AN: I took this down because I initially thought it needed a MAJOR overhaul, but when I finally got looking back through it I realised I'm actually quite happy with how this turned out. There have been a few little changes, though, so it isn't exactly the same as last time (brand spanking new title don't ya know)! So, yeah, here it is (again).
Turning from the kitchen counter top, Louise Graham fixed her youngest child with a lethal glare. "Jean! Go right back upstairs and change your dress! You aren't leaving this house wearing that. Wear one of those pretty new things you bought last week, for heaven's sake!" She chided her daughter before she had taken five steps into the kitchen.
Jean held off on rolling her eyes until her back was safely to her mother. "Good mornin' to you too, mother dear." She said, sarcastically, flashing an amused grin to her sister who was already sat at the table.
Louise was infamous within the family for how she loved complaining. Jean often wondered how her mother could always find something to complain about. If it wasn't the height of the heel on Jean's shoes ("you wouldn't look out of place on a street corner wearing those"), it was Catherine's make up ("you look like a raccoon! Get back up those stairs and wash it off!), or Barney's shenanigans while he was at college ("for heaven's sakes, Barney. You're training to be a lawyer! Stop this foolish carry on or they'll throw you out!). Even her husband Samuel was at the receiving end of his wife's criticism from time to time ("we moved to this dull ol' place because the doctor told you to slow down. If you take on this case you might as well call the undertaker yourself!) There didn't seem to be anything on God's earth that could appease Louise, which made tormenting her that little bit easier on her children.
"Jean, I'm serious. I'll be damned if you leave this house wearing that." Louise ran her eyes over Jean's dress as if it were emitting the foulest smell.
"You never had a problem when I wore it in Montgomery. In fact, I think you were there and actually liked it when I picked it out. You said it brought out my eyes." Jean replied, feigning innocence as she poured herself some coffee. Behind her, she could almost imagine her sister sitting laughing silently at the kitchen table. It was a type of game between them all to see what they could do to push their mother's buttons.
"Things were different in Montgomery. What was acceptable there won't be as acceptable here, Jean. Maycomb has a different set of standards and that dress is far too short to meet any of them." Louise continued, her voice becoming firm.
"Oh, Jean, it would just be a scandal! Won't you please think of the children!." Catherine added. Together the both of them could drive their mother crazy.
"You hush, Kitty!" Louise said, somewhat harshly.
Jean turned with her mug of coffee clasped in her hands and glanced down at her dress. It was light pink and was just a tiny bit shorter than what was considered appropriate. If she were being honest, she had been feeling rather devious that morning and selected the dress just to annoy her mother. As far as Louise was concerned, a woman's knees were for kneeling before the Lord, not for being displayed to men who weren't their husbands.
"What's wrong, Mama?" Jean continued to tease her. "Are you worried that Mr Finch might think I'm makin' a move on him? That he might be so overcome with desire at seeing my knees he's unable to control himself?" She smirked as she watched her mother scowl, deciding to torment her that little bit more. "You don't need to worry. The man's practically seen me naked and didn't so much as bat an eye."
Louise straightened up and looked aghast at her daughter. "Jean Graham, you better explain yourself immediately! What exactly do you be doin' in that office!? I told your father it was no place for a lady to be working."
Jean could see exactly the argument her mother was preparing to lay down in front of her. She had been furious when her husband had arrived home one evening about a week after their move, telling both Louise and Jean how he had managed to secure a job for their daughter. While Jean had initially been excited at the prospect of actually earning her own living, Louise had been appalled at the idea of one of her daughters' working outside the home. In Louise's mind, Jean and Catherine would aspire to be housewives and nothing more. It seemed to be working with Catherine at least, but Louise hadn't counted on her youngest child being so headstrong. She had said how Samuel had basically ruined Jean's chances of ever finding a husband. What man would want to marry a woman who worked outside the home?
She shrugged her shoulders at her mother. "One mornin' I got caught in the rain when I was walking to the office. My dress got soaked through and I had to change. Mr Finch never batted an eye. Thank the Lord I had my nice underwear on." Jean told her, taking a sip of her coffee so her mother wouldn't see her smirk. At the kitchen table, Catherine choked on her tea.
Louise's hand flew to her heart and her face went deathly pale. "Jean...Jean Graham!" She could barely get her daughter's name out. "Your father and I didn't raise you...you should know better...what an absolute disgrace...you work with the man!" She couldn't form a coherent thought in the shock of what her daughter had just said.
"Jean, put her out of her misery before you actually kill her this time. I'm too tired to help you move the body." Catherine spoke, though she was grinning at her mother's torment.
Jean let out a cackle. "Mama, I'm just teasing you. That never happened. He would at least have to buy me dinner first before I took my dress off."
Louise composed herself and shook her head. "You are on a first class ticket straight to hell, child. There's nothin' the Lord can do to save your soul." She said, although Jean saw a faint smile at the corner of her lips. Why she and her sister and brother took such joy in tormenting their mother, she didn't know, but their father often said they'd be the reason she was put in an early grave.
