A trip down memory lane

[cripmeister]

Mel Humphries stared excitedly out of the taxi window at the scenery rushing past. It had been a journey of a couple of hours so far to get here, first by train and then taxi from the station, but her level of excitement was undiminished. Nerves as well, but that was understandable, and her feelings were overwhelmingly positive.

Gina, her adoptive mom, had work commitments and so couldn't drive her the whole way, but Mel thought this actually worked out better. She had waved her off at the station for the short trip to the next town, with entreaties to call her regularly, and a handful of cash to cover the taxi ride, and snacks, and anything else she wanted. What it meant was that Mel could, in her mind, separate the coming weeks entirely from her everyday life.

What was happening as far as the outside world could see, is that sixteen year old Melanie was going to stay with her grandparents for a few weeks over the summer, to help them out getting settled into their new home, as well as spending some quality time with them. For Mel it was something more (and anyway, anyone who had met Samuel and Dorothy knew they could manage perfectly well without anyone's help). A conversation with her grandparents had given her the idea that during this time she could get to see for herself what life was like in those good old days that they always talked of, and with which she had been in love since first reading classic 1950s children's novels years ago. Her grandmother had seemed to like the idea too, and suggested that for the whole summer they could live as if things hadn't changed in the interim.

She smiled to herself as she watched the scenery go by outside the window, enjoying how complete this experience could be and how totally separated from her everyday life. She would miss Gina and her friends back home of course, but that was no different from going to camp over summer. Once she got on the train she had prepared herself for a totally changed experience. Unknown to Gina, her luggage was almost totally empty (she chuckled at the subterfuge), as granny had promised to provide her with things to wear more in keeping with tradition throughout the stay, a mix of specially purchased, and old things discovered in the attic while preparing to move.

The taxi had by now left the denser suburbs behind and was passing through beautiful sunny pasture, like something from Little House on the Prairie. The houses were now more spaced out, and divided by fields or blocks of woodland, a far cry from what Mel thought of as her boring, characterless suburban home.

Roused from her daydreaming by a question from the driver, she squinted out the window and confirmed that this was the right address, as they pulled into the driveway. The taxi had barely stopped before Mel was out of the door and bounding towards the woman who had come out of the porch to greet her.

[justmedk]

Dorothy Humphries was looking forward to these next two months, and had been for a very long time now.
She was finishing out cleaning the room she'd cleared for Mel to live in while she was here, and had decorated it to the best of her ability as she remembered her own at her age. Not an exact copy, of course - as if that was possible - but the same style. She'd filled the closet with practical dresses and a couple of nice ones, her drawer with underwear, and everything else she would need while she was there.
She was only sad that Samuel couldn't be here the first week because of a previous arrangement, but he'd promised to rush home as soon as he could.

The house wasn't a farmhouse as such, though it certainly had the same vibe, and it reminded her sufficiently of their old farm, that she still felt right at home the first time she'd set eyes on it.

She couldn't wait to, by proxy, show Mel what her childhood and adolescence had been like! The girl had always been curious. Always had a bit of a fascination of "the old times", and now that there was a little month to show her.

She heard the car, and came out the door, standing on the porch to wait for Mel, and she smiled widely, hugging the girl closely to her when she came up to her.

"It's so good to see you, dear", she said genuinely. "I've been looking forward to you coming here for so long, and so has Grandpa", she said softly and looked at her. "I'm sorry that he's not here, and so is he. He'll come back on Sunday next, though", she smiled, and then went into her purse.

"Better pay the man, hm?", she smiled and paid the driver. "Let me get your suitcase, dear. I hope you packed light, because you'll find almost everything you need upstairs. First door on the right up the stairs", she smiled as she led Mel through the house and up the stairs to the room.

Not only were there clothes in the closets and drawers, but also books on the shelves, and a block of paper and various pens and pencils in case she wanted to draw something, a sewing kit which Dorothy fully intended to teach her how to use, and finally a leather-bound diary.

"This is yours, dear", she smiled and handed Mel the diary. "When I was your age, I always kept a diary. I couldn't tell you why, but I had someone to talk to when my parents were unreasonable, when boys were stupid,etc", she grinned and caressed Mel's cheek. "If you want to freshen up a bit first, that's fine, darling. I'll be making us some iced tea", she finished, heading downstairs to the kitchen.

[cripmeister]

Mel hugged her grandmother tightly. Though she had only got the chance to really get to know the woman over the last few years, and for the most part of that at family gatherings, she had become extremely fond of her, and of her husband too. She would often be found monopolising their company at such family events, sat in a corner asking questions until someone came up to pull either party away to talk to someone else for a change. As it was, this would be the first time she had spent an extended time staying with them with no other family members present, and she just knew it was going to be wonderful and that they would end up closer than anyone.

