Redecorating: Its Life Changing Consequences

Redecorating: Its Life Changing Consequences

In "Cherry Red", Liane Kupferberg Carter recalls a time in her life when she wanted to be

more grown up. Cherry Aimes, her favorite character in a series of books was "chic and

sophisticated". Carter describes John Gravely as a friendly neighborhood painter. When she

was on the brink of turning into a young lady, a man she trusted betrayed her. Carter felt it was

all her fault for being overly excited to see him after a long time. She learned growing up was

not always like a story with a happy ending, and maturity comes with a price.

John Gravely was content while working and always welcomed a break to listen to her

stories. She was quite an imaginative young girl when it came to writing stories. Sometimes

while John Gravely was working at her house, Carter would go upstairs to the attic. This is

where her imagination ran wild and she wrote stories on and old manual typewriter. Carter

describes herself as being shy at that time. The kids at school made fun of her. Carter never felt

shy around John Gravely, who gave her his undivided attention, even though the look in his

crossed eyes made her a bit uneasy. Carter had crossed eyes herself and had corrective surgery

when she was six years old. His eyes were more crossed than hers...

When she was nearly twelve, Carter convinced her mother to redecorate her

bedroom similar to that of Cherry Aimes. The colors were red and white, with cherries

incorporated for accent. Carter and her mother didn't completely agree on all the fabric choices

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but eventually made a compromise. Her mother assured her that she would one day come to

appreciate