She had the expression she used when she was performing concerned dignity.
I had seen this expression at holiday dinners for nine years.
I had seen it directed at me when I had opinions she disagreed with.
I had seen it directed at other people when she was managing a situation.
She was managing a situation now.
She sat with her hands in her lap and her back very straight and she nodded at things her son said and she looked at me the way she had always looked at me, with the patience of someone who expected me to eventually see sense.
Next to her, after the first recess, was a woman I had never seen before.
She was blonde.
She was wearing a lavender blouse.
She came in after the recesses and sat in the second row and she didn’t look at me.
She sat with her purse on her knees and her left hand pushed slightly toward her side.