"Have you told grandpa about what we're doing while I'm here?" she asked when the big man was mentioned, "or is it going to be a surprise when he gets back?"

She laughed at the mention of her suitcase, though at the same time trying to stave off her grandmother's attempts to carry it for her.
"Yeah I've got almost nothing in here, so it's fine I can carry it no problem. Mom thinks I spent ages packing but its literally almost empty."

As they entered and headed upstairs, her eyes darted around everything they passed, taking in as much as she could of the new place - and also her home for the whole of summer. From the shady porch onwards, which delighted her with its promise of quiet sunny afternoons drinking iced tea, to the black and white photos in the hallway of relatives she had heard stories of, everything made her happy.

She almost gasped in delight when she saw her bedroom. It might have been rather more obviously feminine than was her usual taste, and pink was not really a favoured colour of hers, but that didn't matter to her; what mattered that it was a perfectly captured piece of the old times and like it had been reproduced from a film or counjured out of the pages of a book - or so it seemed to Melanie anyway. Moreover, while this little experience had been a dream of hers for a long time and one she had been looking forward to since the first suggestion, the fact that she was now standing in her new bedroom made it all real.

She took the diary from her grandmother's hands. It was a beautiful object, the sort of thing that had first started her love of the past with its careful pursuit of quality in the small things. It was a far cry from the plastic covered and glittery diaries of her generation, of the kind she had started and abandoned several times in the past. She hoped she would do better with this one. The diary itself and everything else in this room certainly seemed conducive to quiet writing sessions in the evening.

"That's amazing" she smiled, "Thank you."

She took up the offer to freshen herself up, and stowed her luggage somewhere that seemed like an obvious place for it, and trotted down to the kitchen to rejoin Dorothy.

"Hey granny," she said, "I though you could maybe help me pick out the clothes I can change into, like everything I need for an outfit, you know? I saw some of the stuff up there but I don't really know where to start for like, and everyday outfit haha" She was looking forward to this particular aspect of the stay. Clothes had never been a significant interest for Melanie, she would not have claimed to have any particular style, but she thought that dressing the part while she was here would really add to the realism, and maybe even give her inspiration for how she wanted to dress in the future.
She had attempted to put something together from the clothes she had that was at least vaguely in keeping, to get her in the mindset on arrival, but after emptying her entire wardrobe onto the bed at home and staring at it for a while, realised it was hopeless, and just gone with a standard ensemble of cutoff jeans, a white vest top and trainers.

[justmedk]

"I have", Dorothy smiled as she called from downstairs. "He's also very much looking forward to these few weeks", she reassured her. "We both have been. It's going to be wonderful, dear", she said happily, and then came back up when Mel asked about clothes.


"Well", she said, "Jeans is definitely out. If your great-grandma had caught me in a pair of jeans, especially those types of jeans, I wouldn't have sat down comfortably until the same time next year", she grinned and looked through the drawers, selecting a pair of white cotton panties - which Mel's friends would have dejectedly called "granny panties - a bright colored skirt and a matching blouse, along with a comfortable bra. The bra was modern, because she remembered clearly how distinctly uncomfortable the bras back then had been, and she didn't want to subject Mel to that.

"Minus this thing", she held up the bra, "that's something you could have caught me in back them", she smiiled and stroked her cheek kindly.

"Now...do you want to learn how to make iced tea? Not the store-bought swill, but from scratch?", she suggested with a grin, and headed downstairs to begin teaching her granddaughter - and she didn't care Mel was adopted; never had - how to make iced tea the old fashioned way. She intended to teach her a lot more than that in her time here - the girl would likely be as good a cook as she was when she went home!

That, along with her charming personality and beauty would mean that she could likely have her choice of boys when that time came!













* = The one on the left - the blouse matching the skirt's color.

[cripmeister]

It was not a great surprise to Mel that jeans were dismissed as an option. Although she had seen photos of girls in the 1950s wearing them, and looking quite cute and stylish in her opinion, her grandmother was from a conservative rural background, so it made sense. She could definitely resign herself to wearing skirts and dresses for her time here.

She was pleased to have something picked out for her, thinking that in time she would hopefully be able to pick herself based on this start. Her smile fell ever so slightly when she saw the underwear that was picked out from the drawer. They were definitely what she would herself call "granny panties", and she had not worn plain white cotton since she was a little girl. But she supposed it was just underwear, and she could always rummage through the drawers later and see what else there was.

