He looked at her but turned back to Alanis quickly. "Your mother said you took your clothes to sleep over here," he continued.
"Not just sleeping over. Granddad. I'm settling in here." Before he could respond, she added. "Miss Wilkens has invited me. and I'm going to help out with all the chores."
"Now see here. girl--"
"Oh, she can stay. Lester. She's welcome."
Alanis smiled victoriously and her granddad stood speechless. fuming. Then he pointed at her.
"I know you're up to something. Alanis King. You don't volunteer for work. You do one wrong thing and make trouble for Miss Wilkens and I'll have you in the woodshed," he told her.
"Oh, she'll be no trouble. I'm sure. Lester...
He looked at us all again, shook his head and walked off. "Thank you kindly. Miss Wilkens," Alanis said. "I sure do appreciate your hospitality."
Great-aunt Frances smiled at Alanis's Western accent. "Why, you're as welcome as warm sunshine. darlin'."
Alanis beamed a smile at me. then leaned over to whisper. "See?" she said. "This will be easy as long as we play in her little shows. We're in control."
It sounded good and she looked very happy, but it made my heart flutter.
Alanis and I heard the phone ringing. but Greataunt Frances acted as if she didn't hear it.
"Your phone's ringing, Miss Wilkens." Alanis told her.
"Phone? I don't know what that is. darlin'. Phones haven't been invented vet." she said and ignored it.
Alanis raised her eyes toward the sky and handed me the barbeque fork. "Turn over the steaks," she told me and started toward the house.
I had never helped make a barbeque. Everything that had been prepared for us outside had always been done by a caterer Grandmother Emma had hired. A staff of at least a half dozen people had done everything, and we'd just gone out to sit at the tables and eat.
"We're having a guest." Alanis cried from the back door. "He just rode into town. so I thought it would be decent of us to invite him. I hope you don't mind. Miss Wilkens."
"Oh, my," Great-aunt Frances said with her hand over her heart, "a guest. Who is it?"
"Captain Stuart Gavin of the U.S. Cavalry. He'll be here in a little while."
"Oh, then. Jordan, why don't you bring out another setting and another steak," Great-aunt Frances said. "I'll put up another potato."
She hurried into the house.
"How can he come here?" I asked. "Didn't he tell us his father told him he had to stay at home?"
"Stuart's father and mother got called away. His father's brother had a heart attack," Alanis told me.. "I told him to put on his cowboy hat. See? If I had asked my granddad if we could invite someone over, he'd say no for sure. Like I told you, we're in charge," she emphasized. "Hey, the steak has to be turned. You're not minding your chores."
She pulled the fork from me and attended to the meat while I went in to get another setting and another steak. Great-aunt Frances was preparing another potato. She couldn't have forgotten what had happened to Stuart Gavin. I thought, or the phone call she had received from Mrs. Browne, yet she hadn't mentioned any of it when she'd heard he was coming.
I truly felt as if I had left the real world, as if I had been placed in a great dollhouse. Alanis was right. We would have no one telling us what we could and couldn't do. If we didn't feel like bathing, we wouldn't. If we didn't brus
h our teeth, no one would yell. We could eat whatever we wanted, go anywhere we wanted, stay up late, maybe even stay home from school. None of it would make any difference. No one would punish us. The very thought of having a party like this on a school night wouldn't have risked coming into my mind back at the March mansion. It made me feel as if I was in charge of myself. And vet, I felt bad about doing these things. We were taking advantage of Great-aunt Frances.
"Isn't this fun?" she asked me. "'Nothing chases the darkness out of the corners as quickly as smiles and laughter," she added and hurried out with bottles of soda.
Once again. I felt swept along, and followed her with Stuart's place setting and steak.
When he arrived, he stood there smiling at the scene before him.
"Wow," he declared. "This is a picnic."