Kate's mother, Jean

Jean, Kate's mother, had not yet seen a daughter through the years 19 to 25 and it did not occur to her that this would be her one chance, as their son was only feared to be gay. Nothing had been proven. Not incontrovertibly.  The word effeminate had somehow slipped from the family vocabulary. Perhaps it lurked as a threat during a game of Scrabble on a Sunday evening. Jean was still winning most of those games.

19,口,mouth
20,田,rice field
21,目,eye ; item
22,川,river
23,月,moon ; month
24,明,bright ; clear
25,曜,day of the week

Jean had been raised on the north-side of the River Cowan and her first photos were not in a silk gown.  Her father, Dan, had kept them living from hand-to-mouth in the eye of her mother, who said it would be a blue moon before they made it through a month with a penny to spare. Dan worked every day of the week, but was still inclined to see things on the bright side. But it was clear to his wife, Irene, that the charm of the young man who said 'Ta !' should have been a cue to her own mother.

But what sense could there be in an old saw, "Get sued or get sent down the river ?"  Like her own mother, Irene, so Kate's mother Jean could not abide puns.

"May yer load be light and beaucoup tes amis."

Dan would say "Bow-coupe" for "bow-coo" ... and "Mo' coo' fer yer café ?" One more item that was more than a mote in her eye.

---