Scarlett Fever Read Online Free PDF Page A

silvery birds.
    “I’ve been trying to think of a way to get these chairs refinished and reupholstered,” she said, testing one of the legs. “It would probably only cost a few hundred dollars.”
    “A few hundred dollars?” Scarlett said, settling herself in one. They creaked, too.
    “Maybe a thousand. Or two. But I think it’s important. They’re really good chairs, and I feel like we need to make a good impression right here, on the doorstep. If people come in and see frayed fabric…well, people notice.”
    “We could put them in the basement if they look bad,” Scarlett said.
    “The solution for everything isn’t ‘put it in the basement,’” Lola said.
    This had been the solution for as long as Scarlett could remember, but she didn’t care enough to argue the point.
    “That’s true,” Scarlett said, picking at the threads. “It never works in horror movies. The thing always escapes and eats you. Or someone finds it and then you have to kill them. And then you have two secrets in the basement. Basements are bad.”
    “I’ve researched this,” Lola said. “After Mrs. Amberson told us about the man who designed this place, J. Allen Raumenberg. We could be sitting on a fortune, literally. He was a really famous designer. The pieces are just in such bad condition. If we could get them fixed…”
    “You’re probably right.” Scarlett held up her hands in surrender. “But we can’t afford to.”
    Lola sank down in the chair opposite Scarlett.
    “I know,” she said. “I just can’t help thinking about it. This place could be a showpiece. A good cleaning, a little fixing…it’s not even that much money in the grand scheme of things.”
    “Every amount of money is a lot of money when you have no money.”
    “It would be an investment, though.” Lola stared into a thready patch of fabric for a moment and worked her finger into the seat stuffing. “Did I mention I had an interview at Bubble Spa the other day? It went really well. Even though I was fired from Henri Bendel, my old manager still loves me, so I got a really good recommendation. I think I’ve got that one in the bag. I’m hoping they’ll give me twenty hours a week. I could make a ton on commission there. That stuff is easy to sell. Makeup, skin care…I can sell that stuff in my sleep.”
    This was true. When it came to selling beauty products, Lola had Jedi powers. She’d only been fired because she took off too many days to go places with her ex-boyfriend, Chip, who didn’t understand that when you had a job, you were supposed to go all of the days you were scheduled to work. But it wasn’t his fault. Lola had done the skipping.
    “That’s great,” Scarlett said.
    “It’s something. I mean, I like sales. Oh, and you heard we’re going to Lupe’s, right?”
    “Yeah,” Scarlett said. “With Marlene. Let the happy fun times begin.”
    “Scarlett…” Lola admonished.
    The Martins were, on the whole, a fairly open family, but Marlene was one subject no one was allowed to touch. She was the elephant in the room. They all knew that it was Marlene’s medical bills that had caused so many of their problems. Talking about this, ever, in any context, was not allowed. Scarlett even wondered if they were allowed to think about it. The other thing that you really weren’t supposed to mention was Marlene’s personality, which was not entirely composed of sunshine and rainbows. She responded a little differently to each member of her family, with Lola at the top of the pack and Scarlett at the far, far bottom. Marlene’s normal greeting for Scarlett was a contemptuous glance, and (if she was very lucky) a little side-brush out of the way.
    “I’m going to go upstairs,” Scarlett said, getting up. “To put on my biggest smile! How’s this one?”
    She gave Lola a wide, alarming grin. Lola just shook her head and picked up her cleaning caddy.
    Scarlett had nothing to do upstairs. She sat on her bed in the Orchid Suite