Facets by Barbara Delinsky

Author:Barbara Delinsky [Delinsky, Barbara]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Romance
ISBN: 9780446555746
Publisher: Warner
Published: 1990-11-01T00:00:00+00:00

Those memories came in handy in the weeks that followed. Seeing no way out of her predicament, Pam spent more time at home than ever before. Her room became her haven. She talked on the phone some with her friends, but the frivolity of it was gone. She slept some, daydreamed some, brooded some. Mostly she studied. John had put the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, and she felt it keenly.

She didn’t see him much at first. True to his word, he seemed to have stopped playing watchdog. He had told her the rules and was doing whatever it was he did with his time while she abided by them. If anyone was her guard, it was school. Her midterm report would be telling.

Her grades rose dramatically. Pam was relieved to know she could do it, and in that sense the pressure eased. It didn’t go away, though. John wasn’t satisfied simply to know that she could do well; he wanted her to do it on a regular basis. He made it clear what would happen if she didn’t.

He also made it clear that he was pleased with her progress. She suspected it was his own cleverness that pleased him most—he had effectively, and painlessly on his part, brought her to heel—but the fact that he was less odious than usual was some solace. He took her to dinner at the Ritz when she received those first improved grades, even invited her to several business functions. He took to stopping by her room when he came home from work, then again before he went to bed, and while she told herself that he was just checking up on her, there seemed more to it. He was actually being pleasant.

“How’s it going with Mrs. Ditmar?” he asked one night. Mrs. Ditmar was the American-literature teacher with whom Pam had locked horns at the start of the year.

Pam was propped against the headboard of her bed. A pencil was in her hand, a notebook on her lap, a textbook beside her. Wary as ever at John’s appearance, she held the pencil more tightly. “Not bad. She’s mellowed, I think. Or maybe I’m just getting used to her style.”

“That was a nice paper you wrote for her last week.”

“You read it?”

He nodded. “You left it on top of your books in the kitchen. I always liked Steinbeck. The Grapes of Wrath was long—all my friends complained—but it was my favorite.”

“I liked it, too.”

“That came through in the paper. You write well, Pam. Clear and concise. You organize your thoughts nicely.”

She nodded her thanks and looked down at her notebook. She felt awkward, not quite sure if he was being patronizing and in any case not knowing what to say or do.

“I got a call from Jennifer’s mother before.” As Pam looked up at him, he went on, “She wondered if we’d reached a decision on spring break. You didn’t tell me they invited you to their villa on Nevis.”

“I didn’t tell you because I don’t want to go.

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