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"I suppose that's it," Josh said. "Now you've met them. If you think you can handle "
"Sure can," Brenna said. "Kids, get into jeans before you start playing in the sand. If you don't want to
play, you can watch the cartoons on TV, but after that you have to give equal time to homework. Supper
at six, take it or leave it. Any questions?"
Chris paused, gazing at her. "Gee, you're pretty," he said. "Billy said "
"I know what Billy says. You'll say the same when I make you wash behind your ears. Now go get
changed."
Chris ran upstairs. Sue lingered. "Will there be peas for supper?"
"Not this time," Brenna said.
"Good!" Sue headed for the stairs. "I hate peas." Then she paused again. "Beans?"
"Canned beans. That's most of what we've got to work with today."
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"Yuck!" Sue exclaimed with satisfaction, and went on up.
Brenna and her mother began bustling about the kitchen, putting things in order. Josh felt out of place, so
he went out to set a few more posts. Soon the children joined him. "What do you think?" he asked them.
"Can't we get ice cream instead of beans," Sue inquired wistfully. "I couldn't get my ice cream today,
because they were in the kitchen."
"We all must make sacrifices," Josh said. "If they have supper on schedule, you won't need a snack. But
what I really meant to ask was do you think Billy's sister will be all right for a housekeeper?"
Sue considered, cocking her head judiciously. "She's awful pretty."
Josh wasn't certain whether Sue intended this to be positive or negative, and decided not to pursue the
matter. Until the mother departed, they would not know how the daughter was at the job, anyway. They
worked on the fence, the children patting dirt in around the placed posts, until Brenna called them in.
It was a good supper, fashioned from the meager supplies remaining in the house. Josh had never been an
apt grocery shopper, and things had backslided in the absence of a housekeeper. He had forgotten to point
out all the boxes of vacuum-canned food, but wasn't sure how adequate or adaptable those were anyway.
He was glad when it was over and they were gone. Josh hoped that the mother would let the daughter
work alone next time, so that he could verify how apt she was at the job.
It was not to be. All week long mother backstopped daughter, not bothering to drive home when she
would only have to return within four hours. Brenna only took money for one. Apparently her mother's
services were unofficial.
If only there were some convenient way to have the mother take the housekeeping position, letting the
daughter go home! But there did not seem to be. Was Brenna competent? What would happen when it
was just Brenna and the children?
What choice did he have? With luck Mrs. Sears would check frequently on her daughter, in person or by
phone, and tide her through. He would cut his trip as short as he could. Two days, most of which time the
children would be either asleep or in school. They might get away with a number of ice-cream meals, but
that was not any major disaster. Not too much chance for anything critical to go wrong.
Why, then, did he feel so apprehensive? It was more than the notion of having a careless girl in charge of
his children. He feared something worse. Something like another death. Could he cancel the trip? No, not
if he wanted to deliver on his contract. There were people he had to consult with, key references he had to
check.
He had his airplane round trip reservation, and the closing on the sale of his old house in New Jersey had
been fixed. He had to be there!
"Pray that it be all right," he told himself.
Chapter 13
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Brenna Sears relaxed at last. Joshua Pinson had driven off at noon to catch his plane in Tampa, and Mom
had driven home an hour later, assured that no daughter of hers would remain one minute alone in a
house with a strange man. This overprotectiveness had cost Brenna jobs before, and it had really looked
as if Mr. Pinson was getting fed up, understandably, but they had hung firm and held the job. It was hard
for Brenna to blame her well-meaning parent, though. Mom had had to marry in a hurry that was back
before abortions were easy, and it seemed she had been criminally ignorant of contraceptive measures
and she just didn't want her daughter to repeat. Since Brenna herself had been the cause of that swift
marriage, by getting herself conceived, she could hardly fault her mother's concern. Had Mom decided
otherwise, Brenna would have been in a bad way.
Women simply hadn't known very much, in Mom's day. They still didn't; Mom was grossly out of touch
with today's realities. Brenna had exceptional physical resources, and knew it; once she had made a game
of counting the number of male heads that turned as she passed. She had given that up; they all turned, in
one fashion or another. She had managed a good deal more experience than Mom's generation dreamed
of. It was simply a matter of knowing the worth of one's hand, and how to play it. But that was no topic
for discussion at home. As far as Mom was concerned, Brenna would remain an innocent child until she
somehow got married and moved away. Mom figured that the right age for a girl to marry was about
twenty-five which was another signal of her naïveté.
Since Brenna did understand Mom's attitude, she did not make any overt objection. She hoped to find
herself a good situation despite Mom's "help" and go from there carefully, without emotional violence.
It was too soon to tell whether this Pinson residence was what she was looking for; it had fallen into her
lap by pure chance, by way of her little brother Billy, of all things. Maybe Billy had just wanted to get her
out of the house so that he could run wild, since Mom didn't worry about boys the way she did about
girls. But it did seem promising. Joshua was a nice man, even if he was closer to Mom's generation than
to her own, and Chris and Sue were nice children, and this was a pretty nice farm, if a little far out from
town.
Now, with Mom out of the way, Brenna could do things her own way. There were new recipes she
wanted to perfect, new games for children, new schedules for accomplishing housework. It was a pleasant
challenge, all hers to organize. Brenna, unlike other girls her age, really liked housework; it had its own
special rewards, and was not intellectually demanding. The sight of a freshly clean and shining floor sent
a thrill through her, especially when she had cleaned it herself. Friends had tried to tell her she should be
trying to get into acting or motion pictures because of her appearance, but she knew that sort of constant
hassle was not her style. She didn't want to fight for recognition; she just wanted to be part of a good
household, secure and appreciated. She knew her liabilities as well as her assets, and so she knew that in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl fopke.keep.pl
"I suppose that's it," Josh said. "Now you've met them. If you think you can handle "
"Sure can," Brenna said. "Kids, get into jeans before you start playing in the sand. If you don't want to
play, you can watch the cartoons on TV, but after that you have to give equal time to homework. Supper
at six, take it or leave it. Any questions?"
