Waiting for Dusk

by Nancy Pennick

  Katie knew just how she felt. She was a little like that whenever she saw Drew. Her feet didn’t quite touch the ground. Her head spun with thoughts of being together forever. “So you are going to marry Henry no matter what?”

  “Yes, no matter what. Let me tell you something about him. Henry calls me Cindy. No one ever called me Cindy except my father. He passed away when I was in high school. It’s a fond memory I have of him. My father would sing to me, ‘Lucinda, Cindy, Cindy’ and pull me onto his lap. He would then sing to my sister, “Loretta, Rettie, Rettie and then pull her onto his lap, too. We would giggle and laugh and he would cover us with kisses. We were his Cindy and Rettie. How could I not love someone that reminded me of my father?” Her eyes shone with tears. She had lovely pale blue eyes that Katie never noticed before.

  “Maybe you should just wait a little longer. Get to know Henry better.” Katie was determined to do something about the situation.

  “No, we go ahead as planned. I will be leaving the boardinghouse the end of the month and moving into the big house on the ranch. I will be a rancher’s wife, not a Harvey girl anymore. That is what I want.” Lucinda also seemed determined. She got up and left the room.

  Katie hurried to get ready, and headed for the kitchen. “Good morning, Mrs. Johansson. God morgon, Mr. Johansson,” She was proud of herself. She remembered what Mr. Johansson had taught her. “I guess I have a little time off this morning.” She sat down at the table.

  Mr. Johansson looked at her and said, “What’s troubling you, flicka?”

  He was calling her the horse’s name?

  “Flicka?”

  Mrs. Johansson chimed in. “Girl in Swedish, Kathryn.”

  “Oh, so Flicka is not a horse?”

  Mr. Johansson seemed to enjoy that. He let out a hardy laugh. “That made my morning. Let’s see if we can solve your problem now.”

  “Well, Lucinda doesn’t seem happy about the upcoming marriage. What I mean is...” Katie thought she said too much.

  “What you mean is what will be, will be,” Mrs. Johansson interrupted. “Lucinda is meant to marry Mr. Henry. She can grow to love him.”

  That was an old fashion thought—grow to love him! Lucinda loved Daniel, didn’t they know that? It wasn’t her place to tell, so Katie kept quiet. “Breakfast was wonderful as always, Mrs. Johansson. May I be excused?”

  “You sure can. Tell the other girls to get in here or the kitchen will soon be closed.” Mrs. Johansson smiled at her. It was MiMi’s smile. Again Katie said nothing.

  She went out into the hallway, and ran into Ruthie with another girl she never saw before. She looked a lot like Ruthie, only with redder hair.

  “Kathryn.” Ruthie ran up to her. “I want you meet my sister, Molly.”

  So that’s why they look so much alike, she thought. “Nice to meet you, Molly.” Katie put out her hand.

  As Molly shook her hand she said, “You must be Loretta’s sister. You two look so much alike.”

  “No, I’m no one’s sister.”

  Ruthie turned to Molly. “Don’t you remember I told you Loretta and Lucinda are sisters?”

  “That’s right. This is all so confusing.” Molly smiled. “But they don’t look very much like sisters. Kathryn, you and Loretta could definitely be sisters.”

  Or great-grandmother and great-granddaughter, Katie thought. “Are you here for the wedding, Molly?”

  “Oh, no,” Ruthie jumped in. “She’s taking Lucinda’s place at the restaurant. Molly has been waiting for an opening.”

  A voice called out from one of the rooms. “She’s invited to the wedding, too.” Lucinda’s head popped out of her door. Then she popped back in. They all laughed.

  Mr. Johansson called to the girls that it was time to go. Lucinda ran up to him and said, “Your suit will be ready, too.”

  He made a face.

  “Oh stop that.” she giggled. “You will be so handsome!”

  Katie looked at Lucinda. She was puzzled. Mr. Johansson had a suit made for the wedding. She didn’t think he had that kind of money.

  Lucinda must have guessed what she was thinking. “He’s giving me away at the wedding.”

  “That’s nice,” Katie responded. “I’m happy for you.” She really meant it this time.

