Miss Scarlet’s Diary

Age 8
Today was my 8th birthday! All of the maids decorated the ballroom with balloons and streamers. Father bought me so many new dresses and toys! I have my very own pair of diamond earrings now! They were my mom’s favorite earrings. He also gave me this diary. He said my mom bought for me, before she died, when I was little. Father and I are going to the opera this weekend to see Turandot. I can’t wait to see the curtains, lights, and sets.

Age 8
The opera was beautiful! The songs are still in my head. I want to do that one day. I want to be up there on an opera stage singing the highest notes.

Age 8
Father talked to a vocal teacher. He’s coming by this week! The piano has been tuned and the ballroom is extra clean. I hope he can turn me into a star.

Age 8 
All we did is breathe and practice scales. I didn’t even get to use any high notes. Father says I must be patient. But I know I’m ready for more.
Age 8
Father took me to see my vocal coach perform in a production of Madam Butterfly. I got to go back stage and meet the lead soprano after the show. She was so beautiful and sounded so pretty. I hope I sound as good as her one day. 

Age 8
He is starting to see my potential. He said I could be an ingenue one day. I have been invited to work at his training studio with other talented young singers. He wants me to be concert-ready in four months.

Age 8
There’s this boy at the studio, Steven. He’s so sweet and cute. He helped me speak through the French lyrics from the solo I have to sing. We sat in the balcony while the other kids practiced and he held my hand! He sings perfectly too! I think I finally have a boyfriend.

Age 9
It’s my 9th birthday. Steven and his parents came! My father got along well with his parents. They may all be coming over to dinner again soon. Everything is perfect! Steven and I practiced our songs in the ballroom on my stage. The concert is in a week and I’ve never been happier! Steven kissed me on the ballroom balcony! Then he showed me he can play the harp!

Age 9
I don't know what to think. The concert was tonight. I sang everything perfectly. They clapped for me. Everything was good. Then Steven told me he got a job with the children’s chorus at the Metropolitan Opera. He said he’ll be too busy with school, all the shows, and rehearsals to see me. I wanted to go home as soon as the concert ended but my dad met a new friend at the concert. He even invited her over to see our ballroom and my stage. My father explained she used to sing or dance or act or something... It doesn’t matter. Steven is gone...

Age 9
She has been over for dinner 4 times this week. I’m getting sick of seeing her face. I know what she’s trying to do and it’s not going to work. My father still loves my mom. She can wear a lower and lower dress every day till she’s naked. He won’t stop loving my mom!

Age 9
I can’t stand that woman! He gets mad at me anytime I talk to him about her! It’s really starting to feel like he doesn’t love my mom anymore. Am I the only one left who still loves her?

Age 10
They were gone all day until dinner. It’s my 10th birthday and they left me here with the maids all day. And when they got home she talked all throughout dinner. I kept getting interrupted and talked over. She even stood there in my room while my father gave me my presents...

Age 10
We don’t need her. We were happy on our own. We would dance in the ballroom, dress up, put on shows, and sing. We can’t do any of that when she’s here every day of the week. She acts like she lives here! I should have never done that concert! I never would have lost Steven and my father would have never met Patricia.

Age 10
He asked her to marry him. I begged him not to but he did it anyway. AND he made her be the one to break it to me. He just stood there like a coward. Now she’s going to live with us and try to tell me how I should behave. I hate her so much! I feel so alone. I can’t believe he would betray my mom this way with a woman like her! I hate them both. They don’t care about me anyway.

Age 10
The wedding was long, boring, and full of stupid, old doctors. She kept kissing him and rubbing up on him. It was disgusting. I will never call that bitch my mother.

Age 10
Patricia decided that I shouldn’t be taught at home by tutors anymore. She thinks I need to get out of the house and go to a proper school. This is just another way she is trying to get between me and my father.

