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Miss Van Doehren's Monologue

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“Not like that, Marci. Like this.” The tutor demonstrates for the little girl. “To pronounce the uvular or guttural voiced “r” heard in French or German, you must first lower the tip of your tongue. See! Like this.”
Miss Van Doehren places her tongue so it touches the back of her lower front teeth and opens her mouth, wide. Marci fights an impulse to gaze out the take flight.
She watches the strange woman before her, hypnotically. Looking at the blond and gray bun piled on the top of her head. Forming letters with her mouth as her eyes grow glassy. She stares straight at the woman without expression.
“Then, you raise the back part of your tongue, like this.” Miss Van Doehren warbles a gurgling sound and suddenly makes a “k” and …show more content…

"No, dear. We had automobiles, even when I was young.”
She sighs and glares at the fluted pilasters that frame the doors, recalling similar pilasters in Argentina. Her daughter’s voice carries into the room as she walks over and straightensd the Hermès throw, tossed over the back of the sofa. She stops and listens to her daughter’s pronunciation for a moment and clenches her jaw. “Today, I heard one of your distant cousins was also known for lassoing cows. No?”
Edward grins. She is really itching for a fight. He puts the paper down. “Did you do anything else interesting today, dear? Other than observe San Francisco's historical gossip?”
Miss Van Doehren’s voice rises slightly. “No, child. Not like that. Like this.”
Giordanna watches the child stretch her mouth. She glares at her husband, cools herself and answers, “Not really. I will have a hair appointment tomorrow, though. Could you please have your driver take me to Herolds?”
He smiles at his wife's cattiness, amused by the games she plays sometimes. “Certainly, dear.” Then, he focuses on a particular article about a well-known fruit company moving refrigeration equipment to Central America. He makes a mental note to contact

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