Dawdling wouldn’t put off this meeting for long, so I walked briskly through the foyer to the hallway that led to Father’s study, tapped on the door, and entered.
“Good evening, Mother.”
“David.” She was elegant as always, wearing a slim, calf-length dress of black silk with silver lace over it. Cap sleeves showed off her toned arms, which were due to all the tennis and golf she played. She observed me over the rim of her Gimlet, her preferred before-dinner cocktail.
We’d never been a demonstrative family, but I went to her and leaned down a little to kiss her cheek. The sweet scent of her perfume brought back childhood memories of evenings when she and Father went to the opera or Broadway, to charity functions or to dinner with business associates. I’d creep out of bed and hang over th
