Small town girls: life in the 1950s (for RussianBunny)

[Renton]

Becky did notice that Olive had ordered water, but thought better than to say anything or offer to buy her something. She knew well that sometimes being paid for could be embarrassing and unwanted. Instead, she focused on the boys across the room, winking lightning quick at Stanley, who did a double take.

"I don't plan on dating him," she said to Lizzy. She had dated a few athletes and found that in a town that communally loved the high school sports teams religiously, athletes often combined big egos with brains that left her wanting. "I'll use him for fun for one evening, and be done with him," she said with an eyebrow raised and a giggle, before realizing that Olive might not be used to such talk. "I'm only talking about dancing," she said quickly. She sighed. "I apologize in advance for my unladylike talk sometimes, Olive," she said. "Tammy and Lizzy do their best to reign me in, but they only have so much strength."

Suddenly the boys were leaving their table and walking over to theirs. Stanley led the way. "We couldn't help but notice you girls over here," he said, leaning against the booth. "This seems like a crazy question, given how pretty you all are, but we're all free for the dance tonight. Any chance you girls are as well?"

Becky looked at her friends and bit her lip and back up at Stanley. "I play for keeps, Stanley. If you're asking out every girl in school before the dance to have an uncontested pick later, I swear I will hit you harder than Sacred Heart High School's linebacker did in the championship last year."

"Ouch," he said, feigning pain and putting his hand over his heart (although Becky had been to the game, Stanley was out cold for a few seconds; her threat was not exactly empty). "But I'll take that as a yes," he said. See you girls at the gym, then." As they walked away, one of the boys, tall and with jet-black hair, looked over his shoulder and winked at Olive before walking away.

"Did you see that?" Becky said excitedly to Olive. "I actually know that guy. His mom is part of the League. He's pretty nice! And good looking too," she said, glancing back at the group of boys as they left the diner.

~~~~~~

Jordan glanced down at the note that Jennifer was holding. "Yes, that is unmistakably Olive's" he said. He shook his head lightly. Olive was inseparable from a pen and paper. Her writing was unavoidable. He felt better knowing that Olive had had the presence of mind to write a note; he had a feeling that Becky was a headstrong type who didn't always think things through.

"Well, Olive is a girl of her word," he said to Jennifer. "Regardless, she and your Rebecca seem to be getting along well, considering they met roughly six hours ago," he said. "I'm glad. Olive is a shy girl, and she's sometimes had a hard time making friends. It made me glad to see her show up today with your daughter at her side," he said.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was rather shocked to hear Becky talk that way! However, when her friend explained she meant it for dancing, she felt a little more at ease with Becky saying such things, although she knew she would never say them herself. (And, though probably unbeknownst to her father and her new friends, Olive did understand teenaged hormones and dating and sex. Her grandmother had explained it to her, despite how awkward that sounded, and the woman gave Olive a book that she read – and promptly hid to keep her father from finding.)

To be honest, however, Olive was surprised when they walked over. And she couldn't think of a polite way to relay an "I don't know" message before Becky spoke and flirted with Stanley. And it was quite interesting to see how she worked! Olive sort of wished she had enough confidence to say something so flirty, but she was proud of herself for giving a small wave to the tall boy with black hair as he left.

"He is nice looking," Olive admitted, although it felt odd to admit that about someone whose name she didn't know... And Elvis was still much more handsome than this boy.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jennifer felt rather pleased when Pastor Driver spoke about his daughter. It was clear the man loved her very, very much, and that was good to see. She knew some men – husbands of women in the League – who cared too much about their work, or football, or their sons, and left their daughters in a second or third light, if they gave them attention at all.

"I'm very happy to hear that, Pastor," Jennifer said, "and it's a blessing knowing Becky will have such a good friend by her side. My daughter has a tendency to jump head-first into things sometimes: I'm sure Olive will help her with that."

[Renton]

Becky was more knowledgeable that many of her peers about sex in more ways than one. She wasn't a virgin, for one (not that she openly talked about that) and she privately felt that society was too skittish when it came to talking about sex. Still, she respected the comfort levels of her peers, knowing full well that it was a taboo subject in public, as well as in private for many.

She could tell Olive was feeling a bit hesitant about the boy flirting with her. She smiled at her new friend and took her hand. "His name is Joey Carmichael," she said. "Of those four boys he's the one I'd match with you," she added, which was a bit silly given that she'd only known Olive for a few hours, but Becky was perhaps a bit overconfident in her matchmaking skills. She related very much with Emma, the Jane Austen character who was obsessed with pairing off her friends.

Becky returned to her milkshake, already formulating plans for a fun evening.

