Summer at the Lullaby

Elegant tablecloths

"Eve Move for God's Sake"It was time for the appointment at Mrs. Davon's house and Tess looked like a caged lion.You had to go, you had to prepare a long series of useless topics but interesting enough to hold a conversation, you had to forget the meeting that morning and you had to convince young Campbell to stop combing her hair, otherwise they would have been late and found themselves almost a mother-in-law at war ."Eve you won't meet anyone interesting at the old woman's house, she leave those curls alone and come away""How dull you are Tess, just because you have two suitors doesn't mean we're all resigned to ending up knitting, my dear"Evelyn said that last sentence with an impertinent singsong, like in their childhood games."Stop Eve""i'm quitting. Today they don't want to stay in their place. By the way, dad gave me the car! Suffice it to say that we were going to Davon's house to have the Buick washed and polished, if we hurry with the pleasantries we could take a tour of that new shop, the one he opened near the beach "Theresa hadn't paid attention to a single word from her friend, she just nodded, quickly walking down the hotel stairs."You're getting unbearable Tess." Eve grumbled.Thelma Davon had had a small but pleasant refreshment prepared on the veranda, she was still irritated by the presence of the young Campbell but had decided to take courage, thinking that she would have educated them both on the future that he had decided for her son. "So that crazy head won't give you any weird ideas."She looked in the mirror.Nothing remained of the beautiful girl who had arrived from New York thirty years earlier, the weather had certainly not been kind to her and the habit of eating at night had irreparably deformed her body, but her ease allowed her to wear clothes and jewels still enjoying the admiration of their peers. And there was William, there was no one like him.A blast of the horn announced the arrival of the two girls.Thelma decided to wait for her guests in the living room, it was better to spare that flashy and vulgar car in the driveway."Hello Mrs. Davon""Good Afternoon Mrs. Davon""Welcome girls, we'll have tea on the veranda," she sighed.The service was good, Tess noticed right away. Canapes and pastries were proudly displayed on the bamboo table, the tablecloth must have come from the fabric store downtown. A simple elegance studied to perfection."Tess, dear, have you received any letters from Will?""Yes ma'am, he wrote to me, the letter arrived yesterday. She says she's fine and...""Did he tell you about the gala dinner he was invited to?""No ma'am""A splendid thing, all the highest ranked, and he's been invited. He will lead the way""Yes Madam""Mrs Davon how is it that Will writes her about fancy dates and not Tess? Will there not be a Teutonic beauty to woo him?"Eve hadn't finished the sentence yet that the first kick under the table had arrived as expected. Tess didn't want to quarrel with William's mother, she had told her not to accept provocations and to smile, those games were risky. "Prepare for big bruises my friend," Eve thought as she stroked her ankle.Mrs. Davon glared at them both: "Do you have milk in your tea, dear?""Yes, thank you, for both of you," Tess replied softly.The milk created a swirl with a light hazelnut color."So dear, have you thought about how to organize refreshments after the ceremony?"Dear Mrs. Davon had gotten straight to the point, it was clear that deflecting the subject would be difficult if not impossible."Here, right ma'am, let's talk about refreshments but above all about how that refreshment shouldn't be. As a negative example I would take the last party the Walls organized, a terrible thing, starting with that triumph of feathers on poor Martha's head, don't you think?"Evil genius Eve had found the perfect way to deflect the discussion: to quote Mrs Gillian Walls, Mr Davon's ex-girlfriend, dumped when Thelma's family arrived in Helbony. Just enough time for Herbie Davon to meet Thelma's gaze at Sunday mass."Oh yes dear? We didn't go, you know we had Friday night bridge, but did they really put feathers on her daughter's head? oh Heaven! And how was the dress?"Teatime passed quickly into chatter and treachery, with Eve lavishing amusing details on overheard conversation and bad food she had certainly not tasted.Sitting in the passenger side Theresa watched the colors of the bay, she didn't say a word but she was sincerely grateful to her friend for that rescue."Honey you have to solve, I won't always be there to get you out of trouble""Of course you will be there""Yes, it is likely"