This is part of an ensemble of writings, including “Sisters in Silence”, “Among the Strawberries”, “An Unkindness of Ravens”, “Ghosts and Memories,” and “Synesthesia,” about Genevieve and Cassandra and other members of the Corbeau Family.
Jardin Caprice
We love to ride in the Model A, the “sedan” as Papa likes to call it, but we’re so rarely allowed. Gabriella and I can barely contain ourselves.
It’s so exciting to move so fast and see the other automobiles racing forward as if to collide as we drive through Highland Park. We will see many things today that we have never seen, as our trip takes us through several towns between us, here where we live, and the new Union Train Station in the Big City, Chicago.
Already there is so much sound…, and the noise of the tires on the road…and the chill wind that whistles through the windows is so exciting. We feel like we’re flying, low along the winding road, under a ceaseless fleeting sky.
If we could have screamed, we would have done so loudly, and Papa would have reached back to strike us in the back seat. Like Mama, he doesn’t like noise. We try not to let him even hear us breathe, just to be extra careful. Papa took time off from running his factory to be able to drive us to the train today, but he seems happy. Happy for Papa, which is not really very happy at all. But we’re happy.
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