On Growing Up - Part Two (Continued.)
Papa thought he would do us all an enormous favor when school resumed. Merry was still weak, but well enough to return to classes, so he informed Mama, Annie and me that he would give us a lift back to school. The January Thaw was underway, but there had been several sort of "mini-storms" in between the Christmas blasts and melt-freeze cycles.
The announcement didn't sit well with Mama. She tightened her lips the way she always did before she scolded in French. Her eyes flashed with a bright blue-green fire as they met mine. I and Annie were both sitting with the forks frozen in our hands, dreading her reaction.
Mama broke the gaze first. She stood up and cleared away her dishes and the empty serving urns. She turned her back on her way to the sink, but I could see the tight set of her determined shoulders. But what was she so angry about? Was it that Papa was chauffeuring us - spoiling us - by driving us to school? Or was it the picking up Merry that she objected to?
Merry's mother liked me. She knew I was uncomfortable around her husband and, therefore, didn't invite me to study with her daughter. Merry, in her turn, wasn't doing much studying to keep up her grades. That was another thing I was upset about. She had been sick, yes, and maybe they would giver her dispensation for that, but all the same -
Mama threw a pan into the sink and turned to the table of waiting listeners. We all looked at her, even Stephanie, but it was to Papa she addressed herself. "And what do you propose I do while you are tooling around the city, playing taxi service? I'm not going to dress Stephanie to go out in this mess and I - "
Papa held up his one hand. "Stephanie, you don't NEED to go. I'll take the girls to school and go on to work from there. I'll just be a little early and - "
"They can WALK. They've done it before, and every other day of their lives - "
"Not in this weather."
Papa's sweet reasonableness didn't ruffle Mama. She blew in an explosive breath and returned to the sink. She gestured to Stephanie to finish eating and began doing dishes with a vengeance, muttering curses under her breath in French.
Annie and I finished and brought our plates to Mama. She snatched them with a quick, angry look and plunged them into the dishwater, scrubbing away.as she did so. nearly breaking them both.
Mama was going to be in one of her moods this morning. She was tired of being pregnant and had been cranky all Christmas vacation along. I had tried to ease the situation by helping more than I normally did, but that didn;t sweeten Mother's disposition .
"Time to go, girls." Papa stood up. "Get your books and let's go."
Mama rattled pans extra-loudly as we left the house.
Merry was waiting - white and still - as we pulled up to her front gate.
(To Be Continued,)
