away Pumpkin is attached to my hair, her tiny fingers gripping a handful of braids gleefully.
“Pumpkin! Let go! Sweetie, it’s not nice to pull hair,” Margaret scolds, and Pumpkin releases my hair. “Say sorry.”
“It’s okay. Didn’t hurt.” I fold my arms under my chest and hunch over, wishing for a moment I could be swallowed up by the shiny white marble floor of this massive foyer. I look around in awe, taking in the splendor of the mansion. There is a curved staircase, a stunning, three-tiered crystal chandelier as big as me and ceilings so high not even a long ladder on top of another long ladder could help you get anywhere close to the top.
“Pumpkin, say sorry,” Margaret says again, this time more sternly.
“I sorry!” Pumpkin shouts with a smile.
“Inside voice, Pumpkin.” Margaret gives me an apologetic tilt of the head. “I’m sorry, too.”
“No worries. It’s very nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“No, no. Please don’t call me ma’am. It makes me feel a hundred years old. Call me Margaret.”
Margaret’s white and maybe in her forties. She’s not really pretty as much as she is very put together. Conservative and classy looking with the kind of clothes that look expensive and meticulously tailored. A pearl-white, high-waist pencil skirt, silky black blouse and matching heels. Certainly not the kind of lady you’d find in my neighborhood back in Chicago. She’s got brown shoulder-length hair and dark eyes. Wait—dark eyes? Shouldn’t they be blue, like all the girls?
“Are you my sister?” Pumpkin screams.
“Pumpkin, not so loud! Inside voice.” Margaret turns back toward me. “This is Pumpkin. We call her Pumpkin because she was born with this wild auburn hair. Some sort of recessive gene, I guess.” She laughs nervously. Actually, nervous is an understatement. Margaret is literally shaking. “Your dad just called. Surgery went well. He should be home soon.” She sets the squirmy two-year-old down and Pumpkin races off around a corner like a magical gnome. “We’re going to eat on the terrace to celebrate. Made a cake from scratch. Got the fancy dishes out and everything.” I notice Margaret eyeing my attire.
“I didn’t know about the dinner. Sorry. I would’ve worn something nicer. I swear.”
“Oh, it’s fine. We bought you some beautiful dresses.”
“You guys bought me dresses? You didn’t have to do that.”
“Are you kidding? It’s so our pleasure. Do you like Anthropologie?”
I look into Margaret’s eyes. Stretched wide, furrowed brows, pained expression. Crazy eyes for sure. There’s also something about her that comes off as not quite genuine. She’s got a syrupy sweet voice and that polite tilt of the head. I imagine she’s one of those “nice” people that have a special way of getting on my nerves. Disgustingly polite, when you know, somewhere deep inside, they’re screaming, Fuck this shit!
“Never trust a person who’s always smiling,” Mom used to say when I was small.
“How come?” I’d reply in confusion.
“Because, Tiffany,” Mom said seriously. “Smiling is the easiest way to lie. And nobody, not even Jesus Christ himself, was always walking around happy and smiling.”
I shift, suddenly uneasy in Margaret’s presence. “Anthropology? Isn’t that the study of humans?”
Margaret smiles. “Oh, my goodness. How cute are you? No, no. The clothing store.”
“Oh!” My cheek starts to twitch and I scratch at it to hide the tremble. “Yeah, yeah. No doubt.” I make a quick mental note to Google Anthropology the clothing store.
“Can I get you anything to drink before dinner?”
“Pop? That’d be cool.”
“Pop?” Margaret gives me another polite tilt of the head. “I’m sorry?”
“That’s how they say soda in Chicago.” Nevaeh appears on top of the long, curving staircase, leaning casually over the railing, her voice echoing in the giant space. “But we don’t drink soda, Tiffany. Mom says it’s too much sugar.”
“It’s Pumpkin,” Margaret explains. “She’s on the autism spectrum and the sugar...it makes her a bit off balance.”
“It makes her crazy,” Nevaeh explains seriously. “I mean, she’s already crazy but sugar makes it worse.”
“Nevaeh, don’t say that. Please don’t refer to Pumpkin as crazy.”
Nevaeh shrugs. “Come up, Tiff! I can give you a tour of the house.”
“Sweetheart, I actually need you to help me set the table out back. Besides, Tiffany needs a chance to breathe and settle in. Right, Tiffany?”
A chance to breathe and settle in. I exhale appreciatively. “Yeah. That’s cool.”
“How about a tea? We have herbal tea,” Margaret offers. “It’s a rooibos and chamomile blend. It’s very nice.”
“Mom,” Nevaeh declares with an exasperated sigh as she moves down the staircase. “You think she wants a hot cup of herbal tea? She’s moving in, not retiring.”
I bite my lower lip to conceal a smile that’s trying to form. “Water’s good. I’ll take water.”
Margaret exhales, relaxing somewhat. “I’ll have one of the girls bring a bottle up to your room. I hope you like your room. And listen.” Margaret wrings her shaking hands together. “I’m so sorry about your mom.”
I lower my eyes again, pulling tightly on the strap of my guitar case, desperately hoping this part of the conversation ends quickly. “Yeah.”
“Me, too,” Nevaeh adds. “How did she die?”
“Nevaeh, sweetheart. That’s not polite.”
“Mom, omigosh! You say everything’s not polite. It’s a simple question.”
“Sorry,” I interrupt. “You say the room is upstairs?”
“Up the stairs, turn right. At the end of the hall. I had the driver put your carry-on right outside the door.” Margaret smiles brightly again. “I’m so glad you’re here, Tiffany. We’re so lucky to have you.” She gently grabs Nevaeh by the elbow and they both disappear around the corner.
* * *
My room. I blink in disbelief. It looks straight out of the pages of a Pottery Barn catalog. And bigger than our entire apartment back home. The floor is dark mahogany wood, and there’s a narrow wrought iron spiral staircase leading to a loft area. A loft. An actual loft in my bedroom. I slide my guitar off my shoulder and set it carefully beside the wall.
The room is almost in perfect symmetry. Two full beds with matching white upholstered headboards. Two white bureaus set on opposite sides of the room. Two nightstands with matching lamps shaped like pretty sunflowers
