School of Charm (12 page)

chapter fifteen

W
HEN
I
WALKED THROUGH OUR FRONT DOOR
, I
COULD
see Grandma upstairs, walking past the off-limits room. Inspired by the adventures in the movie, I decided I would try to get back in there soon. But I was never alone in the house. Did I dare do it again while everyone was sleeping? Probably not. Grandma had really good hearing for an old lady.

“You received some correspondence today,” Grandma said as she walked down the stairs.

“What?”

“You got mail, little sis,” Charlene said, leaning over the railing. “I think it's from your boyfriend,” she sang.

“He's not my boyfriend,” I grumbled. But why was I blushing?

Grandma walked over and handed me a letter. It was from Billy. I recognized his handwriting. I ran to my room to read it in private, ignoring Charlene's giggles as I dashed past her.

I jumped on the bed and turned Deady Freddy around so he couldn't see the letter. Then I tore open the thick envelope.

 

Dear Chip,

Things are soooooo boring here. It's no fun playing the Coolest Thing Ever when there's no one to show your stuff to. Thanks for the rock. Awesome! It's in my crayfish tank. I found an albino crayfish that might actually be cooler than your baby turtle. Do you still have him?

I'm sorry to hear you don't like it down there. I saw
Star Wars
—did you see it? It was so cool! I got you some PopRocks at the movies, since they're your favorite, and stuck them in the envelope. Hope they didn't get crushed.

Well, please come back and visit sometime.

Your pal,

Billy

 

I rolled over onto my stomach and stared out the window. It was so strange not having a friend I could just run outside and play with. Dana had called me and Karen her charm school friends today, but it wasn't the same as with Billy. I missed skipping stones across the pond and riding bikes. I couldn't remember ever feeling sad like this back home before Daddy died. I felt like a wilted flower down here in North Carolina, and Billy's letter only reminded me how much had changed. How much I had changed.

 

“W
HO WANTS TO GO INTO TOWN FOR ICE CREAM?”
Grandma asked after dinner.

“Me! Me! Me!” hollered Ruthie, jumping up and down like a puppy.

Charlene held her hand over her stomach. “I'm stuffed. But I'll come and have one maraschino cherry. That only has fifteen calories.”

I was pouring the PopRocks onto my tongue, seeing how long it would take for them to run out of pop. I wondered if they'd do the same thing on ice cream. It would be a worthwhile experiment even if it did mean a trip in Grandma's stuffy car.

“Brenda, I thought I told you not to eat those. Children across America are being rushed to emergency rooms every day because that candy is blowing holes in their stomachs. Where did you get that?” Mama asked.

“Her boyfriend,” Charlene teased.

“Not true!”

“Brenda, did you hear from Billy? How is he?” Mama asked.

“Great. I sure do miss him.” Billy would've known how to get back in Grandma's room. I froze. Grandma was going to town for ice cream. The house would be empty. This was my chance. I rubbed my stomach.

“I'm full too. I'm going to skip the ice cream. I'll be upstairs.”

“Suit yourself,” Grandma said, plucking her keys from the key rack.

As they filed out the door, my heart pounded. They'd all be gone for at least an hour, and that was plenty of time for investigating the off-limits room—I wanted to look at all the pictures and see what was inside that covered-up cabinet. I needed to learn some of Grandma's secrets and I'd bet anything that's where they were. Too bad Billy wasn't there to act as a lookout.

 

I
WAITED FOR THE CAR TO PULL OUT OF THE DRIVEWAY.
Then I ran upstairs. My fingers trembled as I snatched another bobby pin out of the drawer in the bathroom. I held it in my palm, giving myself one last chance to decide not to do it. But I wasn't doing it to be sneaky. I was doing it to know Grandma better, and that was all part of keeping my promise to Mama. I blew out a breath. It sure sounded good, but it didn't feel good. Before I could change my mind, I stuck the pin in the lock and opened the door.

The room looked exactly like it did the last time I had been in there. It was still dim, but I wasn't brave enough to flip a light on. I scanned the walls for those animal pictures again. There were dozens of framed photos tacked up on the wall.

I stopped in front of one picture that looked just like Ruthie. I blew off the dust. This little Ruthie-Girl smiled up at the camera with lots of baby bunnies at her feet. In another picture that same little girl held onto a great big fluffy kitty. Then the girl stood with a man and a woman in front of an old truck that had
DAVIDSON ANIMAL HUSBANDRY
printed on its side.

I brushed off another dusty picture of the little girl and froze. There was something scribbled in pencil underneath a picture of her on a pony. I squinted so I could read it better.
Nancy riding Ginger, 1926
, it read.

Grandma's name was Nancy. That little Ruthie-Girl was Grandma. That little Ruthie-Girl with all those animals! Grandma—who hates animals. I spotted another picture, with Grandma holding a ribbon tied around a goat's neck. And that wasn't the only picture of Grandma with animals. Live animals—not dead, stuffed ones like downstairs.

I moved a few boxes out of the way so I could get to the cabinet. I had to know why it was all covered up. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the blanket to the side.

“That's it?” I whispered to myself.

The cabinet was like the ones in the living room with the lit-up dolls, but this one had rows of carved wooden animals. There was a whole shelf of animals you'd see on a farm. Another one had animals from the jungle. Cats had their own shelf and dogs filled two. Why was she covering these up?

I didn't have too much time to be stunned because I heard a car door slam. They hadn't been gone an hour. More like a few minutes. I turned to leave, but the blanket fell down.

“Shoot!” I said. I wouldn't be able to get that back on. I locked the door and closed it behind me just as they were walking up the sidewalk.