  Lucinda grabbed Katie’s hand and squeezed lightly, “Thank you, friend. I felt like I knew you from the minute I saw you and knew we’d be good friends.”

  It was Katie’s turn to have tears in her eyes. She wrapped her arms around Lucinda and hugged her tightly. She turned to get in the car and saw Anna coming. I hope Anna doesn’t think I’m a traitor or anything like that.

  But Anna’s eyes said the opposite. They were warm and kind. They almost seemed to say ‘thank you’.

  Katie almost forgot about seeing Drew. She was so wrapped up in the drama at the boarding house. She would have to find him and tell him how the plans have changed. Drew was in the kitchen when the girls arrived. He was laughing and talking to Cook. It seemed Drew could go anywhere he wanted and no one seemed to mind. Everyone must love him as much as she did. What did I just say? Love?

  No, she was too young to be in love. She just turned sixteen in June and it was what the adults liked to call an infatuation. That’s all it was. He turned and looked directly at her. She melted when she saw those eyes. Okay, it’s love.

  Katie grabbed the egg basket and headed outside, hoping Drew would follow. And he did. She filled him in on all of the latest developments. She even told him how Lucinda loved Daniel.

  “I remember when they had that picture taken this spring,” he said when Katie was done with her summary. “I don’t think Daniel realized how smitten Lucinda was with him. He enjoyed her company, that’s all.”

  “You know Daniel?”

  “We met last summer. I would go out to his ranch with him and go riding. He taught me how to herd cattle.”

  Katie pictured Daniel and Drew riding the range, herding the cattle. It was too much. She wanted to grab Drew right then and there and kiss him passionately. She snapped back to reality and said, “Then you knew he loved Anna?”

  “Yes. He was deeply hurt by how everything turned out. He blamed himself. I got word to his family that Lucinda was engaged to Henry Hasting. I wanted them to let Daniel know he was free to contact Anna.”

  “He did and it was all because of you.” Katie threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Drew!”

  Drew lifted her off her feet and swung her around. “I didn’t know that would make you so happy. Anything to make you happy.” He lightly kissed her on the lips. “Come on. I’ll help you with the eggs.”

  They talked about trivial things as they collected the eggs. Katie had named all the hens, and had Drew laughing from the choices she made. Little did he know she just borrowed a lot of those names. There was Buzz Lightyear, who looked like she was wearing a space helmet, the twins Blossom and Bubbles, the red hen she named Ariel, Miss America for the most beautiful one, and the three tough chicks–Buffy, Super Girl and Wonder Woman. The black chicken that always attacked her was named Darth Vader. She knew she’d always have a battle with that one. “Where did you come up with these names, with the exception of Miss America?” Drew breathed more calmly now.

  “I’m just creative,” Katie shrugged. Then she changed the subject. “Are you invited to the Hasting wedding?”

  “Yes, I am. When I saw the date I was wondering how you could be in the wedding. You said you had to return to Ohio for school.”

  “My parents are letting me come back for the wedding. They’re letting me miss a few days of school.” Katie had to think fast on her feet.

  “Then you’ll be coming by train?”

  “Yes...yes! I’ll be returning by train.” Katie was thankful he helped out on that one.

  “Then I shall meet your train. Just let me know the day and time and I will be there.”

  “Um...yes, sure, as soon as I know.” Katie was a little nervous about trying to f
igure out how she could arrive by train when she always woke up in the boardinghouse.

  “Let’s make the best of it until you leave. When you return, I may have a surprise for you,” he whispered as he grabbed her closer.

  Katie felt weak again. She could not fight him. He kissed the top of her head, then her cheek, then her mouth. She didn’t want to leave for school and come back. She wanted to stay there.

  “Kathryn! Are you in the henhouse?” They heard Anna’s voice calling. They sheepishly stepped out into the late morning sun.

  Anna laughed. “Oh, Andrew Martin. You are a cad, aren’t you?”

  Drew laughed and waved. “I hope to see you later, Kate. I’m off to work.”

  Katie ran to the back door of the kitchen. Anna stood, waiting. “I think you are smitten, Miss Kathryn.” She shook her head, and they both went inside.

