Does it Change with Years (3/?) Betty/Kate
When Betty arrived to pick Kate up for dinner, she was just the mixture of chivalry and awkwardness Kate had expected. She introduced herself to Mrs. McGuire, from whom Kate rented her room, and leaned against the door frame while the older woman looked back and forth between the two girls quite a few times.
“Well, yes, then, you two have a nice night, and you take good care of our Kate,” said, smiling at Betty. Betty felt for a moment as if she was a teenager, picking Kate up for their first date. That would explain the nervousness.
“Yes ma’am, I will,” Betty said, shuffling her feet, and then looking at Kate with raised eyebrows, as if to say ‘Let’s get out of here.’
“Good bye Mrs. McGuire!” Kate said cheerfully, “Don’t wait up. I’m seeing a lot old friends tonight, so I’ll just let myself in when I get home.”
She linked her arm through Betty’s as they walked toward the car, catching Betty off guard. Despite what she’d said to Gladys last night, and the endless speculation the two of them had engaged in all afternoon while preparing for dinner, she still wasn’t confident that Kate was really ready to accept her, never mind anything more than that. And yet, it was so hard to keep that hope under wraps. Especially with Kate looking like a vision.
“You look really nice,” Betty said, or, mumbled, really, glancing at Kate briefly from the driver’s seat.
“Thanks!” Kate beamed, thinking that the money she spent on her new dress was well worth it, just for that one compliment. “You look nice yourself,” she added, remembering her manners. Plus, Betty really did look nice--sharp in her jacket and pants.
Betty smiled bashfully (Kate was the only one who ever saw Betty do anything bashfully) and rubbed her chin to deflect from her embarrassment.
“So, when did you get the car?” Kate asked, looking around the modest but beautiful Ford.
“Oh, not too long ago, when production started up again after the war, a bunch of older used cars started showing up for sale, so I figured I’d get one. Couldn’t keep relying on Gladys and her Packard anytime I wanted to go beyond the street car line,” She looked over at Kate and smiled, wishing suddenly that the ride to Gladys’ house was much longer, or, better yet, that they didn’t have to go there at all, but could spend the whole night talking alone.
“And the house?”
“A couple of years ago. I’ve had a couple of promotions at the factory since…since you left, and luckily they kept me on after the war.”
“I bet they can’t do without you,” Kate replied, smiling at her in the way she had, like Betty was the only person in the world.
Betty cleared her throat, hoping that would make her heart stop beating so fast, or feeling ridiculous feelings. It didn’t work. “Well, yeah, guess so. I managed to make Mr. Atkins think so anyway. I knew it was going to be tough once the guys came back from war, but…well, I need to make a living, so I made sure I had a way to do it.”
“So it wasn’t so much luck then, as the patented Betty McRae determination.”
“Suppose so, if you want to call it that.” She cleared her throat again, now feeling happy that their ride was almost over, because she didn’t think she could keep this up without betraying her feelings, “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Oh.” Kate couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. Not that she didn’t want to see Gladys and James, but she felt like she just couldn’t spend enough time alone with Betty. There was so much she wanted to ask, and explain. It seemed now wasn’t the time though, as they pulled up in front of a lovely white house with green shutters.
“Here we are,” Betty said cheerfully, “Pretty isn’t it? Don’t expect anything this big when you see my house.” Betty kicked herself for saying something so presumptuous, but her agony was lifted relatively quickly.
“Oh, I would love to see your house! Do you think we could go after dinner?” Kate caught the shocked look on Betty’s face and quickly added, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep. I just…of course, if you’re not comfortable, I-“
“No, no, that’s fine,” Fine, FINE? How are you going to have this woman standing in your house and not have your heart break all over again with imagining what could have been? “I just wasn’t expecting that you’d want to, but…I’d like to show it to you later.”
“Truly? Thank you Betty,” as they stood on the stoop, waiting for Gladys or James to let them in, Kate had another, more painful, thought about why Betty might not have wanted her to come over. “Do you…do you live alone? I know you’d said you’d need a housemate…” Kate’s voice trailed off, knowing that she’d agreed to be that housemate once upon a time, and that she’d left, and let her friend down.
Betty took the risk to say what was on her mind, especially since she knew that they’d be surrounded by two other people any second, should Kate be put off by it, “Kate, there was only one person I ever wanted as my housemate, and, there’s been no one else to take her place, so yes, I live alone.”
Kate felt her whole body warm, at that. But just as quickly, anxiety seized her once again, and she felt the need for more reassurance, despite that fact that it was utterly undeserved. “Not even that girl Ana?” she blurted, and didn’t even have time to be horrified at her complete lack of propriety, because the front door finally flew open just as the words came out of her mouth.
“Oh my, I see you two have had time to already get involved in some good conversation,” Gladys said, ushering them into the hallway, and giving Betty a pointed look, which she ignored.
“We were just…” Kate trailed off, not even knowing how to finish that sentence.
“Talking about Ana? Did you go see her last night?” She asked, looking at Betty.
