Becky visits Terncote

*** This was from late September or early October but remained in my journal till past its date and is now included here.***

My friend Becky rode home in the car with us after school today. Roger arrived as ever about five minutes after all the buses, including Becky's, had left and opened the door for us. Becky has never seen us leave and didn't expect that we had a personal driver. She sat in the middle with Jessy and me, commenting as you might expect on the car which is not showy or complex in any way, rather like my parents (as I have said before).

At the house-- which she raved over-- we went up to my room and actually did some homework. Becky likes my room-- I'm sure it's unlike the bedroom of any other girl my age in the country, you know, but I like when people say they like it. I love the whole 18th-century thing myself-- my mother got us all interested in historical reenactments of that period, the clothing, the culture, the architecture, the history, and all. And when we moved from the cosy Colonial-reproduction house on the edge of Delaware Bay, the one that fooled people who thought it was really built in the 1740s and not 250 years later (they even asked us to included it on the Colonial house tour!), where I had a lovely, authentic little bedroom furnished by my parents, to this place somewhat larger and more expansive where I got to choose my own bedroom set, I asked for the same Quakerish milk-painted stuff like what's in the house at Lewes. The main differences are in the colours (darker), the size of the room (a little bigger), and that I have a fireplace and my own bathroom. I have no TV, no stereo, nothing modern, only a couple of electric lamps and whatever would have been completely appropriate for a 1720s English manor house occupied by less than Peerage. So I am kind of flattered to think other people my age would actually like such old-fashioned stuff like I like. So I'm not the only one who likes it after all.

It's been getting chilly recently and I lit a fire, just a few of the birch logs that came from a place up the road and the paper and kindling needed to get it going. The sun was almost out and I'd wanted to show her round the place a little, the lawn and the jetty where Jessy and I sun ourselves, but there was a stiff breeze and it wasn't exactly pleasant out there. Becky got up and went into my bathroom and then Lisa came in-- fortunately still in her romper dress from school as these days Lisa can be in anything, or even nothing. She called 'hello' rather politely as she knew I had a guest and then realised my guest was in the bathroom. Then Becky came out with her eyes wide open. I looked up ready to laugh.

'Janine,' she said in an almost-hushed voice, 'your bathroom is... beautiful.'

Lisa giggled. 'It's a bathroom!'

'Yes, but....' Becky looked over Lisa for a moment and then said to me, 'You can sit there and look right out that window and see the ocean. It's... like the bathroom in a fairy-tale castle.' Then she got red. 'Is this your little sister?'

Lisa looked up, sitting on the end of my bed facing us. 'Yes,' I said, 'that's the good little sweetie.' At that she hopped down and came over for a cuddle at my chair. 'And this is Becky from school.'

'Hi Becky,' she said, just as adorably as you can imagine.

'Hi, Lisa!' They both smiled at each other. I think Lisa was impressed that Becky knew who she is... but then all my friends do even if they haven't met her yet. She's kind of a celebrity in our high school for that reason.

For tea we sat in the little parlour in back, where Mother had the doors open till just before we got down there, in spite of the fire there too. Becky sat closest to the French windows and seemed to stare off at the sky above the garden wall while people talked to her. At least once she got caught not even listening. Then she apologised, 'I'm sorry. I've lived on the Eastern Shore all my life, and I've never been able to sit in a house and see the ocean sky like that. It's all around us here, I know that; but to have it so close, and right out your windows....' She looked from Mother to me and at Jessy and Lisa and back to Mother and then me. 'It's just so beautiful here.'

We all smiled at her. 'You can come over any time,' Jessy said, 'till you get sick of the place.'

We all laughed. 'I wouldn't have thought you're sick of this place,' Mother said to her.

Jessy shrugged. Even when she's dressed it's a cute gesture. 'Well, used to it maybe.'

'God,' Becky sighed. 'I could never be used to it!'

We all smiled at her. 'Well,' Mother said to Becky then, 'you'll just have to come over and visit the girls more often.'

Becky looked from her to me with her eyes wide. I nodded happily. 'You might as well,' I said, 'so long as you're willing to get used to us.'

Jessy giggled at that. So did Lisa. Becky only blushed, considering herself highly favoured, although she has no reason to feel that way because she's a perfectly nice friend in her own right... and I am very happy to know her.

Needless to say she stayed for dinner.

...