Categories > Cartoons > Daria > 1960's Daria
1960s—Chapter 04
By Dr T
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to original characters, etc. claimed, just my plot twists. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’
-60s-
December 1 3:55 pm
Daria was dressed up a bit more than usual, and her Mary Jane’s were again polished to a high shine despite the chilly, drizzly late autumnal weather. She was also wearing her new glasses, which had arrived via post the day before. The lenses were slightly wider and more oval than round, and yet overall the frames were slightly smaller, giving her a slightly larger field of vision and nevertheless revealing a bit more of her face. Jane thought she had gone from nice-looking to actually pretty or at least attractive. Several of the male students thought so as well, but none had approached her as yet.
Marcie, a slightly taller, heavier coed, who normally looked like she was going to go hiking in the woods, was dressed up as well. “Don’t be nervous,” she told her accompanist in a whisper, as a brass quintet was playing a Bach fugue. “It’s only two Schubert Lieder for me and we have your piece down as well. It’ll be fine.” She glanced down. “Damn, I should have worn shoes like yours instead of these heels.”
“There was no way I was either going to practice the piano peddling in heels or play today without practicing with them,” Daria retorted softly. “Besides, I don’t even own one-inch torture devices like those.”
“Wise woman,” Marcie agreed, more loudly as there was a round of applause. She took a deep breath. “Well, here we go.”
-60s-
While neither Marcie nor Daria thought any of their pieces went all that well, they earned decent applause, and later praise from their instructors, insuring them both A’s for their semester’s lesson grades. Jane made certain she picked up enough of the programs so that Daria could send multiple copies to her mother and one for Daria and one for her Aunt Amy as well.
Jane had also spread the word of Daria’s upcoming performance, and so there were eight extra non-music majors in the audience (plus Jane), all to applaud Daria. All these co-eds joined Jane in congratulating her after the last performance in the program (a Buxtehude organ piece), as did a few of the string players she knew from the orchestra. Brittany even gave the startled Daria a hug. She was more used to being tolerated than actually liked, and it was clear that several co-eds considered her at least a casual friend, and in Jane’s case, a close friend.
-60s-
The orchestra’s ‘tour’ schedule was simple: two concerts on both Friday and Saturday, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. On the Sunday afternoon, they would perform in the College’s old auditorium.
Daria was surprised as the bus taking them to the first high school left the music building at little before 1:00 when the first chair violist, Al, sat next to her. “May I?” he asked.
Slightly confused, Daria waved at him to sit. As he did, Daria considered him – she knew he was a Sophomore music major, and that was about it. They had exchanged greetings a few times, but until the previous afternoon, when he had been one of the string players to congratulate her after the recitals, there really had been nothing more. He seemed nice enough, but he was, physically at least, fairly average – a bit above average height, average looking, polite – he really did not stand out for either positive or negative reasons most of the time.
Violists (and second violinists) rarely have cause to stand out in orchestral pieces. Al had also played briefly at the recitals the afternoon before, one of the Bach cello suites – the viola was pitched exactly an octave higher than the cello, so there was little difference in playing the piece on either instrument.
“You played well yesterday,” Al commented, repeating himself.
“So did you.”
“I was wondering….”
“Yes?” Daria was swiftly considering if she would go on a date with him, deciding that it would in part depend on where they might go.
“I’d like to put a quartet together next semester,” was what he asked instead. “Would you be interested.”
Daria blinked in obvious surprise, slightly disappointed. “A quartet? Is anyone else in it yet besides you?”
“Marcie agreed,” Al responded. “I thought I’d arrange some popular songs, so it would be more fun than challenging.”
“Well, I’m going to be one of the editors of the literary club. We will be meeting Monday nights.”
“Small ensembles usually meet Tuesdays at Three or whenever they can get a common time,” Al answered.
“Who will be first violin?”
“You know Sam, of course.”
“The next folder second violin?”
Al nodded. “I thought you and he could switch off. And, if you have suggestions for any songs, if you can score the sheet music, I’ll be happy to arrange them and we can try ‘em out.”
“That’s three non-string majors,” Daria pointed out. “Aren’t you already in at least one quartet? There’s only one other viola major.”
“True; I’m actually in two small ensembles, but the quartet, well, we only play Haydn. I love Haydn, but when that’s all we play – the others won’t even play Mozart or Beethoven. The other one is the baroque quintet. Again, I like playing Bach, but there’s only so much Bach, Corelli and such I can stand. That’s why we could stick with pop music.”
Daria agreed to join, and wondered if that was all he wanted. On the one hand, Al made no further moves towards asking Daria on a date, but on the other, he made certain he sat beside her on the bus trips the rest of the short tour.
Outside of music, Daria decided, he was even shier than she was.
As for the concerts themselves, all the players and the conductor were satisfied with both their performances and their receptions. Daria would receive a note from her parents saying how pleased they were with the performance they came to, and the next day she received a photo and brief article her mother had clipped from a local newspaper. The photo was barely large enough for her to even see where she was sitting, but Daria added it to the folder where she was saving items for a possible future scrapbook.
On the other hand, before the concert Sunday Al did ask Daria if he could accompany her to dinner, which she accepted.
