LADY CLAUDIA: Thou Man of Blood (X)
Lady Claudia takes a yellow basket from the top shelf in the storage room.
She is already holding a potted jasmine plant in her other hand. The pot is wrapped in violet foil. The flowers are pink.
She turns and walks through the Mud Room and into the kitchen. She smiles. Wilma has just stepped up to the door. It is dark out. The outside light is on. Wilma smiles at her. Lady Claudia places the basket and the plant on the table. She opens the door.
"That was quick," she says.
Wilma steps in. She is carrying a small basket made of woven yellow and violet paper.
Wilma notices the basket and the plant.
"Oh, how pretty."
"Well, that's from us at the Bisbee House to our dear friends at the Brick House. Happy Easter."
"Thank you! That looks like really expensive candy. Oh, look. Hannah will just love these little booklets. Let's see. About bunnies. That's funny. June wrote a little story about the Easter bunny for you. It's tucked away on the bottom. It's a little disgusting, I must warn you. One of the rabbits gets killed by the farmer with a hoe. She has a picture of that. June has odd notions at times."
"I think that June is just a natural born story teller. And she knows her readership."
"Sure. Natural born. You should hear her when she's explaining why she didn't do her chores."
"I love those two pretty red eggs."
"Well, they insisted. I told them the last thing you needed was eggs, but you know kids."
"Our eggs are white and brown. Hardly suitable for the holiday. These will brighten our table tomorrow morning. Sit, dear. Sit, sit, sit."
They both sit down at the table.
"The girls were very disappointed," Wilma says. "They were looking forward to having Aunt Claudia and Uncle Floyd over for egg coloring same as last year."
"Ah," Lady Claudia sighs, her brow furrowed sympathetically.
She waits.
"But I know that this year is different," Wilma says.
"Yes. So sadly true."
"It's been horrible, Claudia. Castle was so upset. He still is."
"Of course."
"He saw everything. And now they're saying..."
"Yes, I know. Of course, we just have to wait for it all to go away. The talk. It will, you know."
"Hmm. I'm not so sure. There are things that happened twenty years ago they still talk about down at Homer's garage like they happened yesterday."
"That's true too. Not that I've spent much time at Homer's garage."
Wilma smiles. She touches Lady Claudia's hand.
"You're so funny..."
She bends her head and smells the jasmine.
"What a wonderful smell these lilacs have."
"Well, that's jasmine, dear."
"Jasmine? I thought that jasmine was an herb like fennel. Oh, that's right. Lilacs grow on trees. Hey, just because I'm a farm girl doesn't mean I know anything about flowers! That's Huldah's territory, not mine. Did this come from the conservatory at the villa on Long Island?"
"No. It came from the window sill of the churnhouse."
Lady Claudia chuckles.
"But yes, I did bring it up from Long Island before that."
"You..."
Wilma's tone becomes softer. Her manner becomes furtive.
"So what time is dinner at Jay and Phyllis'?"
"Three o'clock."
"Do you know what she's having?"
"No. She didn't mention it. How about Huldah?"
"Ham. You know something, Claudia? Bobby was going to come this year. But he called and begged off last night. He said that he had already seen his own folks at Les's funeral gathering and he would go to Geraldine's folks after all. How do you like that? So it will be Huldah and Young Charlie, Old Charlie, Castle and me, and the girls."
"And Walt."
"Oh, and Walt. I don't believe it was just seeing Huldah twice in one weekend. I think that there was something in the air about Lester Knapp. Castle and Floyd were never part of a lot of things Les and Bobby and Willy and even Lex got up to. Things Huldah disapproved of. And Les was the real ringleader of that group. I don't know if Huldah and Bobby quarreled yesterday. But there was something unhappy in the air between those two."
"Oh, Wilma. We just have to hope and pray that the darkness will pass for all involved."
Perhaps Wilma is startled by the vehemence and the high-flown formality of this admonition. She seems intent on falling in line with it. She does not seem to have taken a hint that a change of subject is indicated.
"Reverend Baylis is going to Edna's folks in Binghamton," she says.
"Really? That's quite a long haul. But what a lovely drive. Right along the mighty Susquehanna."
