The fire had died to glowing embers. Mimi must be careful. She shoveled them out of the hole and piled them to one side. Then handing Betsy a thick pad, she took one herself and together they settled the pot on the hot stones. Making sure the lid was clamped down tight, Mimi covered the pot with a wet grass sack. Then she shoveled the hot coals on top of the sack and over them, threw the loose dirt.
“Looks like a new grave,” Betsy teased.
“Why Betsy! You should be ashamed! Besides, you never saw a grave with little wisps of smoke curling out.”
“Ready, girls? You know it’s Friday and we dress for dinner.”
Mimi paid little attention to her toilette that evening. Of course, it was always a relief to get out of her uniform but she had put on her boots to try on her skates. She volunteered to be last in the bathroom and spent her time trying to balance herself on them until the last minute. When she finally started to dress her suite mates had dressed and gone. There was no one to pull her boots off. She tugged and tugged. For the second time that day she entered the dining room just as the doors were being closed.
After dinner she went to the sing song but only her body was there. All her interest was simmering in a bean hole at Wildwood. She did do one thing that was fun. After the sing song she linked arms with Betsy and they strolled up and down the hall passing and repassing the open double doors into the parlors. They were looking in on the Friday night “dates.”
“Even if I could and some boy wanted to come, I wouldn’t have a date like that for anything.”
“You won’t have one because you don’t like boys.”
“Yes, I do,” Mimi declared. “Better than girls in lots of ways, but if you mean I’m not boy crazy, thanks. I’m not and hope I never am.”
“Well, I’d have at date, even like that, if some one would ask me,” Betsy concluded as they went up to Tumble Inn.