“I’m sorry, what were you asking me about?”

“Flapper girls…Sarah said…”

“Oh, you mean flappers. You can leave off the “girls.”

“Why?”

Ellen laughed. “There were no flapper boys.”

“Sarah said…”

“Your grandmother didn’t like them, not one bit! Neither did Miss Quigley.”

David paused to think for a moment. He was sure he hadn’t heard that name before.

“Miss Quigley?”

“Yes, Dear; she was the matron at the Finishing School.”

“Why didn’t she like them?”

“The same reasons Oma didn’t!” Then she laughed.

“Sarah said…”

“But I thought they were neat! Very stylish! Some even wore make-up on their knees.”

David smiled. Now he was sure that Sarah and Ellen were in cahoots. Still, he hadn’t expected the knee make-up thing.

“Why would…”

“I had one of the hats!”

“Hats? Sarah said…”

“I’m surprised, David! You watch all those old movies. Don’t you know who Clara Bow is?”

“Clara Bow?”

“Oh yes. She was the quintessential flapper! Your father had a thing for her, but I pretended that I didn’t know!” Ellen declared, and then burst out laughing. “Surely you’ve seen her movies.”

“No, I’ve never heard of her.”

“Well, if you watch one of her movies…then you’ll understand. But I’ve got to go, dear. I have an appointment.”

“Oh, sure mom. Talk to you next week.”

Now David considered himself to be pretty knowledgeable about old movies, but he definitely hadn’t heard of Clara Bow. He grabbed the TV magazine, and looked in the back, which listed the actors and actresses staring in that week’s movies. There were lots of old movies, but he couldn’t find Clara Bow. Then his eyes lit up.

“Hah! I got them now!”

He walked to his study, and grabbed the B volume of his encyclopedia set. He flipped through the pages before shutting the book, prepared to call Sarah’s bluff. He walked over to put the B volume back on the shelf, when he suddenly stopped.

“I wonder,” he muttered. “Not Clara B.e.a.u, it’s Clara B.o.w. She’s real!” Then he read on. “They’re real! Damn!”

******************************************

It was Thursday around 11:30 am. Sarah was at the house, sitting at the kitchen table. She was doing the crossword puzzle, the one in the newspaper. Not the New York Times crossword puzzle. She was doing the one in the local paper. David gave up on the New York Times crossword puzzle some time ago. He was reading a news magazine. Sarah was smoking one of her Virginia Slims and drinking a cup of coffee. David looked up at her.

“They’re called flappers.” David declared.

“What?”

“Flappers, they’re called flappers. You called them flapper girls.”

“They were girls weren’t they?”

“Well, yeah. But….”

“So why are you complaining?”

“Mom said they were stylish.”

Sarah smiled. “Yes! But grandma didn’t like them!”

“Neither did Miss Quigley,” David added.

“Miss Quigley?” Sarah asked.

“Yes, she was the …” David suddenly stopped. He remembered Lani calling Sarah “matron” and all the trouble that caused.

“Yes, she was mom’s…teacher.”

Sarah pointed at him and laughed.

“I don’t know about a Miss Quigley! But I know grandma didn’t like them!”

“Mom said she had one of the hats.”

“Hats? Hats? Who cares about the hats? It’s their short skirts that matter! And mom never had a flapper girl skirt; you can be sure of that!”

Then she went back to her crossword puzzle.

“I wonder,” David muttered to himself as he began reading the magazine again.

“Sorry. I was thinking,” Mildred said.

“About what? If you don’t mind me asking.”

Then Ellen suddenly stood up. “Carl honey, please make sure the gate is locked. I don’t want that dog in the pool again!” she yelled.

Carl waved to her. “Yes, Mother,” he said as he headed for the side gate.

She sat back down. “Did you say something, Mildred?”

Mildred rolled the dice. “Yes. Don’t you have a granddaughter?”

Ellen smiled. “I have two. I spoke with Donna and David just the other day.”

“David’s your grandson?”

Ellen laughed. “Oh no. He’s my son. Donna is staying with him while she goes to school.”

“Who’s your other granddaughter?” Mildred asked.

