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Show in my father's house/ 148 dresses over my head and helped me with my shoes and stockings. She was trying so hard to make everything all right. I couldn't bear to tell her that it wasn't enough. Kindergarten ended six weeks after it began, just before my sixth birthday. I invited Christine Warden to my party, and surprisingly, she came with another child from my class. I felt wonderfully triumphant, standing beneath my willow tree surrounded by brothers and sisters and friends, with Christine Warden watching me. I was the center of everyone's attention, in my world, on firm ground. In a burst of generosity, I gave her a large piece of cake with the pink rose on it. Before she left she kissed me on the cheek and whispered, "I don't care what my mother says, you are my very best friend." I glowed for the rest of the day, certain that my life would always be so full of good fortune. Like the tiny black-and-white kitten --a birthday present from my brothers -- I was full of cream and prepared to sleep the better part of my life away. But really, it was only a nap -- and a very short one- My father had always talked about the official Mormon Church as though it was our church -- the One True Church on the face of the Earth, he said although currently out of order. When "the One Mighty and Strong" came to set the Church in order, we would be welcomed with the other "Saints" to go through the temple gates. |
