The day’s visitors were drifting along the path to the parking lot where their cars and busses awaited them. Aware that she and Sue attracted some curious glances as they drove through the gateway marked PRIVATE, Lucy couldn’t help but feel a bit smug. She had never flown first class, she’d never had front-row seats at the theater, and she didn’t have a platinum credit card so it was a rare treat to find herself on the VIP side of the rope. Looking down at the package in her lap that contained the figurine the shopkeeper had wrapped with great care, she wondered what it was like to be one of the privileged few, like Perry and Poppy and the rest of their family. They came and went from grand houses that were filled with priceless treasures. Did they really take it all for granted? Or did they pause now and then in front of the Renoir painting or the Hepplewhite chair and thank the fates for their extraordinary good fortune? When she and Sue entered the great room, it was clear that Poppy was not enjoying her exalted position.