Age 10
I don’t belong here. This school is a nightmare. It is one giant competition of who has the richest father and who has the biggest mansion. Everyone is boring. Even the prettiest girls have no personality. I miss my old tutors and governesses. 

Age 10 
I met this boy, Tony. He’s the only normal person in that whole school. We started talking and it turns out his mom died too. And his father has been remarried twice. I know it shouldn’t make me feel better, but the thought of my father leaving Patricia for another woman brings me comfort. At least I have someone who understands me.

Age 10
Tony is the only friend I have. He’s the only one who listens to me about Patricia and the way she’s pushing me and my father apart. Everyone else acts like it isn’t a big deal that he’s forgotten my mother. Tony says he thinks our mothers would have been friends.

Age 10
Tony and I kissed. He has such warm, smooth hands. I feel like we were meant to be together. We understand the same type of pain.

Age 11
It’s my 11th birthday. Patricia thought it would be a good idea to spend the day together. She took me to see some community theater production of Cinderella. An odd choice... since it only proves that stepmothers are bitches. She told me some story about how she once loved a man and he sent her away. Some long boring sad story to get me to talk about Steven... Apparently my father told her all about him and what happened after the concert. Nothing is private between my father and I. This woman has to get involved with things that happened before she was in this house. I need her gone. She needs to leave! 

Age 11
I told Tony that I needed his help breaking my father and Patricia apart. He said he’d figure something out for me. I don’t know what I’d do without him. He’s the only one who cares enough to help me restore my family and break that witch’s spell on him.

Age 11
He gave me one of his stepmother’s earrings. I have to hid it somewhere Patricia will find it but my father won’t. Tony suggested hiding it in the bathroom between the toilet and the shower. Then she’ll start throwing accusations at him and he’ll get fed up with her.

Age 11
Last night was the night. I heard her shrieking and yelling at him for four hours. Breakfast this morning was quiet and tense. This marriage is not going to last.

Age 11
They won’t stop fighting. It gets worse every day. She smashed a wine glass over the fireplace today and my father was so angry I thought he was going to make her pack her bags on the spot. It’s only a matter of time before he sends her back to the hole she crawled out of.

Age 12
Tony came to my birthday with his father and stepmom. Tony suggested we could help each other out by making it seem like my father and his stepmom were secretly together. Tony’s father saw through his lie about her coming over here a couple times a week. Patricia did not see it as a lie and became hostile. A beautiful birthday present to me would be her gone by the time I wake up tomorrow morning.

Age 12
I’m not allowed to see Tony anymore. He told his father the truth and his father told mine. I’m in a lot of trouble. Patricia doesn’t believe him. She thinks Tony is lying to cover for his stepmom. Now they just keep fighting and I have no one... again.

Age 12
My father is dead and never coming back… And now I have to live with her…

Age 12
I’m alone. I have no friends. Both my parents are dead. Patricia has been granted full custody over me. I can’t handle any more bad news.

Age 12
She told me that we are going to have to sell my father’s house. She hasn’t had a job since my father was alive! She orders crates and crates of alcohol all the time! She started selling my mother’s dresses! Those were mine! I was supposed to wear them one day!

Age 12
Tony won’t even look at me anymore. He used to at least glance in my direction, but now that he has his eyes set on Abigail... once again I don’t exist.

Age 12
We are moving. Which means I have to start over at a new school with new people. And it’s a poor school. This is going to be even worse than the snobby rich kids I’ve been dealing with.

Age 12
She’s already seeing another man. It’s only been 7 months since he died and she’s already talking to another man. It looks like she loved my father as much as he loved my mother! It’s disgusting.

Age 12
She got married to him. Just on a whim! She went to the courthouse and married him on the spot. We barely know this man. She’s clearly not thinking. Now there is some strange, smelly man living with us in this tiny, cramped house.

Age 12
She tried bonding with me over the fact that we both miss my father’s big mansion. It’s entirely her wasteful fault! She claims we would have lost it sooner or later without his pension - so she decided we should enjoy the luxuries while they are still there. She’s unbelievable. How can she sit there and justify her own wastefulnes?

