Daddy raised his eyes toward me and shook his head. "No," he said. not Hannah."
I know that should have made me feel very good about myself, but it didn't. Instead, it sent a small flutter of panic through my body. He had given me the compliment with such definiteness, such assuredness, it seemed as if he had just nudged the lid on another secret, buried and shut away, patiently waiting to be reborn.
From Joya Del Mar to here, the darkness followed me, slithered like a snake, and coiled up in the shadows, listening with gleaming eager eyes for its opportunity to strike.
7
A Not-So-Happy Birthday
.
"You see how much easier men have it than
women when it comes to preparing for an evening," Danielle said to me when Adrian and Cade returned in less than fifteen minutes, each with his light brown hair brushed neatly and each in his tuxedo. As mannequins modeling the newest in black-tie styles, they were flawless, both already close to his mature height at five feet eleven inches tall. Their
competitiveness had them bodybuilding when they were only twelve, and I couldn't remember a visit when one of the twins wasn't demonstrating how much bigger his biceps were than the other's.
Daddy minted, reluctantly complimenting them on how good they looked and how fast they had dressed.
Adrian and Cade both looked pleased with themselves and took their seats like perfect little gentlemen, flipping their napkins and placing them in their laps before they assumed proper posture. My daddy's mother. Bunny, had paid for them to have private charm school lessons when they were barely five years old. To me they were the perfect example of why proper etiquette had nothing to do with the quality of a person. The moment the adults turned their backs to them, one or the other did something disgusting.
"Well, it couldn't have taken Hannah very long to dress," Cade said after a moment. "Look what she's wearing, a metallic sock."
"What a terrible thing to say. Cade. She is wearing a lovely dress. and I'm sure it took her much longer to fix her hair than it took both of you to fix yours," Daddy said, defending me.
"Is hers fixed? It looks like it's still broken to me," Adrian teased, and they both laughed.
/> "A year older and a year less mature," Daddy said, shaking his head.
"And happy birthday to you both," I told them dryly. "Thank you. Hannah Banana." Cade said.
Adrian laughed and added a thank-you.
The maids began to serve our dinner. About halfway through the meal, Cade, who had been teasing his brother about a girl he claimed Adrian liked, paused and turned to me to say, "I hear you have quite a boyfriend. Hannah."
Daddy paused in cutting his London broil and looked up with interest.
"Oh?" he said. 'Hannah has a boyfriend?"
"Yeah, he's a guitar player and a songwriter, right?" Cade pursued.
"Yes." I said, a little surprised at how much he knew.
"Is this who you went out with the other night?" Daddy asked. smiling.
"Yes," I admitted,
"Well, that's okay. Someday these two might find girls who can stand being with them." Daddy joked.
"We can find them. Dad. We're just very particular about whom we date. a lot more particular than Hannah apparently."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daddy asked sharply.
"Her boyfriend's half black. right. Hannah?" Cade asked. smiling.
Daddy turned to me. "What?"
'His mother happens to be Haitian." I said.