OCR Text |
Show 22-2 I hauled the basket out of the car and lugged it up the steps. It was heavy and awkward and I bumped it against my legs. I dropped it on the front step and sat down beside it. What a frightful day it had been! I was even too tired and discouraged to cry. Suddenly Mother sat down beside me on the step. She pulled her skirts around her legs and then folded her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry, Annie," she said. And then I did start to cry. The tears rolled up and over my eyes and down my face. Mother put her arm around me and when I glanced up at her I saw that tears were running down her face too. She hugged me hard against her. "There's nothing I can say, Annie. I feel I should say wise words that would help you understand what happened today, but I can't find any." Mother reached into her pocket and found a handkerchief. She used it and then handed it to me. She always had one. "You've had to face a lot for Andrew, haven't you? First me, then Emily and Darby and now his own mother. Friendship usually isn't so costly." I nodded. Was she thinking of Eric? "I think the time has come to stop feeling sorry about all this, to stop crying when things go badly, and get mad. That's the way I feel. Angry. Not so much at Mrs. Crayton. Poor woman. How can I expect of her what you had to teach me?" Mother wiped her face again, vigorously. "I haven't quite yet decided what I'm mad at. When I do, I'll know what to do." Mother stood up and looked down at me. "Now, enough feeling sorry." She tucked the handkerchief in her pocket and patted her skirt. "I've got work to do." The front screen banged behind her. Well, Mother never did stay upset or cry for long. |