-60s-
Other than briefly meeting with the other quartet members twice, Daria did not see Al that much the rest of the semester despite there being two full weeks of classes followed by four days of final exams, although they did eat together (along with others, including usually Jane) several times in the dining hall. However, the orchestra only met the following Monday. The music department would be spending most of the final two weeks of classes doing ‘juries’ – majors performing a demonstration piece before the instructors as part of their final lesson grade. These also served as try-outs for the two select wind bands and the non-string major players of the orchestra.
Students also had the chance for early registration during this period, although since they were Freshmen, Daria and Jane had to wait until near the end of the process. Still, they felt they didn’t do too badly. They were both glad they didn’t have to register for an 8:00 am MWF class, although they were still stuck taking Basic Biology (theory, no lab) at 8:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They would also have the speech class required for education majors together at 9:00 MWF.
Better organized than most students, Daria had no problem handing in her required papers on time (well, actually a bit early – she did not want to hand them in too early, on the off-chance the professor might grade hers separately from the group, and therefore perhaps more closely). She also did not feel it necessary to really cram for the finals either. The only grade she was at all concerned with was her US Constitution class, and even there she was confident of at least an A-. She knew she would need to earn at least a 96 on the final to pull that up to a full A and felt she had a good chance to do so. Daria was therefore able to spend some time with her guitar, which she had brought back after Thanksgiving; the girls on her floor agreed she played nicely. So, when she was not typing or studying herself, Daria played softly in one of the study rooms; the other students found it soothing, drawing a few others from the dorm to their floor as well.
Jane, like most college students, was not nearly as organized. Daria had coached her as best she could in both French and their Geology class all semester, and edited Jane’s term paper for Freshman Composition. The two also planned their get-together over New Year’s.
The finals were scheduled Monday through Thursday, December 19-22. Students had to leave by early Saturday, which was Christmas Eve. Jane in fact left late that Friday afternoon. Her older brother Trent arrived to take her home. Lanky and with a Beatle haircut but also a very non-Beatle soul-patch, Daria found herself thinking of him a bit more than she was of Al as she took the opportunity of being alone for one of the few times in her life to indulge in some deep fantasizing.
Before Jane left, the two exchanged small Christmas gifts – Daria had given Jane six extra copies of the Literary Journal, which Jane could then give to family members. Jane gave Daria a series of sketches of Daria, which Daria could then regift to her family members. Knowing this, Daria had purchased frames for the sketches. Jane however surprised Daria with an extra sketch, framed, of the two of them. Daria would leave that one on her desk.
Daria would have that sketch on her work desk for the rest of her life.
-60s-
Jake arrived to pick up his elder daughter a little after 11:00 am Saturday. Daria had taken an empty suitcase with her when she had returned from Thanksgiving, so that, her laundry bag (she had finished laundry that morning, so the bag had clean clothes that did not need to be folded), and her violin case was packed and waiting when her father arrived. She had sent her guitar along with Jane, as she would unlikely be able to play it at her grandmother’s.
Overall, Daria was as happy as she could expect to be over the Christmas arrangements. School had also let out the previous day just after noon for Quinn, so she and Helen had left for Helen’s family plantation in eastern Virginia the previous afternoon. They would be staying a week, returning on December 30. Jake had to be back at work on Wednesday, December 28, so he and Daria would drive home on the 27th.
If they were honest, few of the people at the plantation were happy about the holiday get-together. Helen’s father had died unexpectedly a few years before, and he was the one person the others got along with. His wife was even more imperious than her daughters, although unlike them she not only acknowledged that trait but reveled in it – only her husband had been able to withstand her. Her eldest daughter simply kowtowed to her mother and bullied everyone else, especially her only child, a daughter who had married a few years before.
Helen and her mother were too much alike not to fight constantly. While Helen usually won any conflict with her older sister, she was slightly more likely to come up short against her mother when they did not draw. Only the youngest sister came out (slightly) ahead of her mother and both her siblings.
Daria’s cousin Erin was very much a mouse when confronted by her mother or grandmother. She had shown a brief spark before her marriage, but her husband turned out to be both demanding and rather ineffectual at his job, and he had already dead-ended in a low management position at an insurance company. Erin’s farther had been killed near the\ end of the War, and she had never known him. Her step-father was only slightly more competent than her husband, and thoroughly bullied by his wife and mother-in-law.
If any other relations showed up, as some often did, the tension might be extreme but there was often some good gossip to collect and some lavish meals. All those present were as often as not swept up into the various family feuds, current and historical. Daria’s two great-aunts sometimes showed up, with some or all descendants, to side against either their sister or each other (or against both, if possible).
Jake stopped at a diner just over the Virginia line so the two could have a casual, very leisurely lunch. Breakfasts at the plantation were fabulous. Dinners were lavish, if formal and stiff. Luncheons (never to be referred to as ‘lunch’) were equally stiff and sometimes delicious but not over the top (sometimes just broth, salads, and excellent bread or cornbread if dinner was going to be more elaborate than usual). The afternoon tea was always the most stiffly formal of all the gatherings, for meals or otherwise. Everyone was to be dressed formally at tea, dinner, and after – Daria’s formalwear (confirmed to fit over Thanksgiving) had been sent on ahead with Helen and Quinn. It was worse in the summer, as girls and women were expected to change after tea. While Helen was well-conditioned to the meals at her mother’s, Jake, Daria, and even Quinn disliked the visits.
