The Bird Sisters: A Novel by Rebecca Rasmussen

Author:Rebecca Rasmussen
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Wisconsin, Reminiscing in Old Age, Single women, Library, Fiction, Literary, Historical, Sisters, General, Domestic fiction
ISBN: 9780307717986
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 2010-01-02T00:00:00+00:00

15

forgive you, Twiss wrote in the first of the batch of letters she addressed to 6 1/3 Steele Street during the month of July, because that’s what she thought Father Rice wanted to hear. Twiss expected Father Rice to say “thank you,” which he did, and be back to his old, fish-eating, tarnished-silverware-accepting self, which he wasn’t.

Dear Twiss,

I was greatly cheered when I came home to find your letter beneath my door this evening. I can almost see you skipping along the long dusty road into town to mail it, although you might be too old for skipping now. Perhaps you’ve always been too old.

When I left Spring Green, you and your sister, Milly, were the last people I saw. Your sister looked frightened from the pew where you two were sitting that morning, but you …

All I can advise is read your Bible, my dear. If I remember right, you were quite a fast runner. As you know, it’s impossible to run without a leg.

Sincerely,

Edward Rice

Father Rice’s letter prompted Twiss to write a second letter, which began indignantly, even for her.

Dear Father Rice,

I’m not a child! Please tell me what comes after these three dots … and before the words “All I can advise.” I can handle it. I’m fourteen now.

Sincerely, Twiss

P.S. I don’t read the Bible anymore, but I do still skip. Not because I’m young, but because I’m me.

Dear Twiss, Father Rice wrote back,

You caught me.

What I meant was that you have a certain spark of life, which I would hate to see go out because of your own stupidity (which, in this case, is really my stupidity since you have not done anything to endanger your general well-being, yet).

What I love and appreciate about you—what I’ve always loved and appreciated about you—is your ability to be truthful. Forgive me?

Sincerely,

Father Rice Not because I am trying

to be conciliatory.

P.S. Well, maybe a little. The truth is writing this letter has been the first activity in months during which I’ve temporarily forgotten to feel sorry for myself. Thank you.

I forgive you, Twiss wrote, among other things. Again.

She hadn’t received a letter back from Father Rice yet, which she was a little disappointed about since he’d already sent another letter and another payment to Father Stone, which Father Stone had handed over to the Society without the payment, and which her mother had attempted to steal during another emergency meeting, this time about the blight of Back Bend on the river landscape.

Mrs. Merrykind, the president of the Society, had caught her mother with the letter and had smacked the back of her hand. When Twiss’s mother attempted to defend herself—Father Stone is the real thief! she said—Mrs. Merrykind called her a liar of the worst sort. Instead of voting to evict the people of Back Bend, the Society voted to evict Twiss’s mother.

“I wasn’t forced to do anything,” her mother said, after the meeting and after she’d brought Mrs. Bettle over to the house for moral support. She looked toward the barn as if for further validation.

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