by Mary Bard
Grandmother snapped, “You may not use my telephone to call up boys!”
Suzie’s mother’s voice was cool as she told them. “Please go upstairs and make the beds. Then you may come downstairs and clean the living room.”
At noon, when Co Co’s father walked in the door, there was a loud and inaccurate rendition of the “Wedding March,” followed by hysterical giggles.
Suzie’s mother said, “Girls, please go upstairs and get ready. The boat is waiting.” They could hear her talking to Co Co’s father in a low, worried voice, as they ran upstairs.
Co Co grinned at Suzie. “Let us put on the lipstick. Papa will be furious!”
Suzie drew a square Hollywood mouth with bright purplish-pink lipstick, and then called down in a high, silly voice, “We’ll be right down, Daddy Bill, honey.”
Co Co giggled. “Daddy Bill honey! Suzie, I am indeed proud of you. We are hideous, but it is good. They will think so also.”
They sauntered down the stairs, arm in arm, switching their pleated skirts and patting their frizzy hair. As they got to the bottom step, Co Co opened her purse, took out her mirror, and dabbed some powder on her nose. “Papa, I am sorry to disappoint you about the boat ride, but we cannot go. We have the date with Rich and Ray.”
Before Mr. Langdon could speak, Susie’s mother said, “Girls, please go right up stairs and wash your faces and comb your hair.”
While they were still on the stairs, they heard Co Co’s father say, “What is the meaning of this?”
Suzie’s mother answered, “They’re just copying one of the girls in school. I believe I can handle it.”
This time they came down looking a little more natural, but still acting coy and silly. Co Co said, “Papa, would you be so kind as to drive us to the cinema? We will come home alone on the bus.”
Mr. Langdon said, “Co Co, you know you are not allowed to ride busses alone.”
Co Co shrugged, made a face, and began to hum “Speak to Me of Love” and to float around the front hall as if she were waltzing.
Suzie watched in open-mouthed admiration. Boy! When Co Co decided to act boy crazy, she really did a good job!
She jumped guiltily as Mr. Langdon asked, “Suzie, what does this mean?”
Suzie turned wide, innocent eyes upon him. “What, Daddy Bill? Oh, nothing I guess, except that Co Co’s just cra-a-a-zy about Rich and I’m just cra-a-a-zy about Ray.” She began to sing, “I’m in Love with a Wonderful Guy” and dance with Co Co.
Suzie’s mother snapped, “Suzie, behave yourself this minute!” and Co Co’s father added, “Co Co, you are behaving outrageously!”
Co Co ran up and threw her arms around him. “Papa, oh Papa—do not be so cruel! If I had une chère maman, she would not allow you to be cruel to me. I wish I had a mother like Suzie.” As she gazed up at her father, she looked exactly as if she were going to burst out crying.
Suzie’s mother’s eyes narrowed as Mr. Langdon immediately looked stricken. “Come, come now, ma petite. I didn’t mean to sound cruel. You do not have to go on the boat. I thought you and Suzie would enjoy it, but you may go to the movie if you prefer to.”
They kept up a constant stream of “he saids” and “I called hims” and giggled in Millicent’s most infuriating manner, all the way down in the car.
When they arrived at the movie, most of their class was standing in line. Suzie said, “Rich and Ray are still waiting for us. Goodie, goodie!”
Co Co chimed in, “Quick, Suzie, see if my hair is right.”
They self-consciously patted their frizzy curls, waved, and said, “Bye-e-e-e” and went to join the line.
Chapter Fourteen
Mrs. Medlin Comes to the Rescue
Monday afternoon, Suzie and Co Co were sitting by the pool, dabbling their feet in the water and having a council of war. “Honestly! I’ve been acting so corny—even impudent—and Mother acts just as if she didn’t even hear me.”
Co Co nodded morosely. “Me, also. I am so tired of the name of Rich. Papa laughs when I ask did Rich call me. He forgets that a courteous young lady would never, never call a young man on the telephone!”
The more they talked about their plans for the arranged marriage, the more discouraged they became. For three nights they had tossed and turned on stickery bobby pins. They had come downstairs in the morning with cross faces and hair that looked as if it had exploded. They had worn thick, Hollywood mouths with T-shirts, jeans, and tennis shoes.