"They've been having Easter dinner at Huldah's for years. They used to have it here with us when Parmelia was living here too. Just because we were all neighbors. The folks on the square. Now, suddenly... You know something? I don't think that the Baylises willl ever go to Huldah's again. Huldah is best friends with Cora Knapp. And Huldah is strong Dutch Reformed. And the whole business of Cora's going over to the Presbyterians just for that one occasion..."
"Reverend Baylis was doing Mrs. Knapp a kindness."
"But these are the things that cause hard feeling sometimes. Not when your dog buries a bone in your neighbor's petunia patch. When people feel that they've been used..."
"Yes. That's true."
Lady Claudia looks surprised and impressed by Wilma's musings.
Wilma stands up suddenly.
"Well!" she says with a nervous giggle.
She puts the plant in the crook of her left arm and holds the basket in her left hand. She turns towards the door. Lady Claudia stands and steps towards the door. She puts her hand on the knob.
"Are you sure you're all right there?" she asks.
"Oh, fine. This is nothing."
"I do worry about you, Wilma. Alone at night on the road."
"In Camel Creek? My only trouble was Lester Knapp. Remember how he used to gun it past us and honk when we used to take our walks on the road?"
"Yes. I remember."
"And yet if he had seen me out there tonight he would have stopped and insisted on my taking a ride from him. Even if I was only twenty yards from the house. That happened a few times, actually... But he always had some wisecrack about this one or that one or goings-on in the village."
Wilma lowers her eyes. She gets shy.
"There's something that bothers me in all this."
"What is it, dear?"
"Louise. We tried with her. Why didn't she like us, Claudia?"
"Well, I'm not sure that it was a question of not liking us. Certainly, she didn't seem to want to mix with any of the ladies in Camel Creek."
"She didn't want us around. She was perfectly polite. If you can be polite when you as good as tell your neighbors to drop dead."
"Oh, Wilma. Poor Louise is gone from us now. Let's let her rest in peace."
"You're right. That would be the best thing."
Again Wilma smiles nervously.
"Well..."
Lady Claudia smiles back.
"Please thank the girls for the lovely Easter gifts. I'm looking forward to watching all you ladies coming out of church tomorrow morning."
"Well, you should come on out! Me? I've got to make do with that same old yellow rag. But Huldah and I did whip up something sweet for the girls. Oh, yes. Please do come out. They'll feel so proud if it's Aunt Claudia who tells them how fine they look."
"It's a date, then."
Wilma smiles.
She starts to weep.
"Oh, Wilma! What's the matter, dear?"
She takes her hand off the doorknob.
"I'm sorry! It's just this whole thing with Lester Knapp. No. It's not Lester Knapp. It's you. You're always so kind. You always say just the right thing. Maybe if Louise had been friends with you...You always make people feel better about themselves and things and everything. That's why I'm not that worried about..."
Wilma glances at the parlor door.
"I overheard Castle with the girls before. June was saying, 'What a gyp!' that Floyd and you weren't coming. Hannah asked why not. Castle said that Uncle Floyd was feeling too sad and needed to rest at home for a few days. And then June said that Uncle Floyd always looks sad when he thinks no one is looking at him. And Castle said, 'Your Uncle Floyd is the saddest man in the whole wide world... Only your Aunt Claudia makes him feel a little happy sometimes..."
Wilma opens the door. She puts her hand over her mouth and runs out.
She stops short out on the lawn. She turns around. She lifts up the basket.
"Thanks!" she sobs.
She runs off into the darkness.
Lady Claudia looks after her for a few moments. Then she closes the door...
She is already holding a potted jasmine plant in her other hand. The pot is wrapped in violet foil. The flowers are pink.
She turns and walks through the Mud Room and into the kitchen. She smiles. Wilma has just stepped up to the door. It is dark out. The outside light is on. Wilma smiles at her. Lady Claudia places the basket and the plant on the table. She opens the door.
"That was quick," she says.
Wilma steps in. She is carrying a small basket made of woven yellow and violet paper.
Wilma notices the basket and the plant.
"Oh, how pretty."