  * * * *

  Mr. Johansson waited in the Buick as they all came out after work.

  “Are the dresses here? Did the tailors come too?” Lucinda bounded out to the car.

  Mr. Johansson, a man of few words, nodded his head. Lucinda clapped, and hugged him. “Then let’s get going!”

  As they pulled into the boardinghouse driveway, there seemed to be a lot going on. People were going in and out of the house carrying garment bags, hat boxes and various other things.

  “Lucinda, you must have an army of people here. What in the world are they all needed for?” Katie couldn’t believe her eyes.

  “There’s the seamstress who worked on my wedding dress, the seamstresses who did the bridesmaid dresses and the tailors for the men’s suits. There are people to help us with jewelry, shoes, undergarments, you name it!” Lucinda peered out the window at all the commotion in the yard.

  Loretta came running out to greet them. Lucinda looked at Katie and said, “Did you meet my older sister?”

  “Yes, I already have. We met yesterday. She’s a very sweet girl.”

  Lucinda looked at her with a sly smile. “Until you get to know her!”

  Then she ran as Loretta chased after her. Lucinda spun around, and grabbed Loretta at the waist. They twirled and chanted, “Cindy and Rettie, Cindy and Rettie!”

  Katie enjoyed watching them. She could see the love between the sisters. They had their own way of communicating. It would be nice to have a sister, someone you could count on. That’s what I get for being an only child, Katie thought.

  They all went into the house. Mrs. Johansson had been baking and it smelled like bread and cookies all rolled into one. Katie popped into the kitchen.

  “Ooo, these look so good! Do you mind...?”

  At that moment Lucinda grabbed her by the arm. “Dresses first!”

  Katie went into her room. There was a garment bag lying on her bed. She opened the flap, and saw the most beautiful dress. It was a dark sapphire blue. It had a striking pattern of matching color beads on it. It looked as if Tinker Bell had sprinkled pixie dust over the dress. She slipped it on and ran out into the hallway.

  Ruthie was standing there. “Kathryn, you are stunning! Come in Lucinda’s room. They have a large mirror set up in there.”

  Loretta was already in the room and trying on shoes. “Here is your headband, Kathryn.” She handed a matching blue velvet band to Katie. It had a cluster of orange blossoms attached to it. She went to the mirror and put it on. Loretta came over, took it off and pulled Katie’s hair back. She pulled a few wisps of hair forward. “We can curl these into ringlets around your face. I’ll take these two front pieces and tie them back here.” She touched the back of Katie’s head. “The rest of your hair will just hang down your back in curls. Is that alright?”

  Katie could only nod because she felt like she was staring at the girl in the wedding photo she found in the attic.

  Lucinda turned to look at the girls. “What do you think?”

  Katie thought that Lucinda was beautiful in her gorgeous wedding dress. It was an off the shoulder satin dress that went all the way to the floor. She wore a veil with yards of dreamy silk tulle, sprinkled with wax orange blossoms and velvet leaves.

  “You are absolutely beautiful, Lucinda!” Loretta covered her mouth.

  “And you all look beautiful, too!” Lucinda exclaimed. “The dresses are just right. My wedding is going to be all blue and white just like the Arizona sky. You know I ordered bright blue sky and those huge puffy white clouds for my wedding day.”

  Katie tried to picture it all. It would be quite a wedding. It might be the social event of the year, just like Lucinda wanted. Where does it go from there? Has Lucinda thought that far ahead?

  Lucinda’s voice interrupted her thoughts.

  “There are going to be white flowers everywhere, orange blossoms and white roses. Father Hasting is having them shipped in. He’s also putting up a huge tent on the property. Henry and I will be married outside in a white gazebo just at the edge of the garden. There will be white covered chairs for the guests inside a huge tent. Isn’t it dreamy?”

  Yeah, it’s dreamy alright, Katie thought. I don’t even know what a dream is anymore and what isn’t.

  The picture she recently saw explained a lot–the dresses, the veil– but she hadn’t known the details of the wedding. She put her hand to her head.

  Loretta ran over to Katie. “Are you alright?”

  “I think it’s just a headache. Too much excitement for one day,” Katie lied.

