Waiting for Dusk

by Nancy Pennick

  Katie was taken aback. Ty was right. It was a little early. She hadn’t even thought about school or Homecoming. She had a wedding to be in first. Plus she already had a boyfriend...what was she thinking? She nodded her head and then said, “Of course, I will, Ty. I’d love to go with you.”

  Tyson’s mouth slowly grew into a large grin. He slapped the table and put his arms over his head like he won a race making Katie feel a little uncomfortable. Then he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Katie, you know I love you. Do you want to go dress shopping now?”

  Katie assumed he was kidding and playfully punched him in the arm. His arm was solid. He got more muscle at basketball camp. She studied him carefully, and began to see him in a new light. Her girlfriends said he was hot. Maybe she never noticed because she always saw him as a ten-year-old boy that was her friend. She needed to start looking at him in a different way.

  Boyfriend? Katie had trouble associating that word with Tyson. She thought she’d try it out again in her head but instead thought, Drew. Groaning, she put her head down on the table.

  “Katie, are you alright?”

  “Yes, sorry. Just tired. Can we go home now?” Katie sat up.

  “Sure, I’ll let my mom know.” He pulled out his phone.

  They walked to the middle of the mall by the fountain. Ty took Katie’s hand and had all of her shopping bags in the other. It felt a little awkward, but she didn’t resist. Her head was too cloudy, too confused.

  “Sorry, kids. Didn’t mean to keep you waiting.” Mrs. Gray hurried up to them. “I got Tyson’s text when I was in line.”

  “It’s fine, Mom. No worries.”

  On the ride home, Katie made small talk with Mrs. Gray and tried to ignore Tyson moving closer to her in the backseat. Something didn’t add up and she couldn’t wait to get home. She wished his mother would drive faster. Kate let out a sigh of relief as they pulled into the Gray’s drive. As soon as the car came to a stop, she hopped out.

  Katie walked across the street to her house, waving to both Tyson and his mother. “See you tomorrow; I’ll owe you a game, Ty!” and quickly went in the house.

  No one was around so she ran up the stairs to her room. She threw her bags in the corner, and sat down in her overstuffed yellow chair to think. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, Katie stated all the reasons why Tyson was a good guy and would make a good boyfriend. Then she debated with reasons to keep everything the same. The bottom line was that she liked him as a friend; she did not like him as a boyfriend.

  What was she going to do? Definitely talk to Lindsey about everything, but it could wait till later. She was looking forward to dinner. Katie wanted to grill her parents on the past--their past and hers.

  “Dinner,” Katie heard her father call up the stairs. “We’ll be outside!”

  Katie jumped up and headed for the backyard. “Anything I can carry out?” she said as she slid back the screen door to go out.

  “Take this lemonade.” Her mother handed her a pitcher. “Homemade. Just how your father likes it.”

  They sat down at the table while Jackson adjusted the umbrella so no one would have sun in their eyes. “Great to be back with the family,” he said.

  “Speaking of family, why does the name Loretta sound so familiar to me?” Katie played with her salad.

  Joanna and Jackson looked quizzically at each other. Her mom then answered, “That’s the name of your great-grandmother. You probably forgot. When we did speak of her we called her Grandma Rett.”

  “I remember hearing about her.” Katie tried not to be too interested. “Didn’t she have a sister?”

  “Yes, Lucinda, my Great Aunt Lucinda. I remember going to her ranch once when I was a young girl. Grandma Rett, my mom and I flew out there. It was my first time on a plane and I was so excited. Plus I couldn’t wait to meet Uncle Henry. I had heard so many rumors about him. I remember hearing the adults talk about him when they thought the kids were in another room, not listening. We knew how to listen without getting caught.” Her mother laughed.

  “Well, what did they say about him?”

  “He was a very sweet man. He was very attentive to Lucinda and did everything she wanted. He also was not very...ah...ah...” It seemed her mother was having a hard time choosing the right word. “...attractive.”

  “Oh,” was all Katie could say.

  They ate in silence for awhile.

  “But they loved each other, didn’t they” Katie broke the silence.

