The House on Sunset Lake by Tasmina Perry

Author:Tasmina Perry [Tasmina Perry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781472208484
Google: otAiDAAAQBAJ
Amazon: B01FE66YTK
Publisher: Headline Review
Published: 2016-08-25T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eighteen

1994

Casa D’Or had been transformed into a fairy-tale palace, a Gatsby dream, for Jennifer’s twenty-first birthday party. Three days earlier, a team of four carpenters had arrived, and under Sylvia Wyatt’s strict instructions had built a stage by the shores of the lake where tonight one of Savannah’s best jazz bands was playing a medley of soft, soulful songs. Four hundred guests milled around the gardens, lit up by thousands of fairy lights: her parents’ smart Savannah circle, a considerable number of her father’s business contacts. ‘Everyone will want to keep on doing business with you, just to come back to Casa D’Or,’ she’d overheard her mother reason when they were compiling the guest list.

At least fifty of the partygoers were her own friends. Some had even made the journey down from New York, although Jennifer had been disappointed by how few of her college friends had shown up. She’d sent over thirty invitations to her favourite people from Wellesley, but the excuses had trickled in and some hadn’t even bothered to reply at all. It was almost as if the past three years at university hadn’t existed, as if the people she had once cared about had forgotten about her already.

Jennifer accepted a glass of champagne from the waiter as she glanced around the party wondering where to go next. She had been inundated by well-wishers all evening and was looking forward to a few moments of time out when Jeanne approached her, smiling.

‘This is a seriously smart party,’ grinned her friend, linking her arm through Jennifer’s. ‘I feel as if I’m on the set of a Hepburn movie.’

‘Audrey or Katharine?’ said Jennifer, glad to have a reassuring presence by her side.

‘Usually I’m a Katharine kinda girl, but tonight looks like Sabrina.’

‘I love that movie,’ said Jennifer, smiling as she remembered the classic Billy Wilder film about two brothers competing for the love of their chauffeur’s beautiful daughter.

‘And how’s your own little love triangle getting on?’ said Jeanne, nudging her friend gently with her elbow.

‘What love triangle?’ asked Jennifer, trying not to blush.

‘Oh come on,’ Jeanne said, holding her hands up in the air. ‘You’ve still not told me if anything happened between you and Jim Johnson at the beach the other night.’

‘Nothing happened.’

‘He was moon-eyed after you all day and I’d usually just write that off as another Jennifer Wyatt admirer, but you like him too, admit it.’

Jennifer looked away, not wanting to talk about it. It had been ten days since their trip to Tybee Island, and she had not seen or spoken to Jim since. Part of her was glad that he was out of sight, if not out of mind.

Her mother had been a changed woman since their conversation. She had taken Jennifer out for lunch, and tennis, and whilst they had been shopping in downtown Savannah the day before, she had treated her to a beautiful gold hummingbird necklace, which she had presented to her with the warmest of embraces.

But still, Jennifer had spent the past week and a half feeling sad and empty.

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