Ashes of Roses

Ma wakes the girls early, so they’re out of the way of Uncle Patrick’s family. However, as they get ready for Sunday Mass, there are no sounds of movement from them. Wearing the dress Ma made for her out of silk taffeta scraps of a color called “ashes of roses,” Rose goes outside to wait with Maureen. Maureen states that Trudy and Hildegarde would become their friends, if only they didn’t think they were better than Rose and Maureen. Knowing that Maureen isn’t always able to keep her thoughts to herself, Rose suggests that they’ll all get along better after they get to know each other better, though she doesn’t believe that. When they go back upstairs, they see Elsa cooking breakfast while Ma stands by angrily. Elsa tells them that Uncle Patrick’s family doesn’t go to Catholic Mass; instead, they attend a Lutheran church. Ma argues with Patrick, shocked that he has given up his religion, and he asserts that some of the old Irish customs are not followed here. Enraged, Ma refuses to get directions to the Catholic church from him.