by Kelli Kimble
"Either of you like cards?" Lucy asked. "I'm always looking to get in on a hand."
Gilda rolled her eyes. "Lucy, it's a good thing you never play for money. You'd be broke."
“What? It’s just for fun.”
A bell rang in the direction of the parlor.
“Patty calls,” Shirley said. We all moved to the parlor, which was crowded with potential recruits and members alike. Everyone was forming a semi-circle around Patty stationed on the fireplace hearth.
“Good evening, ladies. I’m so glad to see you. We have plenty of new and returning faces, and it’s lovely to be in your midst. Tonight is just about mingling and getting to know the membership. Remember, if you’re still here, we believe that you belong with us. It’s up to you whether you stay or go. And also remember, the member supports the organization, and the organization supports the member.”
The phrasing was familiar, and I only missed a syllable as the membership chanted back to her.
“Alpha nu forever.”
“Ah. I see some have already caught on to our motto.” She smiled. “All right everyone, let’s have some fun.”
She stepped down from the hearth and walked straight to Siggie and me. “I just wanted you to know that I’ve already registered a complaint with campus security. They’ll be keeping a close eye on the party across the street.”
“The Lambda guys are getting rowdy again?” Mimi asked.
“Of course. But we can be the better man. Probably because we’re women,” Patty said, lifting her chin. “We’ll kill them with kindness if we have to.”
The subject of Siggie’s tormentors made me uncomfortable. Judging by Siggie’s expression, she wasn’t too hot on it, either.
“So,” I said, “speaking of things that need our kindness. Can you tell us about the charity projects the group is working on?”
Siggie visibly relaxed as Patty and Mimi began outlining all of the current projects.
“Wow,” I said. I’d expected her to talk about how they were making sandwiches for homeless people or knitting socks for the elderly. “I’m relieved that none of those projects requires me to know or be good at any womanly arts.”
Patty nodded. “Perceptive of you. We never take on such projects. We are educated women and I think we can do things that make a real social difference. Not that what you’d call womanly arts are lesser. But we can do so much better than that.”
Shirley, who’d been alternating between giving Patty irritated looks and guzzling her punch, intervened as Patty droned on. “Egads, who started her on this topic? We’re here to have fun, for Pete’s sake.”
Patty cut off from her lecture. “I only wanted the ladies here to know that we’re serious about making a difference. We don’t have to be homemakers and listen to what some man says to do. We can be real instruments of change.”
This is my kind of girl.
“Don’t get me wrong, Patty,” Shirley said. “All that stuff is great. But could you bore our prospects with something a little more exciting?”
“Well, the incoming freshmen always plan something of their choosing after initiation. But coming up, we have a Scrabble tournament Tuesday evening,” Patty said, smiling.
“Really? That’s the most exciting thing you could think of?”
“Who doesn’t like a rousing game of Scrabble?” Patty asked. She smoothed a hand over the side of her updo. Her brunette hair was impossibly shiny.
“Never mind,” Shirley moved to stand in between me and Siggie and put a hand on our shoulders. “Let me just direct you two this way.” She steered us away from Patty. I glanced back, worried that we’d offended her. But a gaggle of other recruits had already descended. Patty hardly seemed to notice that her audience had changed.
Shirley directed us back to the dining room, where Gilda and Lucy were already congregating again around the punch bowl. Without a word, Gilda ladled more punch into everyone’s glass.
“Is there something in this punch?” Siggie asked. She sipped it with caution. Shirley lifted the bottom of Siggie’s glass, forcing her to drink more or risk spilling punch on her dress.
“Don’t worry,” Mimi said, rejoining the group and gently pushing Shirley’s hand from Siggie’s glass. “Patty made the punch. She always doubles the recipe and halves the liquor.”
“Ugh,” Shirley said. She opened her handbag again and withdrew a flask. She drank a long draught from it before pouring the rest into the punch bowl. “What about setting up a game, Lucy?”