  “Who are you talking about?” her mom seemed to have forgotten the earlier conversation.

  “Henry and Lucinda.”

  “Um, I don’t really know. They weren’t talked about too much. When I saw them, they were old by then. I would say Henry really loved Lucinda. I think she loved him. They had three children, girls. Two of them never married and lived at home with Henry and Lucinda. The youngest got married and left the ranch. I think her family left Arizona entirely. I never met her. I only met my two older cousins, Lucy and Henrietta. We may have some pictures. There’s a box that says ‘Grandma Rett’ somewhere in the attic and there’s probably pictures in it. Not too many, I don’t think, maybe none at all.”

  “Is it alright if I look after dinner?”

  “Sure it is. I’m glad you’re taking an interest in your roots.” Her mom patted Katie’s arm.

  Katie’s dad told them stories of his trip while they ate. She was used to him being gone. He always had stories to tell when he got back. She faded in and out of the conversation.

  “Am I boring you?” Jackson looked intently at his daughter.

  “Um, no, Dad. It’s so-o-o interesting.” Katie pushed her food around her plate.

  “Well, Joanna, I think you are right about our daughter being bored this summer. I think I may go for an evening swim. You should join me, give you something to do.” Her father laughed, pushed back his seat, then disappeared into the house.

  Now that Katie had her mom alone, she decided to ask a few more questions. “Do you think that Lucinda was happy?”

  “My goodness. All these questions about Lucinda. Where is this all coming from?” Her mother poured them some more lemonade.

  “I was just thinking about her and how you said her husband wasn’t too attractive. He was rich, wasn’t he? Was that why she married him?”

  “Maybe so. The family didn’t talk about it too much. Lucinda was always known for her great personality. I heard she was very happy and bubbly as a young girl. Not so much as she grew older, according to Grandma Rett. She had a very good life, was a devoted mother and very helpful running the ranch.

  I think she had something to prove. Loretta was the pretty sister, and Lucinda was the personality sister. I think she wanted to one-up her sister.”

  “Grandma Rett stayed in Chicago her whole life, didn’t she?”

  “Yes. She met Grandpa Stan there and lived a very happy life. I just wish she would have lived to see you,” Joanna sighed.

  “Grandma Rett had Sandra and Richard, and Sandra was your mother.” Katie tried to put all the pieces of the puzzle together in her mind.

  “And my mom met Mitchell in college and ended up here.” her mother continued. “You know the story.

  “I love to hear you tell it.” Katie leaned forward.

  “Fine. Then I went to college here at Oberlin, met your father, traveled with him and then ended up back here. End of story.”

  “You left out your two older brothers. I don’t think they would appreciate that. You moved back here because you missed them all, your mom, dad, and brothers.”

  “Guilty as charged. Now help me clean up.”

  After they cleaned up, Katie ran up to the attic. “Don’t spill that lemonade on anything old.” her mother hollered up the stairs. “I’m going to join your father in the pool.”

  “Okay. I won’t bother you two lovebirds then.” Katie teased.

  “Stop it, Katie. You can join us.” her mother teased back.r />
  “Nope. I have plans.”

  She went up the next flight of stairs to the attic. Katie always loved it up there. She loved the way it smelled. She loved the coziness of it. Her mother had done some decorating so it didn’t feel like a real attic. There was a blue and white pinstripe loveseat against the wall, and a pastel braided rug on the floor. Pictures of family hung in floral frames on the walls. Her mother had painted the walls a creamy white so it would feel bigger. Everything was neatly stacked or hung up, not your average attic. Katie turned on the ceiling fan, a couple lamps for light, set her lemonade on the small table next to the loveseat and then went to work.

  She went to the shelves where the old photo albums were and was tempted to start looking through them but thought better of it. She was on a mission. Behind the albums was a stack of boxes. The bottom one said ‘Grandma Rett’.

  Katie was so excited her hands trembled as she reached for the box and carefully pulled it out as she tried to picture Grandma Rett. She had passed away before Katie was born, so all she ever saw were pictures of her grandmother. In most of the pictures, Rett was older and had white hair. That’s how Katie remembered her. She always seemed lovely to Katie with her kind face, soft blue eyes and an endearing smile.

