Electra’s Party


We invited the other members of the book club, of course. Chrissy looked forward to the birthday party, but Chip had a problem.

He was going to be tasked with watching over his two youngest brothers that day. I suggested that he bring them along.

It was a barbeque, not a formal dinner. Dad was already planning on cooking several racks of ribs, he promised to throw in some hot dogs if necessary.

And we invited my Chemistry Lab Partner, Katie, because she was sometimes a sanctuary for Electra, and the rest of the class officers. And some people we were related to in the area.

The night before, we got a desperate call from Mrs. Branch.

“I know it’s short notice, and I know I haven’t called you guys in a long time, but could you watch the girls tomorrow afternoon?”

We’d pretty much stopped doing any babysitting for a while, at that point, but I always had a soft spot in my heart for Mrs. Branch.

I didn’t bother to say that out loud, because Electra would point out that ‘soft’ wasn’t the correct word. Nor was ‘heart.’

Instead, I got Electra’s attention and suggested we just invite the kids to the birthday party. Mrs. Branch didn’t want to impose, but she was pretty desperate.

Turns out, she’d been dating a guy with a 14-year-old daughter who’d been doing the babysitting, but she was unavailable.

So she didn’t have any other sitters lined up. I was glad to know that our retirement hadn’t caused her much difficulty.

We arranged times for drop-off and pick-up and hung up.

“Well, that’s arranged,” I said happily.

Electra snorted. “Wrong adjective,” she said.

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Electra got a lot of clothes on her birthday. Almost everyone in our class was scouring the sylph stores for things she could wear, either on the show or to routine in. Chrissy had the most original present, a set of flannel footsie pajamas.

She also got puzzles. We’re not entirely sure how Aunt Penny thought Electra was going to solve the Rubik’s Cube, but the thought was there.

She had more fun, and more success, with the big book of crossword puzzles that came with a custom-made pencil lead.

Electra, of course, solved them with ink, but appreciated Uncle Jay’s attention to the details.

The less said about Grandma Loudon’s Etch-A-Sketch gift, the better. Electra was gracious, of course. Not really sure if Grandma understood what Electra was, though.

Mostly, the family hung out with family, the teens hung out with my sylph, and Chip and I played with the Branch and Obrien children.

It was a nice, fun day. Except for Dad’s grease fires, but they were pretty well limited to the grill and his chef’s hat.

In the evening I helped sort things into stuff she would use, stuff she would use when she had time, and stuff we couldn’t imagine her ever using.

She did give the Etch-A-Sketch a game try, but she could only use one control at a time, and even then could only see the drawing-dot if it was within four inches of that control.

“And how am I going to shake it?” she asked. I shrugged.

Oh, and I almost forgot. When Mrs. Branch picked up her kids, she handed over a very nicely-wrapped gift for Electra.

It’s a perfectly-sized kimono: black, with a cherry blossom design. But it’s long, and covers her legs. Electra tells me it was a goodbye gift.

I’m not sure how she knows, but she sounds confident, so I believe her.



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Index

49. What's A Passion Cake? (N)

51. Exploiting The Underfoot