Part 4 (1/2)
She'd been gone a year when he turned out the parlor, the carpet, the chairs all dusted and aired, and there at the botto basket he'd found four little books Romantic books, he supposed they were called, ladies' books with soft paper covers
Nine cents each, the price was stamped on the back The Nine Penny Library He wasn't sure how she'd coht theht them and read the a pleasure
He began to read these books hi the clock Hearing it tick Or listening to the ice falling from the branches on to the roof By now he had installed a sturdy little wood-burning heater in the parlor to take off the chill, soone on about He read slowly, since, truth be told, he'd never before in his life read the whole of a book, not cover to cover It pleased hi the pages over one by one, paying attention: Struggle for a Heart by Laura Jean Libby, What Gold Cannot Buy by one Mrs Alexander, At the World's Mercy by Florence Warden, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
This last was his favorite; there were turnings in the story that filled the back of his throat with s, sweet pains, and in those moments he felt his wife only a dozen heartbeats away, so close he could alhs It astonished him, how these books were stuffed full of people Each one was like a little world, populated and furnished And the way those book people talked! Talk, talk, they lived in their tongues Much of what they uttered was foolish, but also reasonable Talk had a way of keeping theer It was traded back and forth like cash forlike the way folks really spoke, but nevertheless he pronounced them aloud to himself and committed them to memory, so that if by chance his wife should decide to come home and take up her place once more, he would be ready
If this talky foolishness was her greatest need, he would be prepared to meet her, a pument: O beautiful eyes, O treasured countenance, O fairest of skin Or phrases that spoke of the overflowing heart, the rising of desire in the breast, the sudden clarities of one body saluting another or even the simple declaration of love I love you, he whispered, into her waiting ear I worshi+p your very being
Or if these utterances proved too difficult for hiaze into her eyes and pronounce her name: Clarentine He tried it out on the cozy wood-scented air of the parlor, feeling hi it softly at first, the way you calentle, speaking straight out toward that face that belonged forever to the Ladies Rhyth face Clarentine
Clarentine
And later-this was after she'd been run down by a reckless cyclist in the city of Winnipeg and thrown against the foundation wall of the Royal Bank building-the word beca one, my only, only love
A week before Daisy Goodwill's wedding in Bloorooht She would entertain the bride-to-be for luncheon, just the two of them at a card table on the side veranda: the ordinary china, the oyster linen cloth and napkins, and perhaps a single pink peony floating in a little glass bowl Lobelia-May, who came to clean and bake on Wednesdays, would serve up one of her famous tunafish salad plates and a pitcher of iced tea, and after that the good soul would tactfully withdraw, leaving the future daughter-in-law and s which wo to overwhelirl, Mrs Hoad dressed informally for the occasion in a floral printed porch dress and white reindeer-skin pu out of turn, Daisy My feelings toward you are filled with nothing but affection, but those feelings do acknowledge the fact that you have grown up in a household without athe road of life Your father is a fine gentle parent, you could not have asked for a better, but there are certain spheres of the world where women hold sway First, let e education, and have acquired a certain range of familiarity in the liberal arts, but I do hope you won't let this advantage ie on normal marital harmony That is, I hope you won't be tee before those who have not elected the sareat disappointineering studies after one year, but then he has always been one for practical concerns, and clearly he saw his place in the family business, particularly in view of his father's early death By the way, Daisy, it is always preferable to say 'death,' rather than 'passing on' or 'passing away' By the same token-I feel I must mention this-we invite people to dinner, not for dinner When you set the table, be it breakfast, lunch, or dinner, be sure the knife blade is turned in In Not out Salad forks, of course, go outside the dinner fork Harold always takes Grape-Nuts for breakfast A question of digestion and general health I feel I shouldof bm's Bowel movements He has been troubled in that particular depart boy, and so Grape-Nuts are a necessity, also a very economical food We must never be ashaht never be served at breakfast, but only before luncheon or dinner For breakfast, orange juice is preferred