Age 13
They forgot my birthday. I didn’t expect they would remember. I purposely didn’t remind them for weeks leasing up to it. They are always having loud sex or fighting about what little money she has left. Why would my birthday even once cross their minds? 

Age 13
Patricia wants me to start helping out and working around Ernest’s car lot. Do I look like the type of girl who can pick up a wrench?

Age 13 
I met this boy, Cooper, at the car lot. He’s 15 and saving money to buy his own car so he can move to New York City. He’s so handsome and we both want to live in the same city. We both hate this rusty, dry, boring country-hick town! He thinks I should continue my dream of singing in the opera. I told him I don‘t feel comfortable singing around Patricia, and definitely not around Ernest. Which means practicing would be impossible. But maybe one day when I‘m older and away from them. We’re going to go to a cafe together soon! I’m so excited and nervous. This is my first real official date! 

Age 13
Cooper was so sweet. We shared dessert and held hands on the walk back. Ernest caught him kissing me when he dropped me off and he’s been harassing me about it ever since. Patricia barely cares about anything anymore. She’s always drinking or sleeping.

Age 13
Ernest Zaffer is a drunk, filthy bastard. I swear to God I will kill him. I will cut his cock off and force it down his throat. I’ll kill that fucker.

Age 13
I told Cooper what Ernest did to me. Cooper told me he would handle it. I don’t know what that means, but I’m scared.

Age 13
Cooper beat up Ernest in the garage. He told everyone that Ernest was a molester and the police still dragged Cooper away. Ernest is pressing charges for assault and defamation. Patricia is keeping me away from the trial. I need to speak! She thinks it’s all too much for me to be going through  to stand up at the trial. But I know she’s just trying to protect him. She doesn’t even want to talk about what he did to me...

Age 13
He’s dead. Everything is going to be okay.

Age 13 
We’re moving again. Patricia has the intention of finding a gentle, old, rich man to provide for us. I’m starting to think that’s been her goal all along - hopping from one man to the next.

Age 14
Another birthday forgotten. I'm not going to get sad about it this year. I'm going to make a game out of it and see how many years in a row that fucking bitch will forget.

Age 14
She got married again. It doesn’t surprise me. She found some rich lumber mill owner, Lord Spruce. He’s a quiet, sneaky little mouse. Harmless, thank God. But he’s not someone I trust. He’s rich beyond all means, but hated by the “eco-terrorists” or whatever Patricia calls them. At least we’re in a big enough house that I can avoid them or lose them in the maze of rooms and hallways.

Age 14
Patricia is drunk all the time. She’s either lounging around on a sofa or playing billiards with the pool boy. I think she’s fucking him. At least I’ve got a big room and a huge closet. He’s never going to be a father to me, but Lord Edwin is miles better than Zaffer…

Age 14
Lord Spruce bought me a new dressing table with French perfumes, lotions, hair tonics, and pomades. It was a kind gesture... until he started hinting at the idea of me marrying a third cousin of his when I turn sixteen.

Age 14
I met the cousin in question. He’s old. Patricia is finally on my side. She told me that I will not being marrying that man. She will not allow it.

Age 14
Lord Spruce threw a charity event to ease the tensions of the riots and protests. It didn’t go well. Someone set fire to his motorcar while he was giving a speech on the veranda. Patricia is getting concerned about our safety. She keeps saying that the mansion could have been burned down.

Age 14
It’s happening again. He’s dead. They say it was an accident with a faulty saw at the mill during some sort of inspection, but Patricia is convinced he was killed by the protesters. I really don’t know what to think.

Age 14
So much is happening. Patricia might go to jail over this. I don't know what to think.

Age 15
This might be the worst birthday. It's not even as if Patricia had a chance to forget it. She's in jail until her trial. I'm staying with friends. I didn't want to burden them so they don't know. But I'm fifteen today.

