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Authors: Gayla Twist
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dresses and white aprons posing in front of the Vanderlind Castle gates, the building itself barely distinguishable in the background.
“Did you like working there?” I asked.
Grandma sighed. “At first I did. I liked it very much. It was exciting to be associated with a family that was so well to do and so refined.” She went on, “And I was happy we could bring in a little extra money for Mama and Papa. But then...”
I waited a moment for her to collect her thoughts. “Then what happened?” I coaxed, hoping to glean a few more details.
Grandma Gibson just sat there, staring at the page, transfixed with some memory that she couldn’t bring to her lips. I wanted to press her. I was desperate to know more about the castle and its occupants, but something was wrong. Grandma’s breath was coming in short little gasps. “But then...” she choked out, reliving an obviously painful memory.
“Let’s not look at these now,” I said, closing the book and gently taking it from her. I couldn’t do it. No matter how much I wanted to know about Jessie, I couldn’t grill a fragile old lady into being sad. “I’d rather talk about happier things. Like that dance with...” I scrambled for his name, “like that dance with Walter. Did he bring you a corsage?”
Grandma dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief she’d had tucked up her sleeve. Then she smiled and said, “He wanted to bring me a lily, because of my name, but they were so very expensive. Instead, he gathered a bunch of wildflowers from along the road and made a bouquet out of that.”
“Did he court you?” I tried to use the vernacular she would appreciate.
“Yes, we were quite the item for a while. We even talked of getting married.”
“Really?” I was surprised. It was the first I’d heard of this flower-picking beau. “What happened?”
“He died in the war. He wanted to get married before he left, but I thought we should wait so we could have a real wedding,” she said, again looking quite sad. Oh, great. There didn’t seem to be a way I could keep from depressing my great grandmother. “The Bennetts lost both their boys at Normandy,” she went on. “They were so proud when their sons enlisted. And then to lose them both. They never got over it.” Grandma shook her head. “It’s a terrible thing to outlive your children.”
“How did you meet your husband?” I asked, not wanting her to dwell on the fact that her own daughter had been gone for quite a few years.
“I was working at Zucker’s, and he came in looking for a reed for his clarinet. We didn’t carry much stock at the time, so I had to order it. He picked it up but was back the next week claiming he needed another one. He purchased a good four or five reeds before he worked up the nerve to ask me out,” she said with a smile.
“What were some of your favorite songs back then?” I asked, feeling relieved I’d managed to turn the conversation to happier memories.
After another twenty minutes of reminiscing, I could tell Grandma Gibson was getting tired. As I got up to put her photo album away for her, I asked, “Would it be okay if I borrowed one of your photographs?” She didn’t look too enthused, so I quickly added, “I’ll bring it right back, I promise.”
Grandma Gibson narrowed her eyes at me. “When?”
I did some mental scanning of my schedule. “Saturday afternoon.”
“I guess it would be okay,” she said a bit reluctantly. “But please be very careful. I need my memories.”
“I will. Thank you, Grandma,” I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before slipping the photo of her and her sister in front of the castle out of the album.
“You’re welcome, Aurora,” she smiled. Sometime during our conversation, I had turned back into myself.
Chapter 10
On the way home, I stopped by Tiburon Copies and had them laser scan the photo. “Is that the castle?” the clerk asked after he’d completed the scan and I’d paid for my
“Did you like working there?” I asked.
Grandma sighed. “At first I did. I liked it very much. It was exciting to be associated with a family that was so well to do and so refined.” She went on, “And I was happy we could bring in a little extra money for Mama and Papa. But then...”
I waited a moment for her to collect her thoughts. “Then what happened?” I coaxed, hoping to glean a few more details.
Grandma Gibson just sat there, staring at the page, transfixed with some memory that she couldn’t bring to her lips. I wanted to press her. I was desperate to know more about the castle and its occupants, but something was wrong. Grandma’s breath was coming in short little gasps. “But then...” she choked out, reliving an obviously painful memory.
“Let’s not look at these now,” I said, closing the book and gently taking it from her. I couldn’t do it. No matter how much I wanted to know about Jessie, I couldn’t grill a fragile old lady into being sad. “I’d rather talk about happier things. Like that dance with...” I scrambled for his name, “like that dance with Walter. Did he bring you a corsage?”
Grandma dabbed at her eyes with a handkerchief she’d had tucked up her sleeve. Then she smiled and said, “He wanted to bring me a lily, because of my name, but they were so very expensive. Instead, he gathered a bunch of wildflowers from along the road and made a bouquet out of that.”
“Did he court you?” I tried to use the vernacular she would appreciate.
“Yes, we were quite the item for a while. We even talked of getting married.”
“Really?” I was surprised. It was the first I’d heard of this flower-picking beau. “What happened?”
“He died in the war. He wanted to get married before he left, but I thought we should wait so we could have a real wedding,” she said, again looking quite sad. Oh, great. There didn’t seem to be a way I could keep from depressing my great grandmother. “The Bennetts lost both their boys at Normandy,” she went on. “They were so proud when their sons enlisted. And then to lose them both. They never got over it.” Grandma shook her head. “It’s a terrible thing to outlive your children.”
“How did you meet your husband?” I asked, not wanting her to dwell on the fact that her own daughter had been gone for quite a few years.
“I was working at Zucker’s, and he came in looking for a reed for his clarinet. We didn’t carry much stock at the time, so I had to order it. He picked it up but was back the next week claiming he needed another one. He purchased a good four or five reeds before he worked up the nerve to ask me out,” she said with a smile.
“What were some of your favorite songs back then?” I asked, feeling relieved I’d managed to turn the conversation to happier memories.
After another twenty minutes of reminiscing, I could tell Grandma Gibson was getting tired. As I got up to put her photo album away for her, I asked, “Would it be okay if I borrowed one of your photographs?” She didn’t look too enthused, so I quickly added, “I’ll bring it right back, I promise.”
Grandma Gibson narrowed her eyes at me. “When?”
I did some mental scanning of my schedule. “Saturday afternoon.”
“I guess it would be okay,” she said a bit reluctantly. “But please be very careful. I need my memories.”
“I will. Thank you, Grandma,” I said, giving her a kiss on the cheek before slipping the photo of her and her sister in front of the castle out of the album.
“You’re welcome, Aurora,” she smiled. Sometime during our conversation, I had turned back into myself.
Chapter 10
On the way home, I stopped by Tiburon Copies and had them laser scan the photo. “Is that the castle?” the clerk asked after he’d completed the scan and I’d paid for my
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