~~~~

Jordan chuckled at Jennifer. "Olive's got a good head on her shoulders. She tends to make good decisions. And I warm her backside when she doesn't. I think she knows not to do anything silly," he said. He leaned back against a table and let out a slow sigh. "It's not been an easy road lately. Olive has been my rock since my wife passed away," he said. "I know men are often disappointed if they don't get a son, but if Olive ends up being my only child, well, then I have absolutely no complaints whatsoever." Jordan knew that remarrying and having more children was well within the bounds of possibility for him, and goodness knows he'd probably not have a hard time finding a woman who'd want to marry him. But his wife's death had been so sudden, so tragic, he never worked up the resolve to even consider remarrying. As he saw it, he had his family, and that was Olive. But she was nearly grown now, and that was itself a hard reality for Jordan to deal with. Soon Olive would leave the nest, and he'd be by himself. Well, that was one benefit of this profession. No matter what, he'd have a community that looked up to him.

"I suppose it wouldn't be too much trouble to offer you ladies some coffee," he said. "I think it's only fair, given all you've done for me so far." He was hoping to get the chance to chat with Jennifer some more as well. She seemed to know the most about the goings on among the congregation, he felt she'd be valuable in learning how best to preach to this crowd.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive, not entirely sure of what to say to her new friend, grinned slightly at the words. It was comforting, knowing Becky was quick to relay what she knew about the boy as soon as he was out of earshot: that meant she would look out for her. And even though she wasn't overly interested at the moment, she would make sure to remember him, in case she did become interested.

"The party is going to be so fun," Tammy said, having already finished her milkshake. "I heard that there's only going to be one chaperone this year, and it's Miss Peterson." Who, unfortunately, was well known around school for being practically blind; whenever she was a chaperone, a lot of 'illicit' things tended to happen on school grounds.

"And there's a professional ban playing and everything, not just some kid at school who can play guitar," Lizzy added. "Do you remember when Raymond tried playing last year, and he broke three strings half-way through a song?"

As both Tammy and Lizzy giggled, Olive said quietly, after taking a sip of water, "I'll need to ask Daddy if I can go..."

"Oh, who cares of you ask him?" Tammy said. "Just sneak out! That's what I always do!"

Olive cringed inwardly at the thought. Sneak out? That was just wrong... not to mention, if she ever did do that, her father would be so disappointed. And probably angry, too.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jennifer was quiet as Jordan spoke, until she finally gave his arm a friendly pat. "Well, I'd say that, with you as her father, then Olive is also a very blessed girl to have someone who loves her so much.... And I'd love some coffee, if that's alright with you?"

However, when she inquired the fellow ladies of the League, several of them had to go home to help cook dinner for their husbands (or to make sure the maids had done so), which left Mrs. Simon and Pastor Driver to themselves. It was actually rather nice, both parents of two new friends being able to sit down and enjoy some coffee, and Jennifer spoke about her own husband, and it was clear she was happy in her own marriage (although she did admit that she wished Becky would behave a little bit more often).

[Renton]

Becky laughed at the memory of last year's dance. It was so embarrassing for poor Raymond that the school made it a priority to make sure that no student ever suffered such a spectacle again. And the prospect of Miss Peterson chaperoning was opened up a lot of possibilities for fun at the dance. Not just getting frisky with boys (though that was on the list) but perhaps sneaking in booze, or sneaking off to go on a joyride (she had seen Stanley's car as he drove off and it was a beauty).

When Olive said she had to tell her dad, Becky felt a bit like a stone dropped in her stomach. Olive was no doubt the type of girl who liked to square everything with her dad, and Becky didn't really blame her given her circumstances.

"And you've been caught enough times that your dad is threatening to tan your hide," Becky said at Tammy's suggestion. She gave Tammy a quick glance that said "knock it off", seeing that Olive was not going to immediately warm up to the more free-wheeling stylings of this group.

"Olive, there's a payphone right outside the diner. I have some extra change in my purse if you need it. You can call your daddy and we don't even have to skip a beat!"

