The Class Menagerie

parking place. She was awfully fast, though. I imagine there are saleswomen still weeping and pressing cologne-drenched hankies to their temples.“
    Mimi laughed. “This is crazy. Who would steal her underwear and why?“
    Jane shrugged, a corner of her mind still picking over the mail.
    “Shelley held a gun to our heads while you were gone and made us clean up our rooms like good little girls.“
    “Did she? Thank goodness. It’s already noon and I’d only done two rooms. May I look at the yearbook? Will you show me everybody?“
    They went into the living room and Mimi insisted on waiting on Jane for a change. While she was fetching them Cokes, Jane idly flipped through the book. Pooky came in the room, glanced around as if looking for something, and left. Jane could hear shrill laughter upstairs. Some of them must have gathered in one of the bedrooms to gossip. In spite of everything, they were having a good time. At least, most of them were. She caught a glimpse of Beth through the French windows. She was strolling outdoors, hands behind her back, head down, deep in thought. It made a nice picture, the renowned judge in a moment of contemplative leisure against a background of glossy rhododendron bushes and tidy chrysanthemums loaded with fat buds. Hector, the Siamese cat, was strolling along behind her, adding immeasurably to the domesticity of the picture. Mimi returned with their drinks and a plate of sandwiches and chips. “You missed lunch.“
    “Lunch! Oh, my God! I was supposed to be helping Edgar.“
    “It’s all right. He just put out sandwich fixings and we helped ourselves. Edgar’s idea of sandwich fillings includes pate’s, and anchovy butter. We’re not talking processed cheese here,“ she said.
    ‘ “Who’s Gloria Kevitch?“ Jane asked, taking a bite of a deviled ham sandwich on homemade rye bread. Oh, that Edgar!
    “Gloria who?“
    “Gloria Kevitch. The yearbook is dedicated to her.“
    Mimi looked puzzled for a second before a light dawned. “Oh, yes. A girl in our class who died. It was supposed to be a car accident, but it was widely assumed to have been suicide.“
    “Two suicides in one class?“
    “Unfortunately, yes.“
    “Was she a Ewe Lamb?“
    “Good heavens, no. She was an ordinary person. Ewe Lambs were all from the ‘top drawer.’“ She spoke with heavy, unpleasant irony. “Poor Gloria. She was in my gym class and was a cute, funny girl, if a bit hyper. She tried to get into the club, but she was voted down. It’s amazing to me to think back to how much it meant to us then. And it was so silly and snobbish. But then, so were we.“
    Jane just nodded and kept eating, encouraging her to go on.
    “My parents came to this country as adults, fleeing the onset of the so-called Cultural Revolution of which Dad would have been one of the first victims. My dad was a math professor, could speak English, and got a good job. Drove a Ford, bought a lawnmower, ate Twinkies. But my mother was very old-country. She couldn’t learn the language, thought Western clothes were ugly and immodest, hid in the house. I was so ashamed of her. Now I realize she must have been desperately ashamed of me. I wanted to be an American Girl. More American than Americans. Well, you saw the picture I showed you yesterday. I was grotesque.“
    Jane looked at Mimi, with her serenity, her style, her obvious acceptance of her heritage and wondered how the girl she described could have turned into this woman. So she asked.
    “I was forced to take a course in Chinese history in college. My father said I had to or he wouldn’t keep paying my tuition. I didn’t understand him; he wasn’t a Chinese ‘patriot’ like my mom. Anyway, I took the class and I started getting interested in spite of myself because I came across mention of a scientist with my mother’s family name. I asked her about him and it turned out he was her uncle. I think it was the first time I’d even wondered about her as an individual with a family other than us. She knew a lot about him and his work, and as we talked, I realized for the first time that she knew something about a lot of things and was an interesting person. It was a stunning realization. One thing led to another and I actually joined a Chinese students’ club and met my husband, who is third generation in this country, but aggressively Chinese, and well—here I am,“ she added.
    “I’d say you turned out okay,“ Jane said.
    “Thanks.“ Mimi