  Katie slowly pulled the lid off the box. On top of the pile was one of those pictures Katie remembered seeing. It was of Katie’s mom when she was a teenager, Joanna’s mom Sandra, and Grandma Rett. She set the picture aside, making plans to frame it and put it in her room. Picture after picture were of the grandchildren, her mother and her brothers.

  Where are the pictures of Loretta when she was younger? As Katie went through the pile, she came across older black and white pictures. There were pictures of Grandma Sandra and Great Uncle Richard from their school days. There were holiday pictures of Sandra and Richard as children. It made sense that Rett would have lots of pictures of her children, but there had to be more. The pile kept getting smaller and smaller. Katie felt frustration overwhelm her. Didn’t they take any pictures back in the old days?

  She sat on the floor with all the pictures spread out around her. She leaned back on the loveseat, reached for her lemonade and sipped, staring at all the history in front of her. There has to be something in this pile. I am not giving up.

  Katie grabbed the last handful from the box. Bingo!

  There was a picture of Loretta and Stan when they were young. That was the face Katie recognized from her dreams. Katie then saw a beautiful picture of Grandma Rett in her wedding dress. She set that one aside for herself, too. Loretta and Stan looked happy in all of the pictures. There were many pictures of them at the beach, posing with old cars (new cars to them, Katie laughed) and group shots with family and friends. No Lucinda in any of the pictures. Did she ever visit? Did she ever send pictures of her and her family? What’s going on?

  There was only one picture left. Katie slowly pulled it out from behind the one she was holding, and gasped. “That’s it. The one I’ve been looking for.”

  She gazed in awe, Lucinda’s wedding picture. It was a posed picture of her entire wedding party. Katie turned the picture over and on the back was written September 3, 1927. Turning the picture back over, Katie looked at it again. She must have seen the picture before. Lucinda looked exactly the same as in Katie’s dreams. No one was really smiling in the photo except for Henry. There was a slight gap between his two front teeth. He was a short stocky man, maybe an inch or two taller than Lucinda. Katie rated him as just average looking. From what she heard, he was a nice man. Her mother said he loved Lucinda very much. His face beamed. The more Katie looked at him, the more she liked him.

  Then she moved on to the other two men in the picture. They looked very much like Henry. Brothers?

  Lucinda looked beautiful in a traditional wedding dress. She had a long veil that wrapped around her and was draped on the floor in front of her. She wore a crown of flowers around her head. Then Katie looked at Grandma Rett. She was young and pretty, well stunningly beautiful actually. She had the short hairdo of the twenties–the bobbed look with those waves and short pin curls.

  Katie looked at the other bridesmaid and a cold chill went up her back. She felt like she was looking in a mirror. This girl looked exactly like her. Her hair was long but pulled back. The front wisps of hair had been made into ringlets. She shook her head to focus because the more she looked at the girl; Katie thought it could really be her. Grabbing her lemonade, she took a few sips to cool down and face reality. It wasn’t her; it was silly to think that.

  Katie slowly traced her finger over the picture, looking carefully at the girls, trying to figure out why it all felt so familiar.

  “Katie?” a voice broke the silence.

  “Yes, Mom?”

  “You’ve been up there a long time. I thought maybe you fell asleep. It’s past midnight. Is it alright if I come up?”

  “Sure.”

  Her mother came up the attic stairs. She was showered, and in a tank and pants pajama set.

  “Mom, do you know who this girl is?” Katie pointed to the bridesmaid in the picture next to Grandma Rett.

  “Why, yes I do. That’s Kathryn.”

  Katie gasped, then she swallowed hard. “Kathryn?”

  “Don’t be so dramatic. My Grandma Rett gave me the box of pictures right before you were born. We knew you were going to be a girl. When we got to that picture, Grandma Rett told me the girl’s name was Kathryn. I thought it was a beautiful name. I said I was going to name you Kathryn. Grandma Rett smiled and said ‘She is a beautiful girl’. I was a little confused by the word ‘is’ about you but Grandma was getting old by then and did get her past and present mixed up sometimes. She was probably still talking about the other Kathryn. I only wished she would have lived a few more months and then she would have met you.”

