by Mary Deal
Linette and Buck Alden's support was undeniable. Sara's belongings, and the new items she recently purchased, remained stored in their laundry room behind the garage and in one of their spare bedrooms.
The Aldens had one son, but he had never lived in their retirement home. Following in his father's footsteps, he joined the Air Force before Buck retired. So Linette and Buck never complained about the company and also gave her keys to the house. True, Buck was supposed to be a distant cousin, but once they sat and talked about it, they guessed that their fathers tacked on the relationship somewhere back in the ancestry just for friendship's sake. Years before, when Sara's family died, Buck's parents took her in for the next couple of years.
She had not been a close friend with Linette when they were younger. She knew Linette from a distance and liked her for her gutsy, daring ways, which was something that Sara lacked. Both Linette and Buck were thin in stature and had stayed that way.
Sara's family lived without much of anything and no one seemed to care. Moving to Puerto Rico was like being reborn. She took a vacation there and never returned. The Aldens shipped her meager belongings. No one in Puerto Rico knew who she was or anything about her alcoholic parents and she made the most of the fresh start. She earned little money over the decades, but lived comfortably enough, mingling among rich tourists and locals alike, exploring sunny beaches and traveling to other islands of the Caribbean to experience the cultures first-hand. Right after leaving the Delta, she tried to stay in touch with Daphine, but she went away somewhere to college and stopped writing. Buck's mom wrote several letters, and then she passed away and correspondence ceased as the years kept passing.
Then came Sara's brainstorm that netted her several million dollars. When she held that first big check in her hands, she made up her mind that not one of her closest friends would be left struggling for things important to them while she could afford almost anything for herself.
Life had turned good. Sara's dreams began coming true. That's what motivated her to help her special friends now. She wished to repay Linette and Buck for their kindness but neither would accept anything, claiming they had almost everything they dreamed of or needed.
Quite by accident, Sara realized a dream of Linette's had not come true. One evening over dinner at the Aldens, their friends Zara and Fred dropped in. The men shared guy stuff at the bar in the rumpus room while the women chatted in the kitchen. Linette happened to mention, “I always wanted to purchase a couple of computers for my store. After classes finish for the day, a lot of kids don't have a place to go.”
Libraries in each of the small Delta towns had computers, but not enough for all the kids wandering about. Then, library budgets were cut so drastically, they couldn't stay open long enough ach afternoon for many students to benefit.
Linette's store, The Book Nook, enjoyed a prime location at the foot of the levee beside a mini-mart and two doors away from the Post Office. The Book Nook sat in sight of the Courtland library that sat back of the open lawns where the old high school used to stand.
“So if you had one or two computers in your store,” Zara said, “it would be another place for the students to access the Internet.”
“It would be another way to get kids into the store and interested in books too,” Linette said. Her idea did have merit.
That was all Sara needed to hear. Linette's store suffered because all of the Delta towns were small. Clientele was limited. Sales of books about the Delta were always her best sellers and tourists purchased most of those. Teens should read more and that was a market Linette wanted to expand, to benefit the kids and her store.
Linette would discourage anyone giving her a gift if she knew about it beforehand. Despite paltry interest rates, Sara's savings and investments were making more money than she could spend. After convincing herself that it wouldn't be too overbearing to do, she drove to Sacramento one day and purchased two state-of-the-art computers, complete with peripheral equipment and programs, and had them delivered to The Book Nook. She also ordered the Internet connection for the store. The timing of the delivery was tricky because Sara wanted to make sure Linette didn't refuse the surprise shipment as possibly being delivered to the wrong address.
Sara parked beside the old Courtland High School auditorium, the only building remaining of the old high school. She watched for the delivery from inside her SUV. Luckily, she remembered to bring water and a snack. She was always dashing off somewhere and forgetting to eat. Life was too good, too busy.
She also brought the day's newspaper and perused the local happenings. Her speed-reading was cut short when she focused on one headline on the second page:
Ike Ames Arrested Again.
“Crazy Ike,” she said, as she scanned the article. She looked up to see if anyone had heard when she realized she spoke out loud again.
The article reported:
Caretakers found Ike Ames digging in a mound of dirt that covered a fresh grave at Franklin Cemetery. Beside him was a dead dog, verified as being his. Ames's only explanation was that he wanted to give his pet a proper burial.
Authorities dug out the fresh dirt down to the coffin to assure that another victim of the serial killer had not been buried in what would have been a convenient spot. Finding nothing, misdemeanor charges were dropped and Ames was released on his own recognizance.
The Book Nook was housed on the ground floor of an historic building listed with the Courtland Historical Society. The weathered boards of the building, and remaining panels containing decades-old paint, gave it a certain charm. Potted philodendrons hung from the sagging upstairs balcony out front. Potted Gerbera daisies had already burst into colorful bloom. Tall gladiolas grew from the ground at each side of the stoop.
