Page 47 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland

Chapter Seven

hasn’t travelled very much. Daddy usually goes on his own
now. He just got back from France not too long ago. My
parents have helped to bring the first Charolais cattle from
France into Canada. They are the large white cows known
for their beef. In fact, Daddy used to be the President of the
Canadian Charolais Association. When he came back from
his trip, he brought Vian and I some French perfume and
very special gold earrings. We also received a beautiful silk
scarf of Paris with pretty pictures and French writing on it.
I’ll miss my mother but going to my aunt and uncle’s is
always a treat. Besides seeing my cousin Rhonda Lee, I love
staying in their fancy house. It’s beautifully decorated and
always sparkling clean. We take our shoes off as soon as we go
in. Our feet sink deep into the fluffy new carpet and its fresh
scent fills the air. The living and dining room are decorated
in just two colours - beige and pink. Expensive figurines and
vases are all encased in glass. The oval-shaped coffee and
end tables have golden legs. All are delicately adorned with
miniature teacups, saucers and tiny teapots. There are petit
points of Pinky and Blue Boy in fancy white wooden frames
hanging over the white stone fireplace.
I always wonder if anyone ever actually sits in the living
room. It’s like a showroom. I love it. Auntie Lucille’s décor is so
different than our mother’s. Ours is western. We have wagon
wheel lamps over the dining room table, horseshoe ashtray
stands and Naugahyde furniture. We also have a buffalo head
hanging in our basement, along with its matching hide on the
floor. Wolverine, coyote and cow hides too!
After Mommy drops us off, Vian and I quickly settle
into our aunt’s palace. After supper (or I should say dinner,
because that’s what city folk call the last meal of the day), my
aunt and uncle read in the den while Rhonda Lee and I play a

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