  “Then you should go rest,” Lucinda chimed in. “But before you do, I have something for you. Kathryn... Loretta.” She placed pearl chokers in their hands. “Please accept this gift from me and wear these on my wedding day.”

  “Thank you, Lucinda. They’re lovely,” Katie managed to say.

  “Here’s my gift from Henry.” She took out another pearl choker from the box. It had a large blue sapphire in the center and the pearls were attached to it. It was just like in the picture.

  Ruthie and Molly looked at each other, eyes opened wide. Kathryn realized that all this jewelry was the real thing. These Hastings didn’t mess around. She left the room and headed for her own.

  Anna was in the kitchen as Katie walked by. “You need any help?”

  “Yes,” was all Katie could say.

  Anna came into Katie’s room. “Now what’s going on with you and Mr. Andrew? Is this serious? I really do like him. He would be a good catch.”

  A good catch? “Anna, what are you talking about?”

  “Hasn’t he told you?” Anna replied.

  “Told me what?”

  “His family owns a large men’s clothing store in New York City. Haven’t you heard of Martin’s Menswear? Andrew’s father, Nicolas, is a famous men’s designer. His grandfather came to New York from Italy leaving his family business behind, a very famous Italian fashion house. He wanted to strike out on his own and break away from his brothers. Andrew’s grandfather saw the talent in Nicolas at an early age and decided that the United States would be a great place to start over. They were the Martino family in Italy but his grandfather decided to drop the ‘o’ and become more Americanized. ”

  Katie remembered her family talking about people who came from other countries at the turn of the century. They came through Ellis Island in New York. Sometimes their name would be changed right away to make it more familiar to Americans, like Johansson could be Johnson...

  “Kathryn, are you still there?” Anna waved her hand in front of Katie’s face. “I take it you didn’t know any of this.”

  “How did you know?”

  “Daniel and I spent time with Andrew earlier this summer. We rode together when we were out at the ranch. We all shared our stories. I knew Andrew worked at the park but seemed to do whatever he wanted. I teased him one day about it. He finally gave in and told me his family donated lots of money to the park so now it made sense. He didn’t abuse the power, don’t get me wrong. He truly cares about the environment. It’s his life’s passion.”

  Katie already knew Drew loved the pa
rk. It made sense why the help could sit on the porch that first day and eat their lunch, and why they found his horse in the barn after just leaving it tied to a post at Yavapai. She didn’t care if he was rich or not. It didn’t really matter since they were from two different centuries. What was she thinking? Drew was not real. It was time to enter the real world and stay there.

  Chapter Thirteen

  The next two weeks went by quickly. Katie was getting closer to the start of school. She hung out with Lindsey and Jordyn. Erin kept texting her to try out. Ty came over to swim and she’d go across the street to play basketball with him. Katie noticed he was getting a little more serious about the girlfriend thing. She didn’t want to hurt his feelings, though, because they were friends for such a long time. She planned on going to Homecoming with him and would continue tell him she wanted to remain friends. She discussed her dilemma with Lindsey and Jordyn one day in her bedroom.

  “Ty already asked you to Homecoming? How lucky can you be?” Jordyn bounced up and down on Katie’s bed. “Let’s start dress shopping, all of us. If Lindsey and I don’t get dates, we’ll go with each other.”

  “You’re too funny, Jordyn. I can see you trying to get a date the first day of school,” Lindsey laughed.

  “Or Katie can ask Ty to fix us up with some basketball guys!” Jordyn stared off into space. Katie thought she was imagining all of them at the dance. “We can triple date then.”

  I was right. Katie patted herself on the back.

  Jordyn grabbed Katie by the arms and said, “What do you think?”

  “Um, I’ll think about it.” Little did Jordyn know that Katie had way more on her mind than a Homecoming dance.

  Katie still went to the boardinghouse every night in her dreams. She saw Drew more and more every day. It was like he knew she’d be gone soon and didn’t want to waste any time either. She also snuck off to the train station and looked at schedules, picking a day and time, Friday at 1:30 p.m., for her return. That would give her time to get up, dressed and run to the station. She wasn’t sure what she’d do next. Hide until the train came? She laughed aloud.