Still, Helen was determined they attend Christmas and the not-quite semi-annual summer reunions. In part it was because it was ingrained habit, but there was also a fair amount of money involved. When Helen’s grandfathers and father died, each of the three sisters had inherited a fair amount, and they had been endowed with other monies besides. When Helen’s mother died, about half the remaining monies would be divided evenly between the three sisters. At this point, however, Helen’s mother still directly controlled the other half, any interest or dividends from the first half she did not spend, and the plantation itself. She would determine if the estate and the contents of the house would be given to one person (most likely Erin, especially if she had a child by then) or if the plantation would be sold.
Even Amy could put up with a lot in the hopes of at least inheriting some of that money, although she did not hold out much hope and nearly came after Helen and left before as well. Daria had even less hope in that direction, although Quinn was sure she had as good a shot as Erin despite her mother’s conflicts with her grandmother. Daria was fairly certain that if her mother had her way, Daria would inherit little to nothing from Helen herself; it would all go to Quinn. Quinn believed that as well.
Daria and her father chatted as he drove them. They stopped for a snack at a small gas station for cokes as well as splitting most of a bag of boiled peanuts. This ensured they arrived well after afternoon tea started.
One of the assistant gardeners and the assistant butler took care of their luggage. Daria always stayed in the same room. On the downside, she had to share with Quinn. On the positive side, it had two beds and was large enough they did not get in each other’s way. While it did not have a bath (that was shared with another room, accessed from the hallway), it did have what their grandmother insisted be called a ‘washroom’ with a double sink and toilet. Since the toilet was hidden from direct view from the door behind a partition, the two could share the space without much conflict.
Seeing one of her formal dresses as well as matching shoes and stockings already laid out, Daria sighed. She disliked dresses, perhaps because of this family ritual. The only times she had worn one since the reunion the previous summer had been for the orchestra concerts, where the women wore formal black dresses and the men wore tuxes.
Daria washed up a bit and changed into the long dress. She was brushing her hair when Quinn came in. “I see you and Dad managed to avoid tea. Did you at least save me some peanuts, even if they’re cold?” Quinn did not allow herself many ‘lower class habits’ as she termed them, but boiled peanuts was one. Daria was willing to humor her.
“The bag’s on the sink and they might still be a bit warm.”
Quinn sighed. “Thank you. Since we’re having a ‘very special’ dinner tonight, Grandmother just had cucumber, shrimp, or butter sandwiches. Lunch wasn’t any better.”
“If we’d have known that, we would have gotten a bigger bag,” Daria said. She didn’t care much for her sister, but she didn’t hate her or want her to suffer when she hadn’t done anything recently to deserve it.
As Quinn munched, she said, “Do you want the good news or the bad news?” She paused, and then quickly added, “Actually, it’s pretty much the same news.”
“What’s that?”
“Besides us, there’s only two guests.”
“Including Aunt Amy or besides Aunt Amy?”
“Including.”
“That’s surprising,” Daria commented. There were usually at least a few more guests this close to Christmas. “Who is it?”
“Grandma,” Quinn stated simply.
Daria’s eyebrows went up in rare but genuine surprise. Grandmother insisted she be called Grandmother. Both she and her husband’s ancestries ran deep in the upper echelons of the Old South and she loved playing the aristocrat.
The first Morgendorffer had arrived in the 1850s – and had made a fortune in supplying food of sometimes questionable quality to the Union army. His grandson, Jake’s father, had made an even larger fortune on the black market of World War I, and then more than quadrupled it during Prohibition, even if he had lost part of it in the Crash. He had died in the late 1950s, an autocratic bully to the end, although his passive-aggressive wife had her ways of getting around him.
Jake’s mother was from a well-off commercial family – their roots were nowhere as distinguished as Helen’s, but were nearly as old. She had lost her only daughter to polio in the 1930s, her older son to the War, and her youngest son (the most bullied by her husband) to an very early grave from alcoholism in the mid-1950s – his way of dealing with having served in the Korean War. She therefore wanted to influence her remaining son’s family as much as his mother-in-law did. She therefore demanded she be called ‘grandma’ to contrast herself with her rival, even if neither Daria nor Quinn thought she acted much more ‘grandmotherly’ than their equally materialistic, imperialistic, maternal grandmother.
Needless to say, the two grandmothers did not have a friendly rivalry.
“You are so lucky to be leaving Tuesday,” Quinn admitted, since as far as she knew there was no one to overhear her.
“You mean there’s not at least tea or party for you to go to?” Daria asked, a bit puzzled. There usually would be at least one.
“Only the Langfords, they’re having a tea Tuesday afternoon I have to go to,” Quinn said. "If you remember, we were the oldest attendees last year, and oldest boy was thirteen.”
“And let me guess, on Thursday Grandmother will have her ‘grand tea,’ where, if you, mother, and Aunt Rita weren’t there, Grandma might be the youngest attendee if she’s still here.” Daria was sure Amy would be gone by then, and Erin would at least try to duck out.
Quinn nodded. After a moment, she said, “I used to envy Erin, going to those private schools, the parties she would tell us about, and then the soirees and dances she talked about when we were in junior high. Now, I really think we were better off in public school.”
