by Fannie Flagg
“And we’re so glad you are here. When Fritzi told us about you, we were all just dying to meet you, but she didn’t tell us how much you look like your mother,” Angie said. “Oh, Sarah Jane, I wish you could have known her. She was so pretty.”
“And she was twice as sweet,” said Tula.
As they sat and ate, they told Sookie all about what it was like when the station had been up and running. Tula said, “I know it’s hard for you to believe now, Sarah Jane, but God, this place used to be so busy. The house was right on that lot over there, and all you would hear day and night was ding, ding, ding … people in and out. Momma said no wonder we were all a little ding-y. That’s all we heard.”
Angie said, “I’ll tell you something else you wouldn’t believe. Gertrude and Tula used to fit into the cutest little roller-skating outfits, and what a show. They would come flying out of that station, and boy oh boy, they would whip around those cars so fast, those poor customers didn’t know what hit them.”
Gertrude laughed. “That’s true. We were pretty fast.”
All afternoon, Sookie heard the most vivid and wonderful stories about what those war years had been like, the dances and the kissing booth, and how all the boys used to hang around. Sookie said, “Oh, it sounds like it must have been wonderful fun.”
“Oh, it was,” said Tula. “I never knew how much until it was over. But you know, life goes on. Then the boys came back home, and after that, it was a whole different life.”
Later, as she and Fritzi were driving away, Sookie turned around and took one last look at the old station, and just for a split second, she could have sworn that she heard a bell dinging, and she saw the station as it used to be, with all the girls moving around happy and busy, young and pretty again.
THE NEXT MORNING, BEFORE they left for the airport, Fritzi drove her by the church and the school that her mother and all the family had attended. It was so strange for Sookie to think that she might have been brought up here and gone to that same school. Then they went to the cemetery, and she saw her mother’s grave. And she saw those of all the other Jurdabralinskis she never knew.
WHEN THEY SAID GOOD-BYES at the airport, Sookie said, “Fritzi, you will never know how much this trip meant to me.”
“Well, I wanted you to see where you came from and know that you had a family. Hell, you still do. You’ve always got me, kid, and don’t you ever forget it.”
“No, I never will.”
WHAT?
POINT CLEAR, ALABAMA
SOOKIE HAD JUST COME HOME FROM HER PULASKI TRIP AND WAS looking forward to a nice long rest when the phone rang. It was Carter.
“Hi, darling, how are you?”
“Fine, Mom. Is Daddy home?”
“No, honey.”
“Well, good, because I really wanted to tell you first. Are you sitting down?”
Oh, Lord, she hated when people said that. “No, but should I? Is it bad news?”
“No, it’s good news, I hope.”
“What?”
“Well, you know how you always said that someday I would meet the One?”
“Yes?”
“Well, I have.”
“Oh, honey, how wonderful!”
“Yes, it is, and the thing is, we’re getting married, and I want you and Daddy to come.”
“Well, of course. Oh, my God, I can’t believe it. Do we know her? What’s her name?”
There was a long pause. “That’s just it. Mom, his name is David.”
“What?”
“I know this must come as a terrible shock to you, but I wanted you to know.”
“Your friend David? The one you brought home that time?”
“Yes. I didn’t tell you about it before, because I didn’t want to upset you.” Sookie sat there preparing to faint at any moment. “And it’s not just a spur-of-the-moment thing. We’ve been together for quite a while, and you liked him, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, he was a perfectly nice person, but …”
At that moment, Earle walked in the door accompanied by a large black-and-white Harlequin Great Dane, who proceeded to leap up on her good Baker sofa, walk across her lap, and jump over the other side, with Earle looking at him with eyes of love. “Isn’t he wonderful, honey? He’s a rescue dog, and his name is Rufus,” he called out over his shoulder as he followed Rufus, who went galloping through the dining room, knocking over one of her mother’s good Queen Anne chairs, headed for the kitchen area.
