?????
an excerpt

Sarah was the only child of an only child of an only child. This meant that four generations of meddling and expectation funneled down through the ages and rested squarely on Sarah’s shoulders. Nothing could be done without the consent of the elders, like some sort of strange middle class suburban tribe. When she was a little girl, she could clearly remember her mother and grandmother consulting with her great-grandmother about ridiculous minutiae. A memorable conversation involved her mother being extremely pleased with her choice of an Easter dress for 4-year-old Sarah. Her grandmother smiled and nodded in quiet approval until her great grandmother spoke.

“Where,” she began, leaving dramatic emphasis in her pause. “Where is her Easter bonnet?”

“I… I didn’t think she needed one,” said her mother, now uncertain about the whole outfit.

Her grandmother immediately sided with her great grandmother. “Didn’t need one? Of course she needs one, Kathy. What would people think?”

Sarah, sensing the tension that always happened when her mother was criticized, began to cry. “I don’t want a bonnet,” she whimpered, not entirely sure what a bonnet was, but knowing enough to want to take her mother’s side.”

“Not now, Sarie-bearie,” her mother said, shushing her.

Her great grandmother leaned forward on her cane, hunched with age and smelling of Jean Nate powder and eau de toilette. Her face was etched with a permanent scowl. “No crying, little miss. Your face is going to freeze like that.” This admonition only made Sarah cry harder, because she believed that this is what had happened to her great grandmother as a child. Maybe no one had warned her.

“Kathy, control her. Dottie, I think it’s a sign of a poor upbringing that Kathy thinks that bonnets are unnecessary on Easter Sunday. Really. What an absolute disgrace.” Great grandmother poked Kathy with her cane and walked towards the kitchen. “And don’t think for a moment that people won’t notice if she shows up for church without a bonnet.”