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some comfort. It was just that they were so very young. She tried to calm down as she told herself that the school would be like everything else in this new life and that once she got used to it she would see just how advantageous it was.
    When the day at last arrived to take the girls to the boarding school she prepared them in every way she could think of. She had of course told them about the school beforehand and had shown them pictures but now that it was time to leave she sat them down and explained it all to them again. Then she took them upstairs and packed bags for them. She’d had photos printed and framed of the family together at Disney Land and she packed them each a picture to put by their bed.
    It was Sunday and Walter would be driving them out to Greenwood Springs. After they’d packed she brought everyone to the dining room and they ate dinner together. She’d helped with the roast but they had a cook now as well as a couple of servants and she let them serve so that she could give her full attention to the girls. During the meal she hardly looked at Walter. She was angry with him for forcing her to send the girls away and she couldn’t bring herself to be pleasant, not tonight. She was sure Walter sensed it but she didn’t care.
    After dinner, Walter brought the car to the front of the house and they all climbed in.
    The drive to Greenwood Springs was beautiful. The fall trees were turning brown as they drove through the hills of Virginia and the girls were having fun in the back of the car. Walter put his hand on April’s lap and she was relaxed enough to let him leave it there. They spoke little on the drive and it was about an hour and a half till Walter left the road to go down the long driveway of the Greenwood Academy.
    The school grounds were beautifully manicured of course. By now, April expected no less. Everything the firm arranged was always of the highest standard. When they got out of the car they were greeted by a young woman in her twenties who said she was a liaison officer. She brought them to the school’s administrative building, a beautiful stone cottage next to the main building. April was pleased to see that the girls followed the woman obediently and didn’t make a scene. They seemed to be quite excited about their surroundings and pointed things out to each other as they followed the liaison officer.
    At the building they met Ms. Forrester, the headmistress of the school. She was about forty-five and very competent looking. She had on a black cotton dress that fit her perfectly and lace stockings and she had to be the most elegant school teacher April had ever seen. They all went into a small sitting room and sat. Someone served her and Walter tea and there was juice and cookies for the girls.
    Ms. Forrester addressed the girls first. She welcomed them to the Greenwood Academy and explained that this was going to be their home for the school term. The girls scarcely understood most of it, April was certain of that, but they were polite and went along with everything that was being told to them happily enough. Then two students, girls who were about eight years old, were shown into the room and Ms. Forrester introduced them to Lucy and Mary. She told April and Walter to say goodbye so that the girls could go off and be shown to their rooms.
    To April’s relief the girls actually seemed excited. She hugged and kissed them both and the only tears that were shed were her own. Then the girls all went off to the dormitory with the liaison officer and left her and Walter alone with Ms. Forrester.
    —Will they have trouble settling in? April said.
    —There will be some tears for the first few nights. There always are when they realize that they’re here for good. Most of them are expecting their parents to take them home at bedtime, they think it’s a game, and when they realize they have to sleep here they cry. But they settle in within a few days. It’s a very nice school, I