“That’s more like it,” Gilda said. She drained her glass and reached for the ladle simultaneously.
“Ladies,” Mimi said. “We’re supposed to be setting an example.” She tipped her forehead towards Siggie and me. “Here you are, smoking, drinking, and talking about gambling. Is there some other sin you’d like to present to them? Where’s Francis. She’ll back me up.”
“I’d rather see you how you are than on your best behavior,” I said.
Shirley raised her now-full glass to me. “A girl after my own heart.”
* * *
The Scrabble tournament turned out to be more fun than I expected, even though I was knocked out in the first round. I was seated with Francis, Lucy, and another applicant named Doris. Lucy won, hands down. I was surprised to learn that someone who’d seemed so taken with poker could have such a large and varied vocabulary. I should have known; it wasn’t exactly easy to get into college.
During the next round, I stood back with the other losers — or runners-up, as Patty was calling us — and rooted for Siggie. She’d won the game at her table and was jiggling her leg with nerves as she played through round two. She was playing against three other applicants that I didn’t know, and they all seemed to think that winning the game would hold them in high esteem for being invited to join the sorority. Shirley stood beside me, a glass of something that bit at my nose in one hand while trying to signal to Siggie what letters the girl we were behind had.
Siggie didn’t catch on and lost the game.
“It’s fine,” Shirley said. “When Patty says something is just for fun, she means it.”
“Are you sure? Because I really want to join.” Siggie twisted her hands together and bit her lip. “I feel like I really belong here.”
“That’s because you do, toots,” Shirley said. “We all know . . . and can feel it.”
“Are you okay?” I asked Shirley. Images of Mother drinking too much and embarrassing herself popped into my head. At least she’d never had a problem in public.
Shirley frowned. “You aren’t going to be another Mimi, are you? I can handle it.”
“I heard my name.” Mimi appeared. “I thought it might be time for this.” She forced a cup of coffee into Shirley’s hand. Shirley rolled her eyes.
“I’m fine. I don’t need this.”
“You’re fine now, yes. But this is a Scrabble tournament, not a Saturday night let-your-hair-down session.” Mimi’s eyes flicked to me and back to Shirley. “Understand?”
Shirley huffed but relinquished her glass to Mimi. “See what you have to look forward to?” she said.
I kept my mouth shut and turned my eyes back to the game. Shirley didn’t need my judgment and I certainly didn’t want her to negatively influence any decision about me joining.
“This one’s smart,” Mimi said, patting me on the arm.
“Speaking of letting our hair down,” Shirley said. “What are you two thinking for the freshman event? Got any ideas?”
“What’s this event supposed to be?” Siggie asked. “Maybe you should tell us about your class event. Give us some ideas.”
“Oh. Patty planned ours. It was a garden party. We all wore silly hats and drank mint juleps and ate ridiculous cucumber sandwiches on the back patio. She even organized a little string quartet.”
“My class planned a square dance,” Mimi said. “I was skeptical, it was someone else’s idea. But it turned out to be fun.”
“Yeah,
that was a good time,” Shirley said. She grabbed my arm and swung around me in a circle. “Swing your partner round and round,” she sang. The coffee was in her other hand, and she must have spilled some. “Oh, it’s hot!” She let go of me abruptly, and I stumbled forward a few steps.
“Shirley, you’ve got to drink it for it to do any good,” Mimi admonished.
“It’s too hot to drink. It burned my hand.”
Mimi pointed to some photographs on the rumpus room wall, then bent over Shirley’s outstretched hand. She took the coffee cup and smoothed a thumb over the red skin. “Each year a group photo is taken at the freshman event. You can get some ideas by looking at them.”
Siggie and I went over to look while Mimi clucked over Shirley’s burn. There were a dozen large, framed photographs arranged, each picturing a group photo of forty or so girls. They were marked with small brass plaques, engraved with the year.
Behind us, Shirley whimpered.