Grandmother didn’t even notice the giggling, whispering, and telephoning anymore. She even said, “My, I do hope that is Rich and Ray calling again. I was beginning to think we had a couple of old maids growing up around here.”
As for Suzie’s mother, she didn’t pay one bit of attention. Just kept making lists and leaving the house right after breakfast to go shopping.
Suzie scowled and splashed the water with her feet. “Gosh! We might just as well give up and let them send you to boarding school!”
“Suzie, you do not care if I am cold and hungry!”
“I do, too, care. But you won’t even try to count your blessings.”
“Me, I have only one blessing. My papa.”
“What about me? Aren’t I a blessing? I always count you.”
Co Co sniffed. “Yes, you are a blessing, but you have Grand’mère and Grand’père and your mother and Jet and three cats and . . .”
“For gosh sakes! You use them just as much as I do. Anyway, Grandmother already said you could have one of Smokey’s kittens as soon as they’re born. You’re just feeling sorry for yourself.”
They glared at one another and the fight was on.
They were both so cross and miserable that Suzie finally said, “It won’t do us one bit of good to fight. What if they did get married and we turned into sisters? Then they wouldn’t even let us fight.”
“Oh, no. Then we would quarrel much, much more. Sisters fight constantly. They scratch and bite and hit one another. It is terrible!”
For a while, Suzie became so interested in Co Co’s harrowing tales of sisters’ quarrels that she forgot all about her family’s strange behavior. Then Co Co mentioned something about a birthday party she had attended, and Suzie said, “Say, that’s another thing! Nobody has even mentioned our birthdays. Do you suppose they’ve decided that just because we’re old enough for dates, we’re too old for birthday parties? Gosh!”
Co Co shook her head. “I do not know.”
They sat side by side, staring into the pool and brooding about difficult grown-ups. Suzie snapped her fingers. “Say, I’ll bet Mrs. Medlin might have some ideas. Let’s go and ask her.”
“Suzie! You are indeed intelligent!” They jumped up and ran across the grass, jumped the hedge, and landed smack in the middle of Mrs. Medlin’s best rhododendron bed.
Mrs. Medlin called out, “Careful!” but she waved to them and motioned for them to join her on the front porch. So they sat on the steps below her and she said, “Now, tell me every single thing you have been doing.” They both talked at once and told her about the boarding school and the arranged marriage and how they had really been acting just awful and nobody seemed to care one bit.
Mrs. Medlin smiled once or twice, but she didn’t interrupt. When they finally paused with a last, “Sometimes parents are just awful!” she nodded her head and said, “Yes, I agree with you. Sometimes parents are hard to understand.”
She went on. “You want them to get married so Co Co won’t have to go to boarding school. Now, I can’t agree with you that boarding school is awful. I went to boarding school. Most fun I ever had. But the marriage seems like quite a good idea. Can’t see one thing wrong with it. How do they seem to feel about it?”
Suzie said, “That’s just it. We can’t tell. Before we acted so awful, they were very polite to each other. Now they hunt furniture all the time.”
Mrs. Medlin nodded. “Of course there is this. Had you thought of the fact that they might be afraid to get marri
ed now, because then each of them would have two badly behaved girls instead of one?” Mrs. Medlin smiled down into two pairs of stricken eyes and held up her hand like a traffic policeman. “Now, now, don’t get upset. But if I were in your place, I’d stop pretending to be boy crazy, which sounds to me as if it was much more trouble than it’s worth, and start acting natural. Suppose you go upstairs and shampoo your hair and then come down here and sit in the sunshine and let it dry so it shines the way it used to do. You’ll find everything you need in the big bathroom closet.”
When they came downstairs again, Mrs. Medlin said, “Now, let’s forget all our troubles and talk about your birthdays. What kind of parties do you usually have?”
Co Co shook her head. “I have never had a birthday party. On my birthday, Papa asked the chef in our hotel to make a cake for me, and he invited guests with a child of my age.”
