Silent Night 3(12)

“Maybe we should trade places,” Pam suggested.

Dream on. “I’d do it in a second.” Reva sighed. “But Daddy wouldn’t let me.” Thank goodness, she added to herself.

Pam shrugged. “Well, anyway, Willow and I were a little surprised when you weren’t here yesterday.”

“Yesterday? Oh, that’s right. You were coming over,” Reva said. “The minute I hung up, I remembered that I had some errands to run before dinner.”

Actually, the minute she hung up, Reva decided that the last thing she wanted to do was look at some cheap, homemade crafts. So she’d taken Grace for a quick tour of Shadyside.

“You could have left a message with the maid,” Willow told her.

Reva widened her eyes innocently. “You mean she didn’t give you my message? I’ll have to speak to her. Getting good help is really hard these days, you know.”

“Sure,” Willow muttered.

Pam cleared her throat. “Well, anyway, as I told you, Willow and I are taking this crafts course. We brought our stuff over to show you.”

“I’d love to see it,” Grace told her.

Thanks a lot, Grace, Reva thought. As Pam pulled a shopping bag onto the coffee table, Reva checked her watch. Five minutes to pretend to like the stuff, whatever it was. Then she’d get rid of these two losers.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Grace exclaimed.

Reva gazed up and almost gasped in shock. She’d been expecting something totally tacky—a lopsided flowerpot, maybe.

Instead, Pam had pulled out one of the most gorgeous scarves she’d ever seen. A rich golden color, with tiny silver reindeer painted on it.

“It’s beautiful!” Grace repeated. “And it’s perfect for Christmas!”

Pam’s round face flushed at the praise. “Here, try it on.” She handed Grace the scarf, then pulled a green one from the shopping bag and held it out to Reva.

Reva slid the soft green material through her fingers, then draped the scarf around her neck.

“We stitch up the hems by hand,” Pam explained. “And we do the painting too, of course. It’s silkscreened. What do you think, Reva?” she asked anxiously.

Reva struck a model’s pose. “Think I’m ready for the cover of Vogue?”

Pam laughed excitedly. “You mean you like it?”

“Like it? It’s gorgeous!” Reva declared. How did these two manage something like this? she wondered. Maybe Willow is talented. I know that Pam couldn’t design a scarf for a dog to wear.

Pam laughed again. “That’s great, Reva. So will you show them to your father and see if he’ll put them in his stores? I mean, it would be so fantastic if we could sell some of them.”

Some of them? They could probably sell hundreds, Reva thought, fingering the scarf. They were perfect for the holidays, as Grace said. And they were originals, too. People would fork over a lot of money for original stuff.

She felt a jab of jealousy. She was the fashionable one. Pam was a slob, with absolutely no sense of clothes or makeup or hairstyles. And her punk-looking friend was even worse. But the two of them had actually made something that Reva knew would sell like crazy.

“Reva?” Pam asked in a hopeful voice. “Would you show them to Uncle Robert? It would mean a lot. Please?”

Should I make her beg some more? Reva wondered. No. It’s fun, but I can’t waste the time. “Sure I’ll show them to Daddy!” she declared enthusiastically. “In fact, I’ll do it right now. He’s upstairs in his office.”

Willow actually smiled, and Pam practically jumped up and down. “Thanks!” she cried, handing Reva two shopping bags filled with scarves. “This is so great! I can’t wait to hear what he says!”

“Stay here,” Reva told them, carrying the bags to the door. “This won’t take long.”

As she left, Reva glanced over her shoulder. Pam and Willow were jabbering at each other. Pam had her fingers crossed, and Willow’s expression was excited and nervous.

They really want this, Reva thought. They want it so bad they can taste it.

Let’s see what I can do about it.

• • •

Fifteen minutes later, Reva trotted back down the stairs and stopped in the doorway of the living room.

Pam and Willow were talking to Grace about the scarves, telling her how they’d come up with the idea. When they saw Reva, they stopped, staring at her tensely.

Reva glanced at Pam, then at Willow. She dropped the shopping bags on the floor and sighed. “I’m sorry,” she murmured, her voice full of regret. “I have some very bad news.”





Chapter 9