“Don’t be such a baby,” Mimi said.
The photos were all posed the same, each in four rows of girls. The girls in front sat on the ground with their legs folded demurely to one side or the other, depending on whether they were on the right or left side of the photo. Then another row of girls were seated, perhaps on a bench. Behind them, a row of girls was standing. And in the final row, the girls were standing on something. They’d been arranged carefully so that the girls on the ends of each row were taller, giving a slightly curved effect.
I bent to study the photograph marked 1962. I searched for Patty, Gilda, Lucy, Shirley, Francis, and Mimi, and easily found them all. They were wearing flowers around their necks, and some had flowers in their hair. A girl in the front row was holding a ukulele, and the girl beside her was wearing a grass skirt over top of her party dress.
A waft of smoke announced Gilda’s arrival at my side. “Last year’s group wasn’t so creative. A luau. Little out of date, right? Nobody wanted to wear the coconuts for the photo, though.” She snorted out a laugh and nudged me in the ribs with an elbow.
“When do we have to have this event planned?” I asked.
“We usually have it in October. It’s a test, really. To see what the new group is made of.” She paused and added in a low voice, “I don’t think I have to tell you that last year’s class was a little disappointing.”
I didn’t know what to say, and I stayed silent. She turned towards me and eyed me up and down. “I think you’ll do just fine, though. I get this strange vibe from you. Something strong.”
A tendril of unease wound its way through my gut. Could she tell that I’d reached my full potential? Could others tell, as well?
“Relax,” she said, patting me on the shoulder and shifting her gaze to Siggie. “I have faith that your class is really going to pack a wallop.”
Chapter 10
Jacob smiled when I opened the door. His eyes crinkled shut but were shining with a happy light. “Hey, Iris. Did I catch you at a good time?”
My heart leaped up my throat. I wanted to throw my arms around him, but I couldn’t have anyone reporting to Alpha Nu that I was fraternizing with boys. Actually, maybe it was only Patty that I didn’t want to hear about it.
“Jacob,” I said. I wanted to say so much, but something less welcoming blurted out. “What are you doing here?”
He produced a bunch of daisies from behind his back. “I’m bringing my best girl flowers, is what I’m doing. May I come in?”
Siggie was in the room, too, studying. But her curiosity was piqued.
“Who is it?” She came up behind me and pulled the door open further so she could see.
“You must be Siggie,” Jacob said. “I brought something for you, too.” He produced a smaller bunch of daisies but also a few dandelions from behind his back with his other hand. Siggie pushed past me to accept them.
“Oh, they’re gorgeous,” she said. “What are you doing, Iris, leaving him out in the hall like this? Come in, come in. You must be Jacob.” She grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him into our room. As he passed me, he thrust my flowers at me and winked. I took them and shut the door.
“I’m so glad to finally meet you. Iris talks about you all the time.” She pulled out my desk chair. “Here, sit here.”
“She does? I’m glad to hear that.” He sat in the chair and she perched on the edge of her bed. As usual, her side of the room looked like a hurricane had recently come through. Jacob politely pretended not to notice.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” I said. “I hope nothing’s wrong?”
“Not at all. Kal left, and he brought me his car. Now I can come over to visit.”
At the mention of Kal leaving, a cloud went over the conversation. “I hope he’ll find what he’s looking for,” I said, chewing my lip.
“Kal? This is the hot brother?” Siggie asked, breaking sunshine into the room.
“Yes,” Jacob said, raising an eyebrow. “I hope I warranted such a description, as well.”
Siggie charged forward, not concerning herself with whether I’d been telling her things in confidence or not. “Iris said you’re smart, kind, good-looking and muscular. I can see she told the truth about your looks. But I was hoping you’d show me a bicep.”
He moved to roll up his sleeve, but I put a hand over his wrist. “Why don’t we take a little walk? Siggie was studying for a test.”
