Free Treasures by Belva Plain

poor and miserable all the time.”
    “I don’t need to hear that,” Richard had interruptedgently. “You are you, and I don’t care about another soul.”
    “Not your parents? Will you tell them?”
    “No. Better not to. They’re good people, Connie, but they have their ways.”
    So that had ended the subject, and she had felt a certain relief. Now she could take him to visit Lara without further explanation. There was, after all, nothing to be ashamed of.
    She stretched out her hand now to observe the sparkle on her finger. Then she got up and went into the living room, which, furnished in modern chrome, steel, and glass, had a sparkle of its own. In the mirror over the console table she regarded herself in her pink baby-doll robe with the diamonds in her ears, and was satisfied with what she saw. She was young and loved. The future had arrived, and it was good.

C HAPTER T HREE
    T he round little table in the dining ell had been pushed toward the window so that Davey and Lara might have a view of Manhattan at night. Connie, who had found to her surprise that she liked to cook, had made a fine, festive dinner, crown roast of lamb, vegetables cut like flowers, and dessert out of Julia Child’s book of French cooking.
    Richard raised his wineglass and touched the others’ glasses each in turn.
    “To celebrate our first dinner all together,” he said. And, with a bright glance about him, added then, “To celebrate life.”
    All five of the faces became serious, and Connie’s red mouth trembled. It was such a beautiful moment! These dear people gathered here in this gleaming apartment where everything was in its place and belonged to her!
    A few new touches had modified its ultramodern chill. In Third Avenue antique shops they had bought a scarlet lacquer screen to conceal the tiny kitchen. The smoky Venetian mirror that hung between the oppositewindows now reflected the screen and the group at the table.
    “Such a pretty table,” observed Lara. “You’re going to be a good housewife,” she said almost tenderly.
    “She is already,” Richard said. “Connie’s a perfectionist.”
    “She always was. She was the neatest little girl in school. I had to redo her hair ribbons every day at lunch-time.”
    Richard was amused. “Hair ribbons? Tell me everything about her.”
    “Oh, yes, Connie had braids until she reached fourth grade and became sophisticated.”
    “And now you’re a shining bride,” said Eddy. “Positively shining.”
    “Am I? Well, I’m happy. And who wouldn’t be in this wonderful, brand-new city?”
    “With your wonderful, brand-new husband,” Lara said.
    Richard laughed. “I get a kick out of her enthusiasm. She’s walked my feet off every weekend, and by herself she’s gone everywhere from the Bronx Zoo to the Botanical Gardens to the Statue of Liberty.”
    “And I took the tourist trip on the boat around Manhattan Island,” Connie reminded him.
    “I’ve been here over a year now,” Eddy said, “and I haven’t seen any of those except the statue.”
    “But you’ve been working,” Connie said.
    Eddy’s sigh was satisfied. “Damn hard. It’s been well worth it, though.”
    Davey was interested. “Tell us.”
    “Okay. Well, as you know, I’ve been on my own for a while now and loving it. I’ve got more business than I can handle by myself. I’ve hired a bright young MBA, and I’m thinking of taking on a second. When I double the business—no, when I redouble it, which should take another couple of years—I’ll have to move again to a real spread, done right, my final move.”
    Richard was leaning with an elbow on the table and a look of genuine interest on his face, prepared to hear more.
    It pleased Connie that he liked her brother. Probably, she thought, recalling the strict faces and the noiseless house in River Oaks, he’s glad to be part of a new, active family of young people.
    Eddy was giving an exuberant description of Wall Street. He raised his hand,