Everything on a Waffle

Prepped for baking rolls, Primrose hears that Uncle Jack will show the cinnamon house the next afternoon. The following day, with rolls prepared, Primrose puts on her best dress and goes to Miss Perfidy’s house to get her best cardigan sweater. She explains why she left her sweaters with Miss Perfidy: “I wanted to see Miss Perfidy now and then. We had a peculiar relationship. We didn’t like each other much but had lived through my parents’ disappearance together. It gave us a kind of melancholy bond” (58-59).

Primrose notes that Miss Perfidy has her dress on backward. Miss Perfidy greets her by saying she knows Primrose came to get one of her sweaters. As Primrose enters the house, she sees several things that do not jive with her knowledge of Miss Perfidy’s routines. As they chat, Primrose realizes this is the most in-depth conversation the two have ever shared. As is typical, Miss Perfidy walks away while Primrose still speaks. Miss Perfidy describes a memory problem she has acquired: She remembers events that did not occur. For instance, she called a woman to thank her for inviting her to her family’s Sunday dinner, including her daughter’s piano performance afterward.