life has been whittled down to a thin line, from being a little girl, to courting and being married, to having kids, then the one grandchild, and then beginning that final slide to becoming obsolete.
As is my way, Iâve sorted things into stacks. In a pile to itself are the wedding announcements for her daughter Julie and the one for Caroline. The one for Julie is accompanied by newspaper clippings about the wedding, shower announcements, and the like. The one for Caroline stands alone. But Iâm glad Caroline at least sent her one.
There are bright spots in the mementos that have nothing to do with her family. I had forgotten that the quilt Dora Lee kept on her bed won a prize. She was puffed up about that for a month.
There are clippings about the accident that killed Dora Leeâs daughter Julie and her husband, and one about Gregâs graduation from high school in Bobtail. It would have been easier on Dora Lee if Greg had transferred to Jarrett Creek High School. Then the school bus would have picked him up. But Dora Lee wanted him to continue to go to the same school he was in when his folks died. The Bobtail school bus wouldnât go out to Cotton Hill to pick him up, so she drove him back and forth to Bobtail every single day for two years.
The valentines and birthday cards are in a stack to themselves, homemade cards made by the girls when they were little, going up until the cards are store bought and have awkward teenage sentiments scribbled above their names. I wonder if Caroline will want to see them and wonder if they mean anything to her. I notice there are no cards from Teague and that makes me think about how I used to make such a fuss for Jeanne over Valentineâs Day and her birthday. I guess Teague was as stingy with affection as his brother Leslie is with money. Or maybe Dora Lee couldnât stand to keep things from Teague. The way he treated her would have outweighed any sentimental card he might have given her.
Another stack is for pictures, mostly school pictures of the girls, but also some of Dora Lee and Teague when they were young. Iâd forgotten that Teague was quite the ladiesâ man. He was good-looking in an oily kind of way.
Most of the Christmas cards are from family. But a few, yellowed with age, are from people I never heard of, and sound like they were written by youngsters. For a couple of years when Dora Lee was a teenager, her daddy took his family off to Austin to live while he worked on a construction job there. As soon as the job ended, they high-tailed it back here. But for a few years Dora Lee must have kept up with girls she met in school in Austin.
Thereâs one clipping that I donât know what to make of. Itâs an obituary of an artist named William Kern who I never heard of; he died a few years ago. He lived around Fredericksburg. I wonder if Dora Lee knew him. I conjure up an old romance from when she lived in Austin that made her doubly happy when she found out her grandson was inclined to art.
Dora Lee kept all the school pictures of the girls. Caroline had a way of looking at the camera as if challenging the photographer to see her sexy side. By contrast, Julie was a wholesome girl, not as pretty, but with a cheerful smile. I put rubber bands around the stacks and stuff them back into the duffle. Iâll give it to Caroline to dispense with as she pleases.
Itâs an hour later, and getting on for dusk, when Jenny gets back to me. âSorry it took so long. Mother tends to be long-winded. I expect thatâs why Iâm not partial to small talk.â
âShe able to tell you anything?â
âAlex Eubanks is a peacock. Apparently heâs won a couple of awards in some art shows, and if he offers to give somebody lessons, he thinks heâs doing them a big favor. He got riled up when Dora Lee wouldnât pay for lessons anymore.â In other words, no new information, but at least it confirms what I know
As is my way, Iâve sorted things into stacks. In a pile to itself are the wedding announcements for her daughter Julie and the one for Caroline. The one for Julie is accompanied by newspaper clippings about the wedding, shower announcements, and the like. The one for Caroline stands alone. But Iâm glad Caroline at least sent her one.
There are bright spots in the mementos that have nothing to do with her family. I had forgotten that the quilt Dora Lee kept on her bed won a prize. She was puffed up about that for a month.
There are clippings about the accident that killed Dora Leeâs daughter Julie and her husband, and one about Gregâs graduation from high school in Bobtail. It would have been easier on Dora Lee if Greg had transferred to Jarrett Creek High School. Then the school bus would have picked him up. But Dora Lee wanted him to continue to go to the same school he was in when his folks died. The Bobtail school bus wouldnât go out to Cotton Hill to pick him up, so she drove him back and forth to Bobtail every single day for two years.
The valentines and birthday cards are in a stack to themselves, homemade cards made by the girls when they were little, going up until the cards are store bought and have awkward teenage sentiments scribbled above their names. I wonder if Caroline will want to see them and wonder if they mean anything to her. I notice there are no cards from Teague and that makes me think about how I used to make such a fuss for Jeanne over Valentineâs Day and her birthday. I guess Teague was as stingy with affection as his brother Leslie is with money. Or maybe Dora Lee couldnât stand to keep things from Teague. The way he treated her would have outweighed any sentimental card he might have given her.
Another stack is for pictures, mostly school pictures of the girls, but also some of Dora Lee and Teague when they were young. Iâd forgotten that Teague was quite the ladiesâ man. He was good-looking in an oily kind of way.
Most of the Christmas cards are from family. But a few, yellowed with age, are from people I never heard of, and sound like they were written by youngsters. For a couple of years when Dora Lee was a teenager, her daddy took his family off to Austin to live while he worked on a construction job there. As soon as the job ended, they high-tailed it back here. But for a few years Dora Lee must have kept up with girls she met in school in Austin.
Thereâs one clipping that I donât know what to make of. Itâs an obituary of an artist named William Kern who I never heard of; he died a few years ago. He lived around Fredericksburg. I wonder if Dora Lee knew him. I conjure up an old romance from when she lived in Austin that made her doubly happy when she found out her grandson was inclined to art.
Dora Lee kept all the school pictures of the girls. Caroline had a way of looking at the camera as if challenging the photographer to see her sexy side. By contrast, Julie was a wholesome girl, not as pretty, but with a cheerful smile. I put rubber bands around the stacks and stuff them back into the duffle. Iâll give it to Caroline to dispense with as she pleases.
Itâs an hour later, and getting on for dusk, when Jenny gets back to me. âSorry it took so long. Mother tends to be long-winded. I expect thatâs why Iâm not partial to small talk.â
âShe able to tell you anything?â
âAlex Eubanks is a peacock. Apparently heâs won a couple of awards in some art shows, and if he offers to give somebody lessons, he thinks heâs doing them a big favor. He got riled up when Dora Lee wouldnât pay for lessons anymore.â In other words, no new information, but at least it confirms what I know
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