  Maybe she already has, Katie thought. She was getting her past and present mixed up, too. Or should she say her dream world and reality?

  Studying the picture once more, Kate noticed the two bridesmaids wore dresses that she guessed would be called flapper-style. It was hard to tell the color but they were beautiful. Intricate beading covered the sleeveless dress. It hung straight, no waistline, stopping at the knee with a handkerchief hem. The girls also wore headbands that wrapped around their heads. All three girls wore choker pearl necklaces, but Lucinda’s was more ornate. It had a large rhinestone in the center, and the pearls were connected to it. Why did the picture have to be black and white...well, actually, brown and white? “These are beautiful dresses.”

  “Yes, they are.”

  Katie yawned, and stretched her arms. “Thanks for straightening that out. Look at these other photos I found. I’m going to frame them, and put them in my room.” She grabbed the wedding party picture and included it with the other two.

  “That’s really nice.” Her mom hugged her. “Maybe we can go shopping together and pick out some frames for them.”

  “Yeah, that’d be great,” Katie hugged her back. “Good night!”

  They turned off the lights, and left the attic. The house was quiet. Katie entered her bedroom and sat down on her bed. She was suddenly too tired to change. She slid into bed, picked up her book and opened to the next chapter. Her eyes felt so tired she could hardly stay awake.

  “Kathryn! Kathryn! It’s me, Lucinda. Are you awake?”

  “I am now, Lucinda. Come in,” Katie sat up in bed.

  “Sorry to disturb you so early but I have so much to tell you. The dresses are going to be delivered this afternoon for out fittings. We only have to work the lunch shift today so we don’t have to go in early or stay late. It works out perfectly.”

  Lucinda’s cheeks were flushed with excitement. Katie wondered if she was more excited about the wedding plans than the actual marriage itself.

  “Sit down, Lucinda. Let’s talk.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Katie patted her bed and Lucinda obeyed. “First, I really have to talk to you about
me being in the wedding. What about Ruthie? Shouldn’t she be in the wedding too?”

  Lucinda nodded. “I did ask her. She said no. She said she would be too nervous in front of everyone. It will be a huge wedding. After all, Henry’s father owns the largest ranch in Arizona. He wants his son to have a wedding that measures up to the family’s wealth and social standing.”

  Lucinda jumped up and started for the door. Just then a small card fell out of her sleeve and fluttered to the floor.

  “You dropped something, Lucinda.” Katie slid off the bed, and picked it up.

  “Give me that!” Lucinda said sharply.

  “Whoa. I’m just picking up a piece of paper.”

  “I didn’t mean it to sound like that. It’s just the wedding jitters. That’s a list of things I need to do for the wedding.” Lucinda held out her hand.

  Katie looked down at the blank side of the card. She couldn’t resist and turned it over. It was not a wedding to-do list. It was a picture. It was a picture of Lucinda and a young man. It was definitely not Henry and looked like it was taken at the Grand Canyon outside of Kolb Studio. Katie looked up at Lucinda. Lucinda had tears in her eyes. She had her hand out. “May I have the picture, please?”

  Katie felt sorry for Lucinda but wasn’t going to let it go. “This isn’t Henry, is it?”

  “No.” Lucinda collapsed on the bed. She began to cry. “It’s someone named Daniel. It’s someone I used to love and Anna took him away from me!”

  “Is that why you are mean to Anna?” Katie already knew the answer, but she would like to hear her Great-Great Aunt Lucinda’s side to the story.

  “Yes,” Lucinda’s face crumpled. “I know it’s horrible of me. I can’t stop myself. I don’t know why I can’t forgive her. Anna and I were best friends in high school.”

  “Lucinda, you seem to still have feelings for Daniel. How can you get married to Henry if you do?”

  “I do love Henry. I really do. I just love him in a different way. There was so much passion with Daniel. I suppose that wasn’t good. I wasn’t thinking clearly when I was around him.” Lucinda gazed out the window.