Free Nancy’s Theory of Style by Unknown Page B

quietly and reminded herself that
a lady did not throw a scene in a public place. She sipped her water and when
she felt calm enough she said, “Mrs. Bentley Jamieson Friendly doesn’t think Froth
is foolish. She invited me to the Saloon and hired me to coordinate the Barbary Coast Historical Museum ’s
annual gala.”
    Her mother’s eyes widened and then she
looked for the waiter. When she caught his attention, she lifted her fingers
slightly toward her empty glass. “Well!”
    Julian looked as if he was going to say
something, reconsidered, and finally asked, “Did you see the security guards?”
    “No, and I looked all around. She has
the most extraordinarily hideous fountain in the Western world.”
    “Nanny, please,” her mother said.
    “A party is only a party,” Julian said. “However,
it isn’t a bad connection.”
    The appetizers and Hester’s second
martini arrived. She took a long drink of the cocktail before saying, “But what
about Todd? We thought you were all settled and now…” Her gray-blue eyes welled.
“What ever will happen to you now?”
    “Probably Debtors Prison, scrubbing laundry,
and begging for gruel. Speaking of things English, do you know that I have a
new assistant?”
    “Does he eat gruel?” Hester said
confused.
    “No, he’s English. His name is Derek and
he’s fabulous.”
    Julian hmmphed. “What does Todd think of
you having a male assistant?”
    “One, I said he was fabulous , and, two, Todd’s paying Derek’s wages. Daddy, what funds
do I have that can be freed up now?”
    “Haven’t you been reading your monthly
reports? I’ve managed to stave off the hemorrhaging for now, but you shouldn’t
touch a thing.”
    “Is that your opinion as my trustee or
as my father?” Nancy said.
    “Both. Since we are on the topic of
money, I hope you will study your pre-nup before making any decisions about
your marriage. When we went though it point by point with Todd, you seemed more
interested in staring out the window.”
    Nancy recalled the interminable meeting and
the interesting view of a fabulous neo-classic building designed by Timothy
Pflueger. “If I was getting a divorce, I’d be happy that Todd waived his right
to community property since I’ve wasted all that money trying to make the house
less horrifying, but the ugly is woven in, like bad polyester.”
    “Infidelity nullifies the contract, Nancy , and Todd would be
entitled to half of what you have,” Julian said quietly.
    “Do you asking if I’ve cheated on Todd?” Nancy said and
cringed back into her seat at the thought of her father bringing up her sex
life. “Daddy.”
    “Julian, Nanny, please don’t discuss
these things at dinner,” Hester said as she gazed at her empty martini glass.
    Julian pushed Hester’s water glass
closer to her, and said to Nancy ,
“You don’t want to end up like Birdie. You’re not going to do any better than
Todd Chambers.”
    “I worry about that little girl of Birdie’s,”
Hester said. “When she visited, the child was dressed in a costume.”
    “Really? I was just thinking about Birdie,” Nancy said. “I
heard that a friend of hers died.”
    “No surprise there,” Julian said. “She
surrounds herself with people as irresponsible as she is. She has nothing to
show for her life.”
    Hester was fiddling nervously with her
wedding ring. “That’s right, Nanny. It’s very important to your father and me
that you show some maturity. Marriage isn’t always easy. Happiness takes hard work
and compromise.”
    Nancy heard the quaver in her mother’s voice
and felt awful that she was upsetting her so. “How is Birdie?”
    “The same. She showed up unannounced on
Sunday morning with baguettes and a jar of Beluga. She made that poor child a
caviar sandwich for breakfast. What kind of life is that?”
    “I would have adored caviar sandwiches
as a child,” Nancy said and tried to remember if caviar was on her fish list.
    “Yes, but you used to sneak and