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"I have to entertain the children of some important guests. Besides, you're better at cleaning up. Just do it. Unless you don't want me to help you and Jimmy," she said, smiling.
"Jimmy needs something for lunch!" I cried. "I won't leave him without food all day."
"Don't worry. I'll see that he gets it," she said.
"You have to be careful no one sees you sneak food to him," I warned.
"I think I'm better at being careful than you are, Eugenia," she commented and walked off laughing.
Grandmother Cutler was right about one thing—Clara Sue was a slob. Her clothing was scattered all about—panties and bras draped over chairs, shoes under the bed and in front of the closet instead of inside it, skirts and blouses on the floor, blouses hanging on the headboard and on the back of the vanity table chair. And the vanity table! Makeup and creams were left open. There were streaks of cream and powder over the table. Even the mirror was spotted.
Her bed was unmade and covered with fashion and fan magazines. I found an earring under the bedspread and searched everywhere in vain for its mate. She had her jewelry strewn about, some of it on her desk, some on her vanity and some on top of her dresser.
All the dresser drawers were open and some had panties and stockings leaking out. When I started putting things into the drawers, I saw they were all mixed up?stockings with panties, T-shirts with stockings. I shook my head. There was so much to do. No wonder Grandmother Cutler was angry.
And when I opened the closet door! Clothing hadn’t been properly hung, so skirts and pants, blouses and jackets were half on and half off the hangers, some of the clothing fallen to the floor in heaps. Clara Sue had no respect for her possessions. I thought. It all came too easily.
It took me more than two more hours to do up her room, but when I finished, it was clean, organized and spotless. I was exhausted, but I headed out quickly and snuck around the back of the hotel to see Jimmy.
When I entered the hideaway, however, he wasn’t there. The bathroom door was open, so I could see he wasn’t in it. He had gotten disgusted waiting for me. I flopped down on the bunk bed. Jimmy was gone; perhaps I would never see him or hear from him again. I couldn’t keep the tears from rushing out?all my frustrations, fatigue, and unhappiness ganged up on me. I cried hysterically, my shoulders heaving, my chest aching. The dark, damp room closed in on me as I bawled. All our lives we were trapped in small, run-down places. I didn't blame Jimmy for fleeing from this one. I made up my mind I wouldn't come here again.
Finally, exhausted from crying, I stood up and wiped my tear-streaked cheeks with the back of my hands, which were dusty and dirty from all the cleaning I had done. Head bowed, I started for the door, but just before I reached it, Jimmy came in.
"Jimmy! Where were you? I thought you had run off for Georgia without saying good-bye!" I cried.
"Dawn, you should have known I wouldn't do that to you."
"Well, where were you? You could have been seen and . . ." There was a strange look in his eyes. "What happened?"
"Actually, I was running away," he said, lowering his head with a look of embarrassment. "I was running away from Clara Sue."
"What?" I followed him to the bunk bed. "What did she do? What happened?"
"She came down with some lunch for me and stayed while I ate, talking nonsense to me about Louise and the other girls and asking me all sorts of nasty questions about you and me and how we lived together. I got angrier and angrier, but I kept my temper down because I didn't want her to make any more trouble for you.
"Then . . ." He shifted his eyes from me and sat down.
"What then?" I asked sitting beside him.
"She got cute."
"What do you mean, Jimmy?" My heart started to race.
"She wanted me to . . . kiss her and stuff. I finally told her I had to get out for a while and ran out. I hid out by the baseball field until I was sure she would he gone and then I snuck back. Don't worry. No one saw me or paid any attention to me."
"Oh, Jimmy."
"It's all right," hit said, "but I think I'd better go before she does make things worse."
I looked down, my tears building again.
"Hey," he said, reaching out to lift my chin. “I don't remember you ever being this unhappy."
"I can't help it, Jimmy. After you go, I’m going to feel so terrible. When I first came in here and I thought you had left?"
"I can see." He laughed and got up to go into the bathroom. He ran the water over a washcloth and returned to clean my cheeks. I smiled at him and he leaned forward to plant a soft kiss on my lips. “All right," he said, "I'll stay one more night and leave sometime tomorrow."
“I’m glad Jimmy. I’ll sneak back and eat dinner with you," I said excitedly, "and later I'll come and . . . stay with you all night. No one will know,” I quickly added when he took on a look of worry„
