Maggie will be nervous until after her sister goes: she will stand hopelessly in corners homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe. She thinks her sister has held life always in the palm of one hand, that "no" is a word the world never learned to say to her.
This is not me putting my fears upon Maggie. You can't deny that Maggie hides in the doorway while I wait outside for Dee to arrive. After she gets out there she makes a mad dash to get back in the house when Dee arrives. She doesn't bother to shake the hand of the strange man that Dee brought with her. While Dee was visiting in the house, Maggie stayed in the kitchen washing instead of being out and about with her sister. Maggie can come out and present herself, like she does when Dee attempts to take the quilts that were promised to Maggie, but most the time she would rather just be simple and not draw attention to herself.
Dee also acts in ways that prove my understanding of her. When I prepare for Dee's arrival, it's exactly how I would prepare for any visitor's arrival. Everyone likes for the house and the yard to be clean, and when there is nothing else to do but wait, that's what you do. When I say that Dee lives in a world that never tells her "no", I was also correct, that's until I told her to take some of the others quilts because the one's she wanted were being saved for Maggie. Dee has always been different from me and Maggie. She never really got to know us because she was gone after high school. She never really accepted me and Maggie the way she may have accepted others who were educated and "stylish" like she is. But every mother wants to be accepted by their daughter which makes for the significance of the Johnny Carson dream. I know how Dee wants me to be and act, but I can. It's not who I am. When I say "I used to think she (Dee) hated Maggie.." Yes that was before the money was raised to send Dee off to school. Once Dee got the money to get out of here she was nice to everyone and loved everyone because they did something for her. I guess that somewhat of human nature. If someone does something nice for you, generally you will like them. That is the same way for Dee.
It is also critiqued how I turned my back on the new house. It was after all a replica of the old one except for the tin roof. It's true I did believe that Dee would hate this house as much as the old one that burned down. That was until Dee came about with her "getting closer to her heritage feddish". If it was not the fad to get closer to your heritage, there is no doubt that Dee would have hated the house as much as the old one. Her way of thinking is different in this visit then it was when the old house burned down.
One knows when they see hatred and relief on their daughter's face when watching the only home they know burning down. I didn't imagine Dee's embarrassment toward Maggie when she was seen with Maggie all scared up. Could I have exaggerated my feelings behind what my daughters say and do? Possibly, but not likely.
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