"Well, that's from us at the Bisbee House to our dear friends at the Brick House. Happy Easter."
"Thank you! That looks like really expensive candy. Oh, look. Hannah will just love these little booklets. Let's see. About bunnies. That's funny. June wrote a little story about the Easter bunny for you. It's tucked away on the bottom. It's a little disgusting, I must warn you. One of the rabbits gets killed by the farmer with a hoe. She has a picture of that. June has odd notions at times."
"I think that June is just a natural born story teller. And she knows her readership."
"Sure. Natural born. You should hear her when she's explaining why she didn't do her chores."
"I love those two pretty red eggs."
"Well, they insisted. I told them the last thing you needed was eggs, but you know kids."
"Our eggs are white and brown. Hardly suitable for the holiday. These will brighten our table tomorrow morning. Sit, dear. Sit, sit, sit."
They both sit down at the table.
"The girls were very disappointed," Wilma says. "They were looking forward to having Aunt Claudia and Uncle Floyd over for egg coloring same as last year."
"Ah," Lady Claudia sighs, her brow furrowed sympathetically.
She waits.
"But I know that this year is different," Wilma says.
"Yes. So sadly true."
"It's been horrible, Claudia. Castle was so upset. He still is."
"Of course."
"He saw everything. And now they're saying..."
"Yes, I know. Of course, we just have to wait for it all to go away. The talk. It will, you know."
"Hmm. I'm not so sure. There are things that happened twenty years ago they still talk about down at Homer's garage like they happened yesterday."
"That's true too. Not that I've spent much time at Homer's garage."
Wilma smiles. She touches Lady Claudia's hand.
"You're so funny..."
She bends her head and smells the jasmine.
"What a wonderful smell these lilacs have."
"Well, that's jasmine, dear."
"Jasmine? I thought that jasmine was an herb like fennel. Oh, that's right. Lilacs grow on trees. Hey, just because I'm a farm girl doesn't mean I know anything about flowers! That's Huldah's territory, not mine. Did this come from the conservatory at the villa on Long Island?"
"No. It came from the window sill of the churnhouse."
Lady Claudia chuckles.
"But yes, I did bring it up from Long Island before that."
"You..."
Wilma's tone becomes softer. Her manner becomes furtive.
"So what time is dinner at Jay and Phyllis'?"
"Three o'clock."
"Do you know what she's having?"
"No. She didn't mention it. How about Huldah?"
"Ham. You know something, Claudia? Bobby was going to come this year. But he called and begged off last night. He said that he had already seen his own folks at Les's funeral gathering and he would go to Geraldine's folks after all. How do you like that? So it will be Huldah and Young Charlie, Old Charlie, Castle and me, and the girls."
"And Walt."
"Oh, and Walt. I don't believe it was just seeing Huldah twice in one weekend. I think that there was something in the air about Lester Knapp. Castle and Floyd were never part of a lot of things Les and Bobby and Willy and even Lex got up to. Things Huldah disapproved of. And Les was the real ringleader of that group. I don't know if Huldah and Bobby quarreled yesterday. But there was something unhappy in the air between those two."
"Oh, Wilma. We just have to hope and pray that the darkness will pass for all involved."
Perhaps Wilma is startled by the vehemence and the high-flown formality of this admonition. She seems intent on falling in line with it. She does not seem to have taken a hint that a change of subject is indicated.
"Reverend Baylis is going to Edna's folks in Binghamton," she says.
"Really? That's quite a long haul. But what a lovely drive. Right along the mighty Susquehanna."
"They've been having Easter dinner at Huldah's for years. They used to have it here with us when Parmelia was living here too. Just because we were all neighbors. The folks on the square. Now, suddenly... You know something? I don't think that the Baylises willl ever go to Huldah's again. Huldah is best friends with Cora Knapp. And Huldah is strong Dutch Reformed. And the whole business of Cora's going over to the Presbyterians just for that one occasion..."
"Reverend Baylis was doing Mrs. Knapp a kindness."
"But these are the things that cause hard feeling sometimes. Not when your dog buries a bone in your neighbor's petunia patch. When people feel that they've been used..."
"Yes. That's true."