“I know I was; I didn’t know you felt the same.” She gestured around the room. “All this won’t last much longer, at least not on this scale. Grandmother could never afford all this without the investments her father, grandfather, and our grandfather and his father made and left her largely in control of. If Erin or Aunt Rita inherit this place, it will take all of Grandmother’s investments and more than their share of grandfather’s liquid estate to keep it going – and we know Mother and Aunt Amy will each get their thirds of Grandfather’s liquid estate then. So, in a generation or less it will likely as not be gone, at least as property of our family in some manner. If Grandmother’s money is in any way split, it won’t stay in the family even that long.”
Unknown to either, their mother was listening on the other side of the door, which Quinn had accidentally left ajar, and overheard that last exchange. It saddened her a bit to hear this, but she acknowledged that Daria was likely right. Not wanting to hear more, she knocked and then opened the door. “Daria, I’m glad you’ve changed. Please come down and greet your grandmothers. Quinn, finish your…snack and come down as soon as you can.”
*
Daria was not surprised she mostly received gift certificates to some of the more exclusive clothing and department stores in and near her hometown from her grandmothers and mother. Her sister gave her a small one, but it was to Sears, which was more in her budget and Daria’s tastes. Her father and Aunt Amy had given her certificates to a local bookstore, but Amy had whispered in passing that another gift would be arriving once Daria was back at college. The two were careful not to connect too closely when under the eye of either Helen or Grandmother Barksdale.
However, Helen surprised Amy when she pulled her aside after the gift exchange as the group was breaking up to return to their rooms with their gifts. Daria had, as Helen had expected, given Amy, her and Jake, and the grandmothers copies of the Poetry Journal. She had also gifted them all the framed sketches Jane had done of her, plus an extra, a small one for Jake’s desk at work. Grandmother Barksdale and Amy both pointed out that these sketches were of exceptional quality. Daria had also given Jake, Amy, and Quinn college logo sweatshirts and her mother an umbrella in school colors and the logo.
Amy was therefore a bit wary as Helen pulled her aside, as Rita had not been gifted anything (not that Rita gave anything to Daria or even Quinn, as usual). “I’m sure you and Daria are in closer contact, now that’s she’s away at college much of the year,” Helen said. She sighed. “You and Jake were right; I don’t know if her grades will be as high as they were in high school, but as guarded as her letters are to me, they have really shown how much she’s grown since she’s been away, especially the last month and a half or so. She wouldn’t have done that, at least not as well, at dear old MMJC.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Amy said. She looked at her sister, who looked back.
“I think Daria’s right about something else. The world is changing, and mostly in ways that I certainly dislike and most of the rest are still NOT in ways I’d prefer. Overall, I think you’re better prepared than I am for those changes, just like I hope I’m better off than Rita and maybe even Erin.” She looked Amy right in eye. “We’ve never gotten along, even if we do better with each other than either of us do with Rita. I’ll try to let go a bit more when it comes to Daria; I know you’ll be there to help her if she needs it as the world changes.” Helen’s face hardened. “I know I’ve let her down in the past. Let’s both try not to do so in the future.”
Amy gave her sister a smile. “We’ll both do our best for her. Who knows, between the two of us, it might work.” Helen returned the smile; Amy might end up with more influence than Helen would want, but Helen wouldn’t be cut out of Daria’s life unless she was foolish enough to do it herself.
*
As planned, Jake and Daria drove home on the 27th. To her surprise, her father even let her drive his car part of the way. She was careful, as she had not driven since the previous August. She was pleased when she found her final grades, even if she was slightly miffed at the A- in Health. Her father was suitably impressed. Unlike his wife’s junior college, he had graduated from Penn and valued higher education (even if he had partied hard enough that his GPA suffered). They had bought a used 1962 Valient when Daria had earned her license, and it was now used by Quinn, although she would rarely drive it as it did not fit her ‘style.’ Daria therefore cruised the town and surrounding area Wednesday and Thursday mornings, using her gift certificates (although probably not for the exact items her relatives had hoped for). She did get a nice pair of jeans from Sears, and some neutral winterwear (a few heavier sweaters, winter skirts, rainboots, scarves, gloves, etc.) with the other store certificates. One thing Daria searched for was a good radio, as neither she nor Jane had any sort of radio. In the local up-scale department store, Daria was pleased to find a nice multi-band radio.
Daria surprised her father by taking him out to eat at his favorite bistro on the 28th, one his mother usually avoided. Even though it was not cheap, it was a Tiki place and Helen disapproved. She and Quinn would be back the next afternoon, and Daria made certain Trent and Jane picked her up before lunch. Daria treated them to the local A&W drive-in as well as paying for the gas.
-60s-
“I hope you don’t mind sharing,” Jane asked. She had asked several times before they had left for the break, but Daria assured her once again. Jane had a small bedroom, especially with two easels sharing the space, but at least she had a double bed. There was an unused larger bedroom (where Jane’s two older sisters had shared), but the beds had been given away, and Jane’s father was currently using it for extra storage space.
“Do I dare ask ‘what’s the plan’?”
“No plan until New Year’s Eve. Trent has a gig at a bar downtown – don’t worry, they let younger teens in and even mostly prevent underage drinking. And, it’s only nine blocks away; we can walk home if Trent drinks too much.”
While not used to having so much unstructured time, Daria thought it was worth trying, if only for the novel experience.
“Maybe you and Trent can play some duets,” Jane teased.
Daria managed not to react, merely saying, “Maybe, if we can agree on anything musical.”
