Paradise Girls by Sandy Gingras

Author:Sandy Gingras
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group

MARY

Mary was trying to ignore James-Walter, but he was standing in the middle of their igloo room. He said his back hurt from driving, so he didn’t want to sit, and he was complaining about how long it was taking CC to get ready—how long it always took CC to get ready. He wheezed when he breathed, and it seemed like he was using up all the air in the room. She wished he would stop talking. And breathing like that.

Mary poured herself a glass of wine and forced herself to say nothing.

When CC finally came out of the bathroom, Larkin said, “Oh, Mommy, you look so shiny!”

CC was in a tight gold dress with matching earrings and shoes. Even her eye shadow was gold. Mary thought she looked like she was trying too hard. But Mary often felt that about CC lately. She thought CC was most beautiful undone-up and natural. But CC was always put together these days. Always in an outfit.

James-Walter said, “Babe.” He nodded at her.

CC smiled. A thin, wavery red line. She said, “Mother, we’re going for drinks now. Are you sure you’re okay with watching Larkin?.”

“Of course,” Mary said. She tried not to sound eager to see James-Walter leave. It was too bad he had to come. Who knows how it would have been with just CC and Larkin? My two girls, she thought, and her eyes got a little teary.

CC said to Larkin, “Let’s get you dressed before we go.”

“She can dress herself. You go have fun,” Mary said.

“Mother, I’ve got this. I want her to wear the black party dress,” CC said.

“But I want to wear the uniform shirt,” Larkin said. She was standing on the bed in her underwear.

“Unicorn?” James-Walter said. “Can you say ‘you nah corn’?”

“Yes,” Larkin said. “Yes, yes, yes.” She jumped up and down on the bed.

“It’s Christmas Eve,” CC said, and yanked the black dress out of the closet.

Larkin looked at Mary. Mary looked into her empty wineglass. She’d gulped it down.

Larkin said, “I want … I want…” She started sobbing quietly. She was shaking, holding Tutu by the hair.

“Where’s your nesting doll, anyway?” CC said.

Larkin shook her head hard and clutched Tutu to her chest.

CC bent down and tossed shoes around on the floor of Larkin’s closet. “Where are her good shoes?”

“I don’t know,” Mary said. That was true. They could be in a landfill by now for all Mary knew.

Mary told CC, “Remember how stubborn you were about dressing yourself when you were Larkin’s age? You always wore two different socks and two different sneakers. Nothing ever matched.”

CC said, “You never stopped me.”

“No,” Mary said.

James-Walter said, “She still gets away with everything. She’s a brat.”

CC looked toward him.

He shrugged and said, “You know you are.”

“I want…” Larkin hiccupped.

“You’ll do what I tell you,” CC said. Mary saw James-Walter kind of nod. Mary told herself, Don’t say a word. She wanted to, though. Oh, how she wanted to tell CC, “Let the kid be. And stop looking at that James-Walter fellow.

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