Queen Mab

August Grand stood on the front porch of what had been his mother’s house. It needed paint. Floorboards needed replacing. Intermittent bumping announced the breeze had found a loose shutter.

He knocked the antique knocker three times.

It had been years. Memories flooded – not all good.

He looked at his daughter, Sage, with mixed emotions. Almost old enough to drive, she wanted to spend time with his siblings.

‘Live and learn,’ he thought.

They waited for Ginny, his sister, to answer. The curtain moved and the latch clicked. Ginny opened the door and smiled. Shouting, she threw her arms around Sage.

“Come in! Come in!” She disappeared toward the kitchen.

They entered, unsure of where they should go. The air felt as if it hadn’t moved in years.

For August, who grew up there, it was a déjà vu moment. He remembered sliding down the banister.

“Make yourselves comfortable. Meet you in the dining room!”

Sage looked at August who led her to the room with a large dining table. Ginny entered with a tray filled with tea and snacks. Setting it down, she gestured to the chairs.

August said, “We came as soon as we heard. What’s up?”

“I found something in the attic. You need to see.” Ginny turned to Sage. “Hi, Honey! How have you been?”

“I’m good…”

She held her at arm’s length. “It seems like…”

August said, “Years…”

Ginny said, “Chris should be here soon.”

“Ah, yes. Always one to make an entrance.”

Ginny said, “Runs in the family, don’t you think? We Grands make an entrance wherever we go.”

Pleased with her retort, Ginny set about serving tea. August smiled without humor. Sage stared into her cup. She’d never heard anyone speak to her father that way.

August raised his cup to Ginny. “Will this take long? We’re going to the library. Sage is researching a school project.”

Ginny matched her brother’s gesture and drank. “As long as you like. Who knows? You might actually have fun.”

“Well, if Chris is going to be late. We could start and he can catch up…”

Saying nothing, Ginny poured more tea and offered cookies to Sage. When the knocker sounded, Ginny sprang from her chair to answer the door.

August and Sage sat silently as Ginny greeted Christopher with happy chatter.

When they entered, Christopher greeted Sage with a shout and rushed to give her a hug. He offered his hand to August who waved him off.

Ginny produced a large cardboard box and ceremoniously set it on the table. She hummed a processional march and raised the lid to reveal hundreds of photographs.

She said, “I doubt you’ve seen these since we were kids. August, why don’t you start? Take one and pass it on for everyone to see.”

August began and passed the photo to Ginny and so on. Each responded with surprise, a joke, or a comment. Sifting through snapshots from childhood, they sounded like kids at a party.

Sage saw them last. After hearing the other’s comments, she asked questions. Trying to achieve some order, she made little piles. Each stack was by location or of the sibling featured most prominently.

When in doubt, Sage asked her father to clarify details. The pictures mainly featured her Aunt Ginny, her father, Uncle Chris, and friends. A few shots showed a school picnic. Others showed them running through a lawn sprinkler. And several were of outings to the beach.

Taken with a box camera or a Polaroid, the kids were active, spontaneous, and full of mischief.

Their mother, Maxine, also appeared in some pictures. She typically sat in the background, formal, and unsmiling. Her stiff pose reminded Sage of daguerreotypes from the previous century.  

Holding up a picture, August said, “Did Queen Mab shove Queen Victoria off her throne?” Ginny and Christopher laughed.

Sage asked, “Is that Grandma?”

Her father said, “That’s Maxine alright. We called her Queen Mab.”

Sage looked confused. “That’s the fairy queen in Romeo and Juliet.”

Christopher said, “We didn’t know from Shakespeare…”

August said, “Trust me. Maxine was no fairy queen. One day, after getting scolded, I called her ‘Queen Mad.’ Ginny, who I think was three at the time, thought I said ‘Mab.’ And it stuck.”

Ginny said, “That’s what happened? I never knew.”

“Too young to remember.”

Sage began a pile of pictures which included her grandmother.

