Free Alma Mater by Rita Mae Brown Page B

"The last time Dad lost our money, he was almost ten years younger. He's sixty years old, Mom. You forget how much older than you he is. He can't make it back. I don't think he can." She held up her hand because R. J. was ready to interrupt again. "Mignon wants to go to college. If I start working now, I can help with that, too."
    "You're almost finished, Victoria. One more year."
    "I can finish later. We can't lose the farm, Mom."
    "Victoria, I forbid this. It's too foolish to discuss." R. J. lifted her head as a blue heron appeared out of the fog, swooping low enough to touch. "I remember the last time, Mom," Vic said simply.
    R. J. remained silent. They drifted. Fish jumped out of the water. The mist began to thin. They could see the undersides of the ducks flying overhead.
    Vic finally spoke again. "If I marry Charly, assuming he asks me, I don't know if his parents will give us money for a wedding present, and I don't want to disappoint you."
     
    "You won't disappoint me. And of course he'll ask you to marry him and his family will make your life very comfortable."
    "You think?"
    "Yes. They'll do whatever needs to be done. Buy a house. Set him up in business. They're that kind." She lifted the oars. "Think he'll want to live at Surry Crossing?"
    "I don't know. Every now and then he talks about entering the pro football draft. I really don't know."
    "Honey, I expect he'll do whatever you ask. Now, I'm not Bunny, but I can give you a bit of hard-won wisdom about men. Ask for the big stuff early while they are still head over heels in love with you, while they still need to prove themselves."
    "Mom." Vic was surprised to hear this from her mother.
    "It's just the way it is. As time goes by they take you for granted a little. They love you, yes, they do, if it's a good marriage, but they lose that urge to be the knight in shining armor."
    "I guess." Vic leaned toward her mother. "Sometimes I think I don't know anything about men. But when I hear the word marriage, I hear a steel door shutting behind me."
    "Well, that's natural, I guess."
    "Did you?"
    "Feel that way?" R. J. shook her head. "I was totally, completely in love with your father. I didn't hear a steel door, but certainly I had to wonder what I was getting myself into. What would the future bring? That sort of thing. We hadn't a sou. Mom and Dad could offer us a place to live, but they weren't doing too well in the money department, either."
    "You didn't hear a steel door, though."
    "No, I guess I didn't."
    "Aunt Bunny always says it's just as easy to marry a rich man as a poor man," Vic quoted. "If a door is going to shut, I suppose it better be worth it," she mused. "What are you going to do about Dad?"
    "Obviously, I can't let him sell any land. I've got to get him to put Surry Crossing in my name. I think he will. It's what it will do to him. Men are fragile."
    This was something Vic did not understand. She'd heard this

 

     
     

     
    sentiment expressed in a variety of ways from other women, all older than herself. Men appeared strong enough. Why couldn't they handle these blows? It didn't make sense. Were they truly fragile, or did women keep them that way so they could control them? She wasn't going to argue with her mother. She knew R. J. wasn't a manipulative woman. R. J. met everyone, man, woman, or child, straight on.
    As R. J. rowed back to shore, Vic quietly said, "I've taken a lot for granted, Mom, and I forget to say thank you."
    "Honey, you're twenty-two." R. J.'s lovely voice sounded happier. "I took things for granted then, too. But thank you."
    "What is it that Grandma Catlett says, 'Life stuff.'" Vic drew out "'life" until it took up enough time for four syllables to be pronounced, a good imitation of the old biddy. "I'm learning about life stuff."
    "Me, too."
     

    A
    fter a day of September perfection, warm yet crystal clear, the three young women headed back to Williamsburg. Mignon missed them before they even passed the mailbox on the