"Mother? You... you asked me to attend you?" Deva offered, when
the silence became too uncomfortable to bear. Thoes on, face washed,
no food or ink on my pinny, no dirt or dust on the hem of my
skirt... The touched the kerchief of adulthood covering her hair for
reassurance that it was crisp with starch and neatly placed. I'm not a
schoolroom girl anymore.