I Love to Write
Capricorn in Aquarius - Part Two
Mari's mother...I frowned and began tracing curlicues of red lace around the edges of my drawn hearts.
Mari's mother had been born in America but educated in France. She spoke English with a French accent and made both me and her daughters nervous as children - with the exception of Michaelene (Mickey), the youngest. Nothing bothered Mickey.
I was polite to Stephanie Beaulieu, but she had a way of looking down her nose at you like you weren't there speaking to her. She had a unique way of punishing her daughters for any transgressions - in addition to grounding, she would scold and yell at them in the French she knew so well, guessing correctly that anybody who heard her castigating her children in this manner knew not what she was saying to them.
One afternoon, so Mari had later told me, she had had enough of it, and instead of begging her, "Speak English, Mama!" as she usually did, she let fly with a reply of almost-perfect French of her own. She understood every word her mother was saying and answered in kind. It was the first time she had seen her mother speechless. After that, Stephanie spoke less French to her girls and English more often - to their immense relief.
The bell for the first period jolted me from my reverie. I picked up my books and headed for homeroom to meet Mari before classes.
Mari's mother...I frowned and began tracing curlicues of red lace around the edges of my drawn hearts.
Mari's mother had been born in America but educated in France. She spoke English with a French accent and made both me and her daughters nervous as children - with the exception of Michaelene (Mickey), the youngest. Nothing bothered Mickey.
I was polite to Stephanie Beaulieu, but she had a way of looking down her nose at you like you weren't there speaking to her. She had a unique way of punishing her daughters for any transgressions - in addition to grounding, she would scold and yell at them in the French she knew so well, guessing correctly that anybody who heard her castigating her children in this manner knew not what she was saying to them.
One afternoon, so Mari had later told me, she had had enough of it, and instead of begging her, "Speak English, Mama!" as she usually did, she let fly with a reply of almost-perfect French of her own. She understood every word her mother was saying and answered in kind. It was the first time she had seen her mother speechless. After that, Stephanie spoke less French to her girls and English more often - to their immense relief.
The bell for the first period jolted me from my reverie. I picked up my books and headed for homeroom to meet Mari before classes.
61-69, F
