"Laura had a very nice room. That's the room I
use. None of you have ever been in my aunt and
uncle's house?"
"No," Betty said.
"Laura was a very strange girl," Janet offered.
"That whole family's strange."
"She didn't want to do anything with girls her
age,"
Lorraine said. "She was like an old lady--
cooking, cleaning, canning fruit with her mother." "I hardly saw her at any of our dances," Janet
complained.
"Robert Royce was the only boyfriend she ever
had," Lorraine said.
"Unfortunate for him," Betty added.
"Whereas, Grandpa has never been with anyone
we know," Janet said.
"Now we have someone who will tell
us,"Lorraine said, eyeing me. "Tell us, Melody." "Tell you what?"
"Does Grandpa spend a lot of time in the
bathroom, maybe sneaking in with girlie magazines?" More laughter. The blood rushed to my neck
and face. "When he goes to sleep, do you hear the
bedsprings squeaking?" Betty continued. The girls
giggled.
"You're all disgusting," I said. Their laughter
stopped.
"Oh come on, Melody. I'm sure you're curious
/>
about him, too," Janet said.
"He's not bad looking," Lorraine offered gazing across the cafeteria at Cary. He stared back at us. "Maybe you can get him to loosen up, relax. We could
help you."