1520 Main

12

Marina's mother was short with her for the next three days, and not even Trey and Gene waiting for her and Dot at Kresge's every afternoon could make her feel better. Marina made sure to do her chores and make herself scarce. Father either didn't notice or didn't care, but he was pleased when she brought home a B-minus on her math test.

"What happened?" he asked over dinner Wednesday just before church.

"Last week, Trey showed me how. Remember? I told you how we met."

"Oh, yes. Yes. Excellent." He perused the test, his lips pursing here and there. "He did well, then. I like that young man more and more."

Marina was very, very pleased by this.

"And English?"

"We had a pop quiz," she said proudly and handed it over. "I got an A-plus!"

His eyebrows rose and took it. "A Tale of Two Cities," he mused. "Mm hmm. Mm, I see, yes." He slid her a glance. "Did he help you here too?"

Marina nodded. "He didn't tell me answers or spoil the story for me. He just told me how to read the story in a way I could understand and enjoy it. Well, turns out, I was already doing that, but I just wasn't calling them the right things and I was getting confused. It was easy after he straightened all that out for me. I even wrote a little essay at the end there for extra credit."

"Mm hmm. 'The Noble Lout.'" He read through it then nodded approvingly—perhaps impressed. "I hope," he said as he passed it back to her, "that he doesn't come to see you as merely a pupil."

Marina hesitated. "What do you hope for?"

"Well," he said matter-of-factly, "you're a bit too young yet, but he seems intent on settling down and I would not object if he should find you a suitable wife in a year or two, provided he remains interested."

Wife! Marina caught her breath. She hadn't allowed herself to even think the word, much less anything else.

"We don't know anything about him," Mother said tightly, sawing at her liver'n'onions. "They met last week. He has helped her with her homework."

"And come to church!" Marina said earnestly. "He re-dedicated himself to Jesus the first night."

"Kneeling at the altar means nothing," she said dismissively.

"Now, Mother," Father said gently, "our little girl's growing up. We can't keep her here forever."

Marina didn't like this discord between her parents. To her recollection, Mother had never contradicted Father's wishes, or if she had, she hadn't done it in front of Marina. On the other hand, Father made a point Marina had never really thought of: What was she going to do when she graduated from high school and ... didn't have a beau? Was she going to stay at home, being a burden to her parents? Girls got married soon after high school or, as in Dot's case, went to college to become teachers.

Marina didn't want to go to college or become a teacher, but she had no skills or talents to make her own way in the world.

"Mother," Marina ventured, "do you want me to stay after high school?"

She slammed her fork down and glared at her. "Why wouldn't I? You're—"

Marina waited, relieved because if this was why she was angry ... "I'll stay if you want me to, Mother," she said softly. "Nobody will want to marry me. I just didn't want to be a burden to you."

Mother seemed to relax a little and flicked a glance at her. "Mr. Dunham seems rather determined."

Marina shrugged, reality asserting itself once again. "He's a lot smarter than I," she murmured, looking down at her plate and picking at her liver. She hated liver. "And handsome. A prettier girl will turn his head soon enough and she'll even be smarter than me, too. I would just like to enjoy having a beau for a little while. May I, Mother?"