"Of course it is." She smiled. "Wade's father, Basil, loves to see women in sexy clothing. But if you're uncomfortable, try on this one," she said, holding up the slinky green tube dress with rhinestone detailing.
It looked like almost nothing to me. How could it be any different?
"I have thongs to match this one, too. Go on, try it on," she urged.
I slipped out of the black dress and then put on the tube. It was even tighter. Without a bra covering them, my nipples were practically popping through the material. It made me very self-conscious. She sensed it immediately.
"You have a beautiful figure, Celeste. Don't be afraid to show it. As they say, if you have it, flaunt it. I do.
"So, which one do you want to wear tonight?" she asked, stepping back and waiting as though my answer would determine the direction the rest of my life would take.
I looked at the first dress and then looked up at the clothes on the racks. Wasn't there anything else, anything less revealing?
"Those are my two favorite," she said, seeing where my gaze had gone.
Not wanting to hurt or disappoint her, I decided on the first.
"Good. I would have made the same choice," she told me. "Now you can go and rest up, shower, and fix your hair the best you can. We'll have dinner at seven tonight. I like to rest up, too, and then give myself a facial. I'll show you all that later, but you've got to walk before you run," she said, walking me to her bedroom door. "Just call down if you need anything. You dial ten, and Mrs. Cukor's phone rings."
Call for what I need? Have servants cater to me? This was more like a grand hotel than a home, and considering where I had just come from, it was all still more like a dream.
"Thank you," I said.
She smiled, hugged me, and then stepped back into her room and closed the door.
For a long moment I just stood there in the hallway, gazing at the chandeliers, the paintings on the walls, the glimmering wood floors. It was impossible not to be dazed by all the opulence rained upon me so quickly. I was thrilled, excited, and happy, but memories of my first foster home returned. I had such fears then, fears that I would lose myself, my identity, my family. I had such guilt over every little luxury I enjoyed. Every pleasure was a small betrayal in my child's mind. And the Prescotts were paupers com-pared to the Emersons.
I knew what Noble would say. He would say, "Celeste, the devil has decided to raise the level of temptation until he has you where he wants you."
I could feel that same guilt raining itself down upon me, each drop another tiny sting of conscience, trying to get me to turn away from all this, to reject it.
I don't care, I thought defiantly. I deserve this. I've suffered enough, and I want it all. Why shouldn't I? Besides, it has to be my destiny. It has to be something meant to happen.
I knew no matter what I said or believed, if Noble were here, he would not approve. He was afraid of anything that could make me forget my past, forget the farm and what waited for me back there. However, I was sure that if he was trying to come chastise me, he was finding it more impossible than ever. The lights were too bright in this house. Shadows could hide nothing.
At least, that was what I hoped.
5 Little Lies
. Next to the television set was a cabinet in which had been placed a number of music CDs. Another drawer had a video collection as well. There wasn't one I had seen, even on television. From the titles and the pictures on the covers as well as the blurbs about each, it was easy to see every one of them was about romance.
I chose a CD and played it while I continued to explore the room and the view from my windows. Having so much private space was as luxurious to me as soaking in a warm bubble bath. I couldn't stop walking around and around, into the bathroom and out, back to the closet to admire the size of it, and then to bounce on my bed and let myself fall back on the fluffy pillows as if I was falling from an airplane and floating.
I was lying there staring up at the ceiling and enjoying my music when I heard a knock on my door. Before I could get to the door to respond, And burst into the room. She was in a pink silk robe, her hair wrapped in a towel. Her face was flush from her skin treatment, and she was carrying a small red leather pouch under her arm like a football player carries a football.
"I decided you should look the best for your first formal dinner here. For now, here are some of my favorite cosmetics," she said.
She placed the pouch on the vanity table and opened it. I stepped up beside her.
"We have similar complexions, and all this always looks great on me," she said. I wasn't sure that was true, but I wasn't going to disagree. "What do you know about makeup? I noticed right off that you don't use any."
"No," I said, laughing. "We weren't even permitted to wear lipstick at school. Mother Higgins didn't approve."
"Not even lipstick! That's so ridiculous. What did she think would happen if you did? Sin would follow? Forget about it." She shook her head hard as if she had to get rid of a horrible, painful thought. "Forget about all of it," she said quickly. "Pretend your past is written on one of those magic toy pads where you lift the sheet and everything disappears so you can start anew.
"Make believe that you've always lived here; we've always been together. There was no yesterday. There is only tomorrow, and tomorrow is always more important than today anyway."
She looked at her watch.