Miss D and Me by Kathryn Sermak & Danelle Morton

Author:Kathryn Sermak & Danelle Morton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2017-09-12T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6

GIGI’S RETURN

June 1983

“Vigilance Is Rewarded”

ON MY WAY from Manhattan to see Miss D in Connecticut, I was reviewing everything I wanted to tell her about how I had fallen in love with Pierre. She and I had spoken often when I was at the Vivianos’, but only for a few minutes at a time. Miss D had just a rough sketch of the places Pierre and I had been and what I had worn, but I hadn’t had time to describe fully the walks across Paris at night, that current that ran between us. I knew she would want to hear every word of it.

Falling in love with Pierre came about in many ways because of the way Miss D had trained me. Like the young woman in the musical Gigi, she had educated me to be sophisticated in the way I dressed, moved, and spoke, and in the manners of the well-bred. In the process she built my confidence. My gratitude to Miss D filled my heart as I rode in the limo to Westport, where she was staying with her friend Robin. Only she and I knew how much she had done to prepare me for this life. Now she would be so happy and proud that I was about to claim it.

When Robin opened the door to her house I heard the soundtrack from Gigi playing on the stereo—Maurice Chevalier singing “Thank Heaven for Little Girls”—and I heard the laughter of the guests. Miss D and Robin were throwing me a surprise welcome home party! Everyone had on striped sweaters and berets. There were champagne cocktails and quiche and many questions. They called me Gigi and referred to Pierre as Gaston, the man who sweeps young Gigi off her feet in the musical. The guests mimicked the swoons of a young woman in love, and tried on the Gigi hat that Pierre bought me on our last day together in Paris. There was a real contest to get me to blurt out everything that had transpired. I refused to go too far despite their teasing. I was flattered, but I was also discreet. I was saving the details for my time alone with Miss D.

After the guests had left and we’d cleaned up, Robin went to bed. Miss D and I sat at the kitchen table to talk. After I had told her everything I could recall about falling in love, all the way through our goodbye kiss in the departure lounge, Miss D grabbed my hand.

“Kath, I’m so proud and happy for you, you know I am. Look at you, you are radiating. I cannot wait to meet him. You must be exhausted from the flight. Get a good night’s rest, Gigi. There is something I need to discuss with you, but it can wait until morning. Sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

The next morning, while I was repacking my bags, Miss D came into my room and sat on the bed.

“Kath, I have something to tell you.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.