Hannah Lynch decided, that day, that she would go shopping and that if Rufus wanted to go, she would like to take him with her. She telephoned Rufus’ mother to ask whether she had other plans for Rufus that would interfere, and Mary said no; she asked whether so far as Mary knew, Rufus had planned to do anything else, and Mary, a little surprised, said no, not as far as she knew, and whether he had or not, she was sure he would be glad to go shopping with her. Hannah, in a flicker of anger, was tempted to tell her not to make up children’s minds for them, but held onto herself and said, instead, well, we’ll see, and that she would be up by the time he came back from school. Mary urgently replied that she mustn’t come up—much as she would like to see her, of course—but that Rufus would make the trip instead. Hannah, deciding not to make an issue of it, said very well, she would be waiting, but he wasn’t to come unless he really wanted to. Mary said warmly that of course he would want to and Hannah again replied, more coolly, “We’ll see; it’s no matter”; and, getting off the subject, asked, “Have you had any message from Jay?”
For Mary had telephoned her father, that morning, to explain why Jay could not be at the office. “No,” Mary said, with slight defensiveness, for she felt somehow that criticism might be involved; and hadn’t expected to unless, of course ...
“Of course,” Hannah replied quickly (for she had intended no criticism), “so no doubt we needn’t worry.”
“No, I’m sure he would have called if his father had—even if there was any grave danger,” Mary said.
“Of course he would,” Hannah replied. Was there anything she could bring Mary? Let’s see, Mary said a little vaguely; why; aah; and she realized that Catherine could well use a new underwaist and that—and—but suddenly recalled, also, that it was sometimes difficult to persuade her aunt to accept money, or even to render account, for things she bought this way; and lied, with some embarrassment, why, no, thank you so much, it’s very stupid of me but I just can’t think of a thing. All right, Hannah said, honoring her embarrassment, and resolved to take care to embarrass her less often (but after all, little gifts should be possible from time to time without this silly pride); all right; I’ll be waiting, till three, and if Rufus has other things to do, just let me know. All right, Aunt Hannah, and it’s so nice of you to think of him. Not a bit of it, I like to take him shopping. Well that’s very nice and I’m sure he likes it. Perhaps so. Why certainly so, Aunt Hannah. All right. All right; good-bye. You’ll let us know if you do hear from Jay? Of course. Right away. But by now I don’t really expect to. He’ll very likely be back by supper time, or a little after. He was sure he could—if—everything was, well, relatively all right. All right. All right; good-bye. Good-bye. Good-bye, Mary’s voice trailed, gently.
“Jay?” Andrew called over the banisters.
“No, just talking to Mary,” Hannah said. “I guess it can’t be so very serious, after all.”
“Let’s hope not,” said Andrew, and went back to his painting.
Hannah made herself ready for town. When Rufus arrived, all out of breath, he found her on a hard little couch in the living room, sitting carefully, not to rumple her long white-speckled black dress, and poring gravely through an issue of The Nation which she held a finger length before her thick glasses.
“Well,” she smiled, putting the magazine immediately aside. “You’re very prompt” (he was not; his mother had required him to wash and change his clothes) “and” (peering at him closely as he hurried up) “you look very nice. But you’re all out of breath. Would you really like to come?”
“Oh, yes,” he said, with a trace of falseness, for he had been warned to convince her; “I’m very glad to come, Aunt Hannah, and thank you very much for thinking of me.”
“Huh ...” she said, for she knew direct quotation when she heard it, but she was also convinced that in spite of the false words, he really meant it. “That’s very nice,” she said. “Very well; let’s be on our way.” She took her hard, plain black straw hat from its place on the sofa beside her and Rufus followed her to the mirror in the dark hallway and watched her careful planting of the hat pin. “Dark as the inside of a cow,” she muttered, almost nosing the somber mirror, “as your grandfather would say.” Rufus tried to imagine what it would be like, inside a cow. It would certainly be dark, but then it would be dark inside anybody or anything, so why a cow? Grandma came prowling dim-sightedly up the hallway from the dining room, smiling fixedly, even though she fancied she was alone, and the little boy and his great-aunt drew quickly aside, but even so, she collided, and gasped.
“Hello, Grandma, it’s me,” Rufus shrilled, and his aunt Hannah leaned close across her to her good ear at the same moment and said loudly, “Catherine, hello; it’s only Rufus and I”; and as they spoke each laid a reassuring hand on her; and upstairs Rufus heard Andrew bite out, “Oh, G-godd”; but his grandmother, used to such frights, quickly recovered, laughed her tinkling ladylike laugh (which was beginning faintly to crack) very sportingly, and cried, “Goodness gracious, how you startled me!” and laughed again. “And there’s little Rufus!” she smiled, leaning deeply towards him with damaged, merry eyes and playfully patting his cheek.
“So you’re ready to go!” she said brightly to Hannah.
Hannah nodded conspicuously and leaning again close across her to get at her good ear, cried, “Yes; all ready!”
“Have a nice time,” Grandma said, “and give Grandma a good hug,” and she hugged him close, saying “Mum-mum; nice little boy,” and vigorously slapping his back.
“Good-bye,” they shouted.
“Good-bye,” she beamed, following them to the door. They took the streetcar and got out at Gay Street. There was no flurry and no dawdling as there would have been with any other woman Rufus knew; none of the ceremony that held his grandmother’s shopping habits in a kind of stiff embroidery; none of the hurrying, sheepish refusal to be judicious in which men shopped. Hannah steered her way through the vigorous sidewalk traffic and along the dense, numerous aisles of the stores with quiet exhilaration. Shopping had never lost its charm for her. She prepared her mind and her disposition for it as carefully as she dressed for it, and Rufus had seldom seen her forced to consult a shopping list, even if she were doing intricate errands for others. Her personal tastes were almost as frugal as her needs; hooks and eyes, lengths of black tape and white tape, snappers so tiny it was difficult to handle them, narrow lace, a few yards, sometimes, of black or white cotton cloth, and now and then two pairs of black cotton stockings. But she loved to do more luxurious errands for others, and even when there were no such errands, she would examine a rich variety of merchandise she had no intention of buying, always skillful, in these examinations, never to disturb a clerk, and never to leave disturbed anything that she touched, imposing her weak eyes as intently as a jeweler with his glass and emitting little expletives of irony or admiration. Whenever she did have a purchase to make, she got hold of a clerk and conducted the whole transaction with a graceful efficiency which had already inspired i............