Comfort and Mirth

21. The Gazebo

>21. The Gazebo Camille had dinner on the table by the time Brooks got home from golf.Andrew’s cough had eased considerably, and he ate all his chicken and dumplings. She had the kitchen clean in record time, and as she pulled on a mint green cotton blouse and a lightweight forest green skirt with a back kick pleat, she recited a litany of instructions and precautions. Brooks carried Andrew from room to room listening in silence until the sound of a car horn blared from the street. Camille gave them each a quick kiss before she ran out to find Jewel and Eveline waiting in a midnight-blue Ford Model T Touring Car.“Jewel actually owns this car!” Eveline exclaimed. “Oh, Jewel.” Camille eyed the sleek lines of the automobile as she stepped onto the running board and opened the door to the backseat. “I can’t believe Renfrow bought you your own car.”She stifled a giggle as Jewel turned in her goggles and aviator’s helmet. “Renfrow would never deny me anything, bless his petrified heart,” she said. “He loves me because I’m the only thing he can no longer read with a Geiger counter.” The engine sputtered, and Jewel gave a pedal a few jabs with her left foot until it growled fiercely and fell into a steady idle. “No, my dears,” she continued,“in Renfrow’s world, I am a full-blown gusher, and unfortunately for him, capping and refining are out of his field of expertise.Eveline,are you ready to drive?” 175 “Oh, no.” Eveline’s face paled.“Brooks might be looking out the window, and I don’t want him or Thomas to know just yet. I have a plan. Next time we all go for a drive into town, I’ll nonchalantly say,‘Camille, do you feel like driving, or shall I?’ I can’t wait to see their faces!” “Very well,then.”Jewel released the brake,and her saffron chiffon driving scarf flared up behind her in the wind. “I’ll drive to the rally, and you can drive home.” Eveline shot an anxious look back at Camille as Jewel went on,“Sorry again, girls, that my day spun out of control and we couldn’t do Formosa as we’d planned. But you simply must see it. Ney’s work is a noble testament to the power of the female spirit.We’ll make a full day of it.This morning one of the university regents phoned to tell Renfrow they had decided to send him to West Texas to run some geological tests. He was wild to leave this morning before anyone on the board had a chance to change his mind. I spent all morning packing him up and drove him to the train station, which left me barely enough time to help the girls get the park ready and collect the flyers from the printer for the rally. This one’s going to be especially grand. Mayor Wooldridge is coming to address us. It seems he has every intention of supporting Austin women in their struggle for full enfranchisement . You’re joining the cause at a particularly auspicious time.”Jewel expounded the details of the rally agenda and the full contents of the flyers as she sped down West Avenue and turned onto Ash Street. Wooldridge Square consisted of a square of lawn lined by old oak trees dipping gracefully down into a bowl-shaped esplanade. In the center stood a stark white gazebo built in classical revival style with star-spangled blue banners softening each of the upper corners and a huge red-and-whitestriped bunting draped across the front of the raised stage. 176 Comfort and Mirth Members of a small band were setting up to the left of the structure.“Ah, everything is shaping up nicely,” Jewel sighed. “Mayor Wooldridge had the square cleared and the gazebo built a couple of years ago.” She pulled the hand brake, and the car jerked to a stop. “Cleared of what?” Camille asked. “Landfill,” Jewel said flatly as they watched a steady stream of attendees make their way to the benches around the gazebo.“Before that it was just a big hole in the ground where everyone threw their trash.” Eveline stood and shielded her eyes.The sun hung on the tops of the trees on the western side of the park...