Ginny said, “I just remember calling her that. And you were her Sergeant at Arms.”

She and Christopher exchanged sly glances.

August placed his hands on the table. Case closed. “No. I wasn’t.”

“That’s how it felt. If she was gone, you were the Grand Poohbah. Heaven help those who defied your edicts.”

Christopher stifled a chuckle. He leaned over to Ginny and pointed at the picture he held.

“I remember when that got taken.”

Ginny guffawed. “That is so funny!”

She passed it to Sage, who smiled and put it on a stack.

August continued. “How do you think it felt to have all that responsibility? I wanted to play like you guys. But fulfilling her orders, I was on a tight leash.”

In her most aristocratic tone, Ginny asked, “More tea, anyone?”

August shrugged. “Maxine didn’t suffer fools well.”

Ginny scowled. “Of course she did. She raised three kids.”

August pounced. “You think kids are fools?”

“Not my point, but kind of comes with the territory. Don’t you think?” Ginny addressed Sage’s discomfort. “Of course, there are exceptions, Sage.”

They grinned at each other.

August added, “Yeah, Mab was terrible.”

“How can you say that?”

“You mean my jailer? My Grand Inquisitor? Calling her queen was a step down. She wanted deity. Couldn’t rest ‘til she had her own constellation and a dedicated astrological sign… Oh, wait… there already is a scorpion.”

Sage asked, “I’m sorry… what are you talking about?”

Ginny explained. “Our mother was a strong woman. Like no one I’ve ever known.”

August rolled his eyes. “Strong…”

“I don’t know if you get it yet, but small towns have their own… rhythm. They’re kind of a closed society. Everyone knows everyone’s business. No secrets but open ones.”

Ginny had the floor. The photos were forgotten.

“We moved here when I was little. We were newcomers. But mom didn’t care. The regal air we joke about didn’t stop with the family. Mom, or ‘Mab’ was like a force of nature. Though an outsider, her attitude made everyone fall in line…” Nose elevated, she adopted an accent. “…as if she wore a crown.”

Sage said, “Wow…”

Ginny continued, “She was tough. But not terrible…”

August scoffed.

Ginny said, “…Your father, being the oldest, had status over us serfs.”

August said, “Ridiculous…”

“You deny that you were in charge? You were the prince…”

“You have any idea how it feels to always be the ‘bad cop’?”

“I’m only saying how it felt to us.”

Everyone sat in silence for too long. Ginny munched on a cookie and sipped her tea.

Ginny turned to Christopher. “You’re quiet, Chris…”

He smiled uneasily and spoke to Sage. “I’m sure this is new to you… Old news to my siblings. I grew up hearing this, with variations. It’s town history. One cold night, mom was out at a PTA meeting and her car broke down.”

August nodded. “I know this. It’s true.”

Christopher continued. “Several men took turns, tinkering, whatever, but nothing worked. The engine turned over, r-r-r-r-r-r… but wouldn’t catch. No knew what to do. Finally, mom got out of the car and looked hard at the engine. Men standing by, nudged each other, joking… ‘Don’t break a nail…’ You know?”

Sage nodded.

“The hood was up. People huddled around like idiots. Queen Mab stood peering at the engine. Saying nothing. Then she stamped her foot. Hard. And the engine roared to life.”

Sage’s mouth dropped open.

“The women cheered. The men stepped back as if they’d witnessed witchcraft. Without saying a word, she slipped behind the wheel and drove home. Ask anyone and they’ll tell you a version of that.”

“That’s amazing…”

Ginny said, “We grew up hearing that about our mother. By everyone… Queen Mab…”

Sage said, “Let me see more pictures…”

She pulled one from the box and, seeing it, recoiled.

“What’s that? Looks like an angry caterpillar… ew!”

The others reached for it. Part of a larger picture, Maxine’s features were cropped out leaving only her raised right eyebrow.

Christopher chuckled. “Wow! You got ‘the eyebrow.’ And in close-up.”