Age 15
Patricia is in court over this. Apparently three husbands dying in 2 years raises some flags.

Age 15 
Her lawyer managed to keep her out of prison. The judge deemed and reviewed that my father died of heart complications after switching medicines, Ernest died from drunkenly falling off a balcony, and Lord Spruce in a mill accident. But the newspapers portrayed it as three coincidental accidents. Patricia is ruined in the eyes of the public. 

Age 15
She’s seeing another man - some crusty old navy General. I can’t wait to see where this one goes.

Age 15
The General’s house is decent. A bit of a fixer-upper. His collection of worldly possessions stuffed into every shelf and corner can be a bit claustrophobic. But the things he owns must be worth several million! Listen to me, I’m starting to sound like Patricia.

Age 15
Patricia and the General are always out on his yacht. I don’t care to ever set foot on a boat again - which means I have plenty of time alone to myself. I’ve started practicing singing again. Nothing serious, just reminding myself what I already learned.

Age 15
The old General fell off his boat. They haven’t found him yet. I’m starting to think she actually did it. Are all of these accidents really happening? Did she kill my father? Ernest? Lord Spruce?

 

-missing pages-

 

Age 17
I just met a charming man named Damien. He’s going to show me his father’s theater. This could be my chance!

Age 17
Singing and Acting are the only joys I've been able to find lately. Shopping has lost it's flare. All my friends are dull and boring. I need to chase this right now.

Age 17
Damien’s father thinks I have potential. He introduced me to the head of the Washington D.C. chorus. I may have a trainer soon!

Age 17
Damien's father - Cal, asked me to come over to his office to discuss my career. I don't know why, but I found him so charming and handsome... so powerful. We had sex on his desk. It was amazing. He told me I am going to be a star.

Age 17
I’m back in the business! I have a trainer again, I’m singing better than ever, I’ve expanded my range, and I’m more fluent in French, Italian, and German! 

Age 17
Damien found out about what happened between me and his father. He was extremely childish and ridiculous about the whole thing. He confessed all these feelings he had for me. I barely knew him that way... we only spent time together a few times and mostly talked about his father’s theater. 

Age 17
Cal managed to schedule a chorus audition with the D.C. Opera! The head of the chorus remembered me from when I was searching for a trainer. I think this may be it!

Age 17
Madame Puce was so kind! She offered me a small solo in the upcoming production of Rigoletto. She also wants to train me privately! I’m so excited!

Age 17
Patricia has been seeing a secret gentlemen for a while. She won’t tell me who he is but she says he’s well-known! Is she with a movie star? Could this be the next step in my journey? From opera to Hollywood?

Age 17
The final performance of Rigoletto was exhilarating! The rush from the applause. There wasn’t a dry eye in the front row! Me and some of the other actors are going out for drinks to celebrate.

Age 17
It turns out that Patricia is not dating a movie star. He’s a Senator. Let’s see if he gets to be lucky husband number five.

Age 17
Marcus Peacock is a really nice man. I hate to admit it, but he’s really bringing out the best in Patricia. She isn’t drinking nearly as much. We have a civil, peaceful family dinner at least twice a week. We even went up to Coney Island a few weekends back. It‘s a refreshing change.

Age 17
Cal thinks I should try for Hollywood. He thinks my face is too pretty to be hidden away under opera makeup and blinding spotlights. I talked to Marcus and Patricia and he is willing to sponsor me. He said he has always supported the arts and believes in me.

Age 17 
I spoke with someone from Onceblack Studios and someone from Braunman Studios. I’m going to be meeting with someone for a screen test audition. 

Age 17
Hollywood is glamorous! My audition was so much fun. I only had to run the scene three times. I met the legendary actor and producer King Onceblack! He’s so rich and talented. He had a girl on each arm.