Betty was too surprised at the direction this conversation had gone in to even be angry. “Uh, Princess, not sure this is the time or place for that discussion. Can we maybe just start off with some cocktails instead?”
“Certainly!” Gladys said cheerfully, immediately wanting to set Betty at ease, and switching into hostess mode, calling to James to come in from the kitchen and join them for drinks. He greeted Betty with a giant hug, before enthusiastically addressing Kate.
“Kate Andrews! I couldn’t believe it when Gladdie told me they’d run into you yesterday, of all things. Here, have a seat. It’s good to see you. What brought you back to town?”
“I’m pretty sure I was promised a more detailed story about a fiancé, if that has anything to do with it.”
“Gladys, lay off, she just walked in the door,” snapped Betty, making a face at her friend.
Kate laughed, feeling for a moment as if she’d never left, and nothing had changed-Gladys and Betty bickering, Betty always looking out for her. But then she remembered Gladys’ comment, and that she did want to tell the story, but not perhaps to all three of them, right now.
“Well, actually, Gladys, it was well after the engagement. I stayed on in Alliston for awhile on my own, working here and there, but just couldn’t stop thinking about-Toronto. So, about, well, a year ago now, I came back.”
All three of them stared at her, but Betty was the first to speak. “You’ve been here a year?” she said quietly, clearly hurt.
Kate reached out and put her hand on Betty’s arm, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. When she didn’t, Kate began to rub small circles back and forth with her thumb. “I’m sorry Betty. It’s not that I didn’t want to find you. I thought about it every day. I was just…I wasn’t even sure if you would want to see me. I was…I was just afraid, plainly. And it’s no excuse.”
Betty looked at Kate, and could see her eyes filling with tears, and really, when had Betty ever been able to stay mad at Kate when she was about to cry?
“I understand. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, okay?” She asked, smiling crookedly.
James had made himself scarce during this small interaction, while Gladys had just stood, watching. Now that it seemed no one was going to have a breakdown, she jumped in with the question that had immediately sprung to her mind when Kate revealed how long she’d been in town,
“You’ve been working at Eaton’s the whole time? How have I never seen you? I’ve easily been there twenty times in the last year, if not more.”
“Because I usually work in the catalog department, not on the floor. It’s only sometimes that I take shifts there,” she paused, and then looked at the two woman in front of her, “I always hoped I’d see one of you when I did.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Yelled James from the other room, breaking the serious feel that had again settled over their conversation.
“He’s quite the little Suszy homemaker,” Betty said to Kate, in a conspiratorial voice, causing Gladys to laugh out loud and add,
“Not really, but he is good at helping out, and keeping me on task when I get distracted.”
“Suzy homemaker,” Betty repeated, and winked.
To be continued….
“Well, yes, then, you two have a nice night, and you take good care of our Kate,” said, smiling at Betty. Betty felt for a moment as if she was a teenager, picking Kate up for their first date. That would explain the nervousness.
“Yes ma’am, I will,” Betty said, shuffling her feet, and then looking at Kate with raised eyebrows, as if to say ‘Let’s get out of here.’
“Good bye Mrs. McGuire!” Kate said cheerfully, “Don’t wait up. I’m seeing a lot old friends tonight, so I’ll just let myself in when I get home.”
She linked her arm through Betty’s as they walked toward the car, catching Betty off guard. Despite what she’d said to Gladys last night, and the endless speculation the two of them had engaged in all afternoon while preparing for dinner, she still wasn’t confident that Kate was really ready to accept her, never mind anything more than that. And yet, it was so hard to keep that hope under wraps. Especially with Kate looking like a vision.
“You look really nice,” Betty said, or, mumbled, really, glancing at Kate briefly from the driver’s seat.
“Thanks!” Kate beamed, thinking that the money she spent on her new dress was well worth it, just for that one compliment. “You look nice yourself,” she added, remembering her manners. Plus, Betty really did look nice--sharp in her jacket and pants.
Betty smiled bashfully (Kate was the only one who ever saw Betty do anything bashfully) and rubbed her chin to deflect from her embarrassment.
“So, when did you get the car?” Kate asked, looking around the modest but beautiful Ford.
“Oh, not too long ago, when production started up again after the war, a bunch of older used cars started showing up for sale, so I figured I’d get one. Couldn’t keep relying on Gladys and her Packard anytime I wanted to go beyond the street car line,” She looked over at Kate and smiled, wishing suddenly that the ride to Gladys’ house was much longer, or, better yet, that they didn’t have to go there at all, but could spend the whole night talking alone.
“And the house?”
“A couple of years ago. I’ve had a couple of promotions at the factory since…since you left, and luckily they kept me on after the war.”
“I bet they can’t do without you,” Kate replied, smiling at her in the way she had, like Betty was the only person in the world.
Betty cleared her throat, hoping that would make her heart stop beating so fast, or feeling ridiculous feelings. It didn’t work. “Well, yeah, guess so. I managed to make Mr. Atkins think so anyway. I knew it was going to be tough once the guys came back from war, but…well, I need to make a living, so I made sure I had a way to do it.”
“So it wasn’t so much luck then, as the patented Betty McRae determination.”