Lady Claudia looks surprised and impressed by Wilma's musings.
Wilma stands up suddenly.
"Well!" she says with a nervous giggle.
She puts the plant in the crook of her left arm and holds the basket in her left hand. She turns towards the door. Lady Claudia stands and steps towards the door. She puts her hand on the knob.
"Are you sure you're all right there?" she asks.
"Oh, fine. This is nothing."
"I do worry about you, Wilma. Alone at night on the road."
"In Camel Creek? My only trouble was Lester Knapp. Remember how he used to gun it past us and honk when we used to take our walks on the road?"
"Yes. I remember."
"And yet if he had seen me out there tonight he would have stopped and insisted on my taking a ride from him. Even if I was only twenty yards from the house. That happened a few times, actually... But he always had some wisecrack about this one or that one or goings-on in the village."
Wilma lowers her eyes. She gets shy.
"There's something that bothers me in all this."
"What is it, dear?"
"Louise. We tried with her. Why didn't she like us, Claudia?"
"Well, I'm not sure that it was a question of not liking us. Certainly, she didn't seem to want to mix with any of the ladies in Camel Creek."
"She didn't want us around. She was perfectly polite. If you can be polite when you as good as tell your neighbors to drop dead."
"Oh, Wilma. Poor Louise is gone from us now. Let's let her rest in peace."
"You're right. That would be the best thing."
Again Wilma smiles nervously.
"Well..."
Lady Claudia smiles back.
"Please thank the girls for the lovely Easter gifts. I'm looking forward to watching all you ladies coming out of church tomorrow morning."
"Well, you should come on out! Me? I've got to make do with that same old yellow rag. But Huldah and I did whip up something sweet for the girls. Oh, yes. Please do come out. They'll feel so proud if it's Aunt Claudia who tells them how fine they look."
"It's a date, then."
Wilma smiles.
She starts to weep.
"Oh, Wilma! What's the matter, dear?"
She takes her hand off the doorknob.
"I'm sorry! It's just this whole thing with Lester Knapp. No. It's not Lester Knapp. It's you. You're always so kind. You always say just the right thing. Maybe if Louise had been friends with you...You always make people feel better about themselves and things and everything. That's why I'm not that worried about..."
Wilma glances at the parlor door.
"I overheard Castle with the girls before. June was saying, 'What a gyp!' that Floyd and you weren't coming. Hannah asked why not. Castle said that Uncle Floyd was feeling too sad and needed to rest at home for a few days. And then June said that Uncle Floyd always looks sad when he thinks no one is looking at him. And Castle said, 'Your Uncle Floyd is the saddest man in the whole wide world... Only your Aunt Claudia makes him feel a little happy sometimes..."
Wilma opens the door. She puts her hand over her mouth and runs out.
She stops short out on the lawn. She turns around. She lifts up the basket.
"Thanks!" she sobs.
She runs off into the darkness.
Lady Claudia looks after her for a few moments. Then she closes the door...
posted by Unknown at 12:45 AM
2 Comments:
I can't quite get a handle on Wilma. I even went to Lady Claudipedia for a refresher. Is she supposed to be comic relief? Is she sharp or dim, like her hubby?
I wouldn't say that Wilma is SUPPOSED to serve as comic relief. She started out as more of a sob sister. Then she just kept getting more and more amusing to me. Does she provide relief?
She brings out something different in Lady Claudia. LC seems more relaxed with Wilma than with anyone else, including hubby Floyd. She also serves to underline the extreme oddness of LC's social situation.
I get the feeling that LC is very fond of Wilma and is not just being kind to the bumpkin because she's her husband's best friend's wife.
And yet... "She knows her readership." That hilarious line indicating LC's droll sense of humor about Floyd and herself went right over Wilma's head. Had she thought about it LV would have realized that it would. I think that with Wilma more than with anyone we see a bit of the pre-Apocalypse Lady Claudia.
Wilma is not what I'd call sharp. She is flighty. She can be tactless. It was tactless to say that the candy LC gave the girls looked expensive. There is a lot that she doesn't know. She is not dim.
Castle is "slow."
She looks like Kyra Sedgewick.
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