"If he gives you a curfew, you can just do the old 'I can't hear you, the phone is going dead!'" trick," she added with a wink. If she was going to give Olive some tips on defying parental authority, she felt the right way to do so would be less bluntly, more on the sly than Tammy's method.


~~~~~~

Jordan was at first a bit wary of Jennifer being the only one in the house to get coffee, lest the rest of the league see it as gossip fodder, but when she said it was fine he invited her in and poured her a cup.

"I take mine black," he said, taking a sip, "but I've laid out some cream and sugar if you'd like," he added.

He listened to Jennifer talk, and was pleased that she was happily married and loved her daughter very much as well. "I wouldn't worry about your daughter's behavior too much," he said. "She's at that age when she's going to assert her independence now and then. It's our job to decide when to push back and when to let go. It's not an easy job, but no one ever said it was supposed to be," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

After listening to Jennifer talk and filling her in a bit more on his life (his passion for fishing and hunting, and Olive's love of writing) he wanted to know more about church business.

"If you don't mind me asking," Jordan said, "I've noticed the neighborhood is heavily segregated. Is this church as well? I personally think that segregating churches is a violation of the very principles of our faith, but I digress. I suppose I'd just like to know who the pastor of the black congregation is. I make it a point to meet with any other spiritual leaders in my communities, regardless of race or creed."

This little tradition of Jordan's was partly practical and partly for his own reasons. He felt it made sense for the spiritual leaders of a community to communicate with one another. It was rare for one person to speak for everyone's faith, and everyone's voice deserved to be heard in matters of the soul.

Jordan also just enjoyed like chatting with other theologically minded people. While in divinity school, he had befriended a Catholic priest who did masses for the Mexican migrant workers who made up a sizable portion of the local population. He had greatly enjoyed their discussions, even when they differed in opinion (which was often). The man's absolute empathy for the poor workers had greatly influenced Jordan's views on race, and he no longer had any patience with the laws that still dominated his state.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive felt a little nervous about borrowing money from Becky – she remembered that her mother had told her to never borrow money from a friend, unless you can return it within a matter of days – but she nodded at the suggestion, remembering that she had a few dollars in her piggy bank at home. "Okay... but isn't the dance for a few hours?"

"Well, yeah, but we have to get spiffed up, of course," Lizzy said, "and – no offense, Olive – none of us are dressed well enough right now to go to a dance."

That made a part of Olive's stomach go into her shoes: this was one of her best dresses, and if she was to change, that would just seem rather wasteful, wouldn't it? That would be dirtying up more than one of her best dresses.

"Not to mention," Tammy said, elbowing Lizzy when she saw Olive's face fall, "we could just walk around town instead! Lizzy's just a bit self-conscious about her own appearance. Don't listen to her."

"I... I guess I can call Daddy. I don't think he'd mind..."

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Jennifer was rather surprised that Jordan so bluntly brought up the idea of segregation – or at least, brought it up before he'd become well-established in the community. Most pastors didn't seem to do that – or if they did, then they were usually for it.

Mrs. Simon took a sip of her own coffee (after putting some cream in it), before shaking her head a little. "I'm afraid I'm not sure myself who the other pastors or priests are, Pastor Driver, but I know for a fact that this particular church is segregated. It always has been, even when I was a little girl myself. Even the maids are only allowed in the nurseries to take care of the babies, unless they're white."

To be honest, Jennifer wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the whole thing. She had no problem with other people, per say, but she also knew that if she spoke out, it might cause a lot of disruption in the community – particularly to her position as the head of the League.

"If I ever do find out," she added, "I will be sure to let you know... Was the last church you spoke at segregated?"

[Renton]

Becky could tell this was getting a bit out of hand for poor Olive. "Look sweetie, the last thing I want is to make you do something you don't want. I just thought it would be a lot of fun to go to the dance, and it might be a great opportunity for you to meet some people! Heck, I met Lizzy at a dance. We'd been classmates for forever but we didn't think to talk until we both got stood up by our dates and were moping around outside," Becky said, fighting off a laugh as she remembered that night, three years ago now.

"Now, Lizzy likes to dress up because she's an expert at it. She told me everything I know about dressing up," Becky said, trying to throw her friend a bone. "But I think we're all dressed just fine. It's a sock hop, not prom. Functional clothes are actually useful if we're going to be dancing."

She took Olive by the hands. "It's going to be fun, I promise," she said, looking Olive right in the eyes, earnestly. "And your daddy is not gonna say no. He's not gonna want his little girl to be cooped up on a big night like this. And besides, he's probably busy talking about church stuff with my mom right now. He'll just say yes and get back to that."

She gave Olive a reassuring smile and let her hands go, hoping she'd given the girl a bit of peace of mind.

~~~~~~~

Jordan was prone to speaking his mind and sometimes forgot that that could result in his saying surprising things to people. He knew that segregation was a touchy subject and it likely wouldn't be the first thing he mentioned in a sermon.

"Times change," he said with a shrug when Jennifer mentioned that the church had always been whites only. "But the present is what it is.

He leaned back and took a sip from his cup. "I suppose I can take a drive and see for myself. Don't worry about asking for me, but thank you," he said. "My last church was not segregated," he continued, answering Jennifer's question. "Truth be told, the town was so small that we'd barely fill a pew if we divided the races," he added with a chuckle. "I apologize for being forward in bringing up touchy political subjects, and rest assured I do not intend to cause an uproar in my first week here," Jordan said. "To do God's work, a man has got to have principles, things he believes in no matter what the crowd around him says. Consider it a compliment that I trust you enough already to speak freely," he said with a nod to Jennifer.

