jump, and skip were now as weak as thin straws. Now
they were inclined to only creep instead of fly, and
smile instead of laugh.
Wearily, I fell face down on my bed and thought
and thought and thought--what could Chris and I do
to restore their babyish charm?
There was nothing either he or I could do, though
we would ha
ve given our health to restore theirs. "Vitamins!" proclaimed Momma when Chris and I
took pains to point out the unhealthy differences in
our twins. "Vitamins are exactly what they need, and
what you two need, as well-- from now on, each one
of you must take a daily vitamin capsule." Even as she
said this, her slim and elegant hand rose to fluff the
glory of her beautifully coiffed, shining hair. "Does fresh air and sunshine come in capsules?" I
asked, perching on a nearby bed, and glaring hard at a
mother who refused to see what was wrong. "When
each of us has swallowed a vitamin capsule a day, will
that give to us the radiant good health we had when
we lived normal lives, and spent most of our days
outside?"
Momma was wearing pink--she did look lovely
in pink. It put roses in her cheeks, and her hair glowed
with rosy warmth.
"Cathy," she said, tossing me a patronizing glance
while she moved to hide her hands, "why do you
incessantly persist in making everything so hard for
me? I do the best I can. Really I do. And, yes, if you
want the truth, in vitamins you can swallow the good health the outdoors bestows--that is exactly the
reason so many vitamins are made."