By Dr T
A ‘Daria’ fanfic, so no claim to original characters, etc. claimed, just my plot twists. Based on an image from the last ‘Daria’ episode/movie, ‘Is It College Yet?’
-60s-
December 1 3:55 pm
Daria was dressed up a bit more than usual, and her Mary Jane’s were again polished to a high shine despite the chilly, drizzly late autumnal weather. She was also wearing her new glasses, which had arrived via post the day before. The lenses were slightly wider and more oval than round, and yet overall the frames were slightly smaller, giving her a slightly larger field of vision and nevertheless revealing a bit more of her face. Jane thought she had gone from nice-looking to actually pretty or at least attractive. Several of the male students thought so as well, but none had approached her as yet.
Marcie, a slightly taller, heavier coed, who normally looked like she was going to go hiking in the woods, was dressed up as well. “Don’t be nervous,” she told her accompanist in a whisper, as a brass quintet was playing a Bach fugue. “It’s only two Schubert Lieder for me and we have your piece down as well. It’ll be fine.” She glanced down. “Damn, I should have worn shoes like yours instead of these heels.”
“There was no way I was either going to practice the piano peddling in heels or play today without practicing with them,” Daria retorted softly. “Besides, I don’t even own one-inch torture devices like those.”
“Wise woman,” Marcie agreed, more loudly as there was a round of applause. She took a deep breath. “Well, here we go.”
-60s-
While neither Marcie nor Daria thought any of their pieces went all that well, they earned decent applause, and later praise from their instructors, insuring them both A’s for their semester’s lesson grades. Jane made certain she picked up enough of the programs so that Daria could send multiple copies to her mother and one for Daria and one for her Aunt Amy as well.
Jane had also spread the word of Daria’s upcoming performance, and so there were eight extra non-music majors in the audience (plus Jane), all to applaud Daria. All these co-eds joined Jane in congratulating her after the last performance in the program (a Buxtehude organ piece), as did a few of the string players she knew from the orchestra. Brittany even gave the startled Daria a hug. She was more used to being tolerated than actually liked, and it was clear that several co-eds considered her at least a casual friend, and in Jane’s case, a close friend.
-60s-
The orchestra’s ‘tour’ schedule was simple: two concerts on both Friday and Saturday, one in the afternoon and one in the evening. On the Sunday afternoon, they would perform in the College’s old auditorium.
Daria was surprised as the bus taking them to the first high school left the music building at little before 1:00 when the first chair violist, Al, sat next to her. “May I?” he asked.
Slightly confused, Daria waved at him to sit. As he did, Daria considered him – she knew he was a Sophomore music major, and that was about it. They had exchanged greetings a few times, but until the previous afternoon, when he had been one of the string players to congratulate her after the recitals, there really had been nothing more. He seemed nice enough, but he was, physically at least, fairly average – a bit above average height, average looking, polite – he really did not stand out for either positive or negative reasons most of the time.
Violists (and second violinists) rarely have cause to stand out in orchestral pieces. Al had also played briefly at the recitals the afternoon before, one of the Bach cello suites – the viola was pitched exactly an octave higher than the cello, so there was little difference in playing the piece on either instrument.
“You played well yesterday,” Al commented, repeating himself.
“So did you.”
“I was wondering….”
“Yes?” Daria was swiftly considering if she would go on a date with him, deciding that it would in part depend on where they might go.
“I’d like to put a quartet together next semester,” was what he asked instead. “Would you be interested.”
Daria blinked in obvious surprise, slightly disappointed. “A quartet? Is anyone else in it yet besides you?”
“Marcie agreed,” Al responded. “I thought I’d arrange some popular songs, so it would be more fun than challenging.”
“Well, I’m going to be one of the editors of the literary club. We will be meeting Monday nights.”
“Small ensembles usually meet Tuesdays at Three or whenever they can get a common time,” Al answered.
“Who will be first violin?”
“You know Sam, of course.”
“The next folder second violin?”
Al nodded. “I thought you and he could switch off. And, if you have suggestions for any songs, if you can score the sheet music, I’ll be happy to arrange them and we can try ‘em out.”
“That’s three non-string majors,” Daria pointed out. “Aren’t you already in at least one quartet? There’s only one other viola major.”
“True; I’m actually in two small ensembles, but the quartet, well, we only play Haydn. I love Haydn, but when that’s all we play – the others won’t even play Mozart or Beethoven. The other one is the baroque quintet. Again, I like playing Bach, but there’s only so much Bach, Corelli and such I can stand. That’s why we could stick with pop music.”
Daria agreed to join, and wondered if that was all he wanted. On the one hand, Al made no further moves towards asking Daria on a date, but on the other, he made certain he sat beside her on the bus trips the rest of the short tour.
Outside of music, Daria decided, he was even shier than she was.
As for the concerts themselves, all the players and the conductor were satisfied with both their performances and their receptions. Daria would receive a note from her parents saying how pleased they were with the performance they came to, and the next day she received a photo and brief article her mother had clipped from a local newspaper. The photo was barely large enough for her to even see where she was sitting, but Daria added it to the folder where she was saving items for a possible future scrapbook.
On the other hand, before the concert Sunday Al did ask Daria if he could accompany her to dinner, which she accepted.
