February 10
by Janine Stephenson
Becca decided to stay late with Craig in the storefront. She’s helping him. That left Mrs. Stoutmiller, me and two mugs of cocoa between us. There wasn’t a whole lot on the TV tonight, so we sat around and talked. I asked her how she got into politics.
It turns out that her Mother was a suffragist, so she put up with lots of taunting from the townspeople. She attended church with her mother one morning and from the pulpit, the minister told the congregation that it wasn’t God’s will for women to vote. He glared down at Mrs. Stoutmiller and her mother and quoted from the Bible. He said that she was going to Hell for leading women astray. And after the service, her mother grabbed Mrs. Stoutmiller and walked right up to the minister and said that one day, he was the one who was going to be ashamed.
And they continued going to that church every week after that. Because they knew they were right. And they were.
That’s how Mrs. Stoutmiller learned to have courage and she learned that men didn’t always know what was right. And even if they punish you, you can still know inside that what you are doing is right. You are helping other people.
That’s why she’s so disappointed in her daughter and her choices. Because Annabelle is picking what’s comfortable instead of what’s right.
