I didn’t say a word. I was too worn out.
Thankfully, my mom was there. We got in the car and my mom had a million questions about the movie. She wondered if she should see it with my dad. I said yes, it was exciting. She asked Sally if she liked it and Sally said yes. I felt Sally staring at me in the dark. I felt my face getting hot again.
“Anyway, Mom, I’m so glad Gramps came all the way to Minnesota.”
“I am too but why are you saying that?”
“Because we don’t live by the ocean.”
My mom laughed. “It sounds like a pretty scary movie.” We dropped off Sally who said, “Thank you, Mrs. McGiver.” She slammed the door of the car and hurried up the steps of her house.
“You can move to the front seat, if you want,” my mom said.
I was still reeling from the events of the night. The slammed door rang in my ears. “No thanks.”
“Sally was awfully quiet. Didn’t she like the movie?”
“She liked the movie but she was really tired.”
“Oh. She seemed tired.”
Dad and Gramps asked me all about the movie. I begged off after a while, saying I wanted to go to bed. I lay in bed, with the lights off. I didn’t want anyone to know I was still awake. I couldn’t figure out what happened between Sally and me. After all, I said I’d help her with her problem and then she got mad at me. It was the worst night of my life.
And, I had to admit that Jake was really nice to me. I liked sitting next to him. I was going to ask my dad if he needed any help in the store. Maybe he’d hire Jake. Then I could see him all the time. That might make the whole night worth it.
Chapter Six
Musolf’s
I must have been really worn out from the night before because I didn’t even wake up until eleven o’clock. Since basketball season was over, I couldn’t go up to the gym to practice. What was I going to do? I wanted to go over to Sally’s but she had made it clear not to even call her. I wasn’t going to beg, believe me. Hopefully, the whole thing would just blow over.
I knew Gramps would be downstairs but since it was eleven already, he would have finished breakfast, gotten dressed, done some reading, gone for a walk, and maybe even gone to Mass. Sometimes Gramps liked to go to Mass on other days than Sundays but not me. Sunday was enough for the whole week.
I walked downstairs and checked in the kitchen. Gramps wasn’t there. I looked in the sunroom and there he was hunched over the desk, paying some bills. Gramps prided himself on never paying a bill late.
“Hi, Gramps,” I said.
“Hi.” Gramps looked up. “I want to hear more about the movie. Do you have some time?”
“Sure.” I had all the time in the world. “It was great. I thought about you taking a ship from Italy. Was it scary?”
“Yes, it was kind of scary. Partly because I left my whole family. I didn’t know if I’d ever see them again. And the ship made all kinds of creaking sounds, especially at night. Nighttime was the worst.”
“I’m glad you didn’t turn upside down.”
“I am too because I never learned to swim. What are you doing today?”
“I think I’ll ride my bike around and maybe go down to the store.”
“Okay, I’ll see you later, then.”
Main Street in Red Wing was wonderful. People strolled along the sidewalks, looking in all the different shops. On weekends in the summer, it was literally crazy with visitors driving from St. Paul or elsewhere. People liked the famous Red Wing Pottery but everyone wanted to look in Red Wing Shoes, where the giant leather boot stood. I liked it myself, even though I’d seen it a million times.
I was standing in front of Musolf’s, the store everybody in Red Wing loved. It was like a general store with amazing new merchandise every week. I could spend the whole day in there, believe me.
Anyway, Jake and his friend, Mike, saw me standing there. John, Sally’s brother, was right behind Jake. He nodded but Jake stopped to talk to me. I couldn’t believe my luck.
“Colette, c’mon in with us,” Jake said.
How could I say no to that? “Sure,” I said.
I walked into Musolf’s with Jake, John, and Mike.
Tommy Musolf was behind the counter at the cash register. He was a year older than me but we were friends. His dad, Fred, owned the store and he was friends with my dad. Tommy’s grandfather was great friends with Gramps. His grandmother had been friends with my grandmother. Everybody in town called Tommy’s grandmother, Oma.
