Part 2

Thursday morning was Thanksgiving.  Diana awoke earlier than she had planned to do, because the room was much brighter than usual.  Rubbing her eyes, she crept out of bed and walked over to one of the large windows.  What she saw outside made her gasp with surprise and awe.  A blanket of white covered the entire lawn, and large flakes were still falling.  The sun was just coming up, and a rosy light filled the eastern sky; glints of diamond-like sparkles flashed occasionally as its rays touched the snow.  Diana’s room overlooked the back yard, and not a blade of grass was visible.  In fact, it appeared that the snow was almost as high as the seats on the twins’ swing set.

Diana hurried to dress, pulling on her clothes with a haste she didn’t usually display, not even taking time to make sure that everything coordinated.  She ran a brush through her hair and pulled it into a ponytail, barely bothering to smooth down the few flyaway wisps.  As soon as she had pulled on her shoes, she clattered down the stairs to the family dining room, where she found her father reading the paper.

“Daddy, Daddy!  Did you see the snow?” she cried, running over to give him a hug.

“I certainly did!”  Mr. Lynch replied with one of his jolly smiles.  “The snow came a little sooner than the weatherman predicted, didn’t it?”

“Can we build a snowman today, Daddy?  And maybe a snow fort?”  Diana loved the snow and it was unusual for Sleepyside to get a major snowfall as early as Thanksgiving.  “Maybe we could go sledding on the hill?”

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, sweetheart.”  Mr. Lynch folded his paper and laid it across his lap.  “What do you think, Margie-girl?” he asked his wife, who stood at the sideboard pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“The nurses are leaving today for their holiday weekend, so as long as all of you dress warmly, and you’re careful, I don’t see why not.”  Mrs. Lynch’s face brightened as she greeted Diana with a rare, bright smile.   

Diana barely tasted her two slices of French toast and glass of orange juice.  As soon as she finished, she hurried back upstairs to the nursery wing, where she found the two nurses, Miss Kelley and Mrs. Carter, cleaning up the twins after they had finished their own breakfasts.

“Di-Di, Di-Di!”  Her sisters toddled over to her and reached up, wriggling and bouncing as they tried to make her pick them up.  Diana laughed and crouched down to put her arms around her little sisters.

“I’m going to play with you all this morning for awhile, and Daddy says we can play out in the snow a little later,” she told them, giving each of them a kiss.

“Snow?  Play snow?” Margie asked her. 

“Frosty Snowman?” Barbie crowed.

“Frosty the Snowman, had a very shiny nose …” sang Terry, joining the group as soon as he was able to struggle free of Miss Kelley and her washcloth.

Larry chuckled.  Diana could already tell he was going to take after his jolly father.  “Rudolph is the one with a shiny nose,” he told his brother.  “Frosty’s nose was made out of a carrot.  And he wears black galoshes.  Look, Di-Di – here’s the book about Frosty the Snowman.”  He pulled a Little Golden Book from the low bookcase in the playroom and carried it over to Diana.  “Read to us – please?”

When Larry looked at her with his big blue eyes, Diana could never resist him.  She dropped to the floor and sat Indian-style as she opened the book.  The four little ones crowded as close to her as they could while she read the story of Frosty.  At the end of the story, she led them in singing the song.

“Yay!”  Margie clapped her hands in excitement as Diana sang the final words, with some help from her brothers.

“Miss Diana, it’s time to get the children dressed.”  Miss Kelley stood in front of the little group, and Diana looked up to respond.  The nurse was wearing a disgruntled look.  Diana scrambled to her feet.

“Yes, ma’am – I mean Miss Kelley.  I’ll come back after they’ve had time to get dressed.”  She always had the uncomfortable feeling that the nurses felt like she was interfering with their care for her siblings, an interloper in the daily routine.  She had tried to tell her parents how she felt, but Mr. and Mrs. Lynch had asked her to try to cooperate.

“Diana, darling, you have so much more freedom here.  I never felt like it was right for you to be so tied down, helping me to care for the little ones,” her mother had said.

“Yes,” agreed her father.  “Of course, I’m happy that you want to help with them, but one blessing of this money is that we can give you so many more opportunities.  I’d like to see you learning more about art, playing the piano, and dancing in your spare time, instead of babysitting.” 

“But I love to spend time with them, and they love me,” Diana had argued.  “It’s not like I’m bothering them or trying to get them to misbehave.”

“Sweetheart, I’m glad you love your brothers and sisters, but I’d like to see you spend more time with kids your own age.  Invite a friend over sometime.”  Mr. Lynch smiled and added, “I’ll even show off my grilling skills!”  He ended with a booming laugh.

