Secrecy Read Online Free Page B

Unlike her he wore a sleeveless sweater striped in red and blue, along with two heavy gold chains.
    The rain had not arrived yet, so the top was down. The car skimmed along the shore drive, and when Judd turned on the radio, he and Elena sang along with it. They were having a good time. He drove with one hand. The other arm rested on the seat behind Elena’s back. In the parking lot at the restaurant, it occurred to Charlotte as she walked behind them that they looked alike. Judd was slender, and his thick black hair was curly. She wondered whether people might assume that they were both her parents. Odd thought.
    Judd was a talker, too, like Elena when she wanted to be. Their conversation wasn’t interesting. It was all about people Charlotte didn’t know, and about the things they owned, their cars and their houses, mostly.
    Judd said, “I bet you’d give your eyeteeth for one of those big places on the shore drive.”
    “If I could live down here, that’s what I’d have,” Elena told him, “with a private beach across the road.”
    “Oh, ho,” he cried, throwing his head back. “Why don’t you?”
    “Well, I just might,” she answered, tossing her own head.
    She seemed to be teasing him. Charlotte had never seen her behaving quite like this. There was a silence that now suddenly seemed interesting. Judd broke it by addressing Charlotte, to whom no attention had been paid since his first compliment.
    “You don’t mean to tell me you’re going to leave all that on your plate?”
    “It was delicious, but it was huge,” she replied politely. “Too much for me.”
    Judd laughed. “Look at your mother. One hundred four pounds soaking wet, and she eats enough for two.”
    Why did he know her weight? It seemed too intimate a thing for him to know. Still, perhaps that’s silly of me, Charlotte argued. Most likely I’m picking on him because I wish he wasn’t here.
    “Look at the rain,” Elena said. “Let’s go to the mall.”
    “What do you want to do there?” Judd demanded.
    “Shop. What else is there to do on a rainy day?”
    “I can think of things.”
    “Oh, sure,” Elena said. “Let’s go.” And summoning the waiter, she paid the check.
    That was strange, too, Charlotte thought. Wasn’t he supposed to have invited us?
    “Do I have to go to the mall?” she asked. “You could take me back so I can finish my book.”
    “You have a long plane ride home. You can finish it then. Besides, you’ve never seen a mall like this one.”
    That turned out to be true. This mall glittered like a Christmas tree. In shops filled with shoes, perfumes, tennis rackets, Italian silks and chocolates, and Irish linens, they looked and bought. Judd bought ties and a tennis-racket cover. Elena bought a scarf, a dark-brown lipstick, and a crystal elephant. It seemed to Charlotte, who was growing tired, that they were buying just for the sake of buying. And she tried to imagine Dad in this place.
    “You could use a summer dress or two,” Elena remarked. “Look there. The blue one would be lovely on you.”
    “Mama.” The word was a protest. “Mama. When would I wear a dress like that in Kingsley? Nobody gives parties like that in the summer.”
    “Nobody does much there anytime, if you ask me. Okay, enough. Let’s go back.”
    The return ride was quiet. Judd had the radio on, but nobody sang. A different mood had blown in onthe wind. He stopped at the door, they got out and thanked him, and he drove away.
    “See you tomorrow.”
    “Tomorrow on the beach.”
    “He’s such fun,” Elena said as they went inside. “Tell the truth, don’t you agree?”
    Why should I disagree? Charlotte asked herself. It’s easier not to.
    “Yes, he’s fun,” she said.
    She woke early while Elena was still sleeping. She dressed and went outside. Apparently everyone in the community was still sleeping. She sat down in the garden area near a small pond surrounded by some vivid flowers whose name she did not know.