Happy Birthday, Dear Charlotte!

 

April 21 is the birthday of Charlotte Bronte, one of the three sisters from whom Charlie McDonald got her three names.


From "Aunt Pooh Channels Nelly Dean", December 19, 2013:


In those days,” Aunt Pooh continued, “they didn’t have ultrasounds like they do now.  Your mother told me she was really hoping you’d be a girl.  She said she was only going to have one child, so he or she would be spared having older siblings bossing them or younger ones getting away with stuff they couldn’t and would never have to worry whether she and their father liked the others better.”

“Classic middle child,” Karen said.

“Exactly.  And she was the only scientist in a family of artsies.  My father taught English and my mother painted.  My brother is a music teacher.  He was never into books that much; I guess that’s why he agreed to give the children those names.*  That upset my mother more than Louie’s getting pregnant with a married man.” 

“It probably made her feel excluded.”  Karen and Nikki were in their element, practicing amateur analysis.

“Why, I never thought of that, but I bet that’s true.  She didn’t like to be out of the loop.  But, of course, she didn’t interfere, although she complained to Louie and me.  ‘Those children are going to feel like outcasts in the family,’ was how she put it.  She blamed him more than Judy.  Judy and her brothers and sisters were the five J's. ”

“But didn’t Charlie’s mother read?  After all she named her after the Brontes.”

“Well, that was my idea.  She wanted to name Charlie after our mother, but her name was Alice (Alice in Wonderland, you know) and your father’s first wife’s name was Alicia.  Actually, I wanted Emily Charlotte Anne, since Emily was really the better writer, but she liked Charlotte -- the name, I mean.  She probably hadn’t even seen the movies, since we didn’t have Netflix then.” 

*Most of the children in my mother's family were given names taken from literature, but Uncle Hank's children are Jessica, Jason, and Jennifer.  Uncle Hank's name is Henry James;  Aunt Judy wanted him to start calling himself H. James, but he wouldn't do it.

For more background, see "Cast of Characters". February 27, 2015. 

 

 

 

Another Friday, Another Dip

Karen and Nikki couldn't wait to have Michele at Girl's Night. Actually they were a little put out that I had been the first one to meet her. I said Emily thought meeting everyone at once would be too overwhelming. Nikki said she didn't think anything could overwhelm Michele.

"Is she still going to be here?" Karen asked. "Doesn't she have a job?"

"She's a painter. And she's independently wealthy."

"Alimony?" Nikki sneered.

"Now be nice, Nikki. It happens that her family has money."

"That they probably got by exploiting the poor."

"Meeting a novelist and a rich artist! We're on a roll." Karen likes to look on the bright side.

At first, Alice had been hesitant about coming. She thought it might be awkward. But then she decided it would be good for her artistic development, and anyway she didn't want to be a wuss.

For some reason, I was nervous about having everyone over. I took Friday off to clean and I got fancy cheese and crackers and dips from the intellectual deli that the faculty uses and made carrot cake.

I ended up making two cakes, so the troops wouldn't feel neglected.

Ed took Josh to the movies and the girls went to stay with Janet and Kate. Janet came to pick them up and offered to help me get ready.

Janet: So what's she like?

Me: Who?

Janet: Michele, of course. Sheesh! (Sheesh is Janet's favorite swear word. It incorporates "shit" and "Jesus". Janet is very creative.)

Me: Oh, she's very nice.

Betsey: What's that purple stuff?

Me: It's beet root and mint dip.

Janet: Sheesh! You're going all out for this chick.

Me: Cilla, you can have some olives before you go. (To Cilla, it's not a party without olives.)

Cilla: Can I have all three kinds? (I'd gotten two kinds of green and one kind of black.)

Janet: Have you seen much of her?

Me: Well, I've been busy, but we've been talking on the phone.

Janet: About what?

Me :Oh, things. Relationships and . . . things. You know.

Janet: Indeed.

Janet looked like she wanted to hang around and meet Michele, but the girls were clamoring to go.

We had a very nice time. Michele helped me in the kitchen. Everyone else stayed in the living room and got rowdy.

"Charlie," Nikki bellowed, "Come out here and entertain us."

"You're the hostess," Karen giggled.

"What are you doing in there?" Emily wanted to know.

Then they all started laughing. Maybe it was the wine. I'd gotten the really expensive kind.

"I don't know what's so funny," I said to Michele. I wondered if I should apologize for them. Michele just smiled.

Fortunately, Alice had stuck to diet soda, because she said she needed all her wits about her if she was going to spend the evening with Michele. So she was able to drive everyone home.

After they left, I had some carrot cake and olives. For some reason, hadn't eaten anything. I felt like I had a buzz, but then I realized that I hadn't drunk anything either.