“Courtney, why?” Ellen noticed that Mildred was sitting in the sun. She stood up and adjusted the large patio umbrella sticking up out of the table.

“You must be careful about the sun you know.”

Mildred looked around. “Didn’t you once say that her last name’s Blaine?”

Ellen nodded.

“Well, it’s a silly thing really. But my daughter and grandson are staying with me for a week.”

Ellen rolled the dice. “That’s nice, dear,” she said.

“Yeah. But my grandson listens to a lot of music. He says someone named Courtney Blaine is his favorite singer.”

Ellen burst out laughing. “That’s her!” she declared proudly.

Mildred paused. “I don’t mean to be judgmental, but she’s rather controversial.”

Ellen smiled. “I suppose she is.”

“My daughter doesn’t like it. She says Courtney causes kids to…” Ellen cut her off.

“You know, dear, when I was young, my grandmother, God rest her soul, objected to all manner of things I liked and did. But I turned out alright.” Then she laughed. “Once I told her she was just too old-fashioned; she was off-the-boat German you know. I paid the price for that,” she said patting her backside.

“You see, Mildred, things change. That doesn’t mean we have to change. But I do think we have to let things change.”

“What’s that mean?” Mildred asked.

“It means you have to let kids be kids. Your grandson will turn out all right. As for Courtney, she’s a good girl at heart. She’ll settle down.”

Then Ellen grinned at Mildred. “She always was a lively one!”

****************************************

Sarah was sitting in the kitchen while Ellen was cooking pork chops. She had her own recipe for homemade sauce for pork chops. David always made sure he was home for dinner on pork chop night. Carl and Ellen had told Sarah that she would have a brother or sister before very long.

“But how do you feed them?” Sarah asked as she washed the pots and pans piled up next to the sink.

“Well, at first you…” Ellen’s voice trailed off.

“You what?” Sarah asked.

“There’s a special way to feed them at first,” Ellen said. “But when they’re bigger, you feed them carrots and plums; apples and squash. Squash is very good for babies.”

“But they don’t have teeth yet,” Sarah objected.

“Ah, you make strained foods for them. But you never buy baby food from the store.”

Many years later Sarah was at the house helping Ellen cook. Donna sat on the floor playing with some toys, while Courtney was roaming around the house.

“Oh, do settle down!” Sarah would occasionally say as Courtney toddled into the kitchen, and then back into the living room.

Ellen laughed. “She is a lively one! Such energy!”

Sarah went after Courtney, who was by then banging on the front door with a plastic toy hammer. When Courtney saw Sarah, she headed off down the hall. Sarah decided to leave her alone in the hopes she would wear herself out enough to need a nap. Sarah quickly returned to the kitchen.

“It’s time for Donna to eat,” Sarah said as she reached down and picked up Donna. Setting her on her lap, she reached into her bag and pulled out a small jar of Gerber baby food. When she looked up, she saw that Ellen was staring at her.

“Sarah! Gerber? That won’t do at all. My granddaughter won’t eat any such thing.”

Then she went to the pantry and pulled out a large mason jar full of a yellowish mash. She went over and took the jar from Sarah, threw it in the trash and set the Mason jar on the table next to Donna.

“I just made this. It’s squash. You must remember! Squash is very good for babies.”

Sarah waited until Ellen turned around to go back to her cooking. Then she quickly pushed her bag under the table before Ellen could notice the other jars of Gerber baby food.

Ellen Margarete Larimore

Born Helena, she was the only child of Terrance and Myrna Schmidt. Always thinking of herself as American, Helena preferred to be called Ellen. But still, she remained very proud of her German heritage. Ellen's grandparents were Heinrich and Winifred Schmidt, and both were born in Prussia. Heinrich had been an officer in the Prussian military, and had served in the Franco-Prussian War. As a little girl, Ellen was fascinated by her grandfather's service to the Kaiser, and she developed a strong reverence for the "Prussian Officers." When they failed to remove Hitler from power after 1933, she concluded that the Prussian Officers were really cowards. It wouldn't be until years later that, the capture of Adolph Eichmann having appeared in the news, Carl told her about General Walther Wenck, a young officer who chose to disobey Hitler's last order in order to save the lives of thousands of people. This gave Ellen back her respect for the Prussian Officer, with the commander of the Twelfth Army being one whom her grandfather would have been proud to have known.

