"There's nothing to forgive," I whispered.
"You need your medicine. Let me get the nurse." Lizzie hurried out of the room. Relief washed through me. My medication would be here soon; no nurse could say no to the persistent Sister Elizabeth.
Lizzie had been a good friend to me over the years, but she never understood my relationship with my daughter. I made her promise not to tell Ellen about our role in the scholarship. "But, Rosie," Lizzie said at the time, "isn't this the solution to all your problems with Ellen? This will bring you closer."
"You can't tell her we were involved. There's no way she'll go to Boston College if she thinks I'm behind it."
"I don't understand."
"That's right, Lizzie, you don't. And consider yourself lucky you don't."
Lizzie abided by my edict and to this day Ellen still had no idea Lizzie and I were the catalyst behind her great academic career. And her escape from Rose Hill.
When the envelope from Boston College arrived, I placed it back in the mailbox for Ellen or my mother to find. Ellen, trailed by Johnny Griffin from down the street, found the letter. She carelessly threw it on the kitchen counter before she retreated to her room with Johnny where they did God knew what. Johnny was tall, dark and dumb, which was Ellen's taste at the time. He was a freshman at Hofstra University, only twenty minutes from Centerport, and he had been lobbying heavily for Ellen to stay home for college. Kitty was friends with his mother and they were both delighted that the kids were dating. Kitty did everything in her power to push the romance along. Ellen, married and local and still under her thumb, would've been a dream come true for my mother.
Well, not if I could help it. Ellen had been lackadaisical when it came to her college applications. She'd left it up to me to type most of them. It was easy enough to slip Boston College among her other applications.
Later, after dinner, my mother sifted through the mail.
"Ellie," she called, "you have mail."
I busied myself with folding laundry at the kitchen table when Ellen floated into the kitchen. She picked through the mail and spent an inordinate amount of time flipping through a catalog. She finally opened the Boston College letter.
"Mom, did I apply to Boston College?"
"Hmm, I think you might have. Although I don't know why. There's no way I'd let you go there."
"Why not?" she said. "Laurie Nolan's cousin went there and had a blast."
"Exactly," I sniped. "That's why you're not going. Plus, it's way too expensive."
Ellen threw the letter in front of me. "They've offered me a scholarship so it shouldn't be too expensive."
I looked at Kitty. "Mama," I said to her, "can you help me out here? I thought we decided that Ellen was going to Hofstra."
Ellen's fair cheeks flamed with temper. "You decided? You two decided where I'm going to college?"
Kitty for once looked confused. "But, Ellie, I thought you wanted to go to Hofstra and stay home with Johnny?"
Ellen flipped her long blond hair out of her eyes. "Laurie's cousin said the boys at BC are hot."
I stood up and threw the towel I had been folding on the table. "If you think I'm going to allow you to move hundreds of miles away to do God knows what with boys in your dorm room, you've got another thing coming, missy. Right, Mama?"
Kitty looked uncertainly at Ellen. She wasn't used to siding with me against Ellen. My mother liked to be the good guy when it came to my daughter. "Well, I don't know, Rosie. If it's a good school and free and all, maybe we should think about it."
"Over my dead body!" I stormed out of the kitchen and prayed I hadn't overplayed my hand. It turned out I hadn't. By the next week Ellen had sent back her acceptance letter and a four short months later she was packed off to college, away from Johnny Griffin and out of that house.
The sharp pain emanating from my left eye socket brought me back to my room. I couldn't prevent the tears that soon streamed down my poor
"You need your medicine. Let me get the nurse." Lizzie hurried out of the room. Relief washed through me. My medication would be here soon; no nurse could say no to the persistent Sister Elizabeth.
Lizzie had been a good friend to me over the years, but she never understood my relationship with my daughter. I made her promise not to tell Ellen about our role in the scholarship. "But, Rosie," Lizzie said at the time, "isn't this the solution to all your problems with Ellen? This will bring you closer."
"You can't tell her we were involved. There's no way she'll go to Boston College if she thinks I'm behind it."
"I don't understand."
"That's right, Lizzie, you don't. And consider yourself lucky you don't."
Lizzie abided by my edict and to this day Ellen still had no idea Lizzie and I were the catalyst behind her great academic career. And her escape from Rose Hill.
When the envelope from Boston College arrived, I placed it back in the mailbox for Ellen or my mother to find. Ellen, trailed by Johnny Griffin from down the street, found the letter. She carelessly threw it on the kitchen counter before she retreated to her room with Johnny where they did God knew what. Johnny was tall, dark and dumb, which was Ellen's taste at the time. He was a freshman at Hofstra University, only twenty minutes from Centerport, and he had been lobbying heavily for Ellen to stay home for college. Kitty was friends with his mother and they were both delighted that the kids were dating. Kitty did everything in her power to push the romance along. Ellen, married and local and still under her thumb, would've been a dream come true for my mother.
Well, not if I could help it. Ellen had been lackadaisical when it came to her college applications. She'd left it up to me to type most of them. It was easy enough to slip Boston College among her other applications.
Later, after dinner, my mother sifted through the mail.
"Ellie," she called, "you have mail."
I busied myself with folding laundry at the kitchen table when Ellen floated into the kitchen. She picked through the mail and spent an inordinate amount of time flipping through a catalog. She finally opened the Boston College letter.
"Mom, did I apply to Boston College?"
"Hmm, I think you might have. Although I don't know why. There's no way I'd let you go there."
"Why not?" she said. "Laurie Nolan's cousin went there and had a blast."
"Exactly," I sniped. "That's why you're not going. Plus, it's way too expensive."
Ellen threw the letter in front of me. "They've offered me a scholarship so it shouldn't be too expensive."
I looked at Kitty. "Mama," I said to her, "can you help me out here? I thought we decided that Ellen was going to Hofstra."
Ellen's fair cheeks flamed with temper. "You decided? You two decided where I'm going to college?"
Kitty for once looked confused. "But, Ellie, I thought you wanted to go to Hofstra and stay home with Johnny?"
Ellen flipped her long blond hair out of her eyes. "Laurie's cousin said the boys at BC are hot."
I stood up and threw the towel I had been folding on the table. "If you think I'm going to allow you to move hundreds of miles away to do God knows what with boys in your dorm room, you've got another thing coming, missy. Right, Mama?"
Kitty looked uncertainly at Ellen. She wasn't used to siding with me against Ellen. My mother liked to be the good guy when it came to my daughter. "Well, I don't know, Rosie. If it's a good school and free and all, maybe we should think about it."
"Over my dead body!" I stormed out of the kitchen and prayed I hadn't overplayed my hand. It turned out I hadn't. By the next week Ellen had sent back her acceptance letter and a four short months later she was packed off to college, away from Johnny Griffin and out of that house.
The sharp pain emanating from my left eye socket brought me back to my room. I couldn't prevent the tears that soon streamed down my poor
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