Suzie interrupted. “I always have a party and Mother lets me invite as many children as I am old and one to grow on—like birthday candles.”
“Well, suppose I give this birthday party for you. Were you planning to invite boys?”
Suzie said, “We’ll probably have to now that we’ve acted so sappy. Everybody thinks we’re boy crazy.”
Co Co grinned. “And we are—a little.”
Mrs. Medlin thought a minute. “Let’s have the party on Saturday, the day between your birthdays, and invite the whole class.” She smiled. “It’s been so long since I had a birthday party. However, I’ll talk to your parents. Now, if I were you, I’d go home and be sweet and helpful. I’d play all day in the Lookout or swim in the pool, or take walks with Bravo and Jet.”
They thanked Mrs. Medlin and promised to come to see her every day, then ran home giggling, for the first time since Friday night.
They set the table and made the salad and helped in every way they could think of, and still their parents didn’t seem to notice anything.
During dinner, Grandfather talked about the trip to Eastern Washington to see horse heaven. Co Co’s father and Suzie’s mother talked about the Pink House and furniture and wallpaper and dishwashers until Suzie whispered to Co Co that if her mother would act more like a movie star and less like a housewife, perhaps Mr. Langdon might want to sit under a tree with her.
All week long they did just as Mrs. Medlin suggested. They swam in the pool with Barbara and Dorothy and Sumiko. They rode their bikes with Rich and Ray. Every day they visited Mrs. Medlin and took Bravo for a walk. And they found that summer vacation had really begun, and they were having a wonderful time.
Monday morning the mailman brought each of them an invitation:
Mrs. Medlin is giving a party to honor the birthdays of
Suzie Green
and
Co Co Langdon
on Saturday, the 2nd of July, from five until ten.
Please bring bathing suits and jeans and sweaters and tennis shoes.
R.S.V. P.
Co Co came tearing over to Suzie’s house to compare notes. “Do you think she invited the whole class?”
Suzie said, “Gosh, I hope she remembered everybody. Let’s call up and find out.”
They were in the midst of calling everybody up, when Suzie’s mother asked them if they would change their clothes and go shopping with her. Mr. Langdon had asked her to let them see his birthday presents a little early, to make sure they were right.
On the way downtown Suzie and Co Co both asked questions at once about Mrs. Medlin’s exciting invitation.
Suzie’s mother laughed and said she had promised on her word of honor not to tell them one thing about the party.
At the department store, they were wild with joy when the salesgirl brought out two party dresses with slippers dyed to match.
Suzie said, “Oh, Mother, pale green—and it’s almost a short formal. Oh, isn’t Mr. Langdon darling?”
Co Co exclaimed, “Yellow! It is lovely. Mademoiselle would say I am too young to wear this frock, but Papa is behaving like an American. It is beautiful!”
They tried them on and stood side by side in front of the glass, admiring themselves. Suzie patted her full skirt. “Boy! I look almost grown up!”
Co Co giggled. “Rich prefers pink, but me, I prefer yellow. And the tight bodice with the tiny sleeve—very chic!”
The moment they got home, they rushed over to tell Mrs. Medlin about their new dresses, but the nurse said she was very busy talking to the caterer and some men about the lights.
When they rushed upstairs to tell Grandmother, she called out from her room, “Don’t come in here. I have a surprise I don’t want you to see.”
They went out to the toolshed to tell Grandfather, but the electric saw was buzzing so loudly, they couldn’t even make him hear.
They no longer had to pretend they were receiving telephone calls. The telephone rang every ten minutes! Rich and Ray and Johnny Allen and Sumiko and Marjorie and Barbara and Dorothy—the whole class called several times to compare notes.
Wednesday morning, Mrs. Medlin called and told them they must not come in the yard or even peek over the hedge.
Thursday, Mr. Langdon drove them downtown in the morning, took them to lunch, and kept them there all day.
Friday morning, which was really Suzie’s birthday, her mother took them to the beach to have a picnic. They dug clams and hunted agates and even took a quick dip in the ice-cold sound—anything to keep them from asking questions about the party.
When they got home, Suzie’s mother said, “I’ll have to leave the car out because Mrs. Medlin has a surprise in the garage.”
