Rainbow Rowell Eleanor & Park Novels & Stories

"He looks like a very determined young man." "Oh, you have no idea!" Marie laughed warmly. "Stubborn as a mule, just like his mother. But he has the sweetest heart." Over the next three days, Eleanor returned to that park every single morning. She shed her high-society persona entirely, blending seamlessly into the role of a sweet, lonely grandmother waiting near the school. She brought high-end wooden toy trains for Leo to play with, laughing genuine, tearful tears as the little boy eagerly showed her how fast his cars could race across the bench.

Eleanor cleared her throat and started, " I was at the party and my husband left to pick up a call. I was just there, enjoying Nikki's speech and a waiter brought me a plate of fruits. While eating, I found a letter that told me to meet a particular lady named Mary in the restroom. She claimed she was a friend of mine in middle school. It wasn't really convincing but I went there." "Okay, from there, did you meet anyone or send anyone any letter?" Another detective asked. Eleanor shook her head. "I didn't even have a pen and paper in my purse, I wrote absolutely nothing but I did meet someone on my way there." "And who was that?" "Hendrix. He's a close friend of mine that I met in a saddle.

"My parents are dead. I grew up in Los Angeles." Eleanor went conflicted for a fraction of a second, her eyes tracking the girl's face before she recovered her composure. She offered a final, polite bid of goodbye and walked down the steps to her waiting car. The moment the car cleared the iron gates of the estate, Eleanor’s warm smile vanished instantly. She leaned back against the leather seat, staring out the window with a look of deep disdain. “Arlo has terrible taste in women.” She shook her head. “And apparently he's drawn to pitiful ones.”