for the first time in ever so long mimi was rude! she shoved, pushed, crowded, stepped on other passengers’ toes, jabbed them with her elbows. she forgot that every other camper on the train was as eager to be at home as she.
for long minutes, mimi had been poking her red-head out the window and then pulling it in, to report. a lady jack-in-the-box, sue thought.
“that was bristow. the next stop is b. g.”—“there’s howard’s house on the hill—only two miles from there—i know, i’ve hiked it.”—“ooo-ooh we’re crossing the river into town——”
at the first soft p-s-s-s of escaping steam and applied brakes, mimi leaped to her feet. this was the signal to stampede the vestibule. because she had more “junk” to pick up, drop and pick up again, mimi was not the first to rush down the aisle, but by some miracle of shoving and crowding and complete forgetfulness of manners, mimi was at the head of the steps when the train pulled under the long shed and stopped. only the restraining arm of the flagman kept her from diving off headlong before the train came to a dead stop.
“careful, miss.”
but mimi neither heard nor heeded. she was searching the faces of the crowd—sue’s mother, margie’s daddy, miss jane’s dick—but her own darling family, where were they?
“hello, mimi—my child, you’re freckled.” “be seein’ you, mimi”—“goodbye”—“bye.”
mimi seemed rooted to one small spot under the shed and all the happiness in the world was passing around her and leaving her alone. what could be the matter? something dreadful must have happened!
then she saw——
a black coupe swung down the drive and raced right up to her—as near as it could come for the tracks, and stopped under a big sign which read, “no parking.”
the gravel was still flying from under the wheels and the dust was still making fitful little clouds when the door popped open and daddy jumped out. mimi remembered later that he did not even wait to open the door for mother dear and junior but let them scramble out the best they could. daddy came striding toward her and scooped her up into his arms, bundles and all.
“i simply wouldn’t have a doctor for a daddy,” he was saying.
and mother dear, quite out of breath from dragging junior at a rapid pace, was adding——
“we had to go by the hospital and daddy was detained——”
but none of that mattered in the least now. they were here—the baggage was stowed away in the back of the coupe. junior was stretched out on the shelf blocking any view out the back window—an ideal place to pull mimi’s hair or tickle her ear—and mimi, daddy and mother dear were scrouged up together as daddy stepped on the starter.
one long happy sigh escaped mimi as she cuddled down, and not two minutes ago tears were, well, not quite in her eyes, but in her heart to say the least. mimi’s blue eyes were usually merry.
“psst, psst!” in her ear. junior’s warm breath against her ear. “secret!” in a hoarse stage whisper.
“james sherwood hammond, junior,” in mother’s sternest voice as she glared at junior. a booming big laugh from daddy who received the tail end of mother’s stern glance. he immediately swallowed the smile and began asking mimi about camp.
“did sue’s ankle get all right?” daddy wanted to know. “were there any stomach aches after the big sunday dinner we brought? what finally became of pluto?”
“yes—no—no,” mimi was answering. “oh it was too perfectly precious—all of it—and daddy, mother dear—i am an honor camper! see!” she fished in her purse and held up the felt emblem.
“and you are something else, too. today you are——”
but stop—mother scowled at daddy over mimi’s head and would have put her hand over his mouth if she could have reached it; wondering frantically if it were harder for big boys or small boys to keep a secret, she changed the subject swiftly.
“is miss jane very tired from having the responsibility of you wild young things?”
“not at all—she’s grand—wonderful. next to you mother, i love her best of nearly any one—and oh, mother! she is——”
then mimi nearly told a secret. she stopped herself in time. perhaps she would have gone on but daddy was turning in the driveway. at the first sound of the car, von, abandoning his watch on the porch and forgetting the restrained manners of german police pedigree, came bounding toward them. mammy cissy was standing in the door grinning.
the striped runners of wandering jew falling over the edges of the hanging baskets brushed her hair as she ducked under and her swinging arm almost knocked a fern pot from its pedestal, for mimi had jumped on to the porch neither from the porte-cochere nor the front steps. with von barking boldly at her heels, she had cut across the lawn and leaped on to the porch to mammy—precious old cissy, who this instant hugged her close, and the next was holding her at arm’s length saying:—
“lan’s sakes alive, miss mimi, yo sho is brought home a good crop of freckles and this newfangled sun tan both!”
then daddy calling from the drive, “here, camper, help take your things in. what good is this old land lubber with a bulging sea bag?”
daddy made such fun of things. he was unusually entertaining today (mother had told him to be). while he and mimi carried the things upstairs to her room—her own room with its ivory furniture and crisp swiss curtains tied back with green taffeta bows—mammy, mother and yes, junior too, had disappeared. daddy knew they were in the kitchen, busy putting last touches here and there and lighting candles—lighting candles in the middle of the day!
