Cutler 03 - Twilight's Child

smile. Holding Christie in his arms, Jimmy turned toward her.
    "Christie, I want you to meet my sister Fern. She's come to live with us," he said.
    Mrs. Boston widened her eyes and tilted her head in surprise.
    "Hi, Christie," Fern said. Christie stared at her suspiciously, obviously unsure of her own emotions. She was excited by the prospect of having another child in the house, but she was also threatened by the prospect of sharing Jimmy's love with anyone. "Can I give you a hello kiss?" Fern asked her. Christie shifted her gaze to me to see my reaction. I stood smiling, so she nodded softly.
    Fern leaned forward and kissed Christie on the cheek. Christie fingered one of her pigtails and continued to stare in awe.
    "This is Mrs. Boston, Fern," I said. "Our housekeeper and our dear friend," I emphasized.
    "Hello," Fern said quickly.
    "Welcome, honey," Mrs. Boston said. She and Julius exchanged quick glances of wonder as he carried our bags into the house.
    "Fern's going to take the room next to Christie's," I explained. Mrs. Boston nodded.
    "I'll see that the bed's freshened and the room's aired out well," she said, turning to get right to it.
    "Why don't you show Fern our house, Christie?" I suggested when Jimmy lowered her to the walk. Christie looked up at Fern to see if she wanted that, and Fern nodded and brightened her eyes.
    "Okay," Christie said. "Come on," she cried, and she shot up the stairs. Fern threw a smile back at Jimmy and then followed.
    "Isn't this great? Isn't this just wonderful?" Jimmy said. I took his hand, and we entered the house behind the excited children.
    Christie was truly fascinated with her new young aunt. She couldn't wait to show her all her toys and all her pretty clothes. After Fern had seen everything, including the gazebo and Christie's swing and slide set in the backyard, and after she had been settled in her room, we went to the hotel. Jimmy was eager to introduce her to everyone. She met Philip and Betty Ann immediately, and then Christie took her hand and rushed off with her to see the twins. I went to my office to catch up on what had occurred while we were gone. I saw from my messages that Mother had been calling all day.
    "Why didn't you tell me you were off to New York to shop?" she demanded when I phoned. "I might very well have gone along. Or didn't you want me with you?" she whined.
    When I explained what our real purpose was and what had happened, she was astounded. I was quite surprised by her sympathy for Fern, however, half expecting her to go on and on about how difficult it would be for me to have another child in my care.
    "Poor thing," she said softly, and then she added, "I understand what it means to be sexually abused. Is she quite withdrawn?" she asked.
    "No, Mother. On the contrary, she's a very outgoing, exuberant little girl."
    "Really? I can only remember how I was after your . . . my father-in-law . . . took advantage of me," she said.
    "Maybe it's because she's still a little girl at heart," I suggested. "As Jimmy says, children are more resilient. When I think about all he and I went through, I guess he's right," I added. Mother didn't want to hear any of that.
    "Yes," Mother said. "Well, now, I'll have to have a dinner to celebrate all this. I'll call you as soon as I make all the arrangements."
    "Mother," I warned, "make it a simple dinner. No mob scene."
    "Really, Dawn, I don't have mob scenes," Mother protested.
    "You know what I mean, Mother. We don't want to overwhelm Fern."
    "I think I know how to make a proper family dinner," she bragged.
    "All right, Mother. Thank you," I said, and I left it at that.
    The next few days I was quite occupied with Fern. I took her shopping to get her more clothing and the things she would need to start school, most of which she had left behind in New York because of her abrupt flight from the Osbornes. Jimmy assured me Clayton Osborne wouldn't forward a single thing.
    "He won't bear the expense," Jimmy said.
    However, I could see from the clothing Fern chose and her selections of shoes and other things that she was accustomed to buying the most expensive goods. She was quite familiar with brand names, especially designer names. Clayton Osborne obviously hadn't been any sort of Scrooge when it came to the things she needed and wanted, I thought. When I asked her about it, she snapped back quickly with, "He bought me whatever I wanted so I wouldn't tell anyone what he was doing."
    "Why didn't he buy you the