Cutler 04 - Midnight Whispers

know, Mommy."
    It was Sunday, and Sundays always meant a big check-out at the hotel. Rather than sit around and brood, I made myself useful at the front desk. Mrs. Bradly and the others couldn't stop talking about the party. They were very complimentary about my piano playing and, of course, Mommy's singing. Sometime early in the afternoon, Aunt Fern appeared in the lobby with her suitcase. She was still wearing her dark glasses. She stopped at the front desk and lit a cigarette.
    "Why do you smoke so much, Aunt Fern?" I asked her.
    "It calms my nerves and around here, I need something to do that," she replied. Then she lowered her glasses on the bridge of her nose and peered at me over the frame. "Did you sneak a peek at Lady Chatterley's Lover last night?"
    "No," I said. "And anyway, I don't like keeping things from Mommy."
    "Oh pull . . . leeze," she moaned. "You're sixteen. What do you think she was doing when she was your age?"
    "She wasn't doing anything wrong," I retorted.
    "Oh no." She stared at me a moment and then leaned against the counter. "I bet you don't know what went on between her and Philip at the private school, do you?" she said.
    It was as if someone had pressed a hot palm over my heart. I felt the heat rise into my neck.
    "I don't know what you're talking about," I said quickly.
    "I figured that," she replied, nodding. "Just remember this, Princess, everyone around here is not as lily-white pure as they make out to be. You ought to ask your mother to tell you what happened when she and Jimmy went to Emerson Peabody, a ritzy private school in Richmond."
    "I know they went there. Granddaddy Long-champ was a maintenance supervisor and . . ."
    "Yeah, yeah, I'm not talking about why or how." She leaned closer to me. "Your Uncle Philip went there, too, you know. That's where your mother and he first met." She smiled slyly. "You're old enough to know all the nitty-gritty details now," she added.
    Julius appeared in the doorway.
    "Thank God, I'm out of here," Aunt Fern said. She started away and then stopped and leaned toward me again. "Chapter ten," she said, smiling. "That's a good one. There's my suitcase," she shouted at Julius and pointed. He picked it up and hurried out before her. In a moment she was gone, but she had left me standing there staring after her with my heart thumping. What did she mean by those shifty smiles and innuendos about my mother and Uncle Philip? Why did she say everyone wasn't as lily-pure as I thought? Was she just trying to hurt us? Or was she referring to one of those dark passages in our strange family history that were still kept secret?
    With my heart going pitter-patter, I left the front desk and hurried down the corridor to Mommy's office. She was just finishing up a meeting with Mr. Dorfman when I knocked and entered.
    "It was a wonderful party," he told me as he left. I thanked him and sat down.
    "Mrs. Boston called to tell me your brother started a fire in the garbage can using the make-up mirror the Hammersteins gave you and the magnifying glass from the stationery set the Malamuds gave you," she said, shaking her head.
    "What? How?"
    "He directed the sunlight into the can and used the magnifying glass to burn a hole in some of the gift wrap paper. I think I had better give Mrs. Boston a raise," she added and sighed.
    "Aunt Fern just left," I said.
    "Oh. That's good, although I think her days at this particular college are numbered," Mommy said.
    "I don't know why she's so mean and unhappy, Mommy. You and Daddy are always nice to her and have done so much for her."
    Mommy sat back a moment and thought. Then a smile of wisdom flashed in her eyes.
    "Momma Longchamp used to say some cows are just born to give sour milk, no matter how sweet the grass they feed on."
    "It must have been so strange for you, Mommy, having two mothers," I said. She nodded. "You first met Uncle Philip when you and Daddy went to Emerson Peabody, right?" I asked. Her eyes grew small.
    "Yes," she said. "And Clara."
    "And for a long time, you didn't know he was really your brother?"
    She stared at me for a moment.
    "Yes, Christie. Why do you ask? Did Fern say something to you about it?" she demanded quickly.
    I nodded. I couldn't keep anything secret from her.
    "She would do that." She paused and then after a deep breath, she said, "It's true, I met Philip there and for a short time, we became boyfriend and girlfriend, but nothing ugly happened, no matter what Fern told you," she added