Heinrich brought his wife and son to the United States, settling in what would become Green Ridge Valley. Terrance's wife Myrna died in childbirth, and he never remarried. He and Ellen lived with her grandmother Winifred, whom Ellen called Oma. Ellen's uncle Jürgen and his son Otto also lived nearby. Ellen developed an extreme hatred of Hitler, the Nazis, the Brownshirts, etc., and the simple mention of Hitler's name would elicit outbursts of angry German. Otto felt differently, and they constantly argued about German politics. Her cousin referred to Ellen as a "hot head," based on how easily she became angry, and her willingness to express it. This changed when Winifred enrolled Ellen in the Ladies' Domesticity Academy, a local charm school, run by Matron Lorna Quigley. Ellen soon became polished and refined in her manners, came to disapprove of expressing anger, and eschewed improper language, unless it was in German, of course. Insults were also prohibited, unless they were true. She also dedicated herself to cooking, baking, and keeping house. No store-bought food was allowed, except for ingredients. She even developed her own special recipe for strained squash, which she frequently claimed was "very good for babies." 

Ellen met Carl when the Larimore family moved to Green Ridge Valley from Boston. Winifred and Carl's mother Demetria became very close friends, and both decided that Carl and Ellen were a "smart match." This led Carl to court Ellen, and Sarah was born soon after they married. While Carl was serving during the war, Grayson moved the family south to Westbridge, where Ellen and Sarah lived with Carl's sister Margaret until Grayson had Ellen pick out a home for her, Carl, and Sarah. David was born after Carl had returned from the service. 

Despite Ellen's charm school manners, she displayed considerable flexibility in her view of life, and countered Aunt Margaret's attempts to instill "prudish notions" in Sarah. Ellen was particularly accommodating toward David. And it was Ellen who gave David a key element of his view of life, telling him that there was no need to miss the people he loved since all he had to do was "catch up." When David was young, Ellen suffered a stroke, and she allowed Sarah to adopt a more active role in David's development, ultimately leading to a connection between Sarah and her younger brother that transcended the normal brother-sister relationship. Much later, Ellen took considerable pride in her granddaughter's controversial career in the hard-rock music industry, despite being notorius for bad behavior, explaining to a neighbor that although they didn't have to change, Ellen believed that they had to let things change.

Initially, Ellen was opposed to David's marriage to his girlfriend Lani Kincaid. And despite Lani's virulent misogyny, Ellen proved to be the one female figure that she liked, eventually treating her with reverence. Eventually, Ellen and Carl moved to Florida, leaving David, separated from his wife, in Westbridge. Ellen remained close to David for the rest of her life. 

************************

“She might come back; she might just be angry,” David said.

Ellen sighed. “Maybe. But maybe that’s not the best thing.”

David paused for a moment. “Why?” he asked.

“Maybe she’s not what you need,” Ellen said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, if she was, she’d be here.”

“So what do I need?”

Ellen smiled. “I don’t know. But you’ll find it.”

Sarah appeared, followed by Courtney who was carrying on about wanting to help. When Courtney saw David, she smiled at him. Sarah then headed back to the dining room with Courtney following her, though she stopped to look back at David.

“You liked her too,” David said.

Ellen nodded. “I did.”

“When will you be leaving?” he asked.

“Wednesday. Your father booked an early flight. You know, Sarah’s more upset than she’s letting on. I want you to look out for her.”

David nodded. Then Ellen smiled. “She’ll look out for you too.”

David laughed. “She’s good at that,” he said. Then there was a long pause.

“It’s important not to be sad,” Ellen said.

“It’s hard.”

“It’s not as hard as you think.”

“I’ll miss you,” he said.

Ellen smiled. “It’s not fitting for you to miss me.”

“Why not?” David asked, wiping a tear from his eye.

“Because it’s easy, really.”

“What is?”

“You just have to catch up.”

David got up and kissed Ellen. Then he headed back across the street.

