Free Unfinished Symphony by V. C. Andrews Page B

lips and a soft, almost round chin. "Hello dear. I'd like you to meet Philip. Philip,
this is Holly's little friend, Melody."
"Hello," he said quickly and flashed a smile that
swept across his lips so fast, it was as if someone had
turned a light on and off.
"Just sit right there, dear," Dorothy said,
nodding at the seat across from her. She wore a black
evening dress with puffy sleeves and a frilly, square
collar, a pair of teardrop diamond earrings with a
matching necklace and bracelet, and at least two more
rings than she had on when I had first met her. I took my seat and Philip looked up instantly at
Alec. He moved quickly to begin serving us. "I told Philip all about your little episode
today," Dorothy continued, "and he made a wonderful
suggestion. Tell her, Philip," she said.
"You're doing fine," he replied, glancing at me
and then at his plate as he drummed his fingers on the
table. Alec began serving us bowls of what looked
like clear chicken broth with some rice and carrots. "Philip says this woman has to have a social
security number. Everyone has a social security
number. He will call the business manager at the
catalogue company and check the number to see if it's
under her name or your mother's name. Isn't that a
wonderful suggestion?"
I nodded and looked at Philip. He began eating
his soup.
"Just common sense," he muttered between
slurps.
Then he paused, his spoon perfectly still before
him, not a tremble in his hand. "Of course, people
have been known to produce phoney identification
and get a new social security number. We'll see," he
added.
"So you see, dear, you don't have to spend any
more time chasing down this woman. Just relax and
enjoy your visit," Dorothy said.
Philip twisted the right corner of his mouth so
deeply it looked like his lips were made of pale pink
clay.
"It won't be something I can do overnight," he
muttered.
"That's all right. I'll still want to meet this
woman," I said.
"Philip thinks that might be dangerous." "I didn't say dangerous. I said unpleasant." "Well, that's practically the same thing,"
Dorothy insisted.
He put his spoon down and sat back. Alec
moved instantly to remove his soup bowl. I had barely
eaten half of my small portion and took two quick
spoonfuls when I felt Alec hovering over my
shoulder. Dorothy didn't dip her spoon into the cup
more than twice, but that seemed to be enough. A small dinner salad followed, accompanied by
the thinnest slices of bread, paper-thin slices that
crumbled in your fingers.
Our main course was veal medallions in a
lemon sauce, accompanied by string beans and
mashed potatoes with a flavor I couldn't recognize.
Everything was delicious, but as I ate, I noticed Dorothy watching me and recalled her warning about eating too much. I could have eaten more, but I
stopped.
Philip made little conversation but he was
interested in my description of the lobster fishing
business and the Cape Cod tourist business. He said
he had some clients interested in investing in a hotel
chain that serviced the Cape and he was not keen
about it.
Dinner was followed by coffee in a silver
service and a custard dessert. It had been a wonderful
meal and I said so as I thanked them.
"Maybe we should ask Selena to prepare lobster
for us tomorrow night, Philip, in Melody's honor,"
Dorothy said as the meal came to an end.
"Lobster's overpriced these days," he grumbled.
How could anyone with this much money worry about
the price of lobster? I wondered.
"Oh nonsense," Dorothy said.
"I don't enjoy eating things that I know are
overpriced," he insisted.
"I really don't need to have lobster, Dorothy." "Of course she doesn't," Philip said, nodding.
"She gets it dirt cheap back on the Cape and it won't
be as good here. Think of something else," he said. "I've got some work to finish in my office," he explained as he rose. I realized he was not quite as tall as Dorothy. "It was nice meeting you," he added,
nodding as he walked away.
"Philip's the most efficient man I've