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Elizabeth had a room on the second floor of one of the women's dormitories at Shining
River. The room had blue walls and curtains, two closets, a small bathroom with a shower,
a bookshelf half filled with books and half with assorted junk, an antique desk of her
father's and a small bed. Six o'clock on the evening of July 4th found her seated at the
desk staring glumly from her single window at people wandering about in the gardens
below, wondering if her father would come. From somewhere else in the building came
the sounds of the women's chapel choir practicing. The choir sang well and, under other
circumstances Elizabeth might have enjoyed the sound. However, she had made the
mistake of dropping by the chapel that afternoon to attend a service for a boy she had
known who had been killed in the War. She remembered the smug, self-satisfied faces of
the choir members poking from their purple smocks. 'People who sing think they have a
God-given right to advertise the fact,' she thought. 'Do they have to force it down everyone
else's throats?' Three quarters of an hour later she had showered, the singing had stopped and she was brushing her hair. Her father had still not shown up. 'How can he act this way?' she thought. 'All his life he's been spoiled. He's had things exactly the way he wanted them. Well, I'm twenty-two years old now and I'm not his puppet any longer. It's about time he realized that. He knows what this means to us.' Of course, the trouble was if, no... when, he did come he'd probably spend the whole evening getting worked up and saying the wrong things then they'd be in even worse trouble. There was a soft knock at the door which made Elizabeth start. 'It's me, Lizzie, can I come in?' Angel Passareil, needing no invitation, walked right in. 'Hello, Lizzie, how are you?' Angel was a lithe athletic blonde with green eyes, small breasts and hips very different in appearance from the darker Elizabeth and the majority of the women of the City Folk. However she work the typical austere clothing of the period - a white blouse, a dark blue jacket interlaced with black and a matching, rather loose fitting ankle-length skirt. As with Elizabeth her hair was longer than was considered proper and she was considered a beauty among her people. 'When did you get back?' She hugged Elizabeth. 'Yesterday evening.' 'You don't seem to cheerful. Aren't you looking forward to our evening with the Pastor?' Angel had moved into the room next door to Elizabeth's three months before classes had been suspended. Elizabeth had not known Angel before that and she hadn't seen her often since but, though she liked Angel well enough, for reasons that she didn't understand, Angel had taken to her as if she had been the long lost friend that Angel had been seeking all her life. Angel was everything that Elizabeth was not. She had a wild reputation and was a poor student. She was too attached tomboys and, it was rumored, though Elizabeth was still trying to get up the courage to ask her about it, that she had been caught in a very compromising situation with one. Also, she was the daughter of the Secretary of State. 'Lizzie, is that lipstick? Where did you get it?' 'My father gave it to me.' Elizabeth flushed slightly. She had not told Bluemud about their friendship, if such it was, with Angel. She wasn't really sure that Angel could be trusted. She wished she had concealed the lipstick. She wouldn't have dreamed of wearing it anyway. 'Where did he get it from?' Angel picked up the lipstick and tried it on. 'Is he here, yet. I'm dying to meet him.' 'No. I hope he's going to make it.' 'He'd better. You wouldn't want to be on your own. Of course mine isn't coming either but I don't care. Mother will be there, she always is.' Angel sat down on the bed. 'It's always so pleasant in your room, Lizzie, you know? Homely. Not like mine.' Elizabeth said nothing, continuing to brush her hair. 'Did you know your father and my mother used to know each other?' 'No, I didn't.' Elizabeth stopped brushing abruptly and stared at Angel, who laughed gaily. 'Yes! When I told her we were friends she said "Is that Eldridge Bluemud's daughter?" I said, "I don't know." She said "His wife died seven years ago. I knew him before they married. A very handsome man." I said, "did you have an affair with him?" I was only joking but she got very mysterious and I think she's bought a new dress for the occasion. Has your father ever mentioned my mother to you, Lizzie?' 'No,' said Elizabeth as nonchalantly as she could manage and resumed brushing her hair. 'And mother said would you like to come and stay with us in the Capital for a few days after this?' Elizabeth had finished brushing her hair and was climbing into her skirt, still staring at herself in the mirror. She did not reply. 'Well, Lizzie, I hope you will.' 'I don't know, I'll see,' said Elizabeth shortly. 'Oh! You are in a bad mood aren't you? And I was hoping you would cheer me up after my miserable time at home. What's wrong?' 'I'm waiting for my father, that's all. It's seven twenty and he's still not here.' 'He's a little late but he'll come.' Angel laughed gaily and got up to give Elizabeth another hug. 'Forget about the Pastor, my mother would never forgive him if he didn't come. Now I must go and get ready myself. Can I borrow your big mirror?' Ten minutes after Angel left there was a knock at the door and a man's voice said 'May I come in?' Eldridge Bluemud had arrived at last. |
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