A rush of very poor English came out of young, over eager lips, "I ain't misbehavin' Grandmama. I just wanted to look through some of your old stuff."
Grandma Tillie couldn't help but find that slightly amuzzing.
"Old stuff, huh? Well, let me tell you Miss Mattie, this old stuff has still got some old stuff that... 'Ain't misbehavin'..."
The treble of the voice rocked with a bit of tremble but Grandma got her groove and her old hips were soon moving in a slow jazz that only she could hear.
The two young girls sat back on their haunches, little hands folded in their laps, aglow with excitement and wonder as Grandma sang a few bars of the 1943 musical.
'I don't stay out late, no place to go, I'm home about 8... just me and my radio...'
"Oh!" Mattie's perfect moue of disappointment gave Grandma the satisfaction she had been angling for.
Grandma walk- danced toward Mattie, reached down, pulled her up and sang, "... saving my love for you!"
A forefinger tapped the button nose and Mattie giggled, relieved that she wasn't in any real trouble for snooping in Granny's old treasures.
As they all made their way down the old stairs to the living room, Mattie gushed, "I just love your house Grandma. It's just like the magazines!"
"... cause everything old is... new again!"
Mattie fingered the large zipper on the black and white dotted cushion.
"Do you know which designer first started using zippers?"
"No!" Mattie and Penelope were all ears.
"Elsa Schiaparelli, that's who," Grandmama plopped down into a chair, looking suddenly very young.
"That black and white flowered cushion was made by my sister, Maria," Grandmama explained.
"I love the button," Mattie said.
"That's a cameo. I took that button off an old jacket of mine,..."
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