Mary couldn’t understand the emotional offering that his mother was making by surrendering the jealously protected remembrances of her son’s babyhood into the hands of her daughter-in-law. From Mary’s viewpoint, the clothes were only hand-me-downs, no matter how well they were preserved. Mary wanted her baby clothed in only the newest and best clothes, not some old rags from a previous generation, no matter how perfect they looked at first glance. Mary accepted the clothes ungraciously and diverted the conversation to another subject as quickly as possible. She didn’t seem to comprehend that her mother-in-law was making the ultimate gesture to demonstrate that she loved her grandson as much as she loved her son and that she accepted Mary as the proper caretaker for the only two males in her life. His mother’s feelings had been hurt by the unexplained emotional rebuff and the entire affair had been a familial fiasco.
Little Doubting Thomas Scene 8