The deliveryman arrived and wheeled his hand truck across the ground-level porch. He brushed aside trailing plant stems that swung in the Delta breeze. After he drove away, Sara went in. Linette's eyes were already red and teary. Linette stood beside the big pile of boxes and clung to the edge of the counter with one hand while the other held a tissue as she blew her nose. “You trying to give me a heart attack, Sara?” She dabbed at her eyes.
The next day, Buck and a carpenter friend partitioned off two cubicles at the back of the store and the equipment was set up. Sara was present a few days later when the plastic sheets shielding the rest of the store from dust were taken down. She even helped sweep up the sawdust. Everything about the store looked new, even though only a few bookcases had been repositioned.
“Maybe I should offer coffee or sodas for people who want to sit a while,” Linette said. Only four chairs were present inside the small store but the business had Linette's personality throughout. “Maybe a couple small tables and chairs out front.”
“Maybe you should make sure they buy the books first,” Buck said. “The library's back there, you know.” He thumbed the direction.
“Oh, one more thing.” Sara handed the broom to Linette.
Linette looked at her as if she couldn't take another surprise. “You've done enough.”
“Not quite.” Sara found her bag and retrieved two copies of each of her computer games and handed them to Linette. “Here's something that'll bring the kids in.”
“Yes!” Linette said, grabbing them. “We've been playing these at home ever since you gave us a set.”
“Let's make sure we've got juice,” Sara said.
They booted both computers and loaded the DVDs. Multi-colored stars burst forth on the screens and then were pulled backwards in a sinking swirl as the game rules appeared.
Linette and Buck clapped. “I'm charging for these,” Linette said. “The kids can get free allotted time on the computers for homework, but if they want to play these games—”
“And they will,” Sara said.
“Then they can pay a small fee,” Linette said, finishing her thought. “It'll pay for the Internet connection.”
Sara only smiled, having prepaid the Internet fees f
or a year in advance. “Oh, one more thing,” she said.
“No, no, Sara. I couldn't accept anything else.”
Sara laughed. “A favor… for me?” Linette relaxed and seemed eager to hear. “Would you find out what area books about the Delta are best for each of the Delta schools and put together a cost? Not just one of each book per school, but one of each book per classroom. Could you?”
Linette shook her head. “That'll be awful expensive.”
“That's why I'm buying through you.” Sara smiled, teased. “You want that big sale or not?”
“For every classroom?” Linette asked, eyes widening in disbelief.
That much business for The Book Nook would ring up a hefty profit they would welcome. Since Buck retired from the military, he became the Courtland Fire Chief. Volunteers staffed several Delta Fire Departments. Buck wasn't getting paid a penny for his full days of work. In some ways, life in the Delta hadn't changed from as far back as Sara could remember.
Chapter 18
The following week, the Aldens held a small reception at the bookstore. A local newsperson attended. Sara stayed away. The Alden's begged her to attend but understood. Linette reported that the computers came from a donor who wished to remain anonymous.
When work at Talbot House was at a standstill, Sara took Choco and Latte for walks along the river or through town to generally expose them to the elements and people along the way. They had great fun together and the pit bulls remained lovable. They were now four months old. Sacramento carpenters had gone on strike. Though it was almost certain the strike would run a short duration, the home of the young couple buying the pups, as well as those in that entire subdivision, sat idle halfway through the framing stage. Sara wondered what might happen if the couple couldn't take the dogs.
The next day, a radio newscaster reported the skeleton found near Stone Lake was confirmed as that of a man, as was first thought. Dental comparisons did not match Orson Talbot's but they were checking through dental charts of other missing persons. If Orson's dental records were already on file, what took them so long to make the announcement? Sara rushed straight over to Esmerelda's place, knowing that she would have a jumble of hopes and dismay to sort out.
Sara bided her time by taking the dogs twice more during the week and kept them overnight. She didn't want to dwell on missing her Yorkie, but the pups filled a void she couldn't describe. She played with them endlessly out in the field. Like Mandy, both lay at her feet while she worked into the night on her computer. They jumped to attention when she stood to stretch or refresh her drink.
Esmerelda benefited too. A lot of tension had left her face. Once when Sara visited, she said, “I went shopping for the first time in ages.” She disappeared into her bedroom and walked out holding up a couple pairs of jeans. That stylish, slightly conservative older woman had actually bought herself some denim.
Each time Sara picked up the pups, Fredrik watched from the window in the door of the patient building. He seemed protective of Esmerelda but always seemed to try not to be seen. Too often, Tripp walked around the property looking busy, but stood and watched from around a corner somewhere until she left. A couple of times, he made an attempt to wave but stopped short when she pretended not to see him. Then, he would stand and stare or sometimes hang his head like a dejected child.
These two men added to Sara's growing paranoia. She found it difficult to shrug off the negativity, especially since the Delta Gazette published a story about another long-time Delta resident who had died at the hospice a few days earlier.
A week before the much-anticipated Saturday class reunion, Sara began feeling nervous. She had not participated in much during high school. Now she was filled with a sense of wanting people to know that she had something to contribute.