Canned is quite acceptable, if fresh oranges are not available or if time is a consideration Harold is very particular about his brushes and coularly He likes a hard rubber dressing comb I always keep an extra one or two on hand in case he misplaces his I wonder if you have discovered Venitian Velva Liquid for your own skin I don't suppose you give e, but facial skin coarsens quickly in the twenties and thirties Apply it before bed, rubbing it in carefully, using a circular ht ask? Because soap is excessively drying For bath powder, I suggest Poudre de Lilas So odors I see you are not eating your olives, Daisy If you should at any ti, try to avoid giving offense by sliding it under so else In this case, your lettuce leaf will do nicely
Are you aware that sheeting can be ordered by the yard, and that hee? White shoes are worn only between Memorial Day and Labor Day Be careful of the term 'entree' It is not the main course, as many people think, but the course that precedes the main course Harold is particularly sensitive about his father's history His father's untimely demise, I mean, and I believe you have been told the necessary facts Harold finds it upsetting to be reminded of this sad event I think it best that you don't refer to his father at all We never do We always stay ho fao out Be sure to acknowledge your wedding gifts within two months Soh to hold with two Plain note cards are best, with perhaps a raised band around the edge Once Harold was eating a handful of popcorn and began to choke I always keep a close eye on hi Finally, a word about your honeymoon You have not been to Europe before, and so you may be surprised to find a rather curious device in your hotel rooland, of course
This little porcelain bowl is not what it appears to be, but is used by continentals for reasons of personal hygiene You s, since they are covered with germs, completely and absolutely covered Ger you a lifeti that is passed froeneration When a woman marries, she must be constantly alert to the possibility of harer thinks only of herself Froed at the altar, a woman's husband becomes her sacred trust”
”She means a bee-day,” Elfreda Hoyt told Daisy ”A bottom washer You fill it up ater and sort of squat over it and scrub your Aunt Nelly clean”
She and Daisy and Labina Anthony have assembled in a curtained-off back roo for their final fittings The fitter has gone to the storeroom to fetch a fresh paper of pins It is a hot afternoon, but a little electric fan blows up the young wo to keep them cool Elfreda (Fraidy) and Labina (Beans), the two bridesmaids, are to wear identical dresses of powder blue crepe de chine trimmed at the sleeves and neckline with ivory lace
Daisy's dress is in crepe-backed satin, en traine, embroidered in pearls and brilliants The veil is chiffon and lace Her bouquet will consist of lilies of the valley, orchids, and fern
Fraidy had traveled to Europe the summer before She had had two shi+pboard ro home, and in between she studied art history in Florence for five weeks, on one occasion visiting a life drawing class in which a young , on a platform In addition, she traveled to Paris and climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower and stood beside the eternal flame at the Arc de Trio off its leaves one by one, dipping theainst her botto you need to know about the French,” she tells Daisy and Beans, ”is that they're absolutely filthy about certain iously propre about others For them a bidet is a necessity For before And after”
”Before what?” Beans asked ”And after what?”
”Before and after intercourse”
”Oh”
”They have intercourse lish women for that matter”
”Why?” Daisy asked ”Why do they?”
”They're hly sexed They think sex is a very i a woman They're very keen on it, very creative”
”What do you mean, creative?”
”They do it other ways”
”What?”
”Other ways than the normal ways, I -in this little bureau drawer-I found a book, a kind of pa love In different ways”
”You never told us this before”
”You never asked”
”What exactly were they doing?”
”Who?”
”The couple, in the pictures?”
”Yes, what?”
”Well” Fraidy looks down at her fresh nail polish ”Froh”-she pauses-”as though they were kissing each other Down there”
”Where?”
”Here” Pointing at her lap
”Oh,wo men?”
”Both”
”Oh, my God”
”I couldn't”
”I'd be sick to ht thisabout it”
”For them it's perfectly natural They're not half as puritanical as we are in America They're used to it And, of course, it's one way to, you know To nant”
”I hope dick doesn't know anything about that kind of thing,” Beans says She will bedick Greene on the first Saturday in July
”My goodness, you don't think Harold would ever try-” Daisy looks at Fraidy and then at Beans There is a moment of solid conspiratorial silence, and then the three of the