“there,” mimi said depositing the last load on the cedar chest under the double front window. “can it be possible i smell food?”
“quite,” answered daddy catching her mood. “it could even be probable, honey, that the nose tickling, delectable odor assailing your nostrils is fried chicken!”
mimi ran for the stairs. before daddy caught up with her and took her arm, mother’s voice halted her rush for the kitchen.
“mimi, wash that train dirt off. you and daddy both freshen up, for dinner is ready.”
there was an excited undertone in mother’s voice that should have told her something special was afoot but she didn’t suspect a thing until she and daddy went downstairs together and walked right into the blue velvet portieres! the dining room was shut off! before mimi could solve the puzzle daddy pulled back the curtain and bowed very low. this was the cue for the music to begin. mother, junior and cissy in three entirely different keys were grouped at the foot of the table facing her singing, “happy birthday to you!”
mimi was speechless——
there was a white cloth on the table. she was somehow aware of mother’s good plates stacked at daddy’s place, of the good silver which caught the candle light, and most of all of the big white cake in the middle of the table with fourteen yellow candles. mimi knew without counting how many there were. it was her birthday. she was fourteen! how could she have forgotten?
“i believe she really is surprised!” beamed mother very pleased with it all. “we put something over on her once.”
“sho she is,” exclaimed cissy ducking to the kitchen as soon as the song ended.
“i nearly told,” commented junior slipping into his place and adding in the same breath—“give me the drumstick, daddy.”
there was a deep note of gratitude in daddy’s voice as he asked the simple blessing. he was thankful to have his small family all together again. it had been a long two weeks to daddy without mimi. there were not many more days to have them all four together at their own table. daddy knew something mimi was yet to find out.
while daddy served the plates, mother helped; while cissy hovered behind daddy’s chair with hot breads, while junior clamored for both drumsticks now instead of one, mimi made a discovery. she found a plain white envelope that was flat on the table, hidden under her napkin. she hadn’t taken her napkin up immediately as daddy finished the blessing the way she usually did. she was watching tiny streams of tallow run down the candles and hoping they would not spoil the cake icing; admiring the snowy white cloth and mother’s thin, etched glasses, so different from the bare tables at camp and the thick glasses and heavy china. not that camp wasn’t all right—no siree! but it was so grand to be home again.
“a-hem” said daddy. he had finished serving the plates and all eyes were focused on mimi waiting for her to rip open the white envelope.
“it’s for me?” mimi asked picking it up and turning it over. no name, no anything——
“look and see.”
it was so thin and flat, it couldn’t have much in it, mimi thought as she tore the end open with scalloped little pinches. when she ran her finger in the envelope, it seemed empty. then she shook it and out tumbled a check. it was for more money than mimi dreamed existed.
“for you, daughter,” daddy said (and when daddy said “daughter” she felt very grown-up and dignified if a slightly snubbed-nose person with unruly red hair and such merry blue eyes can ever be dignified).
the check instead of being payable to mimi was made out to sheridan school for one year’s room, board and tuition for mimi—in full——
“but—?” said mimi looking dazedly from mother to daddy. she wasn’t old enough to go to college and she had heard mother say she did not approve of prep schools when there were good high schools at home.
“daughter, daddy is going away a year,” dr. hammond said—“taking a leave of absence from his practice and going to leipzig, germany, to specialize.”
“but what will we do without you?”
“i was coming to that. you see, daughter, mother is going along with me—” daddy reached over and patted mother’s hand. “and junior is too small to leave so we are taking him.”
“but me, daddy—what about me?” mimi’s voice was getting thinner and higher.
“you, daughter, are going to sheridan school.”
for an awful moment mimi was silent. no mother or daddy for a whole year? she wished she were too small to leave too. they wouldn’t leave her; then without moving her lips she whispered “sheridan school.” the very words were healing magic. how often with great longing she had said them. “when i get big i’m going to sheridan school.” she wasn’t big yet, but fourteen is quite a responsible age.
she began to understand that the long looked forward to “someday” would be september.
“of course, of course,” she burst out. holding her head high and her chin firm, and without the least bit of quiver in her voice, she looked daddy squarely in the eyes, “i am going to sheridan school!”