She hopped up from her bed. “Some girls have all of the fun,” she said under her breath. She forced a smile. “I’m going to find something to put these flowers in. You want me to find something for yours, too?”
I nodded and thanked her. She left the room, leaving the door open.
“I was hoping to take you to dinner somewhere. Or maybe to a movie,” Jacob said.
“Okay. You can tell me about how it’s going. Your letters are too short.”
He helped me put on my coat and we left, not waiting for Siggie to come back.
"What do you mean, my letters are too short? I write every day." He guided me to Kal's car. He opened the door for me and I slid into the passenger seat. When he opened the driver’s door, it made a creak that grated on my sensitive ears.
“How can you stand that?” I asked.
He slammed the driver door with another creak. “I think I’m getting used to it.” He grinned and started the car. “It isn’t much, but it means we can see each other. I’ve been going crazy, being away from you.” He leaned over and kissed me, a feather soft brush across my lips.
“I’ve missed you.” I was shocked at how much I meant it, how keenly I felt it in the moment. I’d been so busy with classes, studying, and Alpha Nu that I’d hardly had time to think about Jacob. Now that I was with him, though, I was already feeling the cut of him leaving.
He started the car. “Where to?”
“The only place I know to eat is that place Kal took us.”
“The diner with the jilted waitress. Got it.”
We chatted about classes and people we’d met, finishing each other’s sentences and laughing over even the most mundane things. The connection between us was strengthening. Anu had said it would become unbreakable. Were we already there?
At the diner, we were seated by the pretty waitress but thankfully the plainer of the two wasn’t there. An older woman was in her place, and she took our order with a bored air. She seemed like someone stuck in an unpleasant situation with only grim acceptance to get her through the day.
When she walked away hunched into herself, I leaned in towards Jacob. “Do you ever think of using our . . . you know, to put someone out of their misery? As a sort of service?”
He flicked his eyes at the waitress. “No. We can’t do that.” He seemed to reconsider it for a moment. “No. Definitely not. Mr. Anu wouldn’t like it.”
I leaned back against the sticky bench seat and started worrying the edge of my paper napkin, shredding it into tiny bits. I’d only taken one soul on the crossing, and it’d been someone I wanted to see die. I was unsur
e of how I’d feel about taking a stranger or someone that I had sympathy for.
“Hey. Let’s talk about something else. Something fun. So, when I got your letter about finding a sorority, I decided to look around for a fraternity. And guess what? There’s a fraternity of Anubians at Lowry.”
“That’s terrific! Did you apply?”
“Yes, and I made it through to pledging. They keep talking about what I’m going to do to prove that I belong.”
“Don’t they just know? I mean, Mr. Anu says that we naturally gravitate towards each other.”
“Yeah. But there’s more than one fraternity on campus for Anubians at Lowry. It’s a big school, right? I went for the best one, and they don’t take just anyone they can sense is similar to them.”
The waitress returned with our meal, plunking the plates in front of us like we were dogs waiting for a bowl of chow. She trundled away without asking if we needed anything else.
Jacob watched her go.
“You’re thinking about it now, right?” I reached across the table and pushed at his hand.
He shook his head. “I wouldn’t have even noticed.”
“What do you have to do, then?”
He looked at me quizzically.
“About the fraternity? How do you prove you belong?”
“Oh. Right.” He picked up his fork and twirled it around while shifting in his seat.
“Why do I get the feeling that I’m not going to like what they want?”
He put the fork down. “They want to meet girls.” He cast his eyes away. I followed the line of his gaze to the pretty waitress, though being human I knew he wouldn’t find her attractive in any way other than the artistic sense.
“Okay.” I tucked into my burger. In spite of the grease pooling around it, it looked and smelled ten times better than anything I’d eaten in the dining hall. As I chewed, I studied him. He was still keeping his eyes averted.
“I talked to Anu about it, a little,” he said. “He says they’ve developed this rule because it’s coming to the end of their time to select a mate. They just don’t realize what’s pushing them towards it.”