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Laurie was holding forth—very amusingly, too—about how at State, girls never used words of more than three syllables when boys were around. “You’d never talk about dressing appropriately because ‘appropriately’ has five syllables. Instead, you’d say, ‘dressing the way you ought to,’ or ‘dressing the way people expect you to.’ You’d never say ‘conversationally,’ because that has six syllables. It’s not that a boy won’t understand a five-syllable word, it’s that it makes a girl sound too—oh, efficient, I guess—or too bright, as if she might be able to take care of herself. She won’t seem vulnerable enough. She won’t seem like she needs the big brave man enough.” And Laurie was having such a good time! A delightful smile played about the corners of her lips every time she opened her mouth.
Before dessert, Laurie and Mrs. Thoms got up to help Momma take the dishes off the table. Miss Pe
Mr. Thoms was busy talking to Daddy about something. Miss Pe
“It’s so good to see you, Miss Pe
“You’re awful quiet this evening, Charlotte.” Miss Pe
“I know,” Charlotte said. She sighed, and as she let her breath out, she felt as if her whole bone structure were collapsing. “But it’s not that, Miss Pe
“I see,” said Miss Pe
The strategist in Charlotte figured this was the moment to start laying out some excuses to cushion the blow that was coming. “It was terrible, Miss Pe
Miss Pe
“I know…I’m sorry, Miss Pe
“If you want to—if you want to—why don’t you come by to see me while you’re here. Sometimes it helps to talk to somebody who knows you but now has a little distance, a little better perspective. If you want to.”
Charlotte lowered her head, then looked at Miss Pe
“Just give me a call, anytime you want,” said Miss Pe
Dessert was a big hit: homemade pie and ice cream. Momma had baked the pie herself, mincemeat apple it was called, made of apples, raisins, cloves, and a couple of spices Charlotte didn’t know the names of, and Momma served it hot from the oven, along with some ice cream she had churned by hand, vanilla with bits of cherries in it. The aroma of the cloves and the apples was intoxicating. Even Charlotte, who had hardly touched the rest of the di
When it didn’t, the ladies got up again to help with the dishes, Miss Pe
Staring into Charlotte’s eyes from no more than eighteen inches away, she said, “Well?…”
“Well what?” said Charlotte.
“Well, I haven’t heard from you since we talked on the phone—it was almost three months ago. I believe we were talking about a certain subject.” Her smile grew even brighter.
Charlotte could feel her face turning scarlet, but she couldn’t think of a thing to say.
“I think I’m owed a little report,” said Laurie. “That’s my consulting fee.”
Laurie had put on some pounds, which made her cheeks and her chin, where it settled into the turtleneck of her sweater, look full. Somehow this made her prettier than Charlotte had ever seen her. She was happiness personified.
Blushing terribly, Agony Personified said, “There’s really nothing to report.”
“Really nothing?” said Laurie. “You know what”—her eyes seemed to brighten to about three hundred watts, and her smile became two weeks and three days wide—“I don’t believe you!”
Charlotte was speechless with panic. Mrs. Thoms had said something to her when they were both in the kitchen! Was Laurie now one of Death’s instruments—Laurie, who had always been her friend through the worst of times?
She spoke fearfully. “I don’t—there just isn’t anything…”
In a singsong voice Laurie said, “I don’t believe you, Charlotte…and I know you, Charlotte. This is your old friend Laurie, Charlotte…You can’t be gaming me, Charlotte…”
“Gaming me”—college slang.
Paranoia had a gun at her temple, but she wouldn’t just lie outright to Laurie. “Practically nothing,” she said with a dreadful tremor in her voice.
“What’s with you tonight, Charlotte? You are not happy. What’s going on?”
Just then everybody returned from the kitchen. Before she got up to return to her seat, Laurie said, “You and I have got to have a talk. Seriously.” Seriously. “Call me tomorrow,” said Laurie, “or I’ll call you. You and I’ve got to sit down and talk about life. Okay?”
“Okay,” said Charlotte. She nodded yes several times, dourly, as Laurie turned to walk away.
“Now—who’d like some coffee?” said Momma. “Miss Pe
Part of Charlotte intended to call Miss Pe