The Muse Series Box Set by Pru Warren

Author:Pru Warren [Warren, Pru]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-01-28T00:00:00+00:00

13

The complete indifference of my sleeping copilot left me with time to reflect on more than thighs.

The unrecognizable sensation I was feeling, I finally decided, was pride. Upon sober reflection and far too many exits passed on the drive down I-95 to Richmond, I came to understand that I was proud of my N. C. Wyeth suggestion.

I could identify plenty of good emotions in my life. I was conversant with happiness and safety and relief and gratitude.

I certainly knew the bad emotions, like anxiety, fear, loneliness.

But where, exactly, did pride fall in the continuum?

Was it a far more intense form of satisfaction? When I saw a problem and could take action to resolve it, or when I headed off an argument or disagreement, I felt satisfaction, and that was a good feeling.

But pride had more . . . meat to it. There was a fist-shaking triumph to it that bewildered me. I’d seen it in movies. I’d observed it in art. I’d thought I’d known what pride was.

But by around Fredericksburg, I decided I might have been hiding from pride for a while.

By Ladysmith, I realized that maybe I liked it. It was scary . . . but desirable.

Still, it wouldn’t do to show off. That might cause trouble. As I drove across the city line into Virginia’s capital, I resolutely put any quiet whispers of pride aside.

“Ollie,” I said. His head tipped further to one side. “Ollie?” I touched a hand to his shoulder and shook gently.

“What?” he muttered.

“We’re in Richmond.”

“Uh-huh.” He sat up and scrubbed his scalp with his fingers. Then, to my complete astonishment, he fished in his backpack and pulled out a comb. Incredulous, I watched both him and the road as he corralled his russet mop into some semblance of neatness. “What are we doing here?”

I goggled. How deeply had he been asleep? Had he lost his mind? “The Virginia Historical Society’s meeting? You’ve been working with Sarah on the presentation for weeks.”

“I know that,” he said, his irritation on high. “I mean, who are we impressing? Is there a victim to all this?”

A victim? I was lost.

“Why us, why here, why now? Come on, Cleo. What are we doing here?”

It seemed obvious to me, but I could spoon-feed him if it kept him quiescent. “The clerk of the House of Representatives—you know, your boss?” He nodded for me to keep going. “Her mother is the treasurer of the Society.”

“Right.”

“Sarah didn’t tell you this?”

“She probably did. I wasn’t listening. Is the mother a Carlton too?”

“Dixon. Alice June Dixon.”

“D-I-X? Or D-I-C-K?”

“X.”

“Dixon. Okay. I can work with that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Lots of Dixons in Virginia history. Don’t worry about it.”

“Ollie, don’t be obvious about this. You’ll embarrass her. Or us. Or Sarah. I don’t know.”

“Don’t get your panties in a twist, sugarplum. I’ve done this once or twice before.”

“Fine. Whatever. You blow this, it’s on your head. I’m just the substitute. They’re not going to blame the second string.”

“You’re not second-string. That’s the whole point. Twit.”

His peculiar form of encouragement, phrased as contemptuous insults, was really confusing.

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.