Sunday, July 10, 2011

Memoir: Chapter 33: A beautiful granddaughter comes to live with Great Grandma

I was very surprised to come home from school one day and find that Great Grandma's oldest daughter Eva from the southern part of the state had come to town in what was apparently a family crisis.  She had brought her youngest daughter Cheryl, 19,  to live upstairs in Grandma's old house which had once been apartments but were no longer rented because the noise the renters made upset Grandma.  She said she simply had to get Cheryl out of town and away from the flock of boyfriends who followed her around and distracted her from becoming somebody.
Since she often went to stay a few months with Eva when the hay season was on in Salt Lake, Grandma agreed to let Cheryl stay there if she did not create any disturbances.  No, she won't, said Aunt Eva, grim faced. She better not!
I was shocked when I met Cheryl when she came back from registering to the University of Utah. She was one of the most striking girls I had ever seen.  I did not even know she existed since I had seen very few of Aunt Eva's and Uncle Dan's children in person.  Cheryl had Aunt Eva's dark burning eyes along with long blonde curling hair inherited from her father's side.  She was tall and well built with long legs that were simply too shapely for words I thought, given the ones I had inherited from the Wilson side.
She had inherited the Wilson broad shoulders but not those heavy boned legs.  I soon found out Cheryl had been princesses and queens of many an event, pageants, parades, etc,  which did not surprise me, along with acquiring many boyfriends.  As soon as her mother left Cheryl also told me that she was a disgrace to the family because her mother did not think she was any longer chaste.
Well, I was sure she had been besieged with such passion because of those burning dark eyes and blonde hair it was very understandable why she wasn't a virgin. It would have been more surprising if she had been one.
For some reason I started to identify Cheryl's plight with my mother's almost immediately.  How could Mother have remained a faithful wife with the husband she had. Although my mother did not have long blonde hair, she had burning dark Wilson eyes and I was sure the passion to match.  Mother and Cheryl were first cousins. They had to be similar in so many ways.
Oh dear, but Aunt Eva had married Uncle Dan young and immediately began her large family. She would be hard put to understand the pressure popularity could put on a beautiful Mormon virgin. We were all expected to stay virgins, but some were without a doubt more tempted than others.  I had not even been asked out on a date.  So it would have been hard for me not to be a virgin, unless molesting counted.
I asked all about Cheryl's brothers and sisters.  I was eager to hear all their stories in detail as I was sure now all eight or nine of them must be incredibly attractive and accomplished people.
I questioned Cheryl day and night for a while I was so fascinated with her.  Cheryl said her dad was an easy going guy, but not her mother.  Oh dear, Aunt Eva must have the volcanic Wilson temper.  I had said something to her about church doctrine and already found out that Aunt Eva would not tolerate the slightest disrespect of Joseph Smith's most far out revelations. She would probably even have defended polygamy.
When Cheryl found out I wanted to be a writer she asked me if I would help her write her English themes, as she simply had to pass English in order to make it into the nursing program.  I said of course as I thought that would be a challenge for me, too.  In fact, I was soon writing all Cheryl's themes for her, as she was always too busy to sit down with me so we could write them together.  I could see how she collected hand maidens in this manner as her just due.  I didn't think what I ended up doing was exactly right, but I simply could not let Cheryl down.
I never really expected her to treat me like an equal.  I was way too nerdy with my glasses, my big nose, and my fat ankles.  I had long blonde hair, too, but it did not fall around my shoulders in waves like hers did.
Cheryl and Aunt Anne became the best of friends, and Aunt Anne introduced her to one of her favorite young men who worked in the restaurant business along with her.  Before a week had passed Cheryl said she was engaged to him, even though he was some ten years older!
I was shocked.  I could see now why she had alarmed her mother.  I was thinking it was a shame she was tying herself already to a man outside of her college life. A man in the restaurant business, no less. He would probably be jealous of all the college boys she was meeting. Fortunately they broke up.  I think the romance only lasted a month.
Cheryl soon became one of the most popular young prospective nursing students in the whole program.  She was passing her classes fine once she applied herself.  She just wasn't used to studying, it was plain to see.  She probably figured she didn't have to. It looked as though she was going to become a very successful nurse.  An interest in medicine was in her blood. My Grandpa Wilson always wanted to be a doctor and now his son Kent was going to live out his dreams and become one. Cheryl was going to make her mother and dad very happy, too, if she actually graduated as a nurse, after they had wondered what in the world was going to become of their daughter.  They had even thought she might be too damaged goods.  No, no! They still had a treasure in Cheryl.
Great Grandma and I finally got used to all the excitement that whirled around Cheryl whenever she put in an appearance and went back to our more drab lives.  I made sure Cheryl passed English.  As soon as she moved to the nurses dorm I hardly ever saw her again.  But I knew she was incredibly busy.  She drew complications as a gorgeous flower draws bees. She could not help the commotion of men flocking around her.  She had been destined to be a great beauty.  I felt I was privileged to have known for her just a little while and had done my part to help her achieve her mother's dreams of success. I was just happy to have served her.

1 comment:

  1. Did she graduate nursing..did she go on to do great things?? Did she marry....just curious...

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