Age 18
I spent my eighteenth birthday in Hollywood. Fancy sushi and champagne all night long. I met the most interesting model, Cecil. He has long blond hair, huge muscles, an amazing tan! Someone could tell me he is the God of sex and I’d believe them. My legs are still shaking.

Age 18
I lost yet another audition to Maralyn Mauve. She’s done at least thirty films and they’re going to use her for another thirty, it seems. I think it might be time to move back to D.C. if I don’t find anything soon. At least back home I was getting steady chorus work.

Age 18
Braunman Studios doesn’t even see me for auditions anymore. They claim that they’ve seen all they need and will keep me in mind if a role comes up.

Age 18
I tried talking to a new agent. He told me that I have a pretty face and a soothing voice... but I read lines like a morgue worker. That settles it. I’m going back home.

Age 18
I’ve managed to move back into the Senator’s mansion without Patricia making much of a fuss over the time and money I wasted in California. She’s right though, it was a waste of time. The only good thing that came from it were the memories of those passionate nights with Cecil.

Age 18
Marcus suggested I go back to school after my failed stint in Hollywood. He suggested studying abroad in London while he tries networking with the Royal Opera House.

Age 18
London is much quieter than D.C. and the people are much kinder. Even the theatrical world is less competitive and cut-throat. I think I have my shot at becoming something here - an American bombshell with her soothing voice.

Age 18
There hasn’t been a short supply of gentlemen. I don’t think I’ve paid for a meal since I arrived.

Age 18
I’ve been getting drinks with a local boy. His name is Blake. He is planning on joining the Hampshire Regimen. He’s got a fit, tight body, yet a soft, youthful face. His parents own a country house somewhere north of London. I can tell he is smitten. His face lights up every time I enter the pub.

Age 18
I am nearly finished with school. Madame Puce writes me often. She has been encouraging me to return to the D.C. Opera chorus. Marcus hasn’t been able to find a friend at the Royal Opera House yet, but there is still time.

Age 18
Blake wants to introduce me to his family. I’m not sure I really want to go. There are only three weeks left before he enlists. I feel foolish starting up a relationship with someone I’ll only be able to write to. He keeps insisting that knowing he has a pretty girl home waiting for him will make all of this easier. Maybe it will be easier for him. But it is just making me feel guilty.

Age 18
I’m coming back home to America. I didn’t have the courage to break Blake’s heart. I suppose he’ll start to figure things out when the letters I send him are postmarked from America. Marcus is disappointed that I didn’t give London a longer shot. Madame Puce is happy that I’ve decide to return to the D.C. Opera. I suppose Hollywood and London were nothing more than life experience.

Age 18
Patricia is back to her classic form. Drinking from lunch till midnight. Marcus is mainly focused on securing the support from all of New England. He says he may even try running for President in the next four years! Can you imagine living in the Whitehouse? Even better - can you imagine Patricia as the booze-soaked First Lady?

Age 19
I had to attend a rally with Marcus and Patricia. It was at a boring old historic house a few hours away. It was less formal than the meetings Patricia usually drones on about. Marcus chose the venue because the old house was used as a military hospital during the 1800s and he is doing something with a pharmaceutical business. It was dreadfully boring. No real food. No liquor. I spent most of my time flirting with the cute guy at the house’s old blacksmith forge. His name is Lucas. Apparently he’s not just a tour guide actor - the forge actually works. He said aside from the Chamber of Commerce meetings, charity balls, and school field trips - it is pretty quiet place to work at. Sometimes I wonder about a quiet, simple life in the country. The glamour of fame has started to lose it’s shine. You could say that opera is becoming a burden. It’s a lot of work memorizing lyrics in a foreign language.

Age 19
My nineteenth birthday was spent at Peacock Hall. Some friends from chorus came over. Someone gifted me the vocal score of Fidelio. We sang through the whole thing on the drawing room piano. Even Marcus, Patricia, and their guests applauded and admired our sight-reading skills. Randolph sang the bass/soprano duet with me perfectly. 

