One Hawaiian Morning by Kelli Gard

Author:Kelli Gard [Gard, Kelli]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781796085471
Publisher: Xlibris US
Published: 2020-01-28T05:00:00+00:00

10

I closed the door and rested my head against it for a moment before noticing my family staring at me. They were all standing in the living room.

“You LOVE him!” Elizabeth screamed. “We heard you say it!”

“Ohhhh!” I let out an embarrassed sigh and hid my face in my hands while my sisters danced and paraded around the living room, screeching with delight.

“Ruth’s in love! Ruth’s in love!” Marie chanted.

I flopped in the corner of the couch next to my quietly gleeful mother, and I hid in the corner.

“Did he kiss you again?” Marie asked, kneeling on the floor next to me. I didn’t answer; I just squirmed in my chair.

“He DID!” Elizabeth said, joining Marie on the floor, both of them bursting into giggles.

“Tell us, PLEASE, Ruth!” Marie begged.

I took a deep breath. “A woman never kisses and tells,” I said with a smug smile.

Both of them squealed giddily. Surprisingly, I felt the same way on the inside. I wanted to run around the room, yelling, “He loves me!” just like the girls.

“That’s enough now!” Daddy broke in. “I will have none of this foolishness. I want everyone to settle down. It’s time for my radio program, and you girls need to go help your mother with the dishes.” Daddy tried to look firm.

“Oh, Daddy!” Elizabeth said, exacerbated. “Don’t be like that. You can’t expect us to settle down! Aren’t you excited too?”

“I understand, Elizabeth,” he said with a level voice. “I just don’t want to hear about some sailor kissing on my daughter. Now I do expect him to be a gentleman,” Daddy said firmly, looking to me. “Am I correct in assuming he is, Ruth? Should I continue to trust this man?”

I nodded slowly. I’ve never seen Daddy act this way before.

“I have a lot of trust in you, young lady, to behave as a young lady should. Am I the one being foolish?” Daddy looked very serious, and the room grew quiet.

“Yes, Daddy,” I said. “I mean, no, Daddy. I mean, no, you are not foolish. We are both behaving properly,” I said quietly. I felt hurt that I had to explain myself but also glad Daddy worried about me. I certainly didn’t want him to restrict my time with William. I felt uncomfortable being at the blunt end of his firm stare. I wasn’t used to Daddy being cross.

“I’m sorry, Ruth,” he said, softening. “But you need to be careful right now. I understand that you are a young woman capable of your own decisions. It is clear to me the intentions of your gentleman caller, and you need to be mindful of your standards. Remember how you were raised, and act accordingly,” he said regretfully. He didn’t look happy about this conversation either.

I was confused. What was Daddy telling me? It was never openly taught to us what the right or wrong way was to behave with a boy or, in my case, a man. It was always assumed and never unclear that we were supposed to be “ladies,” although the term was never defined.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.