we had discussed earlier was simply a misunderstanding. I was afraid to interfere with his joviality by asking after Mrs. Matthews, how the phone call had gone. It would wait until later, when we were alone.

After all, I had yet to tell Sylvia that I thought she was pregnant. It was probably better to wait until Mrs. Matthews confirmed it, and then the explanations would begin. How dark that tunnel through which we would pass looked to me now. Blot it out for the moment, or you won’t enjoy a second of the evening, I told myself. I turned to my sister, who sat so still with a smile frozen on her face. The excitement in her eyes made them glisten in the glow of passing car lights. She continually touched the diamonds, maybe to be sure they were still there and she hadn’t imagined them.

I realized that for Sylvia, dressing up with makeup and jewelry and going out to dinner was like going to the moon. I was more excited for her than I was for myself. Arden had chosen one of the fancier restaurants just outside of Whitefern. He explained that he often came here to take very wealthy clients to lunch or sometimes dinner. They certainly knew him well enough at the restaurant. The maitre d’ fawned over him and took us to what Arden said was the best table. He sat between Sylvia and me. When I gazed around the beautiful room, with its landscapes and mirrored wall sconces, the bulbs looking more like candles, and I saw how most of the other guests were gazing our way, I couldn’t help but feel the optimism Arden cherished and sought.

“Darkness seeks those who keep their candles of hope unlit,” Momma once told me. I had to brighten mine.

Arden ordered a bottle of champagne. Everyone was watching when the waiter popped it open. Sylvia laughed as some of it bubbled over, but it was poured quickly into our glasses, and then Arden raised his. Sylvia looked at me to copy everything I was doing.

“To the future of Whitefern,” Arden said. “May it finally become the grand home it was meant to be.”

Sylvia giggled at the clink of glasses and carefully sipped hers while watching how I sipped mine.