#hdmonday

Mabel’s mother-in-law was particularly dreadful to visit. Mabel didn’t mind her much when it was just the two of them alone, but Mabel hates how she criticizes John in front of her. The critiques are something a mother would say to her twelve year old boy, not a grown man. 

Now that Mabel is a little older, and a lot braver, she tends to talk over her mother-in-law. Ex: 

"John, please don’t blush in front of your wife. Women find it to be an emasculating characterist—"

"—Darling, your eyes are so very blue today. It’s like I’m looking at the sky." 

There was one evening when Mabel just couldn’t handle any more of it and, calmly but firmly, interjected that John was perfect. She did this because Digory was in the room, and she didn’t want him to think poorly of his father. Father Kirke got upset at John, and told him to control his wife, which then angered John. 

Mabel was never used to daily chores. As a child she helped Letty with the cleaning and cooking, but when she moved in with her father her only chore was to become proficient in piano. When she married, there was already two servants who did mostly everything. She desired to help them and work alongside them, but they always gave her the easy work like peeling potatoes, folding laundry, etc because they were terrified of over-working her. 

They giggled all around her—picking up strands of her hair, inspecting the fabric of her dress. 

"Tell us something else about Eng-gland!” 

"Why dears, there isn’t that much left to say!" 

A willow tree naiad with a dress made of orange peels floated on a gust of wind. “There has to be something.” 

"Are the trees alive?" 

"Like us!" chipped another. 

May went through a phase with glitter glue. She begged Letty to buy them whenever they saw the packets at the store, and the sticks were all she asked for her birthday. 

One day, Letty walked into May’s room and she was quite in the middle of creating a mural using the glitter.