"Oh yeah I'd love to learn how to make tea!" she exclaimed. In all seriousness, learning to cook from her grandmother was one of the principal things that had excited her about this stay. "I mean I love ice tea anyway but I bet it's much better when you make it... Yeah if we can go and do that that would be amazing."

She paused, waiting for her grandmother to leave the room before she get changed, intending to follow her down the stairs once she was in her new traditional style outfit.

[justmedk]

When Mel eventually came down, Dorothy whistled a bit. "Look at you!", she smiled. "Gina likely has trouble keeping boys away from you, hm?", she teased her a little before she moved aside so the girl could join her.


"Now, your great-grandma made the best ice tea in the northern hemisphere", she grinned, "But I do a fair approximation. Here's how", and she began showing her how to do it "Great-grandma Humphries-style", from the different ratios of the various ingredients, to where to place it in the fridge to cool to make sure it cooled just right.



"Now, maybe you noticed", she said when they were done and had placed the pitcher in the fridge, "that there was another pitcher there?", she smiled and opened the fridge, taking out the one that had already been there. "That's because I cheated and made one for us yesterday" she gave her a wink.

"Get us a pair of glasses, dear. They're upthere", she pointed, and put the pitcher on the table. "Iced tea preferably has to cool for a day or so before it's perfect. So since I thought we should have some in this heat...", she went on as she poured the tea and sat down with a sigh.


"We've been looking forward to you coming so much, Melanie", she said affectionately. "And I can't wait to answer all your questions, and show you what life was like before everything went to hell in a handbasket", she said with a chuckle, but not a chuckle that meant she was entirely joking.


"Now, that also means that you'll be expected to help out around the house", she pointed out. "Cooking and cleaning and such. I will of course help you. And if we help eachother, it'll be done quicker", she grinned. "Grandpa will take care of all the practical outdoor things. There isn't a piece of machinery that he can't fix, I'm sure of it", she said, and the affection the two of them had for eachother still after all these decades together, was obvious in the way she spoke of her husband.

"That said, I also want you to have a lot of fun while you're here", she added. "So apart from the many books I left you, I also made sure to dust off the old boardgames we had when your mom was your age. Every so often we'd have a family game night where we just played games and enjoyed ourselves", she smiled and sipped her ice tea.

[cripmeister]

Once she had privacy, Mel stripped off everything and piled her clothes to one side. She thought about retaining the modern bra and bright coloured shorts, as it was just underwear, but decided it was best to go for the full effect. The white cotton panties came up over her belly button, she noticed, but she could not deny that they were very comfortable, and her grandmother had found the right size for her. The skirt was longer than any she had worn before, and she enjoyed the feel of it swooshing as she moved around.

Once dressed, she headed down to meet her grandmother in the kitchen. She could not resist doing a little twirl to show off the outfit, and grinned at the compliment. Her mother was actually pretty relaxed about her and boys; she had a steady boyfriend she had been dating since the previous school year, though they had not taken it beyond kissing and cuddling in each other's rooms. She wondered what her grandmother would think of that, though she probably would not find any reason to bring it up, and also how that aspect of her life would have been in this 1950s world.

She watched carefully as she was shown the various stages, and did her best to commit it all to memory.
"Knowing me I'll forget half of this by tomorrow granny" she said at one point with a rueful smile after the old woman had reeled off a list of ratios. "You'll have to show me again a few times before I can do it myself."

She grinned with delight when Dorothy produced the previously made pitcher, gladly bounding across the kitchen to fetch glasses and watching excitedly as they were both filled.

"Oh wow that is delicious!" she exclaimed as they tasted the fruits of their labours. "It's going to b e so good sitting on that porch drinking this when the weather gets really hot."

She nodded happily at the continuation of the conversation.
"Well yeah of course I'll be helping you guys out, I really want to help with whatever I can do, and I mean that was kind of the idea behind me coming here in the first place wasn't it." She meant what she said, and had every intention of getting involved while she was here, and not being any kind of burden to her grandparents.

"And that sounds exactly my kind of fun too" she continued. She did love her quiet pastimes, and although an evening at home playing boardgames was not something she did regularly, it had been a part of her childhood and she remembered it fondly, even now that she had grown to spend more time socialising with her friends than with her mother.

[justmedk]

"Oh, well, I don't intend to show you just once, dear", Dorothy said affectionately. "I'm going to teach you the same way girls have learned from their mothers since we climbled down from the trees, and maybe before: By repetition. That's how I'll teach you to cook and clean like a pro as well, dear", she stroked her granddaughter's hand affectionately. "So that by the time you leave, you'll have learned all the skills you need to succeed when you go away for college. I know you have not just a good, but a great head on your shoulders", she smiled.

