forget our memory verse for next week. Then she prayed for us in her shaky voice and dismissed us. The moment she did, the boys turned their newspapers into airplanes and held a contest to see who could land theirs on the organ pipes first. May Elizabeth and I went out into the hallway, where Mr. and Mrs. Hayworth were waiting for us.
“Would you like to stay and go to church with us, Kathleen?” she asked.
The hallway and sanctuary were filling up with families, and I could see that, once again, I wasn’t dressed like everyone else. For one thing, every girl in sight had on black patent leather shoes shined with Vaseline, and I had on sneakers without any socks because I hadn’t been able to find any clean ones that morning. The ladies and girls all wore hats and white gloves, including May Elizabeth and her mother. It seemed to be required attire. One family with three daughters was wearing hats that resembled a set of dishes: the mother wore the dinner plate, the oldest daughter the soup bowl, the middle one the salad plate, and the youngest one the tea cup.
“No, thank you,” I mumbled. “I have to go home.”
“Are you sure?” Mrs. Hayworth asked, smiling. “We’d love to have you.” I shook my head and shuffled toward the door. “Maybe you can worship with us next week,” she called after me as I hurried away.
I spent all afternoon searching for a place to store my Sunday school paper where the boys wouldn’t wreck it. I wanted to learn the memory verse for next week so I could win a prize. I could think of only one place to hide it where the boys would never go: Mom’s sanctuary. Somehow, it seemed appropriate.
On Monday morning May Elizabeth burst into our classroom with shocking news. “Our house got broken into yesterday!” she told us breathlessly. “The thieves stole Ron’s transistor radio and his reel-to-reel tape recorder and Daddy’s new color TV and some money and a couple of kitchen appliances and a whole bunch of Mommy’s jewelry and her fur coat. …” She paused to gulp another breath. “They even took the liquor bottles right out of Daddy’s cabinet!”
We stared at her in slack-mouthed horror. This was just like a TV show. If only Perry Mason or the cops from Dragnet were around to solve this terrible crime. We all felt bad for her family’s losses, but I could tell that May Elizabeth was reveling in the drama of it all.
“They broke in while we were at church !” she huffed, as if that was the lowest blow of all. She had everyone’s attention as she finished with, “Daddy says we’re going to get a watchdog!”
Suddenly I had the same funny feeling in my stomach that I had on the day we went shopping for May’s birthday present. I couldn’t help wondering about my daddy’s detailed questions after the party and why he had particularly asked about a dog. I wanted to talk to him about it so that the funny feeling would go away, but when I got home from school that afternoon Daddy wasn’t there.
“He left for work yesterday while you were at church,” Mommy said. “He’ll be on the road all week. Why?”
“I just wondered… never mind.” I felt scared and angry at the same time, and I didn’t know why. I went into our bedroom to try to think things through and discovered that my Hula-Hoop was gone. I heard my brothers laughing maliciously in the backyard, and I ran outside.
“Stop! Give that back!” I yelled. “You’ll break it!” The boys had tied my Hula-Hoop to a tree branch with a piece of rope and were about to use it as a swing. I raced across the yard but was too late. The hoop snapped in two beneath Poke’s weight, and he tumbled to the ground on top of JT. I walked away in tears, hoping the collision had broken both of their necks.
That Halloween, May Elizabeth invited me to go trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. The rich people on her side of town actually gave out treats; our side of town was better known for its tricks.
“You
“Would you like to stay and go to church with us, Kathleen?” she asked.
The hallway and sanctuary were filling up with families, and I could see that, once again, I wasn’t dressed like everyone else. For one thing, every girl in sight had on black patent leather shoes shined with Vaseline, and I had on sneakers without any socks because I hadn’t been able to find any clean ones that morning. The ladies and girls all wore hats and white gloves, including May Elizabeth and her mother. It seemed to be required attire. One family with three daughters was wearing hats that resembled a set of dishes: the mother wore the dinner plate, the oldest daughter the soup bowl, the middle one the salad plate, and the youngest one the tea cup.
“No, thank you,” I mumbled. “I have to go home.”
“Are you sure?” Mrs. Hayworth asked, smiling. “We’d love to have you.” I shook my head and shuffled toward the door. “Maybe you can worship with us next week,” she called after me as I hurried away.
I spent all afternoon searching for a place to store my Sunday school paper where the boys wouldn’t wreck it. I wanted to learn the memory verse for next week so I could win a prize. I could think of only one place to hide it where the boys would never go: Mom’s sanctuary. Somehow, it seemed appropriate.
On Monday morning May Elizabeth burst into our classroom with shocking news. “Our house got broken into yesterday!” she told us breathlessly. “The thieves stole Ron’s transistor radio and his reel-to-reel tape recorder and Daddy’s new color TV and some money and a couple of kitchen appliances and a whole bunch of Mommy’s jewelry and her fur coat. …” She paused to gulp another breath. “They even took the liquor bottles right out of Daddy’s cabinet!”
We stared at her in slack-mouthed horror. This was just like a TV show. If only Perry Mason or the cops from Dragnet were around to solve this terrible crime. We all felt bad for her family’s losses, but I could tell that May Elizabeth was reveling in the drama of it all.
“They broke in while we were at church !” she huffed, as if that was the lowest blow of all. She had everyone’s attention as she finished with, “Daddy says we’re going to get a watchdog!”
Suddenly I had the same funny feeling in my stomach that I had on the day we went shopping for May’s birthday present. I couldn’t help wondering about my daddy’s detailed questions after the party and why he had particularly asked about a dog. I wanted to talk to him about it so that the funny feeling would go away, but when I got home from school that afternoon Daddy wasn’t there.
“He left for work yesterday while you were at church,” Mommy said. “He’ll be on the road all week. Why?”
“I just wondered… never mind.” I felt scared and angry at the same time, and I didn’t know why. I went into our bedroom to try to think things through and discovered that my Hula-Hoop was gone. I heard my brothers laughing maliciously in the backyard, and I ran outside.
“Stop! Give that back!” I yelled. “You’ll break it!” The boys had tied my Hula-Hoop to a tree branch with a piece of rope and were about to use it as a swing. I raced across the yard but was too late. The hoop snapped in two beneath Poke’s weight, and he tumbled to the ground on top of JT. I walked away in tears, hoping the collision had broken both of their necks.
That Halloween, May Elizabeth invited me to go trick-or-treating in her neighborhood. The rich people on her side of town actually gave out treats; our side of town was better known for its tricks.
“You
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