In their Easter bonnets

Two little girls at Mass Easter morning, sisters about two and four years old, all dolled up in their Easter finest in matching pink dresses, white tights, white patent leathers, and pink straw hats.  There with their mother who was not dolled up.  She wore a plain white blouse, untucked, with the tails hanging out under her pullover, workaday slacks, a pair of practical boots that looked well broken-in.  Her hair was still wet from the shower and if she’d combed it it had been in a hurry with only a few strokes to take out the worst of the tangles.  No make-up.  She looked tired and pale.

It’s just the three of them, by the way.  There’s no father in the pew with them.

Fiction writing exercise.  Explain the reason for the difference between the outfits the mother chose for her daughters and what she chose for herself.

A.  The mother had spent all morning dealing with the fall out from the Easter Bunny’s visit and getting the girls ready so she hadn’t had enough time to worry about herself and was lucky to get everybody out the door in time for Mass.

B.  The mother wasn’t feeling well and should have stayed home and would have but she didn’t want to disappoint the girls who were looking forward to showing off their Easter outfits.

C.  The girls were dressed up to please someone or some someones the mother knew wouldn’t care what she herself was wearing.

D.  The mother was dressed to go straight to work after mass.  Not everyone has Easter Sunday off, after all.  The malls are open. Grocery stores, restaurants. Barnes and Noble was open from 11 to 7 Easter Sunday.

E.  The mother was someone who’d never given a thought to what she looked like but now that she has little girls of her own she’s determined that they’ll have the kind of fashion sense she’s never developed for herself.

F.  Variant on E.  The mother has never liked calling attention to herself but is proud of her little girls and likes to show them off.

G.  Another variant.  The mother believes she is not worth the effort.

H.  The mother thinks the outfit she has on is dressy.  Her pullover was pink and matched the girls’ dresses.

I.  The mother had planned on wearing something else to mass but for some reason had to switch to what she has on in a hurry.

J.  The mother did not in fact choose the girls’ outfits because she is not their mother.  She’s a friend or neighbor or relative who’s been prevailed upon to take the girls to church.  So where are their parents?

K.  Your guess is as good as mine.

For extra credit.  How does the girls’ father figure in any of the above, if at all?  For example, in D., is he the someone else the girls are dressed up to please?  If so, then why isn’t he the one taking them to church?

Discuss.

Comments

[Linkmeister]

E. It's the most romantic.

[Bluegrass Poet]

It's a good thing I had no daughters. I despise those frilly little pink dresses with white tights. Despised their equivalent when my mother made me wear them.

So if it's fashion sense the mother wants to instill, in my judgement, she's still failing.

However, given this from Melissa McEwan, I suggest that the girls' football-player father wanted them to come to Easter mass all dressed up and the mother is rebelling in the only way open to her.

[Jennifer]

The girls were with their father, who was divorced by their mother after having his sex change operation. He hasn’t quite developed the fashion sense of a woman but made the nod to the feminine with the pink sweater. However… he dressed the girls as he always wanted to be dressed as a young child.

[Ken Houghton]

After that, I don't feel so out of whack.

The woman was without her husband, who used Easter to force her into an unwanted sexual encounter in exchange for his promise to attend services with them.

Needless to say, after he got what he wanted, he reneged on the deal, just as the girls came into the room all bright and cheerful.

The mother, getting no help from him, had to dress the two girls for church. After that, realising they were running out of time but still not aware that he was going to renege, let him go shower.

He took a long shower and then came out and told her he wasn't going.

With no time left, she did what she had to do, the only way she could—rushed through her own shower, knowing that he wouldn't pay enough attention to the daughters to ensure that their outfits didn't get messed up with breakfast and/or the mud outside.

Furious at her husband, she gathered the daughters and Made The Best of It at church.

[Ruth]

The father was at home with their infant brother. baby sitting . The mother threw on the pink pullover after the baby threw up milk on her matching dress just before she left to take the girls to Mass.

I'm sitting here thinking this is way too practical an answer and not nearly as fun as the others....

[actor212]

The mother's Jewish, but the girls are not.

Altho J might have some energy to it.

[judith]

RUTH!!! I love your answer. Sweet.

[marjo]

My read: she's a mom. I'm a mom. So I know this: Mom is tired. It's all Mom can do to function some days. This is why I made my kid dress up for Easter with his dad, while I stayed home and had my one day off.

My other thought was similar to Bluegrass poet's: that parents are divorced, dad has custody for at least part of the weekend (to take kids to Grandma's house), dad likes to see the girls all frilly, Mom doesn't care but didn't want the kids to miss church. a little convoluted...

I still go with: Mom is tired.