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was very quiet as her friends around her spoke. Friends. That was still a very unusual concept for her, but she was glad to have them here, even though they hadn't even known her for a day yet. Especially Becky; she was certainly the one helping her hold it together. She nodded along at the idea of the sock hop needing regular clothes: after all, she had seen some of the prom dresses in shops before, and they had been extremely pricey. (Although, that was only part of the reason why Olive had never gone to any of her previous proms her former high school held; spending the night with her father had been a nicer environment than being teased for wearing an old dress and not having a date.)

"Okay, I'll go," Olive said, giving them a small smile, which grew with Tammy and Lizzy squealed happily. "I just hope Daddy is home when I call him." After all, a lot of other families had maids to take messages, and Olive hoped she wouldn't be wasting a nickel if she called the house when the pastor wasn't home. And Olive had made sure, two weeks before, to memorize their new telephone number: it was the first time they had a phone, and the only other number she knew was her Nana's.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Indeed, times do change," Jennifer said, taking another sip and listening quietly to him speak about God's work. It was rather intriguing, and it was much easier for her to follow along with, than often the business that her husband talked about: then again, she had grown up in a house with five bibles, and her mother made her read all of them at least twice in her lifetime, or write versus multiple times whenever she misbehaved. She had spared Becky from that horror, of course; that was just cruelty.

"It's better for a town to have a church, than no church at all," Jennifer added, "so in your case, it's good people came to see you preach, no matter what they look like. And I'm glad you're able to share this with me. But, some people in this town – other wives in the League and their husbands – do not like people who aren't white. Well, they don't want them in their church, if that better explains it." Jennifer honestly wouldn't care either way if her church was no longer segregated, but she knew the inevitable uproar that would come with it, would be too dangerous for Becky to be around. She didn't want her daughter to be subjected to that.

Then, the telephone on the side of the wall rang, and the noise was rather loud and obnoxious. Jennifer put her hand over her ear closest to the phone. She hoped, for his and his daughter's sake, that no telemarketers called late at night.

[Renton]

Becky smiled widely at Olive, feeling happy as she could see the girl battling years of shyness to agree to go with them. "Wonderful," she said. "Go right on ahead and make your call, we'll be at the front of the diner," she said, as the girls divvied up their bill.

As Olive made her call, Becky gently lectured Lizzy about being more considerate to Olive, and both of Becky's friends suddenly realized that Olive was the girl whose mother had died in that awful accident. "Don't bring it up either," she said, as Olive finished up her call. "Just let her have fun tonight."

When Olive was done, the girls were all smiles. "We good to go?" Becky asked.

~~~~~~

Jordan nodded, accepting that this was not going to be an easy town to preach integration to, especially as a new preacher. "That's the case in a lot of places. But I trust the decency of folks to win out in due time," he said calmly, when suddenly the phone rang. "Wonder who that is," he said, standing up. "My apologies for the interruption, I have to get that," he said as he approached the phone and picked it up.

It was Olive, asking to go to the dance. Jordan felt a twinge of relief about it; he really wanted his daughter to make some friends, and Becky was rising to the occasion. "Yes, of course," he said. "Just don't be out too late," he added. "Be home by 11."

He hung up and smiled at Jennifer. "Becky and Olive are going to the school welcoming dance," he said, cheerfully. "I must say, your Becky seems to have latched onto Olive quicker than lightning," he said. "And I am thankful for it."

[Bye_bye_birdie45]

Olive was very glad to find a nickle in her pocket (although she had sworn it was empty before), and – not wanting to borrow the restaurant's phone – she used the payphone outside and dialed the house. She was glad when her father picked up.

"Daddy? Becky and some of the other girls at school are going to a sock hop tonight at school, and we were going to walk around town before, and I was wondering if it would be okay. There are going to be chaperones there, and I won't stay out late." She listened quietly for a response, and her face broke out into a wide grin at his positive answer. "Oh, thank you, Daddy, thank you!" Although eleven was certainly quite late: she would probably get home before then, since there was still school the next day.

"He said yes! I can go!" Olive squealed when she re-entered the shop and sat back down with the group. Lizzy and Tammy both looked happy at the news.

~~~~~~~~~

Jennifer remained quiet as Jordan was on the phone – it was only polite after all, and Jennifer knew herself how difficult it was to talk to someone over the line while another person was trying to speak with you, a few feet away. Once he hung up, she smiled when he explained who was speaking to.

"Becky doesn't like for others to be alone," she admitted, "And your Olive is a very sweet girl. I'm sure they'll be the best of friends."