Chapter 8
When Billie returned home she hurried through the house. For the reasons of simply not wanting to explain herself and not wishing to appear secretive she attempted to avoid any run ins. She got as far as the stairs. Mary, Billie's mother, turned the corner from the kitchen and saw her daughter quickly scaling the stairs trudging a garment bag with her. Her presence immediately halted the young woman. Similar to Billie, Mary had dark coloring but her skin did not appear fair and soft as her daughters. Rather, she was tanned and scarred from years of spending days outside and enduing hard labor. Her eyes were a light shade of brown. The fierceness of Billie's blue hues had come from her father.
It was with those eyes that Mary starred her down curiously. She communicated a great deal while remaining silent. Sometimes her children claimed she could boil water with just a glance. The woman was accustomed to stern expressions or none at all; humor rarely touched her face. Her inability to laugh and a growing sense of discomfort caused a distance between she and her children. There would be no way for Billie to continue up the stairs now that Mary had stopped her. She remained silent under her mothers observation and waited for her to begin.
"What's in there?"
"It's a dress...for the dance at school..."
"And where did you get it?" Her voice was stern. Again in a familiar manner as Billie her speech was slightly accented. She and her children would sometimes communicate several words in French as well as her Native tongue.
"Mary's uncle bought it for me. For us. He bought Mary one, too..." It was the truth and in that moment she could think of no lie that would be better. It sounded strange, that a stranger would go out of his way to buy a girl he didn't know a dress, but it was innocent. At least, that was what she wanted to convey. Deep within her only she knew it could turn inappropriate simply for that fact that Billie liked it- that she liked him and anything even remotely to do with him. To the world it was just a nice gesture; a treat. There didn't have to be anything personal about it. To Billie, the whole thing mattered a great deal and in a different way.
The notion of a grown man buying things for a young girl didn't slip by Mary. The fact that he bought something for his niece was safe enough, but Billie as well? She had too little information to be as skeptical as she was. "Let me see it."
The girl paused. It was a beautiful dress. Mature, perhaps, but not to the point of being provocative. She wasn't sure how her mother would react, but the sight of it would show just how costly it was. Still, she couldn't deny her and began to unzip the bag, fumbling for a time, and than holding out the hanger to reveal the dress. Two thin straps held up a v-neckline, the dress essentially a cover of floral black lace over a white slip underneath.
Mary's eyes changed and an expression crossed her face, but one could never quite tell the meaning of her gestures. Billie just knew something had struck her.
"He bought you that?"
She took her own gander at the dress and could see nothing wrong with it. Casually she answered, "Yes."
"How much was it?"
"I wasn't at the desk when he purchased it," she explained quietly. It was somewhat of a lie. She hadn't been close when Jimmy handed over the money but she had seen the tag beforehand. In fact her choice of dress was determined by comparing two tags to one another; she had chosen the cheaper one. The price still was worth at least three times the family's average grocery bill. If her mother wanted her to feel guilty she needn't try. Billie felt excessive and wasteful...but glamorous and ravishing.
May began to feel the tingle of further suspicion. Not only was a it a little bold for a school function, it looked expensive. She could not afford one new dress for any of her children and this man had bought two. The fabrics were new, clean and luxurious. The detail was beautiful...but... Perhaps it was just her maternal instinct. Her daughter was old enough to wear that kind of dress but maybe that was what disturbed her. She attempted a softer expression.
"Well...we'll have to find you a nice sweater to match that," she commented, ignoring Billie's quick flash of disagreement. "You said thank you, didn't you?"
Feeling safe then and the matter coming to a close, Billie began to push the dress back into its bag and ascend the stairs. Hearing her mothers question she made another face and even a sound of annoyance; like she wouldn't have thought to do such a thing herself. "Ma. Of course, yes."
Mary retreated to the kitchen. As the two parted and she entered the room another thought come to her. She was still hanging on disquieting instincts. Quickly rounding the corner again she called up the stairs, "What does Mary's uncle do?"
"She says he's in finances," Billie called down the stairs, simply repeating what she had been told. Though still unconvinced her mother returned to the kitchen a final time.