-60s-
Other than briefly meeting with the other quartet members twice, Daria did not see Al that much the rest of the semester despite there being two full weeks of classes followed by four days of final exams, although they did eat together (along with others, including usually Jane) several times in the dining hall. However, the orchestra only met the following Monday. The music department would be spending most of the final two weeks of classes doing ‘juries’ – majors performing a demonstration piece before the instructors as part of their final lesson grade. These also served as try-outs for the two select wind bands and the non-string major players of the orchestra.
Students also had the chance for early registration during this period, although since they were Freshmen, Daria and Jane had to wait until near the end of the process. Still, they felt they didn’t do too badly. They were both glad they didn’t have to register for an 8:00 am MWF class, although they were still stuck taking Basic Biology (theory, no lab) at 8:00 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. They would also have the speech class required for education majors together at 9:00 MWF.
Better organized than most students, Daria had no problem handing in her required papers on time (well, actually a bit early – she did not want to hand them in too early, on the off-chance the professor might grade hers separately from the group, and therefore perhaps more closely). She also did not feel it necessary to really cram for the finals either. The only grade she was at all concerned with was her US Constitution class, and even there she was confident of at least an A-. She knew she would need to earn at least a 96 on the final to pull that up to a full A and felt she had a good chance to do so. Daria was therefore able to spend some time with her guitar, which she had brought back after Thanksgiving; the girls on her floor agreed she played nicely. So, when she was not typing or studying herself, Daria played softly in one of the study rooms; the other students found it soothing, drawing a few others from the dorm to their floor as well.
Jane, like most college students, was not nearly as organized. Daria had coached her as best she could in both French and their Geology class all semester, and edited Jane’s term paper for Freshman Composition. The two also planned their get-together over New Year’s.
The finals were scheduled Monday through Thursday, December 19-22. Students had to leave by early Saturday, which was Christmas Eve. Jane in fact left late that Friday afternoon. Her older brother Trent arrived to take her home. Lanky and with a Beatle haircut but also a very non-Beatle soul-patch, Daria found herself thinking of him a bit more than she was of Al as she took the opportunity of being alone for one of the few times in her life to indulge in some deep fantasizing.
Before Jane left, the two exchanged small Christmas gifts – Daria had given Jane six extra copies of the Literary Journal, which Jane could then give to family members. Jane gave Daria a series of sketches of Daria, which Daria could then regift to her family members. Knowing this, Daria had purchased frames for the sketches. Jane however surprised Daria with an extra sketch, framed, of the two of them. Daria would leave that one on her desk.
Daria would have that sketch on her work desk for the rest of her life.
-60s-
Jake arrived to pick up his elder daughter a little after 11:00 am Saturday. Daria had taken an empty suitcase with her when she had returned from Thanksgiving, so that, her laundry bag (she had finished laundry that morning, so the bag had clean clothes that did not need to be folded), and her violin case was packed and waiting when her father arrived. She had sent her guitar along with Jane, as she would unlikely be able to play it at her grandmother’s.
Overall, Daria was as happy as she could expect to be over the Christmas arrangements. School had also let out the previous day just after noon for Quinn, so she and Helen had left for Helen’s family plantation in eastern Virginia the previous afternoon. They would be staying a week, returning on December 30. Jake had to be back at work on Wednesday, December 28, so he and Daria would drive home on the 27th.
If they were honest, few of the people at the plantation were happy about the holiday get-together. Helen’s father had died unexpectedly a few years before, and he was the one person the others got along with. His wife was even more imperious than her daughters, although unlike them she not only acknowledged that trait but reveled in it – only her husband had been able to withstand her. Her eldest daughter simply kowtowed to her mother and bullied everyone else, especially her only child, a daughter who had married a few years before.
Helen and her mother were too much alike not to fight constantly. While Helen usually won any conflict with her older sister, she was slightly more likely to come up short against her mother when they did not draw. Only the youngest sister came out (slightly) ahead of her mother and both her siblings.
Daria’s cousin Erin was very much a mouse when confronted by her mother or grandmother. She had shown a brief spark before her marriage, but her husband turned out to be both demanding and rather ineffectual at his job, and he had already dead-ended in a low management position at an insurance company. Erin’s farther had been killed near the\ end of the War, and she had never known him. Her step-father was only slightly more competent than her husband, and thoroughly bullied by his wife and mother-in-law.
If any other relations showed up, as some often did, the tension might be extreme but there was often some good gossip to collect and some lavish meals. All those present were as often as not swept up into the various family feuds, current and historical. Daria’s two great-aunts sometimes showed up, with some or all descendants, to side against either their sister or each other (or against both, if possible).
Jake stopped at a diner just over the Virginia line so the two could have a casual, very leisurely lunch. Breakfasts at the plantation were fabulous. Dinners were lavish, if formal and stiff. Luncheons (never to be referred to as ‘lunch’) were equally stiff and sometimes delicious but not over the top (sometimes just broth, salads, and excellent bread or cornbread if dinner was going to be more elaborate than usual). The afternoon tea was always the most stiffly formal of all the gatherings, for meals or otherwise. Everyone was to be dressed formally at tea, dinner, and after – Daria’s formalwear (confirmed to fit over Thanksgiving) had been sent on ahead with Helen and Quinn. It was worse in the summer, as girls and women were expected to change after tea. While Helen was well-conditioned to the meals at her mother’s, Jake, Daria, and even Quinn disliked the visits.
