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Show -6- Peppermint Monday telling me how unladylike I had acted, and how embarrassed he was over my behavior. After he ran out of breath, he plopped into an armchair, watching me with narrowed eyes as if I was a violent criminal and might attack him. During all of this, ma had not said a word, for or against my case. She knitted her hands together and held them tightly in her lap, her eyes never leaving pa's red face. When he was finished lecturing, she asked why I had hit Renae. She asked me in her soft, calm voice she saved for crises. It was a simple question, one pa and the principal should have both asked me right at the first. I lifted my chin proudly and looked right at pa. "She made fun of Russ." That's all the details I told them, and all I had too. Pa let me have my allowance back, but said I'd still have to be grounded for a few days because of the way I'd handled the problem. They never told Jason or Russ what I'd been fighting about, but I know they understood why I had to. I bet either of them would have done the same. Jason had walked over to the porch steps, hooking his boot over the bottom step. Jason usually wasn't so quiet, and I knew he wasn't satisfied with my noncommitting answer. There wasn't much I could say to make him feel better though. He'd have to work it out himself, in his own way. A car spun by on the gravelled road, its dust whirlling specs in the sun's rays. A hand waved at the same time the small, foreign car tooted a greeting. Max Carson hadn't been driving long, at least legally, and he loved to show off around town. Max came from a big family; seven kids, a grandma, and a house full of cats. Mr. Carson was one of the best farmers around though, and he had a good patch of ground. The kids all knew how to work too, and they always managed to get by quite nicely. Ma had said |
