The Story
The Story THEIR VERSION: Cosmo Sinclair and Margaret Ives’s relationship caused a rift in the Ives family that would never be completely repaired. • • • HER VERSION: He came to see her the morning after the Academy Awards. When Briggs told her, Margaret was giddy; she was terrified. She was hopeful; she was miserable. […]
Chapter 28
28 WHEN I GET out of the shower Saturday night, my phone is still lit up on the counter with a new text from Cecil. I’d told him I was curious to see the photo of him in his “hippie days” too, and he sent a grainy phone picture of the old film photograph. I […]
The Story
The Story THEIR VERSION: For Cosmo Sinclair and Margaret Grace Ives, it was love at first sight. • • • HER VERSION: She hated him. She blamed him. She didn’t care whether it was fair or not. She went down to the library with the intention of eviscerating him. She threw open both doors, for […]
Chapter 27
27 ON FRIDAY, I take a nature trail that runs along the creek. I think of it as a run to clear my head, but since I stopped at Little Croissant beforehand and am also incredibly unathletic, it’s really more of a mosey or an amble. A productive one though. I decide to pitch structuring […]
Chapter 26
26 HAYDEN PARKS AT my house on Thursday night after work, and we take the trail through the trees back to Rum Room with our laptop bags slung over our shoulders. “Does it ever bother you?” I ask. “Not being able to talk about what you’re working on?” Creases form at the insides of his […]
The Story
The Story THEIR VERSION: In 1958, as Gerald Ives lay dying, his granddaughters were out drinking and dancing until the sun came up. • • • HER VERSION: One perfect night. That was what Margaret needed to give Laura to shake her out of her isolation, to bring her out of the gilded tomb that […]
Chapter 25
25 HAYDEN AND I sit in a nest of blankets on the living room floor, eating our peanut butter and banana sandwiches, the candles glowing in a line on the mantel and TV stand. “I haven’t had one of these since I was a kid,” he tells me between bites. “I’m not sure I’ve ever […]
Chapter 24
24 JUST WHEN I think I might be able to get the toothy grin under control, the bathroom door swings back open and Hayden steps out in my clothes. I dissolve into giggles, and his white smile flashes in the dark as he stalks toward me. “I’m glad this amuses you,” he says. The shirt […]
Chapter 23
23 “WHERE’S JODI?” I ask Margaret as she’s walking me back through her house to the front door at the end of our session. “Taking some much-needed time off.” She gives me a dry look. “Apparently, I’m something of a pill.” “Hard to swallow, but ultimately good for your health?” I ask. She laughs, grabs […]
The Story
The Story THEIR VERSION: Margaret Ives loved the camera. • • • HER VERSION: The camera loved Margaret Ives, and she didn’t mind one bit. Laura was the great beauty of the two of them, but whereas the younger Ives sister was shy and bookish, Margaret was expressive, talkative, curious. Being raised in the Ives […]