Sadie Pulaski and her pathetic fallacy, continued

Let’s move on. Sadie has had to drop out of school because of … Poland’s “high rates”. Yeah, that’s it.

CHAPTER THREE. A CHANGE OF PACE, continued

The next day, Sadie did not return to school. When she woke up, she was just about to climb out of bed and begin her normal morning rituals and then she remembered. A cold feeling ran all over her and she felt rather sick and dizzy. The bedroom area was dim and shadowy. It was chilly, too. Sadie shivered in her thin white cotton nightgown and slipped out of bed. The floor was freezing and she almost let out a scream at the top of her lungs but she caught herself in time. She tiptoed to the dusty window that overlooked the avenue her flat was situated on. Fog was rolling in thickly from the Vistula River. A deep, mournful foghorn moaned in the distance. What a lonely sound, Sadie thought sadly. All was deathly still and quiet. It seemed as if all of Poland was asleep on that frosty October morning in 1922. The stillness was suddenly broken by the rattling horse-drawn milk wagon jolting by. After its sound had died away, another one took its place. A loud tolling bell claimed 4:00. Sadie felt strangely relaxed. She didn’t have to rush through her early morning chores so she could be off to school at 6:30. She had all the time in the world.

Sadie was tired of standing at the window so she turned. She glanced at Stanislaus. He was all sprawled out over his small bed, with one leg hanging over the side. Sadie looked at Mama. Mama looked exhausted. Sadie got an idea. She ran over to the wooden box beside her bed. She dug in and brought out her tan jumper, brown skirt and dark blue shirt. Hurriedly, she put on her skirt and shirt and slid the jumper on. Feeling snug and warm, she yanked on her shoes and socks. Trying not to make too much noise, she tiptoed to the door of the bedroom, slowly opened it, wincing at the squeaking sound and hopped down the steps into the kitchen. She bustled around, taking down the big frying pan from the cupboard and getting two eggs out of a carton. Sadie then gathered some scraps of wood and put it in the stove. Soon she had a bright fire going and the room was warmed up slightly. She placed the pan on the stove and cracked the two eggs into it. Then Sadie did what she always used to do when she cracked eggs. She watched the clear liquid bubble up and slowly turn from a transparent substance to a thick white solid. As Sadie was transferring them from the pan onto a cracked china plate, her mother came down the stairs. Her face lit up.

“Why, Sadie, darling! What a nice thing for you do to do!” She planted a kiss on her daughter’s cheek.

After much persuading, Sadie sat her mother down at the table with the plate of eggs in front of her. Sadie then began to wash the dishes in the tin bucket in the corner. As she did so, Papa came down the stairs, strapping his suspenders.

“Don’t have time to eat. I got a delivery coming in and I have to be ready before customers come.” Papa announced, slinging on his heavy, wool trench coat.

Stanislaus bounded down the stairs. “I’m goin’ to help Papa at the store. He needs it today. When I come back, I’ll study with you, Sadie.”

Sadie nodded. Stanislaus leaned over, kissed his mother and headed for the door. Papa followed, after taking one bite of Mama’s eggs.

“Goodbye!” Sadie called as the door closed.

The whole day, Sadie and her mother spent doing chores. Sadie worked so hard that even Mama was surprised. Sadie wanted to keep her mind off the fact that she might never go to school again. She washed the windows, scrubbed the floors and did errands. The day dragged by and Sadie had spent such a long time stooped over the floor that her back ached ferociously. She had just lay down on her bed when Stanislaus came home.

He burst into the bedroom. His handsome face was exhausted and filthy and his clothes were smudged and wrinkled and he looked positively pooped. But he insisted that Sadie come to the kitchen and study.

“Let me rest a while,” Sadie sighed, propping her pillow up to soothe her neck.

“Oh, no. You’ll study. Anyway, I’m the one who should be in bed. I’ve been on my feet all day.”

Sadie could not let that remark slip by without an argument. She sat up immediately, trying to ignore the pains in her protesting back. “That is not true! I have worked my head off all day!”

Stanislaus looked at her dubiously. “What are you doing right now? Lying on a bed is not a strenuous activity.”

“I had just lay down for a short rest when you came in. I am absolutely pooped. I have worked just as hard as you!”

“Women’s work is not hard.”

Sadie leapt to her feet. “WHAT!!?!!” she hollered at the top of her voice. She was about to plunge into a long loud dispute when Stanislaus calmly reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.

“Sadie,” he said quietly. “Let’s study.”

Sighing, Sadie reached under her bed and brought out a satchel of heavy boring school books. She stood up, her legs feeling as if they would crumple under her weight any minute. She stumbled behind Stanislaus to the stairway and tripped down to the table. For two hours, she hunched over her books, working out algebra equations, making out a history timeline, and writing five sentences in Latin. Then, she brought out her English language textbook. It was the newest of all of her books. As she studied some new words, she said them to herself. They had a certain ring to them.

“Mama, listen!” Sadie cried. “It is nice out,” she said laboriously and hesitantly after some practice. She practiced a minute and then said in a normal tone, “It is nice out!”

Stanislaus looked up from his chemistry book. “What does it mean?”

“It is nice out? Um – I can’t remember. It’s just written down in my notebook. But whatever it means, doesn’t it sound nice? It is nice out! I’m practicing, just in case we go to America.”

Mama smiled but her face looked a little sad. Sadie said nothing more, but began to recite phrases in English, occasionally saying them out loud. When Papa walked in the door, Sadie smiled at him and said a well-practiced English phrase. “Hello, Father! I am on Chapter One!” She wasn’t sure what it meant, but it sounded like a right greeting.

“Why, thank you, Sadie!” Papa aid and kissed his daughter.

Supper that night was very scarce. There was no salad. They had cheese sandwiches and a glass of skim milk. Sadie’s hunger was in no way satisfied. She helped her mother around the kitchen for a while and then went to bed.

She was restless all night, tossing and turning and wishing she had something to eat. Sadie prayed that things got better, but her prayer was not answered.