"It must have done wonders for her nearly nonexistent bosom," Jade said, holding it up.
I shook my head.
"She never wore that," I said, astounded.
Jade tossed it to me.
"There's more here
," she said, and reached into the drawer, this time coming out with a velvet and satin one- piece undergarment. It had push-up underwire cups, removable pads and a thong bottom. Jade held it up. I shook my head. "I've seen this in either Victoria's Secret or Frederick's of Hollywood," she said.
She tossed it to me and plucked out another skimpy bra, more thong bottoms and a chic maillot in a burnout dot pattern made of spandex. There were also two tanksuits with mesh midriffs, one in light gray and one in black.
"I never saw her wear any of this," I said. "I don't understand. Why is it here? How?"
"Maybe that's why she wanted the door always closed," Jade said, and cleaned out the drawer. "She had her own fantasies after all, Cat."
Jade's eyes narrowed as she looked at the nightstand. She glanced at me and marched over, pulling on the handle. The drawer didn't budge.
"It's locked," she said. "Where would the key be?"
"I don't know. Maybe her pocketbook," I said, and went to it. I turned it over and emptied the contents on the small dressing table. There was no key to any drawers, just keys to the house.
Jade shrugged.
"What do we care now?" she said, and went into the closet. She emerged with a metal shoehorn in hand and shoved it into the crack of the drawer, trying to pry it open. While she struggled, I looked through Geraldine's jewelry box and some other small boxes for the key. I turned when Jade moaned that she wasn't having any success. The shoehorn bent before it budged the well-locked drawer. She sat on the floor, frustrated.
"I'll have to go downstairs and get a hammer and a screwdriver or something," she said. She started to rise and stopped. I saw a smile break out over her face.
"What?"
"Well, lookie here," she said, reaching under the bed. "She's got a key dangling on a string that's tied to the bedsprings."
She reached under and brought it out. The string was long enough to reach the nightstand, and sure enough fit the lock. Jade turned it and looked back at me. I shook my head. This was all a surprise to me.
"I have no idea why she locked it," I said.
She opened the drawer and I hobbled over to look into it with her.
"Figures," she said, nodding.
"What's in there?" I asked.
You don't know?"
I shook my head.
She reached inside the drawer and then held up a stack of books and magazines.
"Pornography," she said. "And sex manuals." I raised my eyebrows and she added, "With pictures."
My eyes widened. To discover that Geraldine read these...it was so shocking, I wondered if I wasn't dreaming this whole thing.
"No."
"Yes," she said, smiling. "Your precious Saint Geraldine had a whole secret life here. While she wouldn't let you own a bathing suit or wear shorts or clothes she thought might look too tight, behind closed doors she was Miss X-rated. What a
hypocrite."