Chris paused, gazing at her. "Gee, you're pretty," he said. "Billy said "
"I know what Billy says. You'll say the same when I make you wash behind your ears. Now go get
changed."
Chris ran upstairs. Sue lingered. "Will there be peas for supper?"
"Not this time," Brenna said.
"Good!" Sue headed for the stairs. "I hate peas." Then she paused again. "Beans?"
"Canned beans. That's most of what we've got to work with today."
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Click here to buy
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"Yuck!" Sue exclaimed with satisfaction, and went on up.
Brenna and her mother began bustling about the kitchen, putting things in order. Josh felt out of place, so
he went out to set a few more posts. Soon the children joined him. "What do you think?" he asked them.
"Can't we get ice cream instead of beans," Sue inquired wistfully. "I couldn't get my ice cream today,
because they were in the kitchen."
"We all must make sacrifices," Josh said. "If they have supper on schedule, you won't need a snack. But
what I really meant to ask was do you think Billy's sister will be all right for a housekeeper?"
Sue considered, cocking her head judiciously. "She's awful pretty."
Josh wasn't certain whether Sue intended this to be positive or negative, and decided not to pursue the
matter. Until the mother departed, they would not know how the daughter was at the job, anyway. They
worked on the fence, the children patting dirt in around the placed posts, until Brenna called them in.
It was a good supper, fashioned from the meager supplies remaining in the house. Josh had never been an
apt grocery shopper, and things had backslided in the absence of a housekeeper. He had forgotten to point
out all the boxes of vacuum-canned food, but wasn't sure how adequate or adaptable those were anyway.
He was glad when it was over and they were gone. Josh hoped that the mother would let the daughter
work alone next time, so that he could verify how apt she was at the job.
It was not to be. All week long mother backstopped daughter, not bothering to drive home when she
would only have to return within four hours. Brenna only took money for one. Apparently her mother's
services were unofficial.
If only there were some convenient way to have the mother take the housekeeping position, letting the
daughter go home! But there did not seem to be. Was Brenna competent? What would happen when it
was just Brenna and the children?
What choice did he have? With luck Mrs. Sears would check frequently on her daughter, in person or by
phone, and tide her through. He would cut his trip as short as he could. Two days, most of which time the
children would be either asleep or in school. They might get away with a number of ice-cream meals, but
that was not any major disaster. Not too much chance for anything critical to go wrong.
Why, then, did he feel so apprehensive? It was more than the notion of having a careless girl in charge of
his children. He feared something worse. Something like another death. Could he cancel the trip? No, not
if he wanted to deliver on his contract. There were people he had to consult with, key references he had to
check.
He had his airplane round trip reservation, and the closing on the sale of his old house in New Jersey had
been fixed. He had to be there!
"Pray that it be all right," he told himself.
Chapter 13
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Click here to buy
Click here to buy
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Brenna Sears relaxed at last. Joshua Pinson had driven off at noon to catch his plane in Tampa, and Mom
had driven home an hour later, assured that no daughter of hers would remain one minute alone in a
house with a strange man. This overprotectiveness had cost Brenna jobs before, and it had really looked
as if Mr. Pinson was getting fed up, understandably, but they had hung firm and held the job. It was hard
for Brenna to blame her well-meaning parent, though. Mom had had to marry in a hurry that was back
before abortions were easy, and it seemed she had been criminally ignorant of contraceptive measures
and she just didn't want her daughter to repeat. Since Brenna herself had been the cause of that swift
marriage, by getting herself conceived, she could hardly fault her mother's concern. Had Mom decided
otherwise, Brenna would have been in a bad way.
Women simply hadn't known very much, in Mom's day. They still didn't; Mom was grossly out of touch
with today's realities. Brenna had exceptional physical resources, and knew it; once she had made a game
of counting the number of male heads that turned as she passed. She had given that up; they all turned, in
one fashion or another. She had managed a good deal more experience than Mom's generation dreamed
of. It was simply a matter of knowing the worth of one's hand, and how to play it. But that was no topic
for discussion at home. As far as Mom was concerned, Brenna would remain an innocent child until she
somehow got married and moved away. Mom figured that the right age for a girl to marry was about
twenty-five which was another signal of her naïveté.
Since Brenna did understand Mom's attitude, she did not make any overt objection. She hoped to find
herself a good situation despite Mom's "help" and go from there carefully, without emotional violence.
It was too soon to tell whether this Pinson residence was what she was looking for; it had fallen into her
lap by pure chance, by way of her little brother Billy, of all things. Maybe Billy had just wanted to get her
out of the house so that he could run wild, since Mom didn't worry about boys the way she did about
girls. But it did seem promising. Joshua was a nice man, even if he was closer to Mom's generation than
to her own, and Chris and Sue were nice children, and this was a pretty nice farm, if a little far out from
town.
Now, with Mom out of the way, Brenna could do things her own way. There were new recipes she
wanted to perfect, new games for children, new schedules for accomplishing housework. It was a pleasant
challenge, all hers to organize. Brenna, unlike other girls her age, really liked housework; it had its own
special rewards, and was not intellectually demanding. The sight of a freshly clean and shining floor sent
a thrill through her, especially when she had cleaned it herself. Friends had tried to tell her she should be
trying to get into acting or motion pictures because of her appearance, but she knew that sort of constant
hassle was not her style. She didn't want to fight for recognition; she just wanted to be part of a good
household, secure and appreciated. She knew her liabilities as well as her assets, and so she knew that in [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]