Sage shook her head. “Eyebrow?”

Ginny spoke up. “Part of what made her Queen Mab, was her… ahem… expressive eyebrow.”

August and Christopher laughed.

“When she disapproved, she didn’t act. No shouting. Nothing physical… But when that eyebrow rose, you knew… time to get out of Dodge.”

August and Christopher nodded. Sage held the picture at arm’s length.

She said, “She let you take a picture of it? Who took this?”

The siblings exchanged glances. No one owned having captured Maxine’s famous brow.

Christopher said, “Someone enlarged it. Looks like it’s from a formal portrait.”

Ginny said, “But the brow… Didn’t want that picture taken, is my guess…”

Sage revisited the pictures of Queen Mab she had set aside. “She really knew how to use it.”

All three said, “Oh, yeah…”

“Where was your dad?”

Ginny said, “He was around. Came home for dinner. Watched the news. Guess he took most of these pics.”

August added, “Especially ones with a thumb over the lens.”

That got a laugh.

Christopher cleared his throat. “The topper of all our Queen Mab stories…”

Ginny said, “Right! Can’t forget that one.”

Sage said, “What?”

Christopher said, “We had a dog. Shep. Mom gave him free rein. Never saw a leash.”

August interjected, “Except the one I wore…”

Everyone laughed.

Christopher continued. “Sweet dog. But independent as hell… One day, he got territorial and scared some kids on bicycles. He attacked their tires when they rode by.”

“Oh…”

Ginny said, “He didn’t bite them. Never bit anyone. But he scared them. And they reported him.”

“What happened?”

Christopher said, “Queen Mab went to court in Shep’s defense.”

August said, “Wish I could’ve been there…”

“This is all hearsay, but the gist of it is… She got in the judge’s face. Talking about what a good dog Shep is, and he’d never hurt a fly… And how loved the poor pup was… The judge told her, in so many words, to sit down and shut up.”

“Oh no…”

“Well, even with the little you know about her, you can imagine…”

Sage began to giggle.

“Queen Mab unleashed her eyebrow on him…”

Everyone laughed.

“People have told me he blanched at seeing it. Appeared to shrink from it. But somehow, he mustered enough authority to threaten her with ‘contempt of court’ if she didn’t back off.”

“What happened?”

“Queen Mab paused for effect and looked around. She said, and I quote, ‘If you want contempt, wait until you see the contempt you’ll get if you don’t show mercy to our beloved, Shep.’”

“You’re kidding!”

“People who were there say that’s exactly what happened.”

“And Shep?”

“He lived with us, a long, happy life until he died peacefully in his sleep.”

“I wish I had known her.”

“You met when you were a baby. She adored you. You never got the ‘brow’ treatment.”

Sage laughed with relief. “Whew!”

August said, “Queen Mab… she ruled with, well, she didn’t need an iron fist. Only that arched brow. Her world bowed to that.”

August checked the time.

“Oh no… Looks like we’re late for the library, kid.”

“That’s okay. I know what I’ll do.”

Ginny said, “What’s your project?”

“We’re doing a unit, kind of an overlap of art and history. Supposed to do a family tree… And for extra credit, do a family coat of arms. You know, with the elements… the motto, the crest, shield, and all… If we don’t already have one?”

Christopher said, “Yeah, nothing like that. But with Queen Mab, we should…”

Sage said, “That’s what I thought.” She held up the picture of the eyebrow. “If I can borrow this…”

August chuckled. “You put that on the shield, you’ll strike the fear of God into any enemies who dare cast their eyes upon it.”

“Exactly!”

Ginny said, “So, you don’t need to rush off.” She indicated the photos. “We can finish this. Or plan another day… Any thoughts for dinner?”

August said, “How about that barbecue place… ‘Bout a mile down by the turnpike?”

Everyone thought for a moment and began to clap.

“Sounds good.”

“Queen Mab demands it.”

“Hear! Hear!”