by Betsy Haynes
CHAPTER 15
Katie couldn't believe what she was seeing either as she stood inside the entrance to Mama Mia's with Jana, Beth, and the other girls who had just come from the Wakeman gym. Laura McCall, the rest of The Fantastic Foursome, and a sprinkling of girls who had gone to Riverfield Elementary were sitting in booths and at tables with boys from Wakeman.
As they stood frozen in the doorway, the kids inside began noticing them, and looks of surprise spread over the boys' faces. Richie Corrierro moved quickly away from Elizabeth Harvey, and Bill Soliday almost dropped Tammy Lucero on the floor. Randy Kirwan looked at Jana and then, frowning, back at Laura, who was sitting across the table from him. Laura smiled an icky-sweet smile and put one hand on Randy's in the center of the table. The other twitched the end of her long braid.
Katie could almost see the steam rising from under Jana's collar. Jana whipped around and stormed out through the crowd. The last thing she did was give Katie an angry look. Katie stood openmouthed as the other girls followed her.
Standing alone in the doorway, Katie looked at Laura, whose smile broadened. The others watched, not saying anything. Tony, whom she hadn't noticed before, looked up from the table where he was sitting with Matt Zeboski and Melinda Thaler. As he looked back at her, his eyebrows creased together in a frown.
Katie stared back at him for a moment before turning and slowly walking out of the pizzeria.
Katie stayed in bed until ten o'clock Sunday morning. She couldn't get up and face the world. She resented the bright spring sunshine and the sounds of birds chirping that came through her window.
There was scratching at her door, and then it popped open just wide enough for Libber to slide through. The yellow cat jumped up on the bed and walked up Katie's legs to say good morning.
"Oh, Libber." Katie rubbed her hand down the cat's back. "What am I going to do? I've ruined everything. I let Laura McCall trick me into getting all the girls to join the girls' club so she and her friends could be with the boys, and now everyone is mad at me, including Jana and Beth. Maybe even Christie and Melanie, for all I know. No one will go to the girls' club again. Mr. Bell won't let us have a women's history class. And Tony's through with me. That's it. There's not one more thing that can go wrong."
There was a knock at her door. "Katie. Can I come in?" her mother asked.
"I guess so," said Katie dejectedly.
"You look sad. Maybe I can cheer you up," said Willie brightly. "While you were sleeping, Gwyneth Plum called. Gwyneth Plum Rawls, I should say. She came home early and called her son, and he told her about you. She wants to meet you."
Katie's spirits soared and then they sank again. She had been hoping that Gwyneth could tell her about how she handled her problems, and Katie would know what to do about her own, but it was too late. The only way she could solve her problems was to stay in bed the rest of her life.
"I thought for sure you'd be excited," said Willie. "Mark's coming over in a little while. Why don't you take a shower and have some breakfast, and we'll take you over to see her. I'm dying to meet her myself, even if you're not. I still want to do that story about her."
Katie was surprised when Mr. Dracovitch pulled up in a gleaming, remodeled 1957 Thunderbird convertible. "It's one of my passions," he explained as they climbed in. "I love old cars."
Katie looked at him questioningly. He drove a big, black four-door sedan to school every day. It looked like something a funeral home director would drive. Was that also part of his act to make kids think maybe he was a vampire?
They pulled up in front of a large brick house with a huge yard with lots of trees and big bushes that were starting to show little red, pink, and white blossoms. Katie followed her mother and Mr. Dracovitch up the walk, carrying the time capsule under her arm.
A tall, elegant-looking older woman opened the door. Katie immediately recognized her. She was finally face-to-face with Gwyneth Plum.
Katie and Gwyneth sat alone in a glassed-in sun porch at the rear of the house. She could see Willie and Mr. Dracovitch walking out on the lawn.
"Well, my dear," said Gwyneth, picking up the pictures from the capsule and looking at them. "I'm so glad you're the one who found my time capsule. Now that you've read the journal I left in it, tell me how it's different to be thirteen today."
"Well, one thing that's different"—Katie couldn't help but giggle—"we don't have to wear long underwear to school in the wintertime."
Gwyneth laughed. "That is a blessing. Oh, I still remember how badly I itched when I sat next to that hot, potbellied stove."