Age 19
Randolph has been over nearly every day this week. If we aren’t at the piano the entire time, we’re talking about our childhoods and passions. Our voices fuse and meld together so perfectly on every harmony. Madame Puce thinks the two of us could understudy the leads of The Marriage of Figaro this Spring! Wouldn’t that be something? Understudying a lead role! 

Age 19
I had one of the Senator's drivers take me back to that historic house with the blacksmith forge. There was just something about Lucas that was so alluring. When I got there he was working. He was angry about something his father said. I didn't really feel welcomed there. So I took the tour of the house and left. It was a waste of time.

Age 19
Patricia is such a manipulative bitch! Randolph came over looking for me when I went upstate. She told him I was going to see some guy. Now he won't even look at me in rehearsals.

Age 19
There isn't much to say. Opening night was just another show. I was the understudy but sang chorus. Randolph still won't talk to me and now the entire male chorus is being cold to me. Madame Puce keeps telling me to ignore what other people say and focus on my art. I don't know what I want anymore...

Age 19
Marcus suggested a hobby off the stage. He's taking me golfing next weekend. Patricia is on a new diet. She keeps insisting I try it with her. She looks horrible and her skin is gray.

Age 19
Golf is definitely not my sport. It's far too long, far too slow-paced, and I walked at least 10 miles. My feet are killing me.

Age 19
Patricia was rushed to the hospital for severe dehydration. So much for her new diet. The doctors said the lack of fluids mixed with her excessive alcohol intake were a dangerous combination. She'll be fine... sadly.

Age 19
Another opening night, another chorus role. This one was quite fun, I'll admit. It was only female chorus, so there was no sign of Randolph. Marcus and Patricia even attended, though I'm certain Marcus invited a handful of bureaucrats.

Age 20
Marcus threw a lavish ball for my twentieth birthday. I reunited with a childhood friend, Tony. I hadn't seen him since my father was still alive... He remembers what we did. He blames me for my father's death. He came all this way just to tell me that I ruined his entire childhood and he spent every moment worried he was going to jail for what we did. He truly thinks that us planting an earring made us the murderers of my father... He's insane. He's obsessed. I haven't thought about the earring in years and he thinks about it every day. He needs to be locked away... dealt with.

Age 20
I told Marcus that Tony was insane and needed to be institutionalized. When he pressed me further I told him about the earring but left out the part that I was involved. I told him I was scared that he came to my birthday and was worried he might do something again soon. Marcus said that he would see if he could have something done about it.

Age 20
Marcus told me he pulled some strings and had Tony put away in an asylum. I feel awful... but what if he would have said something about it? It was so many years ago. I was so young, it was a mistake. No, I did the right thing. Tony wasn't right in the head. No one obsesses over something for that long unless they are mentally ill. I'm fine... it's going to be fine.

Age 20
Madame Puce keeps telling me that I'm distracted. We were working on Pagliacci and I kept forgetting the same lyrics. We had to have gone over it a dozen times. The lesson was nearing the hour and she sent me home. She's normally so optimistic and encouraging. I think she's getting tired of me. Maybe I'm getting in my head too much...

Age 20
Marcus thinks I should try croquet with Patricia. Apparently their recent pillow-talk has been about how she and I never spend time together. We spend plenty of time together. We went to Coney Island that one time... and then there were all the times she forgot my birthday.

Age 20
Croquet was alright. I'm better at it than Patricia. Then again, I played it sober. She wants us to get our hair done tomorrow. This should be an adventure.

Age 20
I think I found a new hair style I like. It frames my face well from all sides. Madame Puce likes it too. First compliment that cold woman has given me in months.

Age 20
Madame Puce only cast me in one show this season. She said there were a lot of new sopranos she wants to try out. She promised I'll have more work next season after she cuts some out. 

