bedroom door. "You're really late coming in."
“I always set my alarm, Mom," he said with a grin.
He knew her too well. "Okay, okay. Did you have a nice evening?"
“Fair to middling. Kipsy's an interesting girl. Night, Mom.”
Interesting?
Jane brooded. She didn't get back to sleep for another half hour.
“Mike says Kipsy is 'interesting,' " Jane said to Shelley on the phone in the morning.
“Interesting is a long way from fascinating," Shelley replied. "How's your foot feeling this morning?"
“About the same. I'm more comfortable in bed than anywhere else, though. And I can't let my- self turn into a sloth. We are going to class, aren't we?"
“If you're sure you're up to it. Will you be able to walk around gardens without mowing them down with your crutches or going facedown in the begonias?"
“I hope so. I better get moving.”
Jane used the waterproof tape Shelley had bought for her to fasten the plastic bag around her leg to shower. No water came in the top, but when she finished, she realized the waterproof tape had stuck violently to the back of her knee and hurt like the devil to yank off. What's more, the bag had sprung a leak at the bottom, and the part of the cast near her toes was wet today. She'd have to buy a whole box of plastic bags at this rate.
She'd been wearing her two best casual skirts most of the time since breaking her foot. Today she'd have to shift to slacks or jeans. But she discovered that the cast made her leg too fat for slacks and had to wear the baggy shorts with the pockets on the thighs after all. Still, she managed to get ready on time, by merely whisking a brush through her hair haphazardly and slapping on basic makeup with rough abandon.
“What happened to your hair?" Shelley asked when Jane had bottom-bumped her way down the kitchen porch steps and climbed awkwardly into Shelley's van.
“Not nearly enough," Jane replied. "Whose gardens are we seeing today? I've forgotten my list."
“The instructor's second home over on Linden Street. And then Ursula's yard.”
Jane shuddered at the name. "She called me late last night to see if I had eaten her stuff. I was honest enough to tell her no. And brave enough to stand up for myself. I told her I appreciated her concern, but could take care of myself."
“Not exactly standing up for yourself very strongly. 'Please, PLEASE, leave me alone' might have done it better."
“Frankly, I'm afraid of finding out how high her insult threshold is. Should I exceed it, she could be a more formidable enemy than would-be friend."
“You aren't going to let yourself get sucked into a friendship with her, are you?"
“No. Of course not. I've put up with some pretty obnoxious people that you wouldn't have put up with, but I'm not a complete moron.”
As they pulled up in front of the community center, a strange man, seeing Jane struggle to get out the door of the van, rushed to help her.
“How did you do that to yourself?" he asked.
“An elephant pushed me off a circus van," Jane said. "Thank you so much for helping me.”
The man looked astonished and said, "Wow!"
“A circus van?" Shelley hissed as they went up the ramp.
“I've got a list of interesting answers. I knew he'd like that one better than anybody's liked the truth.”
The class was assembled when they entered the room. All but Ursula. Dr. Eastman, with his prize pink marigolds on display again, had just begun to speak and waited while Jane thrashed the crutches among the chairs and seated herself. Maybe she had insulted Ursula and she wasn't coming to the class any longer, Jane thought.
But her hopes were dashed a minute later. Ursula bustled in, speaking before she was completely in the room because a backpack strap had caught in the door. "I'm sorry to be late, but I was doing last-minute tidying of my garden." She smiled around the room, waiting for admiration.
“Let's begin now," Dr. Eastman said.
Today his talk was about the patent process, using words
“I always set my alarm, Mom," he said with a grin.
He knew her too well. "Okay, okay. Did you have a nice evening?"
“Fair to middling. Kipsy's an interesting girl. Night, Mom.”
Interesting?
Jane brooded. She didn't get back to sleep for another half hour.
“Mike says Kipsy is 'interesting,' " Jane said to Shelley on the phone in the morning.
“Interesting is a long way from fascinating," Shelley replied. "How's your foot feeling this morning?"
“About the same. I'm more comfortable in bed than anywhere else, though. And I can't let my- self turn into a sloth. We are going to class, aren't we?"
“If you're sure you're up to it. Will you be able to walk around gardens without mowing them down with your crutches or going facedown in the begonias?"
“I hope so. I better get moving.”
Jane used the waterproof tape Shelley had bought for her to fasten the plastic bag around her leg to shower. No water came in the top, but when she finished, she realized the waterproof tape had stuck violently to the back of her knee and hurt like the devil to yank off. What's more, the bag had sprung a leak at the bottom, and the part of the cast near her toes was wet today. She'd have to buy a whole box of plastic bags at this rate.
She'd been wearing her two best casual skirts most of the time since breaking her foot. Today she'd have to shift to slacks or jeans. But she discovered that the cast made her leg too fat for slacks and had to wear the baggy shorts with the pockets on the thighs after all. Still, she managed to get ready on time, by merely whisking a brush through her hair haphazardly and slapping on basic makeup with rough abandon.
“What happened to your hair?" Shelley asked when Jane had bottom-bumped her way down the kitchen porch steps and climbed awkwardly into Shelley's van.
“Not nearly enough," Jane replied. "Whose gardens are we seeing today? I've forgotten my list."
“The instructor's second home over on Linden Street. And then Ursula's yard.”
Jane shuddered at the name. "She called me late last night to see if I had eaten her stuff. I was honest enough to tell her no. And brave enough to stand up for myself. I told her I appreciated her concern, but could take care of myself."
“Not exactly standing up for yourself very strongly. 'Please, PLEASE, leave me alone' might have done it better."
“Frankly, I'm afraid of finding out how high her insult threshold is. Should I exceed it, she could be a more formidable enemy than would-be friend."
“You aren't going to let yourself get sucked into a friendship with her, are you?"
“No. Of course not. I've put up with some pretty obnoxious people that you wouldn't have put up with, but I'm not a complete moron.”
As they pulled up in front of the community center, a strange man, seeing Jane struggle to get out the door of the van, rushed to help her.
“How did you do that to yourself?" he asked.
“An elephant pushed me off a circus van," Jane said. "Thank you so much for helping me.”
The man looked astonished and said, "Wow!"
“A circus van?" Shelley hissed as they went up the ramp.
“I've got a list of interesting answers. I knew he'd like that one better than anybody's liked the truth.”
The class was assembled when they entered the room. All but Ursula. Dr. Eastman, with his prize pink marigolds on display again, had just begun to speak and waited while Jane thrashed the crutches among the chairs and seated herself. Maybe she had insulted Ursula and she wasn't coming to the class any longer, Jane thought.
But her hopes were dashed a minute later. Ursula bustled in, speaking before she was completely in the room because a backpack strap had caught in the door. "I'm sorry to be late, but I was doing last-minute tidying of my garden." She smiled around the room, waiting for admiration.
“Let's begin now," Dr. Eastman said.
Today his talk was about the patent process, using words
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