could understand and where her husband was punishing her for forgetting to put the salad things back and there was no one to talk to except Jade and where her sex life had become such a wreck it was downright interesting. And if that wasn’t enough now this nigger he lets in this real live dope addict ape just to get back at her wanting to live near Michael. “We’ll see about that,” she said. “Just wait till Michael comes.” She whispered so nobody would hear and nobody did, not even the emperor butterflies. They were clinging to the windows of another bedroom trying to see for themselves what the angel trumpets had described to them: the hides of ninety baby seals stitched together so nicely you could not tell what part had sheltered their cute little hearts and which had cushioned their skulls. They had not seen the coat at all but a few days ago a bunch of them had heard the woman called Jade telling the woman called Margaret all about it. The butterflies didn’t believe it and went to see for themselves. Sure enough, there it was, swirling around the naked body of the woman called Jade, who opened the French windows and greeted the emperor butterflies with a smile, but the heavy one called Ondine said, “Shoo! Shoo!”
“Leave them alone, Nanadine. They don’t bother anything.”
“They die and have to be swept up. You should put some clothes on and cover yourself up. I thought you asked me to come up and see your coat, not your privates.”
“This is the best way to feel it. Here. Feel.”
“Well, it’s nice enough, no question about that. Mr. Street see it yet?”
“No, just you and Margaret.”
“What’d she say?”
“She loved it. Said it was prettier than hers.”
“Does this mean you’re going to marry him?”
Jadine dug her hands deep into the pockets and spun around. Her hair was as black and shiny as the coat. “Who knows?”
“He must mean business if he fly that out to you all the way from Paris. And he must expect you back there. Lord knows you don’t need a sealskin coat down here.”
“It’s just a Christmas present, Nanadine.”
“It’s not
“No, you couldn’t.”
“I’d lock it up somewhere if I were you.”
“I have to find a cool place for it. Maybe Valerian will let me use the air-conditioned part of his greenhouse.”
“You crazy? Don’t you dare leave that coat out there.”
“There you go again. Nothing’s going to happen, I told you. He’ll be out of here by tonight.”
“He better be. I’m not going to spend another night underneath the same roof with him.”
“Apparently you’ve spent several. We all have.”
“Well, I didn’t know it. Although why I didn’t, I can’t figure. Stuff has been missing for weeks—all my chocolate, the Evian. No telling what else. I’m going to take inventory. Me and Sydney—”
“What for? What he ate, just replace. He’ll be out of here tomorrow.”
“You said tonight.”
“It’s not my house, Nanadine. Valerian invited him to dinner.”
“Crazy.”
“So it’s Valerian who has to tell him to go.”
“Why’d he put him in the guest room though? Sydney almost had a stroke when Mr. Street told him to take him there.”
“Well, if he didn’t have a stroke when he said ‘Hi’ to him, he won’t have one at all.”
“He said ‘Hi’? Sydney didn’t tell me about that.”
“Well, I can’t stay up here gawking at a coat. I have to get the breakfast things cleared up. Did you call Solange yet?”
“No. I’ll do it now. How did you manage to place orders before I came?”
“It was a mess, believe me. I can’t get my tongue right for that language.”
“Three geese, then? And another quart of raspberries?”
“That should do it. I wish they’d tell me things. How can I cook if I don’t know how many’s eating?” Ondine walked over to Jadine’s bed and straightened the sheets. “Now when is he due?”
“Christmas Eve, I think. Just after Michael gets here.”
“You sure?”
“No, but if he’s a Christmas present, he’ll have to be here by Christmas, won’t he?”
“I can’t believe that. Giving your son a whole human being for a Christmas present.”
“Michael worships him. Took all of his courses at college.”
“Now he’ll own him, I suspect. What money can’t buy. I’ve got to go. I want to fix a nice lunch for Sydney. He’s