“I can't believe I forgot my pocketbook. You girls help me find it, all right?” I heard Grandma say.

I headed for the stairs, but Grandma looked up, and saw me in front of the off-limits room. I felt so guilty I couldn't help but stare at the shiny wood floor.

Grandma dashed up those stairs. Then Mama followed her, and Charlene and Ruthie tore after them. I thought about running out the front door, but I stood frozen in the same spot. Grandma went right to the door and twisted the knob. It opened.

Rats. I'd forgotten to lock it. Not that it mattered. She knew just from looking at me that I'd gone in. I thought I might throw up.

Grandma stood outside the room, turning red and shaking. She was a firework waiting for the flame to race down the wick so she could explode.

And she did. “Brenda Anderson, I made it clear that you were not to go in this room. But you went in anyway. And now you've gone in again! You just don't listen. I ought to . . .” But Grandma was so upset she couldn't even think of what horrible thing she ought to do to me.

“What are all those pictures with the animals?” My brain worked in reverse, opening my mouth by mistake when it should be clamped shut. “I saw one of you with a horse. And one with a goat. I thought you hated animals. You must have a hundred animal statues in that cabinet.”

Mama flashed me a scary look. “Brenda, you keep quiet and tell Grandma you're sorry.”

But Grandma held out her hand. “No, no, Cecelia. Since Brenda is so interested, Brenda should know. She should know life isn't always about what
you
want or what
you
like.”

Mama closed her eyes and dropped her chin to her chest. Ruthie grabbed on to her leg.

“Grandma, I'm sorry . . . I—”

She cut me off. “You want to know about that goat in the picture? I'll tell you about that goat. I grew up during the Great Depression,” Grandma said, walking down the hall with her hands behind her back. “Do they teach you about that at school? Food was scarce. Money too. Sometimes we got only one meal a day.” She turned around to look at me, and held up one finger. “No ice cream sundaes for us.”

We all stood there. I wished she had just sent me to my room.

Grandma started pacing again. Her voice was deep and low. “My father was the vet in town. But no one else had any money either. He got paid with scraps of material or vegetables, sometimes a chicken. Once a baby goat.” Grandma stopped to take a deep breath. Her voice was running out of hate. “I thought Daddy had brought it home for my birthday. I thought that baby goat was going to be my pet. But it wasn't.” Now she almost sounded like she was a little girl again. “A few months later when that goat got fat, it became dinner.” She stopped to take a shaky breath “And when I had to marry your grandfather, animals didn't fit in my life anymore.”

I think she forgot we were there, because her eyes were fixed on something in the room. After a few minutes, she walked downstairs. The back door slammed.

We were all quiet.

Finally I looked at Mama and went back into the open room, dark and dusty like a mummy's tomb that had just been opened. Charlene and Ruthie followed me. We walked around slowly, looking at all the pictures, not even talking.

“That's me!” Ruthie said, jumping up and pointing to the photo of Grandma on the pony. She stood on her tippy-toes, trying to get a better look.

“That's Grandma, honey,” Mama said.

I stared at another picture of Grandma; this time she was holding a chicken. “Seems like she liked animals a long time ago,” I said. “So why not now?”

Mama sank down on a big orange couch. She rested her head in her hands and then looked up. “Grandma did love animals. She went out with her daddy on his vet calls. She wanted to be an animal doctor like him one day.” Mama forced a wobbly smile. “She was such a daddy's girl, always working out in the barn with him.”

I squeezed my hands around my ribs. “She was kind of like a tomboy? Like me?” My heart kicked up a notch.

Mama nodded. “Yes, she was. She doesn't talk about it now, but my grandma Davidson would tell me stories. Your grandma was always stubborn. Everyone laughed when she told them her dreams because she was a girl and girls weren't vets. But she didn't care—she was going to do it.”

I studied the picture. “Why didn't she become one?”

Mama pulled a blanket over her lap and rubbed the fringe between her fingers. “It was a different world back then. And times were tough, like Grandma said. Grandma was a beautiful girl. Just like you all.” She blew out a long breath, ruffling her bangs. “Her mama said she should forget about being a vet and find herself a rich husband.”

Charlene took a picture off the wall to look at it closer. “And did she?”

Mama shook her head. “Not right away. When she was seventeen, her mother made her quit showing the farm animals at the fair and join the beauty pageant instead. She won the county fair title and went on to the state competition. She won the state title the next year when she was eighteen. She thought she could use the prize money toward school, toward being a vet.” Mama sighed.

“So what happened?” Charlene asked.

“Her daddy couldn't keep up with the bills anymore. And the bank was ready to take his house and his business. This happened to a lot of people during the depression. It was a very scary time.” Mama stared off at nothing.

“Did they lose the house and everything?” I asked.

Mama gave me a tight smile and shook her head. “The man who owned the bank said he'd be interested in investing in the business. But only if he was related to the family.”

“Was he?” Charlene cocked her head.

“Once he married Grandma he was.”

The polished tips of Charlene's fingers flew to her mouth. “Grandma had to marry the banker? You mean Grandpa? Did she love him?” Her lips turned down in a horrified frown.

Mama shrugged. “She didn't really know him. And as you can see in the pictures, he was much older. But her marriage saved the family.”

“Grandma told you this?” Charlene asked.

Mama laughed. “No, my grandma Davidson did, before she died.” Mama shivered and pulled the blanket around her. “My mother wouldn't admit her life wasn't what she wanted. And she didn't want to upset her father and let him know she wasn't happy.”

“Why didn't she just work with her daddy and be a vet after she got married?” I sat down in a chair across from Mama, feeling a little shaky. I actually felt bad for Grandma.