had been raised in an adult household which was, moreover, dominated by a forceful, dynamic businessman. And although the boys she dated from Litchfield Prep were nice to be with, she invariably felt much older than they.
Meredith had known since childhood that she wanted to get her college degree and take her rightful place at Bancroft & Company someday. The Litchfield boys, and even their older college-age brothers whom she'd met, didn't seem to have any goals or interests other than sex, sports, and drinking. To Meredith, the idea of surrendering her virginity to some boy whose primary aim was to add her name to the list of Bensonhurst virgins deflowered by Litchfield men—a list that purportedly hung in Crown Hall at Litchfield—was not only nonsensical, it was humiliating and sordid.
When she did become intimate with someone, she wanted it to be someone she admired and trusted; she wanted tenderness and understanding, and she wanted romance too. Whenever she thought of having a sexual relationship, she envisioned more than making love; she envisioned long walks on the beach, holding hands and talking; long nights in front of a fireplace, watching the flames—and talking. After trying unsuccessfully for years to truly communicate with, and be close to, her father, Meredith was determined that her eventual lover would be someone she could talk to and who would share his thoughts with her. And whenever she envisioned that ideal lover, he was always Parker.
During the years she'd been at Bensonhurst , Meredith had managed to see Parker fairly often when she was home on vacations—an endeavor that was made easier by the fact that both Parker's family and hers belonged to the Glenmoor Country Club. At Glenmoor , it wastraditional for the membership to appear en masse at the club's major dances and sports events. Until a few months before, when she'd turned eighteen, Meredith had been prohibited from attending the club's adult functions, but she'd managed to avail herself of those opportunities Glenmoor did offer. Each summer she'd invited Parker to be her partner in the junior-senior tennis matches. His acceptance had always been gracious; their matches had always been dismal defeats, owing mostly to Meredith's extreme nervousness at playing with him.
She'd used other ruses, too, over the years, like convincing her father to give several dinner parties each summer, one of which always included Parker and his family. Since Parker's family owned the bank in which all of Bancroft & Company's funds were deposited, and since Parker was already an officer of that bank, he was practically obliged to come to dinner both for business reasons and to act as Meredith's dinner partner.
At Christmas time, Meredith had twice managed to be standing under the mistletoe, which she'd hung in the foyer, when Parker and his family came to pay their annual holiday call on the Bancrofts , and she always went with her father when it wastime to return the visit to the Reynoldses .
As a result of the mistletoe trick during her freshman year, Parker was the one who gave Meredith her first kiss; she'd lived on the memory of that until the next Christmas, dreamed about the way he felt and smelled and smiled at her before he kissed her.
Whenever he came to dinner, she loved listening to him talk about business at the bank, and she especially loved the walks they began taking afterward, while their parents lingered over brandy. It was during their walk last summer that Meredith made the mortifying discovery that Parker had always known she had a crush on him. He'd begun by asking her how the skiing had been the past winter in Vermont, and Meredith had regaled him with a funny story about going skiing with the captain of Litchfield's ski team. When Parker stopped laughing at the fact that her date had to chase her ski down the face of the mountain, which he'd done with style and flair, he said with smiling solemnity, "Every time I see you, you're
Meredith had known since childhood that she wanted to get her college degree and take her rightful place at Bancroft & Company someday. The Litchfield boys, and even their older college-age brothers whom she'd met, didn't seem to have any goals or interests other than sex, sports, and drinking. To Meredith, the idea of surrendering her virginity to some boy whose primary aim was to add her name to the list of Bensonhurst virgins deflowered by Litchfield men—a list that purportedly hung in Crown Hall at Litchfield—was not only nonsensical, it was humiliating and sordid.
When she did become intimate with someone, she wanted it to be someone she admired and trusted; she wanted tenderness and understanding, and she wanted romance too. Whenever she thought of having a sexual relationship, she envisioned more than making love; she envisioned long walks on the beach, holding hands and talking; long nights in front of a fireplace, watching the flames—and talking. After trying unsuccessfully for years to truly communicate with, and be close to, her father, Meredith was determined that her eventual lover would be someone she could talk to and who would share his thoughts with her. And whenever she envisioned that ideal lover, he was always Parker.
During the years she'd been at Bensonhurst , Meredith had managed to see Parker fairly often when she was home on vacations—an endeavor that was made easier by the fact that both Parker's family and hers belonged to the Glenmoor Country Club. At Glenmoor , it wastraditional for the membership to appear en masse at the club's major dances and sports events. Until a few months before, when she'd turned eighteen, Meredith had been prohibited from attending the club's adult functions, but she'd managed to avail herself of those opportunities Glenmoor did offer. Each summer she'd invited Parker to be her partner in the junior-senior tennis matches. His acceptance had always been gracious; their matches had always been dismal defeats, owing mostly to Meredith's extreme nervousness at playing with him.
She'd used other ruses, too, over the years, like convincing her father to give several dinner parties each summer, one of which always included Parker and his family. Since Parker's family owned the bank in which all of Bancroft & Company's funds were deposited, and since Parker was already an officer of that bank, he was practically obliged to come to dinner both for business reasons and to act as Meredith's dinner partner.
At Christmas time, Meredith had twice managed to be standing under the mistletoe, which she'd hung in the foyer, when Parker and his family came to pay their annual holiday call on the Bancrofts , and she always went with her father when it wastime to return the visit to the Reynoldses .
As a result of the mistletoe trick during her freshman year, Parker was the one who gave Meredith her first kiss; she'd lived on the memory of that until the next Christmas, dreamed about the way he felt and smelled and smiled at her before he kissed her.
Whenever he came to dinner, she loved listening to him talk about business at the bank, and she especially loved the walks they began taking afterward, while their parents lingered over brandy. It was during their walk last summer that Meredith made the mortifying discovery that Parker had always known she had a crush on him. He'd begun by asking her how the skiing had been the past winter in Vermont, and Meredith had regaled him with a funny story about going skiing with the captain of Litchfield's ski team. When Parker stopped laughing at the fact that her date had to chase her ski down the face of the mountain, which he'd done with style and flair, he said with smiling solemnity, "Every time I see you, you're
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