“Suppose so, if you want to call it that.” She cleared her throat again, now feeling happy that their ride was almost over, because she didn’t think she could keep this up without betraying her feelings, “We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
“Oh.” Kate couldn’t keep the disappointment out of her voice. Not that she didn’t want to see Gladys and James, but she felt like she just couldn’t spend enough time alone with Betty. There was so much she wanted to ask, and explain. It seemed now wasn’t the time though, as they pulled up in front of a lovely white house with green shutters.
“Here we are,” Betty said cheerfully, “Pretty isn’t it? Don’t expect anything this big when you see my house.” Betty kicked herself for saying something so presumptuous, but her agony was lifted relatively quickly.
“Oh, I would love to see your house! Do you think we could go after dinner?” Kate caught the shocked look on Betty’s face and quickly added, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep. I just…of course, if you’re not comfortable, I-“
“No, no, that’s fine,” Fine, FINE? How are you going to have this woman standing in your house and not have your heart break all over again with imagining what could have been? “I just wasn’t expecting that you’d want to, but…I’d like to show it to you later.”
“Truly? Thank you Betty,” as they stood on the stoop, waiting for Gladys or James to let them in, Kate had another, more painful, thought about why Betty might not have wanted her to come over. “Do you…do you live alone? I know you’d said you’d need a housemate…” Kate’s voice trailed off, knowing that she’d agreed to be that housemate once upon a time, and that she’d left, and let her friend down.
Betty took the risk to say what was on her mind, especially since she knew that they’d be surrounded by two other people any second, should Kate be put off by it, “Kate, there was only one person I ever wanted as my housemate, and, there’s been no one else to take her place, so yes, I live alone.”
Kate felt her whole body warm, at that. But just as quickly, anxiety seized her once again, and she felt the need for more reassurance, despite that fact that it was utterly undeserved. “Not even that girl Ana?” she blurted, and didn’t even have time to be horrified at her complete lack of propriety, because the front door finally flew open just as the words came out of her mouth.
“Oh my, I see you two have had time to already get involved in some good conversation,” Gladys said, ushering them into the hallway, and giving Betty a pointed look, which she ignored.
“We were just…” Kate trailed off, not even knowing how to finish that sentence.
“Talking about Ana? Did you go see her last night?” She asked, looking at Betty.
Betty was too surprised at the direction this conversation had gone in to even be angry. “Uh, Princess, not sure this is the time or place for that discussion. Can we maybe just start off with some cocktails instead?”
“Certainly!” Gladys said cheerfully, immediately wanting to set Betty at ease, and switching into hostess mode, calling to James to come in from the kitchen and join them for drinks. He greeted Betty with a giant hug, before enthusiastically addressing Kate.
“Kate Andrews! I couldn’t believe it when Gladdie told me they’d run into you yesterday, of all things. Here, have a seat. It’s good to see you. What brought you back to town?”
“I’m pretty sure I was promised a more detailed story about a fiancé, if that has anything to do with it.”
“Gladys, lay off, she just walked in the door,” snapped Betty, making a face at her friend.
Kate laughed, feeling for a moment as if she’d never left, and nothing had changed-Gladys and Betty bickering, Betty always looking out for her. But then she remembered Gladys’ comment, and that she did want to tell the story, but not perhaps to all three of them, right now.
“Well, actually, Gladys, it was well after the engagement. I stayed on in Alliston for awhile on my own, working here and there, but just couldn’t stop thinking about-Toronto. So, about, well, a year ago now, I came back.”
All three of them stared at her, but Betty was the first to speak. “You’ve been here a year?” she said quietly, clearly hurt.
Kate reached out and put her hand on Betty’s arm, hoping she wouldn’t pull away. When she didn’t, Kate began to rub small circles back and forth with her thumb. “I’m sorry Betty. It’s not that I didn’t want to find you. I thought about it every day. I was just…I wasn’t even sure if you would want to see me. I was…I was just afraid, plainly. And it’s no excuse.”
Betty looked at Kate, and could see her eyes filling with tears, and really, when had Betty ever been able to stay mad at Kate when she was about to cry?
“I understand. Don’t worry your pretty little head about it, okay?” She asked, smiling crookedly.
James had made himself scarce during this small interaction, while Gladys had just stood, watching. Now that it seemed no one was going to have a breakdown, she jumped in with the question that had immediately sprung to her mind when Kate revealed how long she’d been in town,
“You’ve been working at Eaton’s the whole time? How have I never seen you? I’ve easily been there twenty times in the last year, if not more.”
“Because I usually work in the catalog department, not on the floor. It’s only sometimes that I take shifts there,” she paused, and then looked at the two woman in front of her, “I always hoped I’d see one of you when I did.”
“Dinner’s ready!” Yelled James from the other room, breaking the serious feel that had again settled over their conversation.
“He’s quite the little Suszy homemaker,” Betty said to Kate, in a conspiratorial voice, causing Gladys to laugh out loud and add,
“Not really, but he is good at helping out, and keeping me on task when I get distracted.”
“Suzy homemaker,” Betty repeated, and winked.
To be continued….