A tree grows in Brooklyn - Betty Smith [71]
“Where does she sit that you don’t see her so good?” Teacher indicated a dark back seat. “Maybe if she sat up front more, you could see her better.”
“The seating arrangements are all set.”
“Christmas is coming,” warned Sissy coyly.
“I’ll see what I can do.”
“See, then. And see that you see good.” Sissy walked to the door, then turned. “Because not only is Christmas coming, but my husband who is a cop will come up here and beat hell out of you if you don’t treat her right.”
Francie had no more trouble after that parent-teacher conference. No matter how timorously her hand went up, Miss Briggs happened to see it. She even let her sit in the first row, first seat for a while. But when Christmas came and no expensive Christmas present came with it, Francie was again relegated to the dark back of the room.
Neither Francie nor Katie ever learned of Sissy’s school visit. But Francie was never shamed again in that way and if Miss Briggs did not treat her with kindness, at least she didn’t nag at her. Of course, Miss Briggs knew that what that woman had told her was ridiculous. Yet, what was the use of taking chances? She didn’t like children but she was no fiend. She wouldn’t want to see a child drop dead before her eyes.
A few weeks later, Sissy had one of the girls in her shop write a postcard message for her to Katie. She asked her sister to let bygones be bygones and permit her to come to the house at least to see the children once in a while. Katie ignored the card.
Mary Rommely came over to intercede for Sissy. “What is there that is bitter between you and your sister?” she asked Katie.
“I cannot tell you,” replied Katie.
“Forgiveness,” said Mary Rommely, “is a gift of high value. Yet its cost is nothing.”
“I have my own ways,” said Katie.
“Ai,” agreed her mother. She sighed deeply and said no more.
Katie wouldn’t admit it, but she missed Sissy. She missed her reckless good sense and her clear way of straightening out troubles. Evy never mentioned Sissy when she came to see Katie and after that one attempt at reconciliation, Mary Rommely never mentioned Sissy’s name again.
Katie got news of her sister through the official accredited family reporter, the insurance agent. All of the Rommelys were insured by the same company and the same agent collected the nickels and dimes from each of the sisters weekly. He brought news, carried gossip, and was the round robin messenger of the family. One day he brought news that Sissy had given birth to another child which he had been unable to insure since it had lived but two hours. Katie felt ashamed of herself at last for being so bitter against poor Sissy.
“Next time you see my sister,” she told the collector, “tell her not to be such a stranger.” The collector relayed the message of forgiveness and Sissy came back into the Nolan family again.
20
KATIE’S CAMPAIGN AGAINST VERMIN AND DISEASE STARTED THE DAY her children entered school. The battle was fierce, brief, and successful.
Packed closely together, the children innocently bred vermin and became lousy from each other. Through no fault of their own, they were subjected to the most humiliating procedure that a child could go through.
Once a week, the school nurse came and stationed herself with her back to the window. The little girls lined up and when they came to her, turned round, lifted their heavy braids and bent over. Nurse probed about the hair with a long thin stick. If lice or nits were in evidence, the little one was told to stand aside. At the end of the examination, the pariahs were made to stand before the class while Nurse gave a lecture about how filthy those little girls were and how they had to be shunned. The untouchables were then dismissed for the day with instructions to get “blue ointment” from Knipe’s Drug Store and have their mothers treat their head. When they returned to school, they were tormented by their peers. Each offender would have an escort of children following her home, chanting:
“Lousy, ye’r lousy! Teacher said ye’r lousy. Hadda go home, hadda go home, hadda