Bougainvillea Read Online Free PDF

hospital, actually, the day my dad died. I know I told you that a friend from the truly distant past had come in.”
    â€œYou certainly didn’t describe him,” Jen said reproachfully.
    Kit shrugged. “It was just so strange. I mean, my dad never, absolutely never, talked about the past. In all the years since we moved to Chicago, it was as if we had never lived anywhere else. He didn’t ignore my mother’s existence or anything. He kept her picture, and he would tell me how kind and lively she was, and that I looked a great deal like her. Oh, and of course, he would tell me that she looked after me from heaven. But then, on that last day, I ran into David Moore, the guy in line, at the hospital. He told me a little bit aboutthe past, and I remembered snatches of Bougainvillea, but not him. Then—”
    â€œThen,” Jen jumped in, “your father’s last word is spoken, and it’s ‘Bougainvillea’! Man, I see shades of Citizen Kane all over!”
    â€œDon’t be ridiculous. My dad was a scholar, not an entrepreneur, and he didn’t have a mean bone in his body. You know as well as I do that there’s no way my father hurt anyone in his entire life.”
    â€œOkay, okay, skip the Citizen Kane reference. Still, isn’t it incredibly intriguing? And hey—you said that at the time, this guy, David, said that you should come to Bougainvillea.”
    â€œRight. And I intend to, of course.”
    Jen stared at her.
    She shrugged. “I needed a little time.”
    â€œOkay, understandable. But here he is—this mysterious giver of machine-accepting dollar bills, a paragon of studly beauty from your past. And you were hesitating about a dinner invitation!”
    â€œI really don’t remember the guy.”
    â€œWho cares?” Jen said with an outraged sigh. “Any sensible, living, breathing, single woman in the world would jump at a chance to have dinner with him. And you hesitate!”
    Kit arched a brow. “I can’t help but wonder…”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œMy mother died at Bougainvillea,” Kit said.
    â€œYes, she drowned when you were a little girl. Very tragic. But a very long time ago, as well.”
    Kit leaned forward. “My dad left there, and totallyerased the place from his past. Then he dies saying ‘Bougainvillea.’ It makes me wonder.”
    â€œWonder what?”
    â€œWhy would he leave like that, and never, never speak of the place—except with his dying word?”
    Jen stared at her. “You’re kidding, right?”
    â€œNo!”
    â€œKit, your mother died there. Your father was desperately, madly, in love with her. He never remarried. She was truly the great passion of his life. He left and never returned because he simply couldn’t bear it. Of course he was thinking about her. It’s so, so sad, and tragic, and yet really beautiful.”
    â€œMaybe.”
    â€œWhat’s maybe about it?”
    â€œWell, at any rate, I have intended to go there. It didn’t really matter that David showed up here today. Actually, it rather caught me off guard,” Kit said.
    â€œBecause you’ve taken too much time.”
    â€œHey, I work for a living, remember? I had a lot to catch up on and we were scheduled for this show, remember?”
    â€œWe still have such things as airplanes, remember?” Jen countered.
    â€œI’m going to go see it,” Kit assured her. “Now that Dad is gone, I’m really anxious to find out about the past. Truthfully, I hadn’t even thought about Bougainvillea in years. But since I ran into David at the hospital, I’ve been remembering more and more.”
    â€œIt’s an estate, right on the bay, in Miami. Sunshine, sand, warm weather! Hell, I can guarantee you, I’d be remembering it,” Jen said, laughing.
    Kit laughed. “Jen, you’re thirty years old, and totally independent.