Any Other Name

Abstract

Igot me the only rose on the family tree," Mitch liked to say. When they were first married, Dolores took it as a compliment, and she'd color a bit, looking rosier than ever. But after a while, she caught on that Mitch was boasting about himself, not her. And, more than anything, was being mean about her sisters. "The thorns," he called them to her face, as if they weren't just as good as he was. When the children came along, Mitch found a new twist on the joke. "Get ready, kids. Uncle Al and Thorn Selma are coming over—whatever you do, don't let her hug you!" Or—with a shake of the head—"Your Thorny Margaret, ain't she the sharp one!" Now that he'd got hold of it, he couldn't let it go. So if one of his daughters answered back or made a face, he'd say, "Uh oh, looks like we got a little sticker pushing out here!" And if the girl began to cry and carry on—"I'm not, I'm not!"—Mitch would laugh and say, "Where's my scissors?" "Papa's just teasing," Dolores told them, angry at him for getting them worked up, and angry at them for taking it to heart. When it came to hurt feelings, her oldest was the worst, Miss Sensitive of America. "Barbara the barbarian," Mitch would mock her, his way to make her mind. "How could you stick me with that ugly moniker?" she whined, blaming her mother. Other mothers thought about what they were doing, and named their girls something pretty, like Rita or Marilyn or Amy. Which just happened to be the names of the sisters in the yellow bungalow who wore matching Polly Flinders smocks to school, and Danskin tights, and black bands holding back their hair. Were they ever the lucky ones. Finally, Barbara made everyone she could (not her father or her teachers) call her Babs. "Oh, great," Mitch said, "the only Babs I ever heard ofwas a stripper." Next in line was Theresa. "Saint Theresa, holy-moly, cut that out!" Mitch would yell though really she was the most obedient of the lot. "We could call you Terry," was Babs' suggestion. But Theresa said no, that could be a boy's name, like Terry Donlan, the dumb kid who sat in the back row and picked his nose when Miss Yeager wasn't looking. She guessed she was just stuck like