Tommy’s grandfather and grandmother started the family business just like Gramps had started ours with Grandma Rose. My mom said that Gramps and Grandpa Musolf really understood each other since they had both left their countries and started new lives in Red Wing, Minnesota. So our whole family was friends with their whole family.
I stopped at the cash register. “Hi, Tommy,” I said. “How’s it going?”
“Good. Baseball starts next week. I’m going to try out for the varsity team this year. How about you? You gonna play softball?”
“I played last summer. I loved it. I can play on the B- Squad this year.” I looked around. Jake, Mike, and John were nowhere to be seen.
“Colette, are you with Jake O’Malley?” Tommy’s arms were crossed over his chest.
“No.”
“It seemed like you came in with them.”
“Oh, that. They were walking in at the same time I was.”
It wasn’t like I met them in front of the store on purpose. It just happened. I looked around. “Tommy, see you later.”
I found John near the back of the store. He said, “Colette, maybe you should go home.”
“Why?”
“Just go home.” He walked away.
I should have. I really should have.
I didn’t want to leave without saying good bye to Jake. I walked down the aisle moving my head from left to right. He leaned against the wall reading a comic book. I walked over. “Hi,” I said.
“Hi, Colette.” Jake bumped into me. I almost fainted. “Sorry. Oh, I’ve got to find Mike.” He walked away and then turned around. “Meet us outside.”
I didn’t move for a full minute. I had no idea why he wanted me to meet them. Maybe it had something to do with wanting to work at our store. I thought about Sally, fuming away at home.
“C’mon.” Jake and Mike swaggered past me. I followed.
“Bye, Tommy,” I said. I waved.
“We have to move around the corner,” Jake said. “Into the alley.”
“Colette should leave,” John said.
“I’ve got it handled,” Jake said. He winked at me. “Okay, empty your pockets.”
I should have run as fast as I could. But I was curious about why we were standing at the entrance to an alley. I didn’t have to wonder for long. John pulled out several batteries from one of his pockets. I stared. Mike had candy bars, three in each pocket. He held them up. I stared. “Look at this,” Jake said. He had a pack of cigarettes. I couldn’t believe it. Then he reached into his other pocket and out came a lighter. He flicked it and the little flame danced.
“You’re stealing,” I said. “I’m going to tell Tommy.” I started walking back to Musolf’s.
Jake blocked my way. “Check your coat pockets, Colette.”
“Why?”
“Just check.”
I pulled out a candy bar. “What? I didn’t take this.”
“Really? It was in your pocket. Maybe I’ll go tell your friend, Tommy, that you stole from him.”
I remembered Jake bumping into me in the store. I couldn’t stand Tommy, his dad, or his grandparents thinking I had stolen from them. “I won’t forget this,” I said.
“I’m sure you won’t.” Jake grabbed a candy bar from Mike and took a big bite.
“You should all be ashamed of yourselves,” I yelled.
“Oh, we are,” Jake said. “Aren’t we boys?”
“Yeah,” Mike and John said together.
/> “I’m going home,” I said.
“Mum’s the word,” Jake said. He held his finger to his mouth. “Our little secret.”
I couldn’t look at any of them. All I wanted to do was go home. I ran to where my bike was parked in front of Musolf’s. I felt the candy bar in my pocket. Should I tell Tommy? I had to think about it. I got on my bike and began to pedal.
It had been quite a day. I reached into my pocket and found the candy bar. I felt it and then I did something strange. My mouth started watering and all I could think about was the candy bar in my pocket. I took it out and looked at it. I thought I better do something with it before I got home. I guess I didn’t think for too long because pretty soon the chocolate was melting in my mouth. I had no trouble finishing it before I parked my bike in the garage and walked into my house.
