343: Dudley began . . .
Herb ’n’ Lorna, Chapter 14 continues
Dudley began helping Ella with her schoolwork. He was more intelligent and better informed than any of her teachers. He did a better job of explaining what she was required to know, and he did more than that: he took her beyond what the school taught her in every subject. Ella thought that Dudley was fascinating (“dreamy”) and extraordinary (“a man in a million”), and she fell in love with him.
One late-spring night, an extraordinary night, one of those nights that make you think that you might make your dreams come true, Ella came into the living room with her cheeks flushed and her biology book under her arm. She was wearing lipstick — not much, but some. Her hair was pulled to one side, and she had pinned a carnation in it. She was wearing a white cotton blouse with an elasticized neckline, a type of blouse that the girls in Ella’s set bought so that they’d look like Dolores del Rio.
“Ella,” said Herb, “you look just like Dolores del Rio.”
“Oh, Daddy, I do not,” said Ella, delighted.
“Well, I think you do,” said Herb. “Do you have a date?” he asked.
“Of course not, Daddy,” said Ella. “I’m going to go next door to see if Dudley can help me memorize the parts of the frog.”
My God, thought Herb, she’s fallen in love with Dudley.
Lorna studied Ella over the top of her reading glasses. Ye gods and little fishes, she thought, she’s in love with Dudley.
“I’ll help you study, if you want,” said Lorna, testing.
“Thanks, Mom,” said Ella, “but I don’t want to interrupt you.”
“I’m not doing anything important,” said Lorna.
“Yes you are — you’re working on your puzzles,” said Ella.
“They aren’t important,” said Lorna.
“But you like working on them,” said Ella, “and I don’t want to interrupt you.”
“But perhaps you shouldn’t interrupt Mr. Beaker, either,” said Lorna.
“Oh, he told me to,” said Ella. “He said that I shouldn’t hesitate to come to him whenever I had a question.”
“But Ella,” said Lorna, “it’s nearly nine o’clock at night.”
“It is kind of late,” said Herb.
“Oh, that’s all right,” said Ella. “Dudley’s up. He’s sitting in his den, reading a book — ”
Herb and Lorna, simultaneously, said to themselves, Ye gods! She watches through his window!
“Reading,” said Herb.
“Yes,” said Ella. She realized, with a shudder that she hoped she kept hidden, that it might seem as if she’d been spying on Dudley, and she hadn’t, she really hadn’t been spying, she’d just been, well, looking at him, and she couldn’t help it, really — his den was practically right outside her bedroom window. It was so close that sometimes, when she was undressing for bed, standing in front of her window, she wondered whether Dudley was likely to see her if he looked up from his book, and lately she’d begun to wonder if he ever would look up from his book.
“I saw him reading,” she said, “because I — I was having trouble concentrating — and — I was just staring out the window — and I noticed him — sitting there — reading.”
Lorna looked at Ella hard for a moment, and Ella giggled. Ah, thought Lorna, it’s all right. It’s just a crush. Dudley probably won’t even notice. She smiled. Ella took it for a conspiratorial smile.
Lorna said, “Well, it’s all right with me, if it’s all right with you, Herb.”
There’s no reason to worry, Lorna told herself. Dudley’s an intellectual. His mind is off in the clouds somewhere. He probably hasn’t even noticed Ella as a — as a woman.
“Sure it’s all right,” said Herb. “She’s got her exams next week. If Dudley can help her, it’s fine with me.”
There isn’t a thing to worry about, Herb told himself. Dudley’s a swell guy, much too swell a guy to go chasing after young girls who aren’t much more than half his age.
Mrs. Stolz watched Ella walk out the door, and she said to herself, Oh dear, oh dear. Dudley is a man of sophistication and taste. Ella shouldn’t be alone with him in his house.
[to be continued on Wednesday, September 21, 2022]
In Topical Guide 343, Mark Dorset considers Historical Personages: Dolores del Rio; Education: High School: Biology: Parts of the Frog; and Personality Characteristics and Emotional Stability, Assessing from this episode.
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