Age 21
Marcus threw another one of his grand balls for my birthday. The food was great, I got a lot of wonderful gifts. Marcus gave me a gorgeous red dress with diamond accents at the breasts. It was a great birthday... except... I keep having dreams about Tony and how he is fairing in that asylum. I talked to a priest about it and he suggested I visit him. I don't think that's going to happen...

Age 21
I keep having the dreams about Tony. I need a distraction. Patricia never seems to want to play croquet anymore. She's taken a liking to tennis - or perhaps it's the sexy tennis coach.

Age 21
I gave tennis a try. Met the afore mentioned blonde tennis coach. Edward. He is gorgeous. His body is like the carved marble statues of the gods. I got a long eyeful when he took off his shirt and threw a towel over his hair. I think tennis might be my sport.

Age 21
Patricia is so jealous of the way Edward looks at me. If I didn't know about better, I'd say she had half a mind to cheat on the Senator. Tsk tsk.

Age 21
Edward and I had sex behind the garden shed. It was absolutely wonderful. I think this might be just what I need.

Age 21
Madame Puce has me working so much, I haven't seen Edward all month. Patricia keeps gloating that I need to get out on the court because she is improving with all the extra alone time with Edward. 

Age 21
I think they might be sleeping together.

Age 21
Edward is very much so in love with me. I think I was overreacting. He goes out of his way to spend every spare moment he has with me at Arlington Grange. Patricia even made a comment about how many dinners he's spent with us.

Age 22
Edward and I danced all night. It was the best birthday ever. We ate, drank, and had the best sex ever. I think I'm in love. Really, really in love. 

Age 22
Marcus is dead! He had a massive heart-attack. Patricia is beyond herself with grief. Edward is taking it hard too. He and Marcus became close on the courts. I'm just so sad. I haven't felt like this since my father died. Marcus was a wonderful man. Honorable, strong, and well-loved.

Age 22
Everything seemed like it was okay between Edward and I, but now he seems distant. He only comes over to play tennis with Patricia and I. I'm not sure what's going on. He just keeps saying something about his mother but won't say much more. I think he's taking Marcus' passing very hard.

Age 22
Patricia is in serious legal trouble. Apparently five dead husbands is extremely suspicious. Edward and I both have been summoned to court.

Age 22
Apparently Marcus had a heart condition and just switched to new medication. The aren't arresting Patricia, but they are freezing all of Marcus' money. Patricia is going to need to get a job, she isn't touching a dime of the opera money I've made.

Age 22
Edward seems back to his normal self. We went to the botanical gardens together today. It was so romantic. We held hands as we walked under the wreaths and trellises. We had our photograph taken in the statue garden.

Age 22
We are going to lose the house. Patricia spent the thousands in her personal account as if Marcus was still alive. Edward and I are already figuring out a plan for ourselves. Patricia is on her own. We are going to get a place for ourselves. It's time for me to leave the nest anyway.

Age 22
Patricia, Edward, and I were all invited to a weekend party in Connecticut. It's an old friend of Patricia's. Apparently she gets invited every year, but we've never accepted. The host has taken an interest in Edward for his tennis skills and me for my opera skills. Perhaps Edward and I could find a future in Connecticut. There are plenty of rich people up there that require a gorgeous tennis coach and an equal gorgeous singer.

Age 22
It's finally happening!! The lead soprano has laryngitis!! I'm so excited. I get to go on as Carmen - the title role. Patricia won't be able to come. The repo-men are coming to take all of our things. Edward and I already took my valuables, clothing, and sentimental items to a storage garage he rents. All I'm going to lose is the furniture and my car. So, this is more of a problem for Patricia than for me. 

Age 22
Tonight's the night! I'm trying to keep a level head. Edward and I are going outside to play tennis while the furniture is taken away. I'm sure Patricia will make a scene. Tomorrow morning we leave for Connecticut. It's going to be an exciting few days. Edward and I are so in love. I never thought I would get married, but if it were going to be to anyone, it would be him.