Housekeeping Page #5

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than you are.

Much.

I'm not mad anymore.

Neither am I.

I know you can't help

the way you are.

I know you can't help

the way you are, either.

I don't have to.

I'm not like that.

Like what?

Like Sylvie.

It wasn't just a fuss about

some old flowers, Ruthie.

It was more than that.

We've spent

too much time together.

We need other friends.

I need other friends.

I can't wait to leave this place.

- The house?

- The whole town!

I think I'll go to Boston.

No, you won't.

Why Boston?

Because it isn't Fingerbone.

That's why.

I've tried to help you,

Ruthie.

But the problem is you spend

too much time looking out of windows.

When you're tired of that,

we could go to the lake.

Go away, Ruthie.

I'll lock myself in the bathroom

if I have to, Ruthie.

On the first day of school,

Lucille slipped out of the house

early without me.

I saw her,

far ahead of me,

in her bright white Oxfords

and crisp white blouse.

"Well," I thought,

"she's alone, too."

You girls missed

half a year of school last year.

What are we going to do

about that?

You can give us extra homework

We can catch up.

Well, you're bright girls.

What we really have to hope for

is a change of attitude.

My attitude has changed.

So you don't need to hear

my little sermon, Lucille?

No, I don't.

And what about you, Ruth?

No.

I mean, I guess not.

You guess not?

I don't know if she'll

work harder this year or not.

She will or she won't.

You can't really talk to her

about practical things.

They don't matter to her.

She's growing up.

Education should matter.

What does matter to you, Ruth?

That's what I mean by

a problem of attitude.

She hasn't figured out

what matters to her yet.

She likes trees.

Maybe she'll be a

botanist or something.

Are you going to be

a botanist, Ruth?

No. I don't think so.

You're gonna

have to learn

to speak for yourself and

think for yourself, that's for sure.

She has her own ways.

That was the only time

Lucille and I spent together at school.

I saw her often,

but she avoided me.

It's getting cold again,

isn't it, Ruthie?

You've got

a fish in your pocket.

Yes, yes, I do,

and I'm gonna fry it up

right now.

Where's Lucille?

Lucille didn't

eat with us anymore.

Sylvie was sad

about this, clearly,

for she had no stories

at all to tell me.

It really was cold today.

There's more soup.

Oh, no.

Goodnight.

Have a good time,

Lucille.

Don't stay out too late.

I have somewhere

really pretty to show you.

You do?

- I do.

- What?

Well,

it's this little valley

where somebody's built a house

and an orchard,

a long time ago,

and it hardly gets any sun,

so the frost stays

on the ground all day long.

The grass actually cracks when you

walk on it, the frost is so thick.

You might like it.

- Where is it?

- North.

See, I found this little boat.

I don't think anyone owns it

and it doesn't leak or anything.

I mean, not much.

- I'd like to go.

- You would?

- Yeah.

- Tomorrow?

I have to study tomorrow.

How about Monday?

I could write you a note.

Monday I have a test.

That's why...

- That's why I have to study.

- Oh, okay.

Another day then?

- Yes.

- Okay.

Are you going to study tonight?

I have a book report to write.

Mmmm.

You know, I should read.

I don't know why I stopped.

I always enjoyed it.

Do you think I could

sit with you?

All right.

Okay.

Hi Ruthie.

Hi Lucille.

Was the dance nice?

It was okay.

Well, tell me about it.

I'm really tired.

I'll sleep downstairs.

You should at least

throw something over her.

Lucille?

Are you there, Lucille?

Lucille had gone in her

dancing dress and apricot slippers

to the home of Miss Royce,

the Home Economics teacher.

She had walked around the house rapping

at the windows until she woke her up.

I tried phoning all morning,

Mrs. Fisher.

Oh?

Huh, that's strange.

They talked through the night

about Lucille's troubles at home,

and Miss Royce gave her

the spare room.

In effect, she adopted her,

and I had no sister after that night.

She said

you could have her things.

She doesn't want any

of her clothes.

Maybe she doesn't

plan to be gone long.

Yeah.

Maybe she doesn't.

Poor Ruthie.

Well...

Maybe we'll be better friends.

There really are some things

I wanna show you.

Tomorrow.

But that's Monday.

You can write me a note.

All right.

Erm...

We're gonna have

to leave really early.

I'll make some food tonight

and we can go to bed

right after supper.

All right.

Ruthie.

Get up.

Ruthie.

Time to wake up.

Wake up, wake up,

wake up, wake up!

I bet you're glad

you kept your clothes on. Huh?

Come on.

- Do we have to hurry?

- Yes, we have to hurry.

The boat's not where I left it.

Well, we're just gonna

have to look for it.

Sometimes it takes a while,

but I always find it.

Let's try over there.

Sometimes it's covered

with branches.

Someone's trying to hide it.

I know. Can you believe it?

I always put it

right back where I find it.

I don't care if other people use it,

just as long as they take care of it.

Don't worry, Ruthie.

We're so early,

nobody could've gotten here first.

Oh, there it is!

Boy, someone sure

went to a lot of trouble.

Hey!!

There's a man yelling at us.

Oh, I know.

I have to sit in that seat.

You come back here, lady!

Lady, you come back here!

Ignore him.

Lady, come on back.

He always does that.

Lady, will you come back!

He thinks someone's watching

and he just carries on even more.

- Come on back here!

- It's pitiful.

He's going to have

a heart attack some day.

It must be his boat.

Either that or he's...

he's some sort of lunatic.

Come on back!

I'm certainly not

going back to find out.

Lady, you come on back!

Sylvie's coat

and shoes were soaking wet

from our bare escape

from the shore.

I found myself wondering if that was why

she came home with fish in her pockets.

The dawn reminded me

of Grandpa's paintings.

Sylvie thought so, too.

You wouldn't believe how many people

live out here in the mountains, Ruthie.

Sometimes you'll see

a little smoke in the woods.

There might be a cabin there

with ten children in it.

Have you ever seen any?

Sometimes if I think I see smoke,

I go walking towards it.

And, now and then, I'm pretty sure

there's children around me.

I can practically hear them.

That's one of the reasons

I always keep crackers in my pockets.

And you can hear them?

You're gonna think I'm...

a little crazy, but...

I tried to catch one once.

Not trap it, but, you know...

lure it out with marshmallows

so I could see it.

I mean, what would

I do with another child?

So, you have seen them?

Well, I stuck these marshmallows on

these twigs of one of the apple trees,

and then I just sort of

sat to the side and waited,

but it never came out.

I was a little bit relieved, actually.

I mean, a child like that

might claw or bite, you know.

But I did wanna look at it.

Now you're in on my secret.

Maybe you'll have better luck.

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