Laying wide-awake one night, the house noises were all but forgotten. She contemplated her scheme. She hadn't been in the Delta for thirty years, and now planned an event at the reunion that no one could anticipate. Maybe people might think she was taking over. Had she gone nuts? Had she become that self-absorbed? She left as a shy but curious girl. At least that's the way people described her then. Now her over-confidence might turn people off. “Ha!” she said aloud. She placed her hands behind her head and stared at the ceiling through the dimness. “Do it anyway.” This would be a genuine surprise for her classmates, some of whom she had never spoken with during four years of high school. It was also a celebration for everyone to communicate what had happened in his or her life, and she intended to make a statement about hers.
Chapter 19
Sara parked outside the old recreation hall in Rio Vista. It used to sit on the outskirts, but the town had spread around it. She looked about and sighed heavily.
“Don't worry,” Daphine said. “You'll find enough old friends.”
“It's not that. I was thinking about this dream I keep having.”
“You were holding your breath.”
“Maybe so.” Sara sighed again. She had long ago meant to discuss the dream with Daphine because she trusted her judgment. The dream was beginning to scare her, but now was not the time to reveal it. She looked at herself in a mirror on the sun visor. “It's been years. Do I have a lot of wrinkles?”
“Lighten up,” Daphine said, jumping out. “Let's go.”
Sara recognized only half of the classmates and smiled politely, reminding herself not to expect that people would rush right up to her.
Groups of friends huddled together with drinks, laughing and sharing memories, and updating one another. No one mingled like Sara assumed they might. They stayed within the same circle of friends that they shared in high school. Occasionally one group joined another, but seldom did they cross those invisible boundaries. That was disappointing. Linette and Buck were at separate ends of the room, already mingling. They had attended Courtland High School but made many friends across the Delta and, of course like few others, would be invited to a Rio Vista class reunion. Finally, when a few people looked her way, Sara thought she saw envy and disbelief. Maybe they thought she had a total makeover.
The Delta was farming country, with nearly half of all school classes made up of minorities. Only a few were in attendance and that seemed strange. The Filipino brothers, Luningning and Valeriano Rasay, were present. Neither had ever been bashful, always eager to please. One Hispanic woman stood with friends. Zoki Yoshi, whom Sara learned was now a caterer, wore trendy clothes and his hair remained the same as Sara remembered from their teens. It stuck out in all directions with a cowlick at the right temple. Spiked hair being long in vogue surely saved him the cost of having his hair done.
“Is that Morgana over there in the mini?” Sara asked under her breath. In school, Morgana dressed way more daring than anyone else. Now it looked as if she had taken it to the extreme.
“That skirt is too short for women our age,” Daphine said quietly as she looked in the opposite direction.
“I'll bet her only claim to fame is when she bends over,” Sara said. She remembered that she had not wanted to get caught up in gossip again. “Oops. We're supposed to be looking at the guys, aren't we?”
Photos of classmates hung on a sidewall. Sara laughed out loud when she found her senior picture. How malnourished she looked, with stringy blond hair and a closed smile that hid already-rotting teeth. How out of proportion Daphine looked with eyeglasses too huge for her slender face.
“Thank goodness some of us got better with age,” Daphine said. Sara wondered if everyone understood Daphine's humor.
A separate collage hung nearby. A small caption at the bottom told that these classmates were deceased. A note under the last photo of a girl too young for her heavy makeup stated:
Iana Underhill
Missing since 1994
“Missing?” Sara put her hand over her mouth. “Not Iana?” She could only stand and stare until her nerves quieted.
“Iana, the wild woman of Rio,” a voice said behind her.
Th
at wasn't Daphine's voice. Sara turned. “Caren Olof?” The wealthiest, snobbiest girl in the class, who carried herself like royalty, was smiling and talking to her?
“Caren York now. Remember me?”
Sara felt a rush of warmth to her face. “Yes, of course. Nice to see you again.” It sounded lame. What else could she say to someone who never gave her the time of day?
“Poor Iana,” Caren said. “She was so morally loose.”
“Maybe she went away and left it all behind.”
“More likely, got mixed up with the wrong crowd. Otherwise she'd have kept in touch with her parents.”
“True. She was vocal about everything. They seemed the only people she cherished.”
“And you, Sara, you were so quiet, no one ever got to know you.”
“I-I didn't know—”
“Listen. I heard about your family way back then. It's been a long time, but I want to say how sorry I am.” Caren smiled nervously. “And that you look fabulous despite our years.”
Sara managed to get through the conversation. They hugged and then headed to opposite sides of the room. Sara found Daphine and breathlessly said, “I don't believe it. Caren Olof spoke to me. We hugged!”
“People do change,” Daphine said. She smiled sardonically. “You know who she married, don't you?”
“She said 'York'.” Sara had to think a moment and then she recognized the tall man standing across the room with Caren. “Norwood York? Mr. Justice?”
“You know what he's doing now?” Daphine didn't wait for a reply. “They live in Sacramento. He's soon to become the new Police Commissioner.”
Sara gasped. “The very rich Caren Olof didn't marry a wealthy landowner's son? She married a cop?”
Chapter 20
