Picturesque

Chapter 16: Mamou Prairie

Jo didn't come around for a couple weeks after that. I assumed she was staying with her group of tightknit friends somewhere, and no one batted an eyelash at her absence. Apparently, it was normal. I wondered why, as a 22-year-old, she didn't just have her own place somewhere. She certainly had enough money to.

Holly and Judd were picking up more on their French, but they were starting to get a little fatigued as they realized they would spend their summer weekday mornings in class. Holly was as attentive as she could be, and while Judd still tried to reject every new word and sentence I taught them, he had his moments where his eyes would go still and his feet would stop bouncing on the floor, his attention finally captured. I was also getting the hang of being a teacher, learning how to keep the kids' attention long enough to push some knowledge into their little brains.

The afternoons were spent either with the kids or alone in my room. My favorite spot to be in the Donnelley Estate was the balcony in my room. It faced West, so I could soak in all the evening sun as I wrote in my journal about the day. I also started working on a new story, finding that being in California brought a new air of inspiration to my mind. Most of the short stories I wrote were simple and bland, but I started writing new ones. I even wrote poems, most of them about the nature in the Golden State.

Eventually, I garnered enough bravery to seek new writing spots outside of my room. There was another patio nestled further into the backyard, a little white bench sat under some shading trees. It was far enough way to have my own space but close enough to hear Holly and Judd splashing in the pool.

Marty had really taken a liking to me. Sometimes he would step into the classroom while I was teaching, standing tall with his hand on his chin, smiling widely at me and the kids. Apparently, they sought out tutors and instructors every summer for the kids. Whether it was swimming, art, musical instruments, sports, or horseback riding, they had started this tradition once Jo was old enough and had continued it every year. Marty loved talking, and I think he loved talking to me because I hardly talked back. Somehow, on a few of his rants, he started talking about business and took me into his office a few times to explain certain investments to me. He even offered to get me started in the oil and gas industry, but I politely declined, admitting honestly to him that I didn't have enough cash to even invest.

He told me the story about how he met Katie. We were in his office one day, and this time he was telling me the story of his life. I sat in the uncomfortably large leather chair in front of his desk as he leaned back and smoked a thick cigar, his eyes bouncing wildly across the ceiling as he spoke.

"I had just started at UC­—University of California. My father came from a long generation of successful businessmen. My grandfather even had a part in discovering the oil in Louisiana, you know. Mamou Prairie—the first oil well in Louisiana. He became a real oil tycoon—even wore a big chunky ring on his thumb and smoked cigars." He looked at his cigar and wiggled it with a lopsided smile. "He passed the investments onto my father who became even more successful. He never even went to college, and I think he might have regretted it when he realized academia is an integral part of socialite culture, so he sent me—his firstborn—straight away to California where the oil industry was really booming. He wanted to expand the Donnelley name across the country, but he told me I had to get a degree first. He was always real focused on my education. Maybe I get my particulars from him—you know, always wanting to teach my children everything I can get for them. Anyway, so I went to California, studied hard, partied hard if I'm honest, and I started weaseling my way into social circles. That's the biggest part, you know. You can have no college education, no familial wealth, nothing in your pocket but a paper clip and toothpick, but if you make friends with the right people, you can build wealth for yourself, all on your own. Well, I already had the first two things so it wasn't entirely necessary, but I wanted to do it anyway."