Nancy’s Theory of Style (23 page)

The clerk smiled tightly and went to
Eugenia. In a much nicer tone, she said, “Let me help you find what you’re
looking for.”

“We’re making a pirate cape.”

Eugenia couldn’t decide on what she
liked best, so
Nancy
bought prints and solids, muslins, wools for the winter, polished cottons, lush
velvets, and even stiff oilcloth for rainy days.

The clerk suggested that they get Velcro
to fasten the cape and metallics for emblems and sashes. She even helped them
find big darning needles, yarn, and burlap so
Nancy
could teach Eugenia to stitch.
Nancy
bought brass
buttons with little anchors because she associated them with buccaneers.

At home, she laid out red velvet, cut a
rhomboid shape, and quickly stitched up the sides, before attaching ribbon for
decoration and Velcro at the collar. “It’s not beautiful, but we’ll decorate it
and tailor it later and it will be beautiful,”
Nancy
said as she put it on Eugenia. “I’m
taking you to your uncle and aunt’s house, my parents. Your mama took you there
before.”

“Can we see your pony?”

“Yes, you can meet
Willoughby
.”

Nancy
packed toys and books in one of her
Froth totes and then drove carefully through the city streets. “I am following
almost all the traffic laws,” she said proudly to Eugenia, who was in the back
seat sipping from a juice box. “Don’t spill in my car. I’m only letting you
drink this one time because it’s a special occasion.”

As
Nancy
headed down the
Peninsula
on the freeway, she
remembered all those awful trips to the construction site with Todd and all the
arguing on the ride back. She glanced in the rear-view mirror at Eugenia and
said, “You are an excellent travel companion.”

Eugenia smiled and said, “I want to see
the pony.”

“So, do I.”

Nancy
was always happy when she reached the
woodsy hillside village where she’d been raised. She slowed down on the narrow
road that twisted through ancient oaks. She turned onto a private dirt lane
that led past an apple orchard to her parents’ house. Every winter, when the
rains came down, her parents talked about paving it, but then spring would come
and their wish to keep outsiders away superseded safety issues.

Nancy
parked by on a level plateau by the
tennis court and then helped Eugenia out of the car seat.

“Mama brung me here before.”

“Brought, not brung. I knew you’d
remember. Bring your book bag,” she said, but left Eugenia’s overnight case in
the car.

“Where’s your pony?”

“He’s in his paddock near the stable,
but first we’re going to say hello to my parents.”

Nancy
loved the graceful Arts & Crafts
brown shingle house that had been her great-grandparents’ summer home. She led
Eugenia to the carved wood and stained glass door which opened directly into
the airy living room with its beamed cathedral ceiling.

Every detail of the room had been
lovingly selected, from the exposed hardware to the custom made tiles set in
the brick fireplace, to the matte green jardinière filled with fragrant lilacs.

“You can slide on the floor in your
socks,” Eugenia said.

Nancy
looked down at the girl. “I always
liked doing that, too.” She took the girl into the rustic kitchen and called, “Mom?”

The back door was open so they went out
to the weathered redwood deck. Hester was on a chaise with a tall tumbler in
one hand and a hardback book in the other. On seeing her daughter and the girl,
she closed the book, swung her legs over, and sat up. “Hello, Nanny. Good
afternoon, Eugenia.”

Nancy
went to her mother and kissed her cheek.
“Hi, Mom. Eugenia, come give your…”
Nancy
tried to figure out the relationship and said, “Give your Aunt Hester a kiss.”

After the girl did so, Hester said, “My,
Eugenia, you’re looking so pretty today. Is that a new cape?”

“Auntie Nanny made it. We got lots of
cape clothes at the store.”

“How lovely.
Nancy
, would you please bring out our lunch. Mina
made sandwiches,” she said referring to the young woman who helped out on
weekends when the housekeeper was off.

“Is she here now?”
Nancy
asked.

“She’ll be back later. She went
shopping.”

As Hester asked Eugenia questions,
Nancy
went to the
refrigerator to examine the contents. There was a platter of crustless
sandwiches cut into diamond shapes, sliced melon, and a green salad. She
carried them to the teak table outside and returned to the kitchen to fetch
drinks.

As
Nancy
was getting ice for the lemonade, she checked the freezer, relieved to see that
there was no vodka. She went back outside with the drinks and glasses.

Nancy
marveled at her mother’s ability to
feign interest in Eugenia’s conversation. Had it been like that when
Nancy
was little? She
thought she must have been fascinating even as a child. “Where’s Dad?”

“He’s out on his boat,” Hester said. “Or
playing golf. He said something this morning, but I was half-asleep. Your
father works so hard, he needs his time to relax.”

“He enjoys the outdoors so much,”
Nancy
said as they all
moved to sit at the table.

“We play in the park every day with
Derek. He’s teaching me football,” Eugenia said as she lifted the top of a
sandwich to examine its contents. “It’s green inside.”

“Do not perform a vivisection on your
food, Eugenia,”
Nancy
said. “It’s watercress and butter and very delicious.”

Hester took a long drink from her tumbler
and said, “Who is Derek?”

“My assistant, mom, remember? He’s
teaching Eugenia how to kick a soccer ball. May I pour you some lemonade?”
Nancy
ran her finger
along the smooth frosty glass. “Is this a new pitcher?”

“Pic-ture,” Eugenia corrected.

Nancy
smiled. “I’m glad you’re listening to
me.”