"What are you two ladies arguing about this mornin'?" Samuel Graham's voice then drifted from the hall into the kitchen.
In Jean's opinion her father was the best lawyer to ever come out of Montgomery. He had established his own practice in the centre of the city and it had thrived as Samuel became known for both his skill and discretion. Samuel had specialised in criminal law, and as such had had his fair share of gruelling and taxing cases, each one draining him of more energy than the last. He had continued to successfully practice in the city until four months ago when his doctor advised that he needed a slower pace, lighter cases, and a good change of scenery if he wanted to see his grandchildren. Samuel's blood pressure was unusually high and his heart wasn't beating as it should be. A change of lifestyle was needed to prevent the worst from happening, and so the Graham family had arrived in Maycomb.
"This morning we are discussing the length of your daughter's dress." Louise said, looking again with disdain at Jean's hemline.
Samuel winked at his daughter. "I think her dress is fine."
Jean beamed at him. She knew she could always count on him to argue her side. She was his youngest daughter and so naturally had been daddy's little girl since the moment she was born.
"Of course you would." Louise replied, a little venom in her voice as she placed her husband's breakfast on the table. "I never get any support in this house." She muttered to herself, turning back to the stove.
Jean smirked over her shoulder at Catherine, who nodded encouragingly for her to keep going. "Mama thinks that Mr Finch is gonna have his wicked way with me because my dress is too short. She thinks he won't be able to control himself at the sight of my very alluring knees." She explained to her father, watching as her mother wheeled back around.
"I think no such thing! Jean Graham, I'll have you soap your mouth out one of these days!"
"They are very nice knees, though." Catherine said, casually, not looking up from her porridge.
Louise opened her mouth to scold her oldest daughter, but Samuel placed his hands on her shoulders. "Lou, breathe." He said calmly, kissing his wife's head. "They're only teasing, aren't you both?" He said, making it more a statement than a question as he sat down.
"Mama, you know we're only teasing. Mr Finch prefers blondes, anyway." She added, nodding towards Catherine's blonde curls.
Louise sighed. "For the love of all that is holy, don't bring her into this. That would be a scandal when she's already courting someone."
Catherine looked up suddenly. "I am not courting him, Mama, will you stop tellin' people that!"
Louise ignored her oldest daughter's outburst, softening a little as she placed her hands on Jean's shoulders. "Honey, I just worry about you. People in Montgomery knew you since you were a foot high, they knew you had a bit of a rebellious streak in you. People here in Maycomb just mightn't be used to your...boldness." Louise selected her words carefully. "Especially not that bat Stephanie Crawford who lives around the corner."
Jean couldn't prevent herself from laughing. "Mama, we've been livin' here for nearly two months. I think I've done all I can do to rile that Stephanie up. Although, Maudie who lives across the street did suggest that I take a stroll in a pair of shorts to see what her reaction would be."
Her mother scowled at her again. "The day you leave this house in shorts is the day they put me in my coffin." She said, her voice returning to its usual hardness.
Jean raised her hands in defence. "I didn't say I was gonna do it. I just said it would be funny." She smirked again as she headed towards the table and her father. "Maybe I'll wear some shorts to the office today instead of my dress. Maybe that'll make Mr Finch actually say somethin' more that "good mornin', Miss Graham" to me." She said, earning her a slap to her rear from her mother's tea towel.
"Devil child." She heard her mother mutter as she joined her father and sister.
"Stop tormentin' her." Samuel said with a little smile of his own as she sat. "And stop talkin' about Mr Finch like that. He's a good man. I don't want his reputation destroyed because of one of your cruel jibes at him."
Jean crossed her arms in front of her on the table and scoffed at her father. "As if he'd even notice if I came in wearing a pair of shorts. Daddy, he's so boring! I can't keep a conversation going with him half the time. In the time I've been working with him all I've found out is that he has a brother called Jack. Why do I have to work for him? Why can't I be your secretary instead? I'd rather do anything that work with that ol' fuddy duddy."
"Jean, stop complaining. It's not becomin' of a lady." Louise chastised her, causing Jean to meet her father's eye in disbelief.
"I learned from the best." She muttered under her breath so her mother wouldn't hear her, her father giving her a light slap to her hand, but even he was smiling.
"I already have a secretary, and he was in need of one. You should count yourself lucky, Jeannie. Lots of girls would give their right arm to have a job like you. You should be counting your blessings." He replied.
"Daddy, I swear! If I had imaginary friends they'd hold a better conversation than he does!"
"Jean, that's enough. Listen to your father and be thankful. You were grateful for this job when you first got it, I can't see what's changed." Louise berated her once more as she lifted her coffee mug.
"Alright, I'm sorry." Jean eyed her father. "I won't say anything more about Mr Finch. I'm gonna go now, but if I'm not back for dinner then you know he's bored me to death. That or his brother has come riding in and I've eloped with him just for something to do. I'll be Jean Finch next time you see me." She stood, kissed her father's cheek and made her way out of the kitchen.
"And she didn't even change her dress." Catherine said with a shake of her head, listening to Jean say she'd invite them all to the wedding as she bounced out the door.