"Whatever you study in college you'll succeed in. But if your home isn't clean, you don't eat well, etc, then you're still gonna be mess", she went on "like those kids who live off junk food and then complain they have no money, when they could save a lot by simply making their own* "



"Do you know how to knit, dear?", Dorothy asked. "I will teach you that too. Heh. I'll teach you all that I know, it seems", she chuckled, "But that'll also come in handy when you go to college: You'll save a lot of money by knitting your own clothes, after all", the older woman pointed out, not quite aware of the fact that the number of people under 55 who knitted their own clothes was almost the same as the number of people who'd walked on the surface of the moon.

"Well, today we'll relax a bit", she went on, "But tomorrow we're getting up bright and early. I want this whole house clean when your grandpa comes home, after all.. He deserves that, I think", she finishes and smiles at her. "And while it isn't for another week, there's plenty to do till then if we don't want to work ourselves to the bone....and I don't know about you, dear, but I've gotten too old to do that", she finished with a grin before she got serious:

"I do need to point out, as I said before, dear", she said calmly, "that while we're going to do our very best to make this the time of your life, you will also be expected to stick to the rules we give you...and there will be consequences if you break them. Now, it won't always be a trip across one of our knees" she said, "Not necessarily. But just so you know that if you do misbehave, there will be consequences.", she finishes, needing to know that Mel understands this.







* To readers: Do note that this is a character who grew up in a time where a lot of people COULD put themselves through college on a part-time job...Granny Humphries is out of touch. But she means well. And her player does emphatically NOT agree with her.

[cripmeister]

Mel smiled. Everything about this seemed refreshing. She was used to teachers for instance, explaining something to her class once, then answering a couple of direct questions before getting bored and telling them all to refer to their notes. This way of doing things, with her grandmother promising to repeat teaching her things as many times as she needed, was much better.

She shrugged off the reference to college; while she did partly know her grandmother's worldview was somewhat outdated and naïve, college was something she was still not settled on and she would rather just not think about it. Especially this summer: this summer was for a different life from the one where she had to stress over schoolwork and applications and all that.

"No I don't know how to knit, I never tried. But I'd like to learn though," she said enthusiastically.

It was welcome news that they would relax a little - not that the journey had been very strenuous or long, but it was nice not to be thrown into frantic activity on first arrival in a new environment. It was by extension not great news to learn that she had to be up early the next day for housework. While she was generally no late riser, she had thought it might be nice to get one lie in once she arrived. And while she had of course come here with the intention of helping out, she was not wild about the idea of being worked hard all the hours of the day. It was a relief to be reassured that she would not be worked to the bone.

"Oh yeah that's fine, once I know what's what." she said in response to rules. She had assumed there would be some 'rules of the house' as in anyone's home, and preferences that the residents liked to be respected. And parents or guardians had rules for their dependents as well she supposed, which grudgingly she accepted she was. "And don't worry I'm sure that won't be a problem ever. I haven't needed to be grounded for years, or anything like that." she grinned. And it was true, she was generally what would be called well behaved.

The reference to a trip across a knee went, frankly, over her head, and in as much as she did think about it she thought of a child sitting on a parent's knee to receive a lecture, and so probably metaphorical in this case.

"So what kind of rules do you mean then?" she said, as they continued drinking their oh so delicious iced tea.

[justmedk]

"Well, you know..nothing extreme", she reassured her. "Be respectful, answer grown-ups with "Yes sir" or "Yes ma'am", keep your room clean, and yourself as well...help around the house when we ask you.. basic things like that and nothing I think you need to worry too much about, dear", she elaborated. "I'm sure it won't be a problem, but I just feel I owe it to you to be up front about it, that's all", she finished, refilling their glasses of ice tea.


"There's also plenty we can do to keep ourselves occupied elsewhere", Dorothy explained. "There's a nice outlook over the valley close by, and the view there is simply amazing. When granddad comes back, we'll have a picnic there", she smiled. "And if...no, who am I kidding...WHEN it gets too hot, there's a nice cool lake nearby we can go take a swim in. Just be careful not to get out too far in it", she warns. "There are some nasty undercurrents not too far from the shore", she warns her firmly. "I don't know if you got a bathing suit, but I got you one just in case you didn't", she smiled. "It's back up in your room in the back of the closet. It's even a lot more decent than the stuff many other girls your age wears", she finished with a disappointed sigh.