Diana had given up.  They just don’t get it.  They love me and think I should be deliriously happy because now they can give me so many nice things.  And it’s not that I don’t like nice things, she admitted to herself.  It’s just that … oh, I guess I just don’t want things to change.  The kids at school look at me like I’m some kind of alien now, but to my little sisters and brothers I’m still just their Di-Di.

She went to her own room and tried out a couple of different hairstyles while she waited for the nurses to finish dressing the twins.  Then, she tried on a different outfit.  Next, she started to throw herself across the bed to read for awhile, but remembered how the last time she had done that, Mrs. Carmichael had caught her.  The housekeeper had gone straight to Mrs. Lynch, and Mrs. Lynch spoken to her daughter privately.

“Darling, I know you didn’t mean anything, but Mrs. Carmichael told me you were wallowing all over the bedspread.  It takes some time for the maids to clean this house, and they are upset if they have to come back and make your bed twice.”

“Mother, I can make my own bed and keep my own room clean!”  Diana was outraged at the suggestion that she was causing extra work for the maids.  “Can’t you just tell them I’ll clean my own room?”

“Well, dear, I’m sure it’s not very good for the material to have people lying on it.  That’s why you have a chair in your room, after all.”  Mrs. Lynch looked unhappy at having to say anything, and Diana suddenly felt sorry for her.  I guess Mrs. Carmichael must bully her, too, she realized with a feeling of shock.  

Since she couldn’t flop on the bed, Diana pulled a favorite book from her bookshelf.  For the next twenty minutes, she lost herself in the adventures of the Fossil sisters of Ballet Shoes.

Checking her alarm clock, she decided the twins surely must be dressed by now, and made her way back to the playroom.  She found Larry and Terry playing with their Mr. Potato Head set.

“Play with us, Di-Di,” they begged.

No sooner did she sit down with them than Margie and Barbie came toddling over.  Barbie was sucking her thumb and rubbing the fur from her stuffed kitten against her cheek, while Margie dragged her fluffy stuffed dog by its red neck ribbon.

“’Tato head – me play too,” she announced.

“Me too!”  Barbie took her thumb out of her mouth long enough to chime in.

“You girls are too little!”  Terry spoke form the heights of his four-year-old superiority.

“You don’t know how to play,” Larry agreed.

“Uh-huh!  Me play ’tato head.  Me big.”  Margie’s lip went out.

“Big girls!” cried Barbie.

“You two can play,” decided Diana, “but you’ll have to put your stuffed animals down.”

Instantly, Margie dropped her dog to the floor and plopped down.  “Me play!”  Barbie hung back, looking as if she was trying to choose between her kitty-cat and the game.  She once more began to rub the silky fur against her cheek.

“Your kitty isn’t real, Barbie,” Terry informed his sister loftily.  “It only has three legs.”

“Is so real!”  She hugged it tightly.  “Is so!”  She stamped her foot.

“No it’s not.  Real kitties have four legs,” Larry pointed out.

“Well, your kitty is stuffed, Barbie sweetie, but it has four legs,” Diana soothed her sister.  “You just can’t see one of them because it’s tucked up under her when she’s lying down like she is now.”

Barbie was mollified, and Larry moved over to allow her to sit down, dropping the argument.  When Di-di spoke, it was the end of quarrels among the four younger Lynches.

After each child had taken a turn making a face for Mr. Potato Head, Diana engaged her brothers and sisters in a game of Candyland.  The nurses were packing for their holiday weekend, and since they weren’t around, the children made a tent by draping a blanket over the little table and chairs where the twins ate and played.  Diana got down on her tummy, but she couldn’t fit inside after the four younger ones crouched under the table.  She and her sisters played peek-a-boo while the boys pretended to be Indians who had captured three beautiful princesses.

Larry and Terry were doing a war-dance when the disembodied voice of Mrs. Carmichael spoke over the home intercom system.  “Dinner will be served in five minutes, Miss Kelley.  Please bring the children downstairs.” 

Reluctantly, because she had been enjoying herself, Diana scooted her upper half out from under the table and pulled her sisters after her.  “Come on, boys!  It’s time for dinner – turkey day!”  Holding each sister by the hand, she headed for the door of the nursery.

Just as she reached it, the boys hot on her heels, Mrs. Carter appeared before her, holding a washcloth.  “Children, let’s wash your hands,” she urged them.  “Go along, Miss Diana.  I’ll bring the children down.  Please let your parents know we’ll be along in a few minutes.”

Reluctantly, she surrendered her siblings to the nurse’s care and obeyed.  The little ones protested, but the older woman was firm.  Mrs. Carter was nice enough, but she doesn’t think anyone else knows how to care for a child, Diana thought.   

