The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit by Sara Loyster

Author:Sara Loyster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2021-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The Search Begins

May, 1963, Boston

Victoria emerged from her latest journey to Paris still wearing the muddy wool jacket and cap belonging to one of the Boits’ servant boys. She pulled off the shabby garments and, balling them up, thrust them into the trash bin outside the Sargent gallery.

Her eyes welled with tears at the sight of the museum’s familiar hallways. She couldn’t remember ever feeling this relieved. The back of her head ached, and when she touched it, her fingers came away sticky and red; she’d cut herself falling into the gutter. Her brace was twisted, and her back hurt more than her head. She headed toward the restrooms, one hand on her side to ease the pain, sure she must look even more disheveled than she felt.

As she reached the door to the ladies’ room, she saw the familiar Black guard walking toward her. Seeing her obvious distress, he stopped. “Are you all right?”

Victoria took a deep, unsteady breath before she replied. “I have scoliosis,” she said, surprising herself; she never mentioned her back problems to anyone. “I stumbled on the stairs just now and hurt my back.”

“Do you need help?” he asked, his fuzzy salt and pepper brows drawing together in concern. “Are you here alone?”

“My mother’s meeting me in a little while,” she said, and gave him a weak smile. “I’ll be fine.” Inside the restroom, she swabbed the back of her head with wet paper towel, washed her face and tried to straighten her hair.

When she came out, the guard was waiting for her. And standing next to him, talking excitedly, was her mother. Good grief, Victoria thought, this is all I need!

“What happened?” her mother cried. “This gentleman said you got hurt!”

“It’s nothing,” Victoria said standing as straight as possible. “I stumbled on the stairs and twisted my back.”

“I waited to make sure you were okay,” the guard said. “Then your mother came along looking for you. I recognized her from the other day.” He lowered his gaze, looking awkward as they all recalled the circumstances of their first meeting. “I told her you were hurt.”

Victoria’s mother was searching her daughter’s face, looking for signs of serious discomfort. Victoria turned away from her and, smiling widely, thanked the guard for his concern.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said again.

“Yes, thank you,” said Victoria’s mother absently, opening her handbag. For one dreadful second, Victoria was afraid she was going to hand the man a tip. Instead she pulled out a tissue and wiped away a last bit of grime from her daughter’s forehead. Then, after a final inspection of Victoria’s face, she turned her full attention to the guard. “You’ve been very kind,” she said, sounding sincerely grateful.

“Not at all,” said the guard, giving a polite nod as he continued on his way. Victoria watched him walk away, thinking, Maybe my mother isn’t prejudiced after all. What a relief that would be, if it were true.

At home that afternoon, Victoria managed to

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.