Suzie wailed, “Oh Mother, you’re just deliberately trying to torture us!”
Her mother grinned. “And Co Co is supposed to sleep here. Can’t tell you why. Now, skip upstairs and get right into bed and go to sleep.”
They did go right to bed, but they couldn’t help whispering. Grandmother had to warn them five times to go to sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
Surprises
Saturday morning, Suzie woke up very early. She sang softly, “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning” as she looked out at the dazzling July sunshine. Grandmother’s flower beds were a blaze of color. The distant mountains were dark blue. Glistening tufts of snow tipped their peaks and wound like silver ribbons down their valleys. The dark-green foothills were like a patchwork quilt with farms and orchards. The lake rippled with gold-tipped waves and the sun reflected arrows of light from the wings of the sea gulls, as they dipped and dove over the roof of the Pink House.
Suzie drew in a deep breath of summer air—cedar, salt water, and flower gardens. She hugged her knees and rocked back and forth, and smiled tenderly at her best friend, lying curled up in the other bed.
Co Co yawned and opened her eyes. “Happy birthday, Suzie.” She reached under her pillow and handed Suzie a little package.
Suzie reached under her pillow and handed Co Co a little package. “Happy birthday. Isn’t it neat to wake up and find each other here?” They opened their presents to find identical friendship rings, which they put on their fourth fingers. “Now, let’s hurry and get dressed and go down to the Lookout,” Suzie said, excitedly. “Grandfather’s present is down there. It always is.”
They put on their jeans and T-shirts and tennis shoes and sneaked down the back stairs. They found a couple of cold muffins and two oranges, put them in their pockets, and ran across the orchard. When they reached the ladder, they found a large sign:
Surprise! Surprise!
Happy Birthday to my twins, Suzie and Co Co.
Love,
Grandfather
A big red arrow pointed in the direction of the big maple tree whose branches interlaced with those of the madroña tree. At the foot of the maple tree was another ladder and just visible at the top was another platform!
“Oh, Suzie, another Lookout!” They climbed the new ladder and sure enough, Grandfather had built Co Co an exact duplicate of Suzie’s Lookout. On top of the boxes was a b
ig red sign: CO CO’S NEST. Hanging from the sign was an envelope in which were a silver chain and a key to the cabinets. “How magnificent! Cher Grand’père! My own nest!” Co Co was incoherent with excitement as she examined each cupboard. “A tent also and a hammock—and cushions! Oh Suzie, it is a Lookout, just like yours! Cher, cher, Grand’père! He knew how I longed for this.”
There was a coil of rope lying on top of one of the cupboards. On the rope was another big sign:
Dear Suzie:
Take hold of this rope and swing through the air with the greatest of ease—to the Lookout.
Love,
Grandfather
Suzie uncoiled the rope, gave a hard kick, and swung through the branches and landed on the Lookout. She called, “Co Co, it’s just like Tarzan’s Last Leap! I’ll swing back so you can try it.” She stood on her cupboard, gave a hard kick, and landed beside Co Co.
Co Co swung over to the Lookout, giving loud Tarzan yells. She called out, “Suzie! Quick, quick! There is something here. I will throw the rope. Catch it.”
Suzie swung over beside Co Co. In a small basket was another sign:
Dear Suzie:
Try this and see if it works better than yelling.
You can also send Co Co some food.
Love,
Grandfather
They found that Grandfather had made them a basket with a pulley, just like the ones which bring back change in old-fashioned stores. They pulled the basket back and forth several times, and then Suzie said, “Let’s go home and give Grandfather the biggest hug he’s ever had. Oh, isn’t this just the neatest birthday you’ve ever had in your whole life!”
Co Co’s eyes were black with excitement. “It is! Indeed it is! I did not know the birthday could be so wonderful!”
They climbed down the ladder and ran through the orchard, leaping and pushing each other with the sheer delight of a birthday morning. They rushed in and hugged Grandfather until they almost squeezed the breath out of him. They were shouting and laughing and both talking at once, when Grandmother put her finger to her lips. “Shhhh! You might frighten my birthday presents.”