Chapter Seven
Bitter Chocolate
The very worst thing that could have happened, happened right then. I heard Tommy Musolf’s grandfather talking in his animated way. I knew I couldn’t sneak by the sunroom because the back door was right by it. Instead, I walked into the room and kissed Gramps on the cheek. Gramps and Mr. Musolf both smiled from ear to ear when they saw me.
“Hi, Colette,” Mr. Musolf said. He stood up and gave me a hug. He motioned for me to sit.
“Hi, Mr. Musolf,” I said. I almost choked on my words. I didn’t say I just saw Tommy or I know people who stole from your store. I just stood there and said nothing more. My face felt hot.
“Sit down, Colette,” Gramps said. He pointed to my favorite chair. It was a big chair that I literally sunk into.
Plus, the sun was always shining on the chair so the person sitting there was warm inside and out. As tempting as it was to let myself sink in and talk to two of my favorite people I said, “No thanks, Gramps.” He looked puzzled. I quickly added, “I have to use the bathroom.”
Gramp’s eyebrows went up and stayed there arched over his black eyes. “You better go then,” he said.
I didn’t exactly run up the stairs but I sure wanted to. I went into the bathroom, looked at my red face in the mirror, and took out my toothbrush. I brushed, rinsed, brushed again, and rinsed again. The taste of chocolate was strong in my mouth.
Then, contrary to my whole personality, I stayed upstairs. I put on a Beatles record. I lay on my bed and stared at the ceiling.
I heard a loud knock at my door before my mom came in. “It’s four o’clock,” she said.
“Oh, I must have fallen asleep.” I jumped up to make sure my record player had shut off. I slid the record back in its jacket and closed the lid of the record player. I put the record on the shelf underneath.
“You aren’t sick, are you?”
“No, I’m not sick. How come you’re home already?”
“We weren’t busy, so I came home.” My mom felt my forehead. “No temp,” she said.
It was funny because even though I didn’t have a temp, I felt like I had the flu. Everything ached. “Did Sally call?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Ask Gramps, would you?”
“Did you and Sally have a fight?”
“No. What makes you think that?”
“I don’t know. She was awfully quiet last night. And she slammed the door when she left the car.”
I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to talk about the movie and Sally’s weird behavior. I certainly didn’t want to talk about what happened at Musolf’s store. I swallowed. “I do have some homework, Mom.”
My mom stared at me hard. “Okay, you know you can talk to me about anything that’s bothering you, don’t you?”
“Yes, Mom. I do and I will.” Actually, I had no intention of talking to my mom. If I told her about Sally’s supposed date and what we did to fool Mrs. Reynolds, she would have been mad at me and then told Mrs. Reynolds. And Sally would never talk to me again, believe me. Best to keep my mouth shut. I could accidentally spill the beans if I started talking. “Are we having hamburgers tonight?”
“Our usual Saturday night dinner.”
“Good. I can’t wait.”
“See you later.” My mom walked out of the room.
That night at dinner, Gramps talked non-stop. It was nothing new after Mr. Musolf had been there for a visit. “I thought Colette would come back to chat with us.” he said.
“I wanted to, Gramps. I fell asleep.” I took one of my mom’s homemade french fries and dipped it in ketchup. It was really good. “I suppose you talked about the old country.”
“We did. We talked about all the people we left.” I had looked at maps with Gramps and Mr. Musolf many times. Mr. Musolf showed me the town he grew up in. It had been part of East Prussia. After World War Two the town became part of Poland. We always looked at Caserta, Italy. Gramps was born on a farm not too far from the town.
Gramps had a sister named Sofia who still lived near Caserta in Italy. Her four children and seven grandchildren all lived nearby. We had gone there to visit two years ago at Christmas. It was wonderful. We saw all the places Gramps had talked about; his family home on the farm, his school, the beautiful piazza in Caserta, and the place in Naples where his ship left from.
I couldn’t talk to Aunt Sofia’s family because I didn’t speak Italian so I kept Gramps close by. He didn’t mind so I was his little shadow the whole time we were in Italy.
