Tell Me I'm Dreamin' Read Online Free PDF Page B

visiting and this house and its occupants surpassed even her wildest imaginings. Nadine believed the Deane family had lived on Eros for many generations. Perhaps before she left tomorrow she could talk to Catherine, or even Madame Deane, although she was a little unbalanced. Yet Catherine had said she was well aware of the past and the present.
    Nadine heard a warning tap before Catherine opened the bedroom door. The housekeeper brought in the towels and clothing she had promised.
    â€œThe food will be here by the time you return from your bath. The bathing area is behind the first door you come to, where the two hallways connect. I lit all of the lamps before I went to get the towels, so you shouldn’t have any problem finding your way.”
    â€œThanks,” Nadine replied.
    â€œI’ve already run your bathwater. I suggest you hurry before it gets cold. If you leave your clothes here while you’re bathing, I can repair your pants and have them washed and ready for you sometime in the morning.”
    â€œWow. Such service,” Nadine exclaimed as she continued to be surprised. “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
    Catherine nodded then disappeared into the corridor.
    Nadine removed her pants and top, and donned the homespun linen robe which had been provided for her. It felt soft and pleasant against her skin. Catherine had also given her rawhide thongs for her feet.
    Finding the bathing room was easy. Carefully, Nadine opened the door which had carved dolphins on the surface. She kept thinking about everything that had happened to her within the last few hours. It was almost unbelievable, and the research possibilities were beyond belief. Nadine let out a shriek. The cause for her scare was her own reflection in an oval mirror.
    â€œOh, God,” she gasped, laughing to herself and shaking her head. “I can’t stand it. I am nothing but a ball of nerves,” she explained to her image with exaggerated movements. “Now what would the ever-prepared Gloria advise?” Nadine leaned closer to her image in the mirror before she began to mimic her friend. “Just chill, girlfriend,” she said, then laughed nervously.
    Gloria. The only real friend she ever had. Nadine wrapped both arms around the towels and held them close to her chest, placing her chin on top of them. I wonder what she is up to, she thought. I am sure she is the life of the party, picnic, community meeting, or wherever she may be, and out-dressing everyone at each event. But of course if things did get just the slightest bit dull, Nadine could see Gloria “throwing a little party,” and inviting everybody who was anybody in Atlanta’s black community. Nadine smiled at the familiar images.
    They had been such opposites at Spelman College. Gloria was the socialite originally from Atlanta, and she was the shy introvert from a small country town. All of the young women who felt self-confident and good about themselves loved to be seen with Gloria Turner; it enhanced their clout and their image on campus. But Gloria was no snob. She was as adaptive as a chameleon and could get down with the best of them. Yes, Gloria knew what was happenin’ and she knew how to call upon her cultured side, whatever best served her purpose.
    Nadine knew, in the beginning, Gloria had felt sorry for her. Most coeds thought she was a Holy Roller with country-bumpkin ways. Could be kind of cute, the guys would say, but you had to look hard to see it. As they put it, it was all going to waste underneath long dresses and skirts, and wide tops. The word was: she just didn’t know what to do with what she had.
    But fate had thrown Nadine and Gloria together in several classes. With time, and despite their differences, they discovered they genuinely liked one another. Eventually, Gloria took Nadine under her wing and taught her all sorts of female things that Grandma Rose had felt she did not need to know. Makeup. The