***********************************

David and Lani were sitting on the loveseat. Lani was smoking a cigarette, every so often flicking the ash into a crystal ashtray sitting on a doily on the lamp table. Carl called from the office and told David to invite his girlfriend over to the house for dinner. He didn’t know Lani well, but he knew that Ellen liked her. He also knew that Sarah hated her, but had liked Mickey. He made a point to remember to use the right name. David walked over to Lani’s house and found her sitting on the curb. She had been arguing with Marian, so she was glad to leave. When they arrived back at David’s house, Ellen and Sarah were sitting on the couch. Ellen had the baby on her knee, and she was bouncing her up and down and all around, and she laughed and giggled the whole time.

“But Sarah, ‘matron’ is a title of respect,” Lani said smiling.

Ellen laughed and looked at Lani. “It sure was in my day, dear. When I went to finishing school…”

Lani laughed and cut in. “Finishing school, Ellen?”

Sarah turned around and looked at her. “How dare you interrupt….”

“Oh, settle down Sarah, she’s just having fun. Yes! Finishing school. And the matron there was well respected. You should bear that in mind, Sarah.”

Sarah looked down at the floor. “Yes, Mother.” Then she looked over at Lani. “And to think, I thought you were just being a bitch.”

“Sarah!” Ellen said sharply. “Such language! Bad enough in front of our guest! But in front of the little one…this won’t do at all!” Ellen placed her hands over the baby’s ears. “Such language won’t do!”

Then Ellen lifted the baby above her head. “I can tell she’s a good girl! She won’t talk like Sarah to be sure! She’s grandma’s little angel.”

Courtney looked down at Ellen, kicked her legs a couple of times, and a big grin broke out across her face.

“And such a smile!” Ellen added, bringing Courtney back down to her knee. Courtney quickly reached down and grabbed the cat’s tail, giving it a good tug. The cat cried out and ran out of the room.

“Oh no, dear. You mustn’t pull his tail,” Ellen said as she began bouncing Courtney up and down again. Then she looked at David and Lani and smiled. “She is a lively one, isn’t she!”

*******************************

Carl was sitting at the kitchen table. Ellen had washed the dishes about an hour before. The kitchen was spotless. She was sitting in the living room watching TV and drinking a beer. Carl’s favorite show was now over, and the news was on. She got up and walked into the kitchen. Then she sat down across from him.

“You must try not to worry, honey. It’s hard…I know.”

Carl looked up at her.

“Why’d I go?”

“Go where?”

“To the war.”

Ellen laughed. “You didn’t exactly have a choice! You were an officer.”

“True. But I was excited, as I recall.”

“You were! So was Oma! The Prussian officers hadn’t removed that Hurensohn! So someone had to do it!”

Carl looked at Ellen and smiled. “You’re swearing, dear!”

“Excuse me,” she said smiling.

Then Carl spoke. “Winifred hated the Nazis…why? When I went to North Africa...all the stuff that came out later...1944 and 1945...we didn’t know about it then.”

“That’s true. And I could recall her saying once that someone would have to fix the German economy, or there would be another war.”

Carl thought for a moment. “Germany was in no condition to fight another war.”

“Oh that was true! And then that…” Ellen didn’t want to get caught swearing again. “…came to power, and the economy got fixed.”

“That’s true. It was really quite an accomplishment. But Winifred said…”

“I can remember Otto bringing that up one night at dinner. He said Aunt Winifred…that’s what he called her…had been right. That Austrian had pulled it off. Another war would be avoided. And it looked that way. But she disagreed.”

“I can see why Otto would…”

“She said that most politicians talk a lot of Scheiße.” She suddenly pointed at Carl. “I’m just quoting her!”

Carl and Ellen burst out laughing.

“Oma always voted, but she said once that she would go into the voting booth with a clothes pin on her nose so as to not smell all the Scheiße. She said you could ignore most of what you hear most politicians say. But not all of them.”

There was a long pause. “So why did you go?” Ellen asked.

“To save Europe from…” Then his voice trailed off. “Because Dad went to war.”

“David will come home.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yes, I do.”