Once More With Feeling Read Online Free PDF

one of them before you even break ground. Do you, Owen? Is
that what you do? Is there a window in any house you design that
looks out over a driveway?"
    "Oh, even his driveways are spectacular,"
Marguerite said. "Most of us would consider ourselves lucky to gaze
at one."
    "So when are you going to let me renovate
Birch Haven?" Owen asked Marguerite.
    "Birch Haven would suffer tremendously if so
much as a tile were pried loose."
    "I can't even get her to replace the
slipcovers," Seamus said. "Marg says that only the nouveau riche
care if their slipcovers are frayed."
    Marguerite slipped her arm through his. "The
newly rich will not stay that way if they throw away their
money."
    As the conversation drifted to people they
all knew, Elisabeth forced herself to relax an inch at a time. She
reminded herself that except for Anna, the people assembled in the
library were ones she really cared about. The fire was warm; the
caterer's rumaki was memorable. And Anna and Owen hadn't exchanged
any new soulful glances in the minutes since Anna's arrival.
    "Then, of course, there was that horrible
story about her on one of those news shows that really aren't. You
know the ones I mean. The kind that do reenactments and interviews
with the pet groomers of celebrity murderers."
    Elizabeth looked up at Marguerite's words.
She knew everyone had been discussing the fate of a former New York
congresswoman who had been drummed out of office after a
titillating scandal, but she had lost the thread of the
conversation. "What show is that?"
    "I'm sure I don't know the name of it. The Whole World , or something like that."
    " The Whole Truth ," Lorraine said.
Attila's wife never apologized for her working class roots, her
tastes, or her nasal Bronx accent. "I watch it all the time. I'm
gonna slim down to a size three one of these days and dye my hair.
I think I'd look just like that Gypsy Dugan."
    "You really watch it?" For once Marguerite
was stunned.
    "Sure I do. I sit there with a box of
Kleenex, and I get a good cry almost every day. Cheaper than a
psychiatrist, and I pick up fashion tips by watching what that
Gypsy wears."
    Attila turned to Elisabeth. "Remember I told
you I had a story for you?"
    "Absolutely."
    "Well, it was Lorraine's idea. Gypsy Dugan's
coming to a symposium at Stony Brook as a guest lecturer, and I
managed to get a ticket. I want you to do a feature about her for
next week's paper."
    Elisabeth couldn't think of a thing to say.
For a moment she wondered if Attila suspected her peculiar
fascination with Gypsy Dugan.
    "Oh, Attila, I've read every article
Elisabeth's written for you," Missy said. "They're all completely
tasteful. What on earth could she say about this Gypsy person?"
    "That's the whole point," Attila said. "The
meeting of the princess and the fifty-dollar hooker. Elisabeth's
observations will make a great story."
    "Meeting?" Elisabeth said.
    "Yeah, I got you an interview right
afterward. You get ten minutes alone with her, so you'll have to do
some fast talking."
    Richard turned to Elisabeth. "I've met Gypsy
Dugan."
    She was moving beyond surprise. "Have
you?"
    "When I was in Congress. She started out as
the political reporter on one of the local affiliates, covering
events at the Capitol from time to time. Fifty-dollar hooker gives
her too much credit. Even then she had a reputation as someone who
was sleeping her way up the ladder instead of putting in her
time."
    Elisabeth felt instantly defensive, but
tried to keep it from her voice. "I've seen the show. She may be
what you say, but she lights up the screen."
    "You've seen the show, Bess?" Owen asked.
"You don't watch anything except the PBS Newshour with Jim
Lehrer."
    "How would you know what I watch when you're
not at home?"
    "After all these years I think I know your
tastes."
    "Maybe not as well as you think."
    "Mother's much earthier than you give her
credit for," Grant told his father. "I suspect she has an entire
secret life that the rest of us have never