Katie loved hearing the older woman's laughter. In fact, she couldn't help but like everything about Gwyneth. It was as if Gwyneth were wearing a Halloween costume and there was a girl inside whom Katie had known for a long time. The young girl in her showed through the wrinkles, and Katie felt as if she were with a friend.
"Another thing that's different," Katie continued. "We can take any class we want to, not like when you were in school and couldn't take manual shop. What was manual shop, anyway? Is that like machine shop?"
"Sort of," answered Gwyneth. "Only we didn't have as many machines as there are nowadays. Mostly the boys learned to make furniture and other things with their hands. I wanted to take it as a matter of principle. I thought there was no reason a girl shouldn't be able to make things out of wood if she wanted to."
"I started a girls' club like your GRIT," said Katie. "Only, it didn't turn out so well. And now all the girls are mad at me," she said, looking at her hands in her lap.
"Tell me about it," said the kindly lady, and Katie did.
After listening to Katie's story, Gwyneth said, "Don't take all the blame for what happened. It sounds as if it would have worked out beautifully if this Laura McCall hadn't pulled her dirty trick. Had you thought about calling your friends and telling them you're sorry about what happened?"
"I don't think they'll speak to me," said Katie, tears filling her eyes.
Gwyneth patted Katie on the leg. "Now, now, my dear. Don't judge them until you've talked to them. I bet they were just hurt. If they're really as good friends as you think, they'll understand."
Gwyneth smiled to herself, as if remembering something. "You remind me a lot of myself at your age, Katie. I felt so strongly about everything, and I knew I understood right from wrong. What I found out about myself was that I couldn't see things through other people's eyes. When I learned a little more about how to do that, I discovered there are lots of ways of accomplishing what I believed in. I discovered that people would help me if I approached them in the right way. I didn't have to hit them over the head every time. Only now and then," she added with a little grin.
"Is that what happened between you and Tommy?" asked Katie. "You learned to understand him?"
Gwyneth looked at a table standing against the wall that was filled with pictures in old-fashioned frames. The one in the very middle was of a young woman in a wedding gown with a man in a tuxedo next to her. They were obviously Gwyneth and Tommy. "I finally decided to sit down with Tommy and explain very seriously how I felt. He listened, and his views about females gradually changed. But I also found that he wasn't as insensitive as I had thought. We both learned to understand each other. After we were married, he helped me get through medical school. He passed away three years ago."
"I'm sorry," said Katie. She wished Gwyneth hadn't told her that. It was so sad. "But you did finally go to medical school?"
"Oh, yes. I retired quite a while ago. My son, Ronald, took over my practice. He followed in his mother's footsteps, you might say." Gwyneth smiled sweetly. "We had a wonderful life together. We had three children: Ronald, Rachel, who's an attorney in Washington, D.C., and Lillie, who's a pediatrician in St. Louis. You see, things have changed a lot since I was a girl."
"But where was Tommy when you lived with your mother on Lincoln Street? Your marriage license says you were married before then."
Gwyneth gave Katie a sha
rp glance. "My, you have done your homework. Tom and I were married just before the Depression, and like many people during those times, he had to go where the jobs were. He went to California and picked vegetables and sent all the money he earned back home. He returned not long after we moved from the Lincoln Street address."
Katie looked hesitantly at Gwyneth. "Did he . . . Tommy . . . hold doors open for you?"
Gwyneth looked at her curiously. "Well, yes. I hadn't really thought of it, but I guess he did. It was his way of showing respect for me. I tried to show my respect for him, too. There were times when he wanted to be alone with his books, and I let him. That's what caring for someone is all about, isn't it?"
Katie looked out the window. Her mother and Mr. Dracovitch were heading back toward the house.
"What about your father? Did he come back from the war okay?" asked Katie.
Gwyneth took the little porcelain doll from the time capsule and looked at it lovingly. "No," she said, "he didn't. It was very hard on my mother. She loved him so much. We both loved him." There was mist in her eyes.
The door opened and Willie and Mr. Dracovitch entered the room.
"I've loved meeting you, Katie," said Gwyneth. "Would you like to keep the time capsule?"
The question surprised Katie. "You don't want it back?"
Gwyneth smiled. "No. I meant for you or someone else to find it. Keep it if you'd like."
Katie nodