OCR Text |
Show in my father's house/ 257 light and the neighbors were in their yards, making the first spring forays against winter. Jeanne had stayed the night and I brought her out to introduce them. "Hello," he said abruptly. "Mr. Allred," Jeanne breathed. "I've wanted to meet you for so long!" My father turned to my mother and made a sharp, cutting motion with his hand. My mother signalled me and I propelled Jeanne back to my bedroom. "He's older than I thought," she whispered. "But he seems very nice." I nodded. "He is." I changed the subject. A few minutes later, my mother called to me. "Jeanne will have to go home now. Your daddy wants to talk to us." Jeanne went home, perplexity in her soft brown eyes, and my brothers and I sat down in the living room, across from my father and mother. "The time has come for us to move your mother," my father announced. "We will find a duplex for her and Aunt Helga to share." "No!" The word burst involuntarily. "But why Daddy?" My father's eyes narrowed and his mouth tightened. "Because Mother Helga wants your mother close by so she can watch Melissa." "But she watches Melissa now," I protested, amazed at myself. How much I wanted to keep this house, where we could decide things for ourselves! "Mother Helga wants Melissa closer to the office," my father said. "She wants to be near enough so that she can see her at |