566
PARTISAN REVIEW
of the front row in a wicker armchair, with his gold-headed cane
across his knees and the faithful Sophie beside him.
When Aunt Teresa struck the first chord of the Lohengrin
Wedding March, I adjusted my veil, grabbed Dick Reeves's arm
and prepared to make my entrance. The spectators were still as, suf–
focating with suppressed excitement, I moved with solemnity across
the stage.
Unexpectedly, there was a shout from the audience-harsh and
shocking as ripping canvas--"Disgusting! Stop this nonsense--stop
it this minute!" yelled Grandfather, and his cane came hurtling on
to the stage. Stupefied, Dick and I watched its rubber tip bob like
a ball, before it fell clattering to the floor.
That was the end of the play. Controlling my tears, I saw the
audience rise, and Sophie lead Grandfather from the room. He leaned
heavily on her and shuffled his feet as though suddenly feeble.
Through some miracle, the next morning, everything was as
usual. Grandfather behaved as though nothing had happened, but
we children were cautioned not to mention the play in front of
him. I overheard the grownups discussing his violent behavior.
"Is
it possible that old Papa Carl could be a snob?" asked Aunt Teresa
gayly. "Do you think he disapproves of even the mock marriage of
his darling granddaughter to Dick Reeves?"
I couldn't see the humor of this---the night of theatricals had
been ruined, and I had a nagging sensation of bewilderment. Grand–
pa had turned against my performance-why? There seemed to
be
no answer. Just when I had expected to be covered in glory, I had,
inexplicably, lost caste, my accepted position as "favorite" no longer
seemed so secure. It was several days before I recovered-then the
incident paled; for years it was forgotten-but it returned to me
now, magnified, in sharp outline.
I was startled when the office door opened and John bounced
into the room. I had forgotten that he was with me.
"Did you see everything?" I asked him. "Those big copper
kettles and the roller-coaster with all the bottles and cans?"
John was waving a comic book at me, "Look what Uncle
Charles gave me," he said. "The new
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet–
it's super!"
He sat down on the sofa, the toes of his sneakers pointing
in,
his face buried in the comic- totally absorbed.
