Cutler 03 - Twilight's Child

his head. I drank up the special kind of virile, pantherlike handsomeness that was his.
    "You've become a mighty pretty woman, Dawn. Mighty pretty," he said.
    "Thank you, Daddy." The tears were streaming down my face, but I didn't notice or care. He held out his arms, and I ran to them, ran to his embrace. He held onto me tightly for a moment. In his strong embrace I felt all the frustration and sadness he had endured, and I understood that his pain had been just as sharp as mine, if not sharper. He kissed me on the forehead and then wiped my cheeks with the back of his long, thin hand.
    "Now, now, no tears. We're gonna have a nice reunion here. No sadness, hear?"
    "Okay, Daddy," I said, smiling.
    "I want you to meet my Edwina," he said, turning.
    Edwina extended her hand. It was warm and soft in mine. I could see she was a tender woman whose smile came right from the heart.
    "How do you do?" she said. "I'm glad we're finally meeting."
    "So am I. Welcome," I said.
    "It's so beautiful here," she remarked, turning. "Jimmy wasn't exaggerating." The bright, warm late-autumn afternoon did much to add to the sparkle and charm of Cutler's Cove. Our lawns were still rich green, and the trees were full of color: yellows, browns and reds. Above us the sky had turned a dark blue, and the clouds were puffy and milk white.
    "Thank you." My heart was doing flip-flops. I could barely catch my breath.
    "And now meet Gavin," Daddy said.
    "Hello, Gavin. I'm Dawn. Wait until you meet Christie," I told the wide-eyed little boy in Jimmy's arms.
    "And Fern," Jimmy emphasized.
    "Where is she?" Daddy asked, looking around.
    "She's inside doing errands for the bellhops, Daddy," I said.
    "Put her to work already, huh?" he said.
    "She loves it, Daddy," Jimmy said. "She can't wait to come home from school and be in the hotel. Come on. Let's go inside. Julius will bring your suitcases to the house, but first we want to show you the hotel. Are you hungry?" he asked Edwina.
    "No, we just ate on the plane," she answered.
    "I'm hungry," Gavin quickly piped up. Everyone laughed.
    "He's always hungry," Daddy said. "I think he's got two hollow legs."
    We marched into the hotel, and Daddy and Edwina gaped around at everything.
    "Bigger than I remember," Daddy remarked, nodding, his hands on his hips.
    "Over there is the dining room," Jimmy said to Edwina, pointing, "and off left is what we call the card room or tearoom. There's a ballroom to the right where the guests see shows and dance at night. We'll take you out to see the pool and the tennis courts and—"
    Jimmy stopped when Fern came running down the corridor to report to the bellhop desk. She never even saw us watching her.
    "That's her, Daddy, little Fern," Jimmy said.
    Daddy squinted as he gazed. Finally Fern turned our way, and Jimmy waved. She said something to Robert Garwood and then sauntered across the lobby slowly.
    "Spitting image of Sally Jean," Daddy muttered. "Fern," Jimmy began, "this is your father."
    Fern looked up at him with cold scrutiny as Daddy smiled.
    "Don't you want to give your father a hug, honey?" I asked.
    She shrugged.
    "Oh, it's gonna take some time," Daddy said understandingly. "But I-guess we can shake hands, can't we?" he said, extending his. Fern looked at it as if it were diseased and then reluctantly placed hers in his. She pulled it back as quickly as she could.
    "Hi," she said. "We don't look alike," she added quickly. Daddy threw his head back and roared. Fern looked away, but I saw her smirking.
    "No," Daddy said. "You look more like your mother."
    "This is Gavin," Jimmy said. Fern turned to him with more interest. Gavin, shy, looked back intently, his dark brown eyes scanning her from head to toe.
    "Hello, Gavin," Fern said. Then, surprisingly, she leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. He looked just as surprised as the rest of us. "May I take him and show him around?" she asked. "I can take him to the ballroom where Christie's having her piano lesson."
    "Gavin, you want to go with your sister?" Jimmy asked him. He looked at Jimmy and then at Daddy, who kept smiling widely. Gavin nodded, and Jimmy lowered him to the floor. Fern seized his hand and started away, Gavin trotting to keep up.
    "Wait, Fern," I said. She turned back impatiently. "You haven't said hello to Edwina," I reminded her.
    "Hello," Fern said quickly.
    "Hi, Fern," Edwina said, smiling. Fern started away again.
    "We'll meet right here in ten minutes or so," Jimmy called after