Still, Helen was determined they attend Christmas and the not-quite semi-annual summer reunions. In part it was because it was ingrained habit, but there was also a fair amount of money involved. When Helen’s grandfathers and father died, each of the three sisters had inherited a fair amount, and they had been endowed with other monies besides. When Helen’s mother died, about half the remaining monies would be divided evenly between the three sisters. At this point, however, Helen’s mother still directly controlled the other half, any interest or dividends from the first half she did not spend, and the plantation itself. She would determine if the estate and the contents of the house would be given to one person (most likely Erin, especially if she had a child by then) or if the plantation would be sold.
Even Amy could put up with a lot in the hopes of at least inheriting some of that money, although she did not hold out much hope and nearly came after Helen and left before as well. Daria had even less hope in that direction, although Quinn was sure she had as good a shot as Erin despite her mother’s conflicts with her grandmother. Daria was fairly certain that if her mother had her way, Daria would inherit little to nothing from Helen herself; it would all go to Quinn. Quinn believed that as well.
Daria and her father chatted as he drove them. They stopped for a snack at a small gas station for cokes as well as splitting most of a bag of boiled peanuts. This ensured they arrived well after afternoon tea started.
One of the assistant gardeners and the assistant butler took care of their luggage. Daria always stayed in the same room. On the downside, she had to share with Quinn. On the positive side, it had two beds and was large enough they did not get in each other’s way. While it did not have a bath (that was shared with another room, accessed from the hallway), it did have what their grandmother insisted be called a ‘washroom’ with a double sink and toilet. Since the toilet was hidden from direct view from the door behind a partition, the two could share the space without much conflict.
Seeing one of her formal dresses as well as matching shoes and stockings already laid out, Daria sighed. She disliked dresses, perhaps because of this family ritual. The only times she had worn one since the reunion the previous summer had been for the orchestra concerts, where the women wore formal black dresses and the men wore tuxes.
Daria washed up a bit and changed into the long dress. She was brushing her hair when Quinn came in. “I see you and Dad managed to avoid tea. Did you at least save me some peanuts, even if they’re cold?” Quinn did not allow herself many ‘lower class habits’ as she termed them, but boiled peanuts was one. Daria was willing to humor her.
“The bag’s on the sink and they might still be a bit warm.”
Quinn sighed. “Thank you. Since we’re having a ‘very special’ dinner tonight, Grandmother just had cucumber, shrimp, or butter sandwiches. Lunch wasn’t any better.”
“If we’d have known that, we would have gotten a bigger bag,” Daria said. She didn’t care much for her sister, but she didn’t hate her or want her to suffer when she hadn’t done anything recently to deserve it.
As Quinn munched, she said, “Do you want the good news or the bad news?” She paused, and then quickly added, “Actually, it’s pretty much the same news.”
“What’s that?”
“Besides us, there’s only two guests.”
“Including Aunt Amy or besides Aunt Amy?”
“Including.”
“That’s surprising,” Daria commented. There were usually at least a few more guests this close to Christmas. “Who is it?”
“Grandma,” Quinn stated simply.
Daria’s eyebrows went up in rare but genuine surprise. Grandmother insisted she be called Grandmother. Both she and her husband’s ancestries ran deep in the upper echelons of the Old South and she loved playing the aristocrat.
The first Morgendorffer had arrived in the 1850s – and had made a fortune in supplying food of sometimes questionable quality to the Union army. His grandson, Jake’s father, had made an even larger fortune on the black market of World War I, and then more than quadrupled it during Prohibition, even if he had lost part of it in the Crash. He had died in the late 1950s, an autocratic bully to the end, although his passive-aggressive wife had her ways of getting around him.
Jake’s mother was from a well-off commercial family – their roots were nowhere as distinguished as Helen’s, but were nearly as old. She had lost her only daughter to polio in the 1930s, her older son to the War, and her youngest son (the most bullied by her husband) to an very early grave from alcoholism in the mid-1950s – his way of dealing with having served in the Korean War. She therefore wanted to influence her remaining son’s family as much as his mother-in-law did. She therefore demanded she be called ‘grandma’ to contrast herself with her rival, even if neither Daria nor Quinn thought she acted much more ‘grandmotherly’ than their equally materialistic, imperialistic, maternal grandmother.
Needless to say, the two grandmothers did not have a friendly rivalry.
“You are so lucky to be leaving Tuesday,” Quinn admitted, since as far as she knew there was no one to overhear her.
“You mean there’s not at least tea or party for you to go to?” Daria asked, a bit puzzled. There usually would be at least one.
“Only the Langfords, they’re having a tea Tuesday afternoon I have to go to,” Quinn said. "If you remember, we were the oldest attendees last year, and oldest boy was thirteen.”
“And let me guess, on Thursday Grandmother will have her ‘grand tea,’ where, if you, mother, and Aunt Rita weren’t there, Grandma might be the youngest attendee if she’s still here.” Daria was sure Amy would be gone by then, and Erin would at least try to duck out.
Quinn nodded. After a moment, she said, “I used to envy Erin, going to those private schools, the parties she would tell us about, and then the soirees and dances she talked about when we were in junior high. Now, I really think we were better off in public school.”
