In the Shade of Groves [COMPLETE]

Chapter 21

"You must be kidding. She is a child she doesn't know what she wants. That is why you are her parents to tell her what she wants and force her to make the right decisions for herself. It's like you two have no sense at all. Just because Minnie is at Princeton doesn't mean you can let up on the family legacy now. There is a reason it is called a legacy. Paisley knows no one in Chicago and has no means of getting around," my grandmother scolds my parents in the kitchen. She drove over this morning after my mother called her last night to inform her I would not be keeping with tradition. I think my mother thought if she were tired enough she wouldn't be able to process the information. She was terribly mistaken.

"Actually Craig and I bought Paisley a car," I hear my mother's shaky voice retort.

"You did what? Are you also paying for her tuition to this ridiculous school?"

"No, she is paying for it on her own," my dad answers.

"With what money? For God's sake, she doesn't have a job. She's going to take out loans and never be able to pay them off with the kind of job she'll be able to get. This never would have happened if you sent her to a private school like I suggested. Children in public school are subjected to all kinds of lifestyles and radical ways of thinking. Like that friend she made and their little trip together. You should have pulled her out right then. I am shocked at you Irene. You were raised better than this, and Craig I know you come from a good family. This lackadaisical parenting is unacceptable."

I listen to my grandmother's ranting from the top of the stairs. She's been yelling, or her refined version of yelling, for the past hour. She refuses to accept the fact that I am going to art school and in Chicago of all places. My parents tried to tell her it was a highly ranked school but my grandmother wouldn't hear of it. It's not Princeton and that's that. I am surprised by how much my parents are defending my choice. They have been so apprehensive all summer but now they're openly defending it to their harshest critic. Of course they conveniently forgot to mention that I wouldn't be going to Princeton until the week before classes start.

"Mother, we are not exactly thrilled about the idea either but the decision is hers. Believe me, we tried to convince her otherwise but," she pauses, "we have learned to pick our battles. Paisley needs to learn to make her own mistakes."

"This is precisely the kind of battle you should be picking. This isn't a decision between marble or granite. This is a decision that will affect her for the rest of her life. I can't believe you would steer one daughter on the right path and let the other fall to the wayside." She lowers her voice, "I know she's never been the brightest of the bunch but she still deserves what every member of this family gets."

I chuckle a little at her insult. Back when my grandmother was in college the only thing women majored in was literature and husband-hunting. My grandmother did both. She acts as though she's accomplished so much in her life. The most she could put on her resume is planning parties and openly judging others.

Based on her reaction to the news about art school, I can't even imagine what her reaction would be to the news about Minnie. I wonder who she'd blame. Minnie for not being "bright" enough to stick with it or my parents for being too lacks with her. Probably a combination of both. I think she'd be more upset about the break of our family legacy.

"The decision is final and we told you as a courtesy. If you can't respect our decision then we must ask you to leave," my dad sternly says.

I'm shocked by his tone. In the eighteen years I've been alive, I've never heard him once disagree with my grandmother. I think for my mother's sake. Maybe my small act of defiance going to art school is enough to spur rebellion in the whole family. I can't help but think Minnie's last act was her own act of defiance.