confidence.
Scott and Jamie, the couple on the other side of the door, were young professionals,
yuppies, dressed in conservative suits and expensive horn-rimmed glasses. Jamie’s hair
was tied into a knot, denoting a long day at an arduous job, and Scott’s tie was loosened
at the top. Lorraine immediately detected an air of entitlement in their well-meaning but
condescending manner, but she mentally forgave them as it was evident that their youthful naivety didn’t allow them to fully realize how they were perceived. This same youthful
naivety might also allow her to swindle them into buying a “psychologically impacted”
home.
“Y’all come on in,” she said warmly, hoping that her eyes sparkled enticingly in the
porch light overhead. She beckoned them into the expansive foyer, but before she could
begin her discourse, Jamie pushed past her into the living room.
“Oh Scott, look at the exposed brick behind the fireplace! And these floors! And
the crown molding around the ceiling!” she gushed, looking at her husband sanguinely.
“Just like the pictures,” Scott replied mockingly, beaming at her with approval.
“Did you notice in the pictures that upstairs they have two walk-in closets, his and
hers closets?! That would literally fulfill my life’s dream,” Jamie prattled on, oblivious to
Lorraine’s indulgent, plastered smile at this absurd overstatement.
“Y’all just look around now and let me know if y’all have any questions whatsoever,” Lorraine told them, not allowing any underlying tension to resonate in her voice. She
found that when speaking to clients, her voice rose several octaves and her Southern accent, already quite pronounced, became a slow, slinking drawl. The thought of her sweet,
industrious daughter crept into Lorraine’s mind as she watched Jamie stomp across the
room. She felt the familiar spasm in her right eyelid.
Scott and Jamie barreled into the kitchen, ‘oohing and aahing’ at the marble countertops, the modern appliances, the decorative Italian tiles. Lorraine beamed mechanically
and shook her head in mock fondness as they plotted future dinner parties for their yuppie couple friends, in which organic food would be served and start-up tech companies
would be discussed. She knew this euphoria would come to