The School of Beauty and Charm (34 page)

“That's Gabriella,” said the guard. “She's a little strange, but she don't bite. Gab, this is”—she looked at her clipboard—“this is Louise.”

“Thrilled,” said Gabriella without looking up from
Southern Living
. I took a tentative step forward and stopped.
Breathe,
I told God.
Breathe, damn it
.

“Proceed on in there, Louise. I ain't got all day.” The guard jangled her keys, and I passed through the pearly gates.

A SHANNON RAVENEL BOOK

Published by

Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill

Post Office Box 2225

Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27515-2225

a division of

Workman Publishing

225 Varick Street

New York, New York 10014

© 2001 by Melanie Sumner. All rights reserved.

This is a work of fiction. While, as in all fiction, the literary perceptions and insights are based on experience, all names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. No reference to any real person is intended or should be inferred.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available

E-book ISBN 978-1-61620-231-6

Also by Melanie Sumner
Polite Society,
Stories
The Ghost of Milagro Creek,
A Novel