Red. Erica Spindler

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СКАЧАТЬ hiked his chin up a fraction at the hint of both hurt and puzzlement in her voice. “Yes.”

      She searched his expression. “And you’re not sorry?”

      He thought of the night before and shook his head. How could he be sorry? Last night had been the most wonderful experience of his life. “I’m sorry I tricked you.”

      “You’re grounded again. For a month.”

      “I know. I understood the consequences last night.”

      She stood and crossed to his bedroom window. For several moments, she stared out at the day, the bright sky marred by smog. “You could have gotten away with it. I didn’t know,” she said as she swiveled to look at him.

      “Yeah.” He lowered his gaze to his hands, then lifted it to hers once more. “But a man stands up for his actions.”

      “A man? Oh, Lord.” She brought a hand to her head, making a sound of dismay. “What am I going to do with you? I’m way out of my depth here.”

      “It’s okay, Mom. Every kid grows up.”

      She laughed and turned back to the window, the choked sound anything but amused. He saw that her fingers shook as she ran them along the window ledge.

      “What’s wrong?”

      She turned and met his eyes. “You’re only sixteen, that’s what’s wrong. Practically a baby, still. You’re my…” She shook her head and looked out the window again.

      For a long time, she said nothing. Then she suddenly faced him once more. “For a long time, I’ve been thinking about making a change. And I… Last night, I came to a decision. I’m getting out of the business.”

      Jack stared at her, confused. “What do you mean, getting out of the business?”

      “Just what it sounds like. I’m not going to do fashion work anymore.” She crossed to the bed, and gazed solemnly down at him. “This is no life for you, Jack. Lord knows, I should have seen it a long time ago.”

      “No life for me?” He shook his head, struggling to digest her words. “I love what we do.”

      “We don’t do it, Jack.” She pressed a hand to her chest. “I do. I’m a makeup artist, it’s how I make a living. You’re supposed to live like a kid. Like a regular teenager. You’re supposed to go to football games and dances. You’re supposed to have a steady girlfriend and go to the movies with your friends. You’re not supposed to be surrounded by adults all the time.”

      “That’s such bullshit!”

      “Jack!”

      He threw back the covers and sprang out of bed. “Well, it is!” He flexed his fingers, his heart thundering. “Who says I’m supposed to live differently? Just because your childhood was different than mine, just because the kids at school’s lives are different than mine, doesn’t mean mine’s been wrong. Maybe they’re the ones whose lives are weird.”

      She shook her head. “You don’t understand. You don’t see because you’re—”

      “This has something to do with him, doesn’t it? After yesterday, he said something to you, didn’t he?” Jack glared at her, furious. “What say does he have in my life? You have an arrangement, remember? I’m yours and he doesn’t give a shit.”

      “This has nothing to do with Giovanni. And don’t swear at me.”

      “Then don’t do this, Mom.”

      Wearily, Sallie brought a hand to her forehead. “I see I’ve made the right decision, only too late. I don’t know how I could have let this go on so long. Taking you out of school so often, away from your friends, from any semblance of a normal—”

      “I don’t have any friends at school.”

      “Because you’re not there enough.”

      “No, because they bore me. I’ve been all over the world, a lot of those kids haven’t been farther than their grandmother’s house.”

      “Jack, try to understand. I want what’s best for you. And this isn’t it. This anger you have isn’t it.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve been thinking about making this change for a long time. Since you were eight and Giovanni…” She shook her head again. “But I didn’t know what I could do. How I would support us. Now I know.”

      She paused, as if giving him a chance to question her. He folded his arms across his chest and refused to look at her.

      She made a sound of frustration and crossed once more to the window. “I’m going to open my own shop. Hair, makeup and make-overs. The kind of shop—”

      “A beauty parlor?” he said, disbelieving. “Great, Mom. You’re going to go from working on the most beautiful women in the world to doing little old ladies with blue hair.”

      She stiffened. “My shop is not going to cater to ‘little old ladies with blue hair.’ It’s going to cater to people of fashion. People from the industry, and people with the money to follow, and make, trends. The work we do is going to be trendsetting, it’s going to be fashion.” She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. “Besides, as you very well know, I don’t do hair.”

      He didn’t reply, just glared stonily at her, and she went on. “The money will be better. Steadier. Won’t that be nice? After all, you might want to go to college someday. How would I afford that?”

      “I don’t care about college. I’m going to be a fashion photographer. You know that.”

      “Oh, Jack.”

      “It’s not what you think.” He hiked up his chin. “It’s not because of Giovanni.”

      “No?”

      “No.” He squared his shoulders, determined. “I don’t want to be like him. I’m going to be better than him.”

      She clasped her hands together and met his gaze evenly. “He’s financing the shop for me.”

      “What?” Jack fisted his fingers, rage and impotence roiling inside him. Unable to stay still, he strode across the room, then back, stopping in front of his mother, shaking with fury. “I can’t believe that after everything, you would do this. I can’t believe you would get in bed with him again.”

      She stared at him a moment, shocked silent. When she spoke, her voice quivered with both hurt and anger. “This is a good thing for me. For us. I’m getting too old to travel the circuit, and whether you realize it or not, you need a normal life. I’m grateful to Giovanni for this. He’s not doing it because he slept with me years ago… Lord knows, he’s slept with everybody. He’s doing it because he believes it will be a successful business venture. And because he believes in my abilities, as a makeup artist and a businesswoman. Something you obviously don’t.”

      She stalked to the door, turning to face him once more when she reached it. “If you don’t see that, well, it’s too damn bad. Because it’s my life and my career, and I’m the one who makes the decisions around here.”

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