Dinner was nothing like the Lynches’ previous Thanksgiving dinners, although Muriel and Eunice served the same dishes Mrs. Lynch had always prepared.  Diana wondered if she would ever become used to the elaborate service that had become the norm for even the daily dinners served to herself and her parents.  Even the food looked different, as Harrison served each person their plate from an elegant silver tray.  The nurses were eating with the family, as usual, in order to cut up the twins’ food and keep any messes under control. 

Mr. Lynch led the blessing as soon as all were served; Harrison bowed and withdrew into the butler’s pantry, to be nearby in case he was needed.  Diana noticed that her mother seemed to relax once he had gone.

“Diana, my princess, are you still planning to play your snow games this afternoon?” Mr. Lynch asked with a jovial chuckle.

“Yes, Daddy.  After lunch, I’ll get the twins changed and we’ll go outside.  I’m going to show them how to make a snowman, and maybe we’ll be able to sled a little.  Can we collect some snow for snow ice cream, Mummy?” She turned to her mother for affirmation.

Mrs. Lynch hesitated for a second.  “Certainly, darling.  I’ll speak to Janet so that there will be space in the freezer for a bowl.”

Larry and Terry were seated with their backs to the large bank of windows, and now they twisted their bodies in order to look outside, where large flakes of snow continued to fall.

Terry dropped his fork to the table with a clatter.  “I’m finished, Daddy.  Can I get down now?  I want to play in the snow.”  He began to push his chair back and slide out of his booster seat.  Immediately, his twin followed suit.

“Terry and Larry, you must wait for Di-di.  She’s not finished eating yet, and neither are your sisters,” Mr. Lynch answered firmly.  Miss Kelley stood and placed the boys back in their chairs, but signaled Harrison to remove their plates after it was evident that they weren’t going to eat any more.

Mr. Lynch looked at the nurses.  “Mrs. Carter, Miss Kelley, what are your plans today?  I realize this weather may interfere with your being able to leave town.  As you know, you’re more than welcome to stay here, with no duties for the weekend.  But if there’s anything I can do to help you, please say the word.”

“Thank you, Mr. Lynch,” replied the older woman.  “But Jack said he’d be able to take us to the train station.   I checked, and the trains are running today.  So we’ll be leaving directly after we clean the children up from this meal.”

“Very good, then.”  Mr. Lynch smiled.  “And don’t worry if you are held over a day or two.  We’ll be here when you get back.”  A booming laugh erupted from him as he enjoyed his own joke.

Harrison reappeared with his tray again, and served slices of pumpkin pie topped with elegant clouds of whipped cream.  Mr. and Mrs. Lynch and the nurses had coffee from delicate china cups.  Even Diana had a cup of café-au-lait, a treat she was only allowed on special occasions.  The twins stared at her and she wondered if they were eager for the time they’d be allowed coffee.

She wondered at her mother’s newfound leniency.  Although she had eaten scarcely half of the food on her plate, not a word had been said about no dessert until her plate was clean.  In the old days, Mrs. Lynch would never have allowed her food to be wasted in such a way.  Now, it seemed not to matter if everything or nothing was eaten.  Food was served, it was taken away, and dessert was brought out.  What was done with the wasted food, Diana wondered.  How different her younger sisters’ and brothers’ lives would be in this new world of luxury.

“Mrs. Carter, Miss Kelley, please feel free to finish your packing when you’re finished eating,” Mrs. Lynch suggested.  “We’ll manage the children.”  She directed an indulgent smile toward her youngest children, who were busy playing with the whipped cream on their pie.

“Yes, Ma’am.”  Miss Kelley nodded her head, not looking at Terry and Larry, who had given themselves fluffy white beards.  Diana noticed that Miss Carter winced a bit and looked away from Margie, who was eating the pumpkin filling with her fingers.  The older woman was seated between the two girls, and Barbie dropped a spoonful of pie onto the floor, just as Mrs. Carter moved to stand up.   Diana gasped as the nurse’s foot slid in the mushy mess and she nearly fell.

Mrs. Carter regained her balance and wiped her shoe with her napkin as Eunice hurried to wipe the floor clean.  The two nurses left the room and Diana breathed a sigh of relief.  She always felt uncomfortable around them, although they had no real authority over her.  It’s just that they don’t seem to think I know anything about kids, she thought resentfully.  

As soon as the two women left the dining room, Mrs. Lynch beckoned to Harrison.  The butler approached the table carrying a bowl of warm water and several snowy washcloths, which he presented to her with a bow.  Mrs. Lynch wiped the hands and faces of the twins and returned the soiled cloths to their bowl.  She then turned to Diana.  “Sweetie, if you’re finished eating, you may all get dressed to go outside.  These little ones are frisky today.”  

The prospect of a whole afternoon without the dampening presence of the Lynch servants – no, staff, Diana corrected herself – put a bright glow on the day, and pushing her chair away from the table, she beamed at her mother.