Aunt Sofia, her daughter, and three of her grandchildren came from Italy last summer to visit us. Gramps was excited to show his family Red Wing and our family store. We drove to Lake Pepin, searching for eagles. We saw the paddle wheelers and other boats on the river. We walked up and down Main Street many times. Aunt Florence and her family liked the Fourth of July fireworks the best.
“Anyway, now that basketball is over, I can’t wait for softball,” Gramps said.
“I can’t either.” I had played fast pitch softball the summer before. I loved it. I especially loved picking up a hot grounder, throwing it to first base, and getting the batter out. I played shortstop or third base so there was a lot of action. If I hit a single, I’d look at the stands. Gramps would be cheering just like he did at the basketball games.
“When do you start practice?”
“The beginning of April. We’re inside to begin with depending on the weather. We’ll probably play a lot of catch.”
“How many games do you have?”
“Eight and hopefully a championship game. It’s a short season.”
“You need a good pitcher for fast pitch,” my dad said.
“Sam O’Malley is a really good pitcher. Remember, I played with her last summer?”
“I remember her,” Gramps said. “She has reddish hair and could she throw the ball. It was fun to watch her.”
“I was glad I didn’t have to hit against her.”
“By the way, Colette, you never told me what you and Sally talked about last weekend.”
“It wasn’t all that interesting, to tell you the truth.”
“I might find it interesting.”
This was completely unlike Gramps. If I said no or didn’t want to talk, he left me alone. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I didn’t talk to him and Mr. Musolf. Now all eyes were on me. I had to think fast.
“Well, let’s see. We talked about how we were going to get to the movie. We had to ask Mrs. Reynolds to drive one way. She said she’d drop us off. We talked about how we were going to get home. I said I’d talk to my mom about picking us up. Then Sally’s little sister, Margaret, was in the room for a while so we talked about St. Anastasia’s and our old teachers with her. I told her I hoped she didn’t get Mrs. Bosworth because she didn’t let up for the whole year. And then...
“Okay, I get the picture. We used to call it girl talk.”
“That’s what it was, Gramps. Lots of boring girl talk.”
Chapter Eight
Sundays
Sunday was Gramp’s favorite day of the week. He liked to start the week off
right, he always said, with Mass and breakfast at the Diner. He dressed in his best suit, a tie, a vest, shiny black shoes, and a hat. He had a round, silver watch on a chain that fit right in his vest pocket. He always wore a long-sleeved white shirt with cufflinks that had an A on them. The A stood for Antonio and my Grandma Rose had given them to him. So he brought all his thoughts about Grandma Rose with him to church where he prayed and sang to his heart’s delight.
I couldn’t say I felt the same way as Gramps about church but at least I didn’t have to wear a dress. My mom said I could wear pants as long as they weren’t jeans and no shorts in the summer. I didn’t argue, believe me, or I’d be right back to wearing a dress even during the winter.
My dad loved Sundays because the store was closed all day. He said he could concentrate on his family and that was his favorite thing. He dressed in a suit and my mom always dressed in a dress. They held hands as we walked the six blocks to church. I asked every other week if we could ride in the car but my dad said it was good for us to get some exercise. The only time we rode was if it was pouring rain or really cold.
I hoped to see Sally at Mass since the whole Reynolds family went every week. We went into the church and walked down the center aisle. Gramps genuflected before going into the pew. I sat down next to Gramps. Sally’s family was about five rows in front of us. Good. I was ready to wave back if Sally turned around and waved.
Gramps opened his missal. He had skinny ribbons marking certain places so he had no problem finding the right page. Father Walsh came out and everyone stood up. Mass started. From then on we stood, sat, knelt, stood, sat, and knelt as prayers were recited and songs were sung.
I had trouble paying attention to Father Walsh and the whole Mass for that matter. All I thought about was that Sally was still mad at me. She was the person I never hesitated pouring my heart out to. Since I didn’t have a sister or a brother, I was so happy I had Sally. She was my best friend.
It Starts With a Lie Page 3