“Mother, are you still there? I am so sorry to tell you over the phone. I should have come home and told you in person. Are you just terribly shocked?”
Sookie sat there, phone in hand, and thought for a moment. She took a deep breath and realized that, to her amazement, she was not shocked.
“No, honey. I’m surprised, of course. But I’ve had so many shocks in the last few years, I can honestly say that nothing shocks me too much anymore. And if you are happy, then I’m happy.”
“Oh, Mother, you are the very best. Could you tell Dad? I just hope he understands and won’t be too upset.”
After she hung up, she sat there in a daze. She heard the back door slam and saw Earle wave at her as he and the dog ran by the front window, off to romp and play in the yard. She would have to tell Earle about Carter, and that would certainly not be easy, but she knew he would come around eventually. The girls would not be a problem. They adored Carter. Then a terrible thought hit her. She liked to think of herself as a modern and accepting woman. She had watched Oprah and read articles about these things, but she had absolutely no idea about protocol. When it’s two grooms getting married, just who pays for the wedding, and most important to her, just who is considered the official mother of the bride? Oh, God. She suddenly wished Winged Victory was here. She would have known exactly what to do. Oh, well, onward and upward, and next year, on to Poland to see the family home. As she sat fingering Lenore’s pearls, watching Earle throw a ball for Rufus, she had to admit, he certainly was a pretty dog.
EPILOGUE
FROM THE GREENHOUSE
2014
SOOKIE HAD TO LAUGH. IT WAS IRONIC. AFTER ALL OF HER WORRYING, she had just turned seventy, and she still had all her marbles. Now and then, she had a few little aches and pains, but as Earle had said to her that morning, “Honey, the good news about hitting seventy is at least you know you didn’t die young.”
No, she had not died young, and that was good, because she now had five darling grandchildren she was busy spoiling and Rufus the Great Dane and her birds.
After Lenore and Fritzi died, Sookie had experienced some moments of regret, wondering about how different things might have been and who she might have become if she had known the truth about herself earlier.
But now, after all these past years, sitting in her greenhouse, trying to figure out all the reasons, whys, and wherefores of life, she had finally come to a conclusion: No matter how crazy her life had been, she was exactly the person she was always meant to be and living exactly where she belonged.
Now, as to whether or not her theory was true really didn’t matter to Sookie. All that mattered was that she was happy. And yes, she was still decorating Great-Grandfather Simmons’s grave every Memorial Day. She knew it was probably silly, but it was the least she could do for Lenore.
As for her real mother, the one she’d never had a chance to know, some sixty years after the WASPs were disbanded, something wonderful happened. And today Sookie’s most precious possession, now proudly displayed over the mantel in the living room, was the framed Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Sophie Marie Jurdabralinski for service to her country.
For Sam Vaughan
This book was written in loving memory of Nancy Batson Crews, Teresa James, Elizabeth Sharp, and B. J. Erickson and all the other WASPs who came to the aid of their country in a time of need.
And also with my very special thanks to the four fabulous women, Joni Evans, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, Kate Medina, and Gina Centrello,
who made this book possible.
—Fannie Flagg
BY FANNIE FLAGG
The All-Girl Filling Station’s Last Reunion
I Still Dream About You
Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven
A Redbird Christmas
Standing in the Rainbow
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!
Fannie Flagg’s Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook
Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe
Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man
(originally published as Coming Attractions)
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
FANNIE FLAGG is a bestselling author and has been an actress, TV producer, speaker, and performer. Her book Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe became a major bestseller, as well as a heart-winning major motion picture. Flagg’s script for the film was nominated for an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award, and won the highly regarded Scripter Award. Other bestselling novels include Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!; Standing in the Rainbow; A Redbird Christmas; Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven; and I Still Dream About You. In 2012, Fannie Flagg was the recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Alabama’s Distinguished Writer of the Year. She lives in California and Alabama.