Page 74 of Thursdays at Orange Blossom House
‘She had a tutor at home,’ Dorothy explains. ‘The tutor could sign.’
‘Where is she now?’
‘Still at home. She can’t work. Hardly anyone can sign.’ Another shrug:no one can do anything about it.‘She does the housework and she reads.’
‘Does she have any friends?’ Grace Maud says.
‘No. I’m her friend.’ That answer came out so quickly because it’s true, yet the truth of it makes Dorothy so sad that she doesn’t think about it often. When they were young she didn’t think about it at all, because she was so wrapped up in herself; it’s only now that she has a separate life that she realises everything Cornelia can’t do and doesn’t have, and feels the pain of it, and has to stop herself thinking about it because sometimes the pain is overwhelming. Besides, the pain is so close to pity and Cornelia has no tolerance for that.
‘That’s hard on both of you,’ says Patricia.
‘I guess it is.’ Dorothy looks at her hands again then glances up in time to see Patricia and Grace Maud looking at each other.
‘Anyway,’ Dorothy continues, ‘it’s life, isn’t it? We can’t change it. I just have to make the most of everything I have, because I am really, really lucky. I get to have friends like you.’
She smiles at them both even if her breeziness is an act, because sometimes she does wish she could change it. Sometimes she thinks she’d swap what she has just to give Cornelia a chance of living a different life.
‘I’m sure Cornelia thinks she’s lucky to have you,’ Patricia says kindly.
‘Maybe.’ Dorothy smiles. ‘Sometimes she just says I’m a pain.’
Grace Maud laughs. ‘We can all be pains when we choose to be. I think it’s quite a useful trick to have up one’s sleeve. Now, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask: Dorothy, why don’t you tell us how you and Frederick met.’
Dorothy is surprised at the change of subject, but as she recounts the tale of the tall young tourist who swept her off her feet, she forgets to worry about anything that was bothering her before. By the time she departs an hour later – after a call to Frederick to tell him where she is – she feels lighter and also as if she’s on more solid ground. She has anchors in this life – her parents, her sister, her husband, her friends – and for the first time she realises that they can hold her steady if anything goes wrong. And it may not this time. It’s all right for her to start believing that.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
‘Iwould say “penny for your thoughts” but that’s a bit of a cliché, isn’t it?’
Patricia turns at the sound of Dennis’s voice and it takes her a second to remember she’s in the staffroom. She’s been so caught up in the to-do list in her head that she’s not even sure how long she’s been there.
‘The kettle’s finished boiling,’ he says, gesturing towards the rising steam.
‘Thanks,’ says Patricia; she’d completely forgotten she switched it on.
‘Finished for the day?’ he asks, pulling two mugs out of the cupboard.
‘Ah … yes.’
‘Not sure what day it is?’ He grins.
She’s noticed that Dennis likes grinning, but today she’s not in the mood for relentless upbeatness.
‘I guess not,’ she snaps, and his grin falls.
She regrets her sharpness as soon as the words are out of her mouth. It’s not fair to take out her bad mood on Dennis. It started this morning as she was in her usual rush out the door after preparing breakfast for her parents and trying to remember if she made herself lunch to take to work. Her mother had pursed her lips and said in a scolding tone, ‘It’s time you gave up that silly job. Men don’t like their wives to have silly jobs.’
Patricia has no idea if her mother was talking to her or if she was thinking of an imaginary person with a silly job, but it certainly hadn’t been a good way to start the day.
She reaches for one of the mugs, but Dennis puts his hand over hers.
‘I’ll make it,’ he says. ‘Strong black tea, one sugar. Right?’
‘How did you know?’
‘I’ve seen you make it before. Sometimes I pay attention in here.’ The grin returns and she smiles back.
Dennis isn’t a bad person. That’s not the reason she wouldn’t go out with him. Of course, he may not be a good person either but the signs point in that direction. He’s capable of kindnesses, as she is witnessing now.
