“Oh,” I stuttered. “Thank you.”
She prattled on about each room as we came to it: the living room, dining room, kitchen, and then about dinner tonight and how she hoped I was hungry since our cook, Iris, had been working all day to prepare something special. I did a double take at the fact that Tiffany had her own cook. But as I felt her soft hands lead me from room to room, I realized that she probably never had to do much for herself in all her life. It only made sense that she would have a cook.
Iris was busy in the kitchen but immediately stopped her dinner preparations as soon as we walked through the door. She was a sturdy yet petite woman in her latefifties, with silver-streaked dark hair pinned neatly in a bun. Her keen gray eyes lovingly took me in, her grin spreading across her aged face.
“What a pleasure it is to finally meet you, Miss Mari,” Iris cooed. “Miss Tiffany has been just beside herself preparing for your arrival.”
I blushed, glancing at Tiffany, who mirrored Iris’s welcoming smile. “Iris has been with my family for years. I don’t know how I’d get anything done without her.”
“Oh, posh!” Iris countered lightly, waving her hand as she moved back to the counter to continue chopping vegetables. “You don’t need me, but I’m happy to help.”
Tiffany finally showed me to my room, a grand bedroom with light blue walls and a queen-sized four-post bed with a black and white toile comforter that looked like it must feel like a cloud. My window overlooked Central Park, where I could see the pond that was not yet iced over. It was a beautiful room overlooking a beautiful city. Any other girl would feel so lucky. But I still felt out of place. Like I was borrowing someone else’s room, someone else’s life, and it didn’t quite fit.
I turned my attention from the room back to Tiffany, who had been standing awkwardly at the door since she ran out of things to say. “When is my uncle going to be back?”
She smiled again, her white teeth contrasting with her deep red hair. “He should be here soon. His assistant called and said he just got out of court.”
I nodded, unaware of what I was expecting when I would finally see my uncle again. Maybe the idea of this huge and luxurious place being my home would finally click. Maybe I was hoping he was the missing puzzle piece that would make this place, this city, suddenly become my home.
“Well, I’ll leave you to your things and let you settle in. Dinner will be at seven.” She hesitated for a moment before closing the door, as if she were unsure whether she had said all the right things, like an actress who may have missed her mark.
The door closed, and I was alone in my new room with my dirty old suitcase sitting at the foot of the bed. I made my way to the bed and sat down, feeling the softness of the comforter beneath my fingers. But instead of feeling comfort and security, safe inside a guarded apartment building that felt more like a fortress, I felt more alone than ever before. Sobs that I had been containing since I boarded my plane in Atlanta burst from me, and I cried and cried, burying my face into a pillow that seemed just a little too soft, smelling faintly of lavender.
The light knocking on my door woke me from my deep sleep. Apparently, my breakdown had quickly led into a deep slumber, leaving my body feeling heavy and head hazy.I sat up quickly, wiping the dried tears from my face and smoothing my hair down.
“Come in,” I replied quietly.
Uncle Dan opened the door, taking a hesitant step inside. “Hi Mari.”
I sat up straighter, pulling nervously at my sweater. “Um, hi Uncle Dan.”
I didn’t know what to think when my uncle first walked through my door. He was shorter than I had imagined, and his dark brown hair was already beginning to recede. His black suit looked expensive, but he couldn’t seem to stand still. His right hand remained in his suit pocket, while the other fiddled with his tie, as if he were smoothing out a wrinkle that didn’t exist to anyone but him.
“How was your flight?” He asked as he took another step inside my room. “Not too bad, I hope.”
Uncle Dan looked from me to my suitcase as he shoved both hands deep into his jacket’s pockets.
“It was fine.” I agreed.
He nodded, taking a few steps back toward the door. “Well, Tiffany wanted me to let you know dinner is ready.”
He turned on his heel and left quickly. It wasn’t the sort of family reunion I had hoped for. Although I can’t be sure what I was hoping for, anyway. His reaction to my presence was indifferent at worst and awkward at best. Yet, I couldn’t bring myself to be upset with him or angry for not bursting into the room with his arms wide open. I didn’t exactly rushinto his arms, thanking him for taking in his poor orphaned niece.
Dinner was as uncomfortable as my reunion with Dan had been. The food and place settings were much more formal than what I was used to. I barely ate, unsure of what was before me and too nervous to really try anything or even ask what it was. Tiffany and Dan spoke mainly to each other about work and court cases. They both would occasionally glance at me but continued to eat and talk among themselves. Iris continued to refill glasses and glanced at me with reassuring and encouraging smiles.
“Mari?” Dan’s voice broke me out of my reverie.
I looked over the candles and centerpiece. “Yes?”
He smiled, glancing at Tiffany again. “I know this is a difficult time for you. But Tiffany and I really want to make this work.”
He stood and took something out of the drawer of the china cabinet. He sat again, sliding the small, wrapped present toward me.
“This is just something I thought you would like to have. To make you feel a little more at home,” he continued.
“Oh.” I took the present in my hands, savoring the way the expensive hunter green paper felt against my fingers. “Thank you. You didn’t have to do this.”
“It’s not much, but I have a feeling your father would want you to have it,” he replied, his eyes softening when they met mine.
