The Garden Party

The weather was perfect. There was no wind, the sky was blue, and the sun was warm. It was the best possible day for a garden party. The gardener started work before six o'clock. He cut the grass. He swept the paths. In the night, hundreds of roses opened in the garden.

After breakfast, the men came to put up the big white tent. "Where do you want it, miss?" they asked. Laura came out to show them. She was fifteen, and her mother said she was "the artistic one" in the family. Laura still had a piece of bread and butter in her hand, and she felt shy. She tried to look serious, like her mother. But she liked these men very much. They smiled at her. One man picked a small flower and smelled it. Why can't I have friends like this? Laura thought. Rich people and poor people, always separate — it's so stupid.

Inside the house, everybody was busy. The flower man arrived with trays of pink lilies — "Enough for a wedding!" said Mother. "I ordered all of them." Laura's sister Jose played the piano and sang a sad song with a big smile. In the kitchen there were sandwiches, and cream cakes from the baker. The band was coming at three. Laura thought: I am so lucky. Days like this happen only two or three times in a life.

After lunch, a man from the shop brought news. There was an accident in the lane, under the garden. A young man fell from his horse and hit his head. He died immediately. He lived in one of the small houses. He had a wife and five children.

"We must stop the party!" Laura said. Her sister Jose laughed. "Stop the party? Don't be stupid. Nobody expects that." Laura ran to her mother. "Mother, a man is dead. We can't have a party today. They will hear our band from the lane!" Her mother said, "People like that don't expect us to change our plans, darling. And you are spoiling everyone's day."

Then Mother took a big black hat with gold flowers and put it on Laura's head. "This hat is for you. It's too young for me. Look at yourself!" Laura looked in the mirror. She saw a beautiful girl in a beautiful hat. Is Mother right? she thought. Perhaps she is right. The dead man and his family suddenly felt far away, like a photograph in a newspaper. I'll think about it after the party, Laura decided. The party was wonderful. The band played, the sun shone, and everybody said, "Laura! What a lovely hat!" Then the guests went home, and the family sat and ate the last sandwiches. "Terrible thing, that accident," said Father. "The poor man had five children."

After the party, Mother had an idea. "Laura, take this basket of leftovers to that poor woman. Take it now, just like that." So Laura walked down the hill in her party dress and her big black hat. The sky was still gold, but the lane was dark. People stood at their doors and looked at her. Laura felt her beautiful dress shining. It was a mistake to come here, she thought. Why didn't I take off this hat?

A woman opened the gate. "Are you Mrs Sheridan's daughter? Come in, please." Laura wanted to leave the basket and run home, but the woman took her inside, into a small dark kitchen. The dead man's wife sat by the fire. Her face was red and her eyes were full of tears. She did not understand why this girl was in her house. "Come, my dear," said the other woman. She opened a door and said, "You'd like to see him, wouldn't you?"

And Laura was in the room with the young man. He was sleeping — that was how it looked. He was quiet and peaceful, far away from parties and hats and music. Everything is all right, his face seemed to say. I am happy now. Laura began to cry. "Forgive my hat," she whispered, and she ran out of the house. At the corner of the lane, her brother Laurie was waiting for her. "Was it terrible?" he asked. "No," said Laura. "It was wonderful. But Laurie — isn't life —" She stopped. She could not finish the sentence. "Isn't it, darling?" said her brother. And he understood her.