paradise.â Tedi adored golf, carried a respectable twelve handicap.
âClay!â Izzy called from the living room.
âThe birthday girl.â Clay smiled. âGood hunt yesterday, Sister. Despite the weather, weâre having a terrific season.â
âThank you, Clay.â She was glad to hear the praise as he left to join Izzy, who was surrounded by women from her college sorority.
Kappa Kappa Gamma songs filled the house.
âJanie, were you in a sorority?â Tedi asked. âI donât remember. They didnât have them at Sweet Briar, did they? Didnât have them at Holyoke.â Tedi didnât wait for her question to be answered since they both realized Tedi figured out the answer for herself. âLoved Holyoke. Loved it. But you know, I missed you so much. Think of the fun we would have had if weâd gone to the same school.â
âWeâd have gotten ourselves thrown out.â Sister grinned.
âWellâtrue.â Tedi tipped back her head and laughed. âAnd I never would have met Edward. Imagine going all the way to Massachusetts to meet your future husband, himself a Virginian, who had gone all the way to Amherst. Course I was wretched when neither Nola nor Sybil elected to go to Holyoke. Still canât believe they did that.â
âThatâs the thing about children. Damn if they donât turn out to have minds of their own.â
The corners of Tediâs mouth curled up for an instant. âShocking. But really, Janie, University of Colorado for Nola, and then Sybil, well, she did go to Radcliffe. She applied herself, probably to make up for Nola. God, how many schools did that kid roar through? I miss her. Even now.â Tedi stopped for a moment. âStop me. Really, what is it about a new year? One casts oneâs mind over the years, but the past is the past. You canât change a thing about it.â
âHistorical revisionists certainly are trying.â
âYes, well, thatâs not exactly about the past. Thatâs about a bid for political power now. Rubbish. Every single bit of it.â Tedi knocked back her scotch. âSometimes I think Iâve lived too long. Iâve seen it all, done it all, and now am colossally bored by the ignorance and pretensions of the generations behind us. If anything, Nola and Sybilâs generation is tedious, hypocritical, and lacking in fire.â
âTedi, theyâve only known peace and plenty. Thatâs like a hound who has only slept on the porch. If they have to run, theyâll be slow at first, but I promise you, theyâll run.â
âYouâre always hopeful.â
âIâm an American. Theyâre Americans. When the you-know-what hits the fan, we do what has to be done, and it doesnât matter when or where we were born. Doesnât matter what color we are, what religion or none, what sex or how about having sex. Anyway, you get my drift.â
âI do. Iâm still cynical.â She turned her head. âAnd speaking of that generation, here comes an extremely handsome member of it.â She smiled, holding out her hand as Walter took it, pressing it to his lips, then leaned over to kiss Sisterâs cheek.
âYou two look radiant.â Walter knew how to talk to women; beautiful would have been very nice but radiant showed imagination. âSister, that color brings out your eyes.â He stopped, then lowered his voice. âCanât get out of this.â He smiled big as a dark, intense, attractive man, early forties at most, pushed over to him. âMrs. Bancroft, Mrs. Arnold, allow me to introduce Dr. Dalton Hill from Toronto. Heâs come up from Williamsburg, where he gave a lecture this morning.â
Tedi, whoâd looked him over, inquired, âHow good of you to make the trip. What is your specialty, Dr. Hill?â
âEndocrinology.â He exuded a self-important air but had
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