“I know I was; I didn’t know you felt the same.” She gestured around the room. “All this won’t last much longer, at least not on this scale. Grandmother could never afford all this without the investments her father, grandfather, and our grandfather and his father made and left her largely in control of. If Erin or Aunt Rita inherit this place, it will take all of Grandmother’s investments and more than their share of grandfather’s liquid estate to keep it going – and we know Mother and Aunt Amy will each get their thirds of Grandfather’s liquid estate then. So, in a generation or less it will likely as not be gone, at least as property of our family in some manner. If Grandmother’s money is in any way split, it won’t stay in the family even that long.”
Unknown to either, their mother was listening on the other side of the door, which Quinn had accidentally left ajar, and overheard that last exchange. It saddened her a bit to hear this, but she acknowledged that Daria was likely right. Not wanting to hear more, she knocked and then opened the door. “Daria, I’m glad you’ve changed. Please come down and greet your grandmothers. Quinn, finish your…snack and come down as soon as you can.”
*
Daria was not surprised she mostly received gift certificates to some of the more exclusive clothing and department stores in and near her hometown from her grandmothers and mother. Her sister gave her a small one, but it was to Sears, which was more in her budget and Daria’s tastes. Her father and Aunt Amy had given her certificates to a local bookstore, but Amy had whispered in passing that another gift would be arriving once Daria was back at college. The two were careful not to connect too closely when under the eye of either Helen or Grandmother Barksdale.
However, Helen surprised Amy when she pulled her aside after the gift exchange as the group was breaking up to return to their rooms with their gifts. Daria had, as Helen had expected, given Amy, her and Jake, and the grandmothers copies of the Poetry Journal. She had also gifted them all the framed sketches Jane had done of her, plus an extra, a small one for Jake’s desk at work. Grandmother Barksdale and Amy both pointed out that these sketches were of exceptional quality. Daria had also given Jake, Amy, and Quinn college logo sweatshirts and her mother an umbrella in school colors and the logo.
Amy was therefore a bit wary as Helen pulled her aside, as Rita had not been gifted anything (not that Rita gave anything to Daria or even Quinn, as usual). “I’m sure you and Daria are in closer contact, now that’s she’s away at college much of the year,” Helen said. She sighed. “You and Jake were right; I don’t know if her grades will be as high as they were in high school, but as guarded as her letters are to me, they have really shown how much she’s grown since she’s been away, especially the last month and a half or so. She wouldn’t have done that, at least not as well, at dear old MMJC.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” Amy said. She looked at her sister, who looked back.
“I think Daria’s right about something else. The world is changing, and mostly in ways that I certainly dislike and most of the rest are still NOT in ways I’d prefer. Overall, I think you’re better prepared than I am for those changes, just like I hope I’m better off than Rita and maybe even Erin.” She looked Amy right in eye. “We’ve never gotten along, even if we do better with each other than either of us do with Rita. I’ll try to let go a bit more when it comes to Daria; I know you’ll be there to help her if she needs it as the world changes.” Helen’s face hardened. “I know I’ve let her down in the past. Let’s both try not to do so in the future.”
Amy gave her sister a smile. “We’ll both do our best for her. Who knows, between the two of us, it might work.” Helen returned the smile; Amy might end up with more influence than Helen would want, but Helen wouldn’t be cut out of Daria’s life unless she was foolish enough to do it herself.
*
As planned, Jake and Daria drove home on the 27th. To her surprise, her father even let her drive his car part of the way. She was careful, as she had not driven since the previous August. She was pleased when she found her final grades, even if she was slightly miffed at the A- in Health. Her father was suitably impressed. Unlike his wife’s junior college, he had graduated from Penn and valued higher education (even if he had partied hard enough that his GPA suffered). They had bought a used 1962 Valient when Daria had earned her license, and it was now used by Quinn, although she would rarely drive it as it did not fit her ‘style.’ Daria therefore cruised the town and surrounding area Wednesday and Thursday mornings, using her gift certificates (although probably not for the exact items her relatives had hoped for). She did get a nice pair of jeans from Sears, and some neutral winterwear (a few heavier sweaters, winter skirts, rainboots, scarves, gloves, etc.) with the other store certificates. One thing Daria searched for was a good radio, as neither she nor Jane had any sort of radio. In the local up-scale department store, Daria was pleased to find a nice multi-band radio.
Daria surprised her father by taking him out to eat at his favorite bistro on the 28th, one his mother usually avoided. Even though it was not cheap, it was a Tiki place and Helen disapproved. She and Quinn would be back the next afternoon, and Daria made certain Trent and Jane picked her up before lunch. Daria treated them to the local A&W drive-in as well as paying for the gas.
-60s-
“I hope you don’t mind sharing,” Jane asked. She had asked several times before they had left for the break, but Daria assured her once again. Jane had a small bedroom, especially with two easels sharing the space, but at least she had a double bed. There was an unused larger bedroom (where Jane’s two older sisters had shared), but the beds had been given away, and Jane’s father was currently using it for extra storage space.
“Do I dare ask ‘what’s the plan’?”
“No plan until New Year’s Eve. Trent has a gig at a bar downtown – don’t worry, they let younger teens in and even mostly prevent underage drinking. And, it’s only nine blocks away; we can walk home if Trent drinks too much.”
While not used to having so much unstructured time, Daria thought it was worth trying, if only for the novel experience.
“Maybe you and Trent can play some duets,” Jane teased.
Daria managed not to react, merely saying, “Maybe, if we can agree on anything musical.”
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