“Nanny, dear, please don’t teach Eugenia
to talk like you. I know you think it’s funny, but it’s very confusing. How is
Todd?”

“Todd is fine. We had a delightful
conversation the other day. He’s thrilled that Froth is going so well.” She
poured a glass of lemonade and put it next to her mother’s empty tumbler.
Nancy
talked about GP’s
theme for the fundraiser, the warehouse location, and her success with Gigi’s
party.

Hester had only eaten a few bites of
salad. “So nice that you’re having fun with your business. You won’t have time
for it when you go back to running your house.”

Nancy
smiled and said, “How is the
preservation group going?”

Hester’s activities centered on ensuring
that barbarians didn’t destroy the local architectural heritage. She became
animated as she described an ongoing legal battle with a tech mogul who had
purchased a property that had been the primary residence of raccoons for the
last half-century. “He tried to remove all the copper ornamentation – even the
sconces!”

“He’s a monster,”
Nancy
agreed. “Although Todd thinks anything
new is better than anything old, except for money, and then he likes both new
and old.”

“
Nancy
,
if you bring up that wet-bar again, you’ll give me a migraine. Todd means well
and does his best considering.”

“You’re right. He means well.”
Nancy
couldn’t look at
her watch because it might make her mother suspicious. “I promised Eugenia that
she could meet
Willoughby
,”
she said and stood. “We’ll help you clear. Come on, Eugenia.”

They carried the dishes to the kitchen
and then
Nancy
took an apple from the fruit bowl. She cut it into pieces so
Willoughby
wouldn’t choke.

Eugenia jumped and skipped all the way
to the corral up the hill. “Can I feed him?”

“Yes, and I’ll show you the right way to
do it so he won’t snap.”

The black and white miniature horse was
in the corral with his companion, an old sheep named New Marianne.
Nancy
’s mother had named
the horse and the original Marianne when she’d gone through one of her book club
phases. “Hi,
Willoughby
!”
Nancy
said and
he came up to the gate with a toss of his head and a snort.

Nancy
demonstrated how to give
Willoughby
a snack. “You
have to keep your hand flat and let him come get it politely. I’ll do it first
and if he’s too frisky, he doesn’t get any more. Good behavior is rewarded.”

The horse didn’t try to nip and accepted
a scratch on his nose. Eugenia held her hand through the gate and the horse
took his treat.

“Very good, both of you!”
Nancy
said pleased.

Eugenia wanted to stay, but
Nancy
said, “We’ll come
back later. I have to go to the house now.”

Her mother was no longer outside.
Nancy
took the girl and
the tote bag of books to the living room and said, “Stay here and be a good
girl while I talk to your Aunt Hester.”

Nancy
went upstairs and found her mother in
her spacious dressing room, a tumbler of ice and clear liquid in her hand. With
her free hand, she was sorting through dresses. One wall held an astonishing
collection of brilliantly colorful handbags, totes, clutches, and satchels.

“Mom, would you please watch Eugenia
tonight? I’ll bring in her things from the car, and I’ll pick her up tomorrow. I’ve
got to take care of something tonight.”

Hester pulled out a teal silk cocktail
dress. “I wish I could, Nanny. We’re going to an anniversary party tonight.”

“You didn’t mention it on the phone
yesterday. You said you’d be home.”

“I said I’d be home in the afternoon,”
Hester said with a very convincing smile. “If I’d known that you needed a
babysitter, I absolutely would have cancelled. It’s not too late. I’m sure
they’ll understand, even though it’s a small party. Your father can go without
me. I’m feeling a little tired anyway. I was going to catch forty winks.”

Hester dropped the dress on a bench and
took unsteady steps toward her bed. “You can leave Eu..Eu.., the girl, and when
Mina comes back, she’ll help. Just let me close my eyes for a few minutes and
rest.”

Nancy
took the tumbler from her mother’s hand
and set it on her glass-topped vanity table where it would be out of reach. Then
she guided Hester to the bed. “Don’t worry about it, Mommy. It’s not important.
You get your rest.”

When
Nancy
had covered her mother with a soft
cashmere throw, she went to the closet and did a quick search. She found an
almost empty bottle of vodka in a chocolate brown suede boot and set it to one
side. Then she went to the bathroom and filled a tumbler with water and got two
aspirins from the cupboard.

She carried the vodka bottle under her
arm and came out of the bathroom to see Eugenia hopping from foot to foot at
the open doors to the dressing room.

“Eugenia, do you want a pirate bag? Choose
one you like.”
Nancy
put the bottle down on the floor and went to her mother. She slid an arm under
her shoulders and raised her up.

Hester’s eyes fluttered open. “I’m sorry
I’m so tired.”

“It’s all right, Mommy. Here, take these
and have some water.”
Nancy
gave her mother the aspirin and made sure she drank most of the water. She
kissed her mother’s warm brow and smelled her girlish L’Air du Temps. “Go to
sleep now.”

Nancy
pressed her lips tightly together
feeling a rise of emotions she couldn’t think about right now. “I love you,
Mommy,” she said, but Hester was already asleep.

“My mama likes naps, too. She says, be
quiet, mama’s tired.”

Nancy
turned to see Eugenia looking at the
sleeping woman.

“Some mothers like naps,”
Nancy
said in a hushed
voice. “Did you pick out a pirate bag?”

Eugenia looked at the shelves and
pointed. “That red one.”