“Now listen, Gradda dear,” replied Joanne. “I am perfectly capable of attending to such things as ice and milk; I’d be a poor stick if I couldn’t. Grad will get his lunch down-town. He is going to hunt up a cook, and send an order to the laundry asking them to call for the wash.”
“That’s another thing,” wailed Mrs. Selden. “You have never in your life sorted the clothes and made out the list.”
“Then it’s high time I began. I know the difference between a sheet and a pillow-case, I hope. As to cooking, you know I can do all that is necessary, so far as that is concerned.”
“And to-day your school begins,” went on her grandmother with a new grievance.
“That’s nothing. It will be several days before the classes are in good running order. Lots of the girls don’t come back the first week. I am going to darken the room, and I want you to lie still and not worry. I’m not the baby I was a year ago, and I can perfectly well attend to everything. Shut your eyes and ‘keep a pleasant thought in your mind,’ as the photographers tell you.” She leaned over and gave her grandmother’s cheek a light kiss. “If you want anything, just ring the bell.”
She went off leaving her patient with a new feeling of reliance upon the girl expanding into a capable woman. It was an unwonted experience to listen to the authoritative voice speaking in such assured accents. Joanne was right; a year ago if any one had thrust such responsibilities upon her she would have been bewildered, probably rebellious, impatient, or weepingly, whiningly protesting. “She is going to be a great comfort, after all,” sighed Mrs. Selden as she closed her eyes.
Joanne tackled the day’s duties with the same determined energy she had shown the day before. She carried up a dish of milk toast and a cup of tea for her grandmother’s lunch; made her own meal from leavings which she found in the refrigerator, and then sat down for a while. Presently the door-bell rang. She opened the door to see Winnie Merryman standing on the step.
“You old fraud,” exclaimed Winnie, “why weren’t you at school to-day? I thought you were crazy to be one of the first in the field.”
“Cease your recriminations,” replied Joanne. “Come in and I’ll tell you the why and wherefore.”
“I thought maybe you were ill,” continued Winnie as she followed Joanne into the library.