Sylvia is a character with a major role in Death in a Dacron Sail. She is the head of Human Resources at Sturdevant Hospital, and Rhe has known her since grade school. Sylvia was a year older, but together with Rhe and another friend, Deirdre, they had been the three Musketeers, always looking for adventure. Of the three, Sylvia was the cautious, no-nonsense one. She reined in their more dangerous ideas for fun, such as climbing around in the collapsing and condemned hotel that sat on the property where Rhe lives now. Deirdre disappeared without a trace when Rhe was eleven, and the search for her is part of this book.
Sylvia and Rhe had met again when Rhe started working at Sturdevant, refueling the friendship with lunches together every few weeks and occasional dinner swaps.
Sylvia is a feast for a fashionista’s eyes. She shops at Target and TJ Maxx, but she always projects the image of a consummate professional, reed thin and dressed in the timeless styles. In one scene she is s wearing an aubergine knit dress with a mosaic scarf in blending colors, artistically tied at her neck, and black, high-heeled boots. The outfit is a stunning contrast to her graying, close-cropped hair. In another scene, she is wearing a deep green pantsuit with a blue-green paisley silk blouse and a string of silver beads.
Can you see Sylvia Hutty in your mind’s eye? Can you send me an image?
I see classy, tall, and meditative although not over the top meditative.
That’s how I see her, too! I made her classy but also very human!
She always reminds me of one of my schoolteachers… and a bit grim, like them. Staid before her time!
oh, Jemima, she is FAR from staid!