stretch and her neck strain all the way to the hotel.
Hector, with not a wrinkle in his black dress suit, stood when he saw us enter the dining room. He strutted over to Daddy to offer a white-gloved hand, then bowed to Mama and me, hat in hand, and held our chairs for us to sit down.
It had been several months since I’d seen him, but I hadn’t forgotten how nice he was to look on. His eyes were his best attribute—deeply brown and bordered by thick dark eyebrows and long eyelashes. His nose was imposing yet finely sloped, and his jawbone was strong and chiseled. His black hair wasn’t too long, nor too short, but thick and well coiffed. It was parted cleanly down the middle.
But tonight I noticed that there was a feminine quality about his lips. They were too pink, too full, for his masculine face. I couldn’t stop looking at them.
Daddy joked, “I can’t believe I’m dining with a man who goes to a Yankee college! What’s it like up there, all coal dust and immigrants?”
Hector smiled. “It’s an excellent medical school. But home will always be North Carolina.”
“Good to hear it,” said Daddy, settling himself into his chair.
Over her glass of sugar-laden lemonade, Mama said, “Tell us how you’ve been spending your summer hiatus, Hector.”
I could see that she had applied the tiniest bit of powder and rouge to cover her pale, yellow complexion.
“It has been entirely restful. I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I’ve been sleeping so late into the mornings that I’ve found I’ve long missed breakfast and quite nearly come upon the midday meal!” he said with a flourish. He sat stiffly upright, a one-dimensional board propped in a chair. “I must admit, though, that I have a hard time tearing myself away from Daddy’s library. I do so enjoy the field of medicine. I’m still looking for ideas for my medical thesis. It’s due at the end of the term next January, and I can’t wait to get started on it.”
“Going to follow in your old man’s footsteps, then?” Daddy asked.
“He has indicated to me that he would like me to continue in the family business, so to speak, so that he can have a rest in his old age. Although I don’t think he’s willing to cease the practice of medicine anytime soon.”
“Oh, I should hope not,” Mama interjected, her eyes round. “I would hate to see Dr. Newman retire. You never know when you’re going to need a skilled doctor, and they are so rare around these parts.”
I already knew that Mama, thinking of the baby growing inside her, was anxious to procure the services of Doc Newman, who had attended all of her previous births and miscarriages.
“Why, Mrs. Sinclair, you look the absolute picture of health, a rare eagle of a woman perched firmly in the prime of her life. Such awoman should not be requiring many medical services, of that I am sure!”
Mama blushed at the compliment, and Hector looked over at me in the ensuing silence with a self-satisfied smile. He brushed a stiff-cuffed hand over his hair and winked at me, just barely. But I could only stare at his perfect orderliness, my mind suddenly picturing the marked crease between Ben’s freshly washed hands and his still-grimy forearms.
Daddy picked up his whiskey and took a long drink. I wondered if he knew of Mama’s condition, and whether he’d be pleased. One more mouth to feed, one more body to clothe.
Mama said, “If your father does have to retire, perhaps you would consider taking us on in his place. I
have
known you since you were a small boy, you know, when you came around with your father on his calls.” She paused to smile coquettishly at him. “But I do think it would be much more convenient to have a doctor already
in the family.”
I breathed in sharply, causing my glass to almost slip out of my hands. If Hector had the slightest inclination of proposing marriage to me one day, she had probably just sent him running directly for the sand hills.
Yet Hector
Hector, with not a wrinkle in his black dress suit, stood when he saw us enter the dining room. He strutted over to Daddy to offer a white-gloved hand, then bowed to Mama and me, hat in hand, and held our chairs for us to sit down.
It had been several months since I’d seen him, but I hadn’t forgotten how nice he was to look on. His eyes were his best attribute—deeply brown and bordered by thick dark eyebrows and long eyelashes. His nose was imposing yet finely sloped, and his jawbone was strong and chiseled. His black hair wasn’t too long, nor too short, but thick and well coiffed. It was parted cleanly down the middle.
But tonight I noticed that there was a feminine quality about his lips. They were too pink, too full, for his masculine face. I couldn’t stop looking at them.
Daddy joked, “I can’t believe I’m dining with a man who goes to a Yankee college! What’s it like up there, all coal dust and immigrants?”
Hector smiled. “It’s an excellent medical school. But home will always be North Carolina.”
“Good to hear it,” said Daddy, settling himself into his chair.
Over her glass of sugar-laden lemonade, Mama said, “Tell us how you’ve been spending your summer hiatus, Hector.”
I could see that she had applied the tiniest bit of powder and rouge to cover her pale, yellow complexion.
“It has been entirely restful. I’m rather embarrassed to admit that I’ve been sleeping so late into the mornings that I’ve found I’ve long missed breakfast and quite nearly come upon the midday meal!” he said with a flourish. He sat stiffly upright, a one-dimensional board propped in a chair. “I must admit, though, that I have a hard time tearing myself away from Daddy’s library. I do so enjoy the field of medicine. I’m still looking for ideas for my medical thesis. It’s due at the end of the term next January, and I can’t wait to get started on it.”
“Going to follow in your old man’s footsteps, then?” Daddy asked.
“He has indicated to me that he would like me to continue in the family business, so to speak, so that he can have a rest in his old age. Although I don’t think he’s willing to cease the practice of medicine anytime soon.”
“Oh, I should hope not,” Mama interjected, her eyes round. “I would hate to see Dr. Newman retire. You never know when you’re going to need a skilled doctor, and they are so rare around these parts.”
I already knew that Mama, thinking of the baby growing inside her, was anxious to procure the services of Doc Newman, who had attended all of her previous births and miscarriages.
“Why, Mrs. Sinclair, you look the absolute picture of health, a rare eagle of a woman perched firmly in the prime of her life. Such awoman should not be requiring many medical services, of that I am sure!”
Mama blushed at the compliment, and Hector looked over at me in the ensuing silence with a self-satisfied smile. He brushed a stiff-cuffed hand over his hair and winked at me, just barely. But I could only stare at his perfect orderliness, my mind suddenly picturing the marked crease between Ben’s freshly washed hands and his still-grimy forearms.
Daddy picked up his whiskey and took a long drink. I wondered if he knew of Mama’s condition, and whether he’d be pleased. One more mouth to feed, one more body to clothe.
Mama said, “If your father does have to retire, perhaps you would consider taking us on in his place. I
have
known you since you were a small boy, you know, when you came around with your father on his calls.” She paused to smile coquettishly at him. “But I do think it would be much more convenient to have a doctor already
in the family.”
I breathed in sharply, causing my glass to almost slip out of my hands. If Hector had the slightest inclination of proposing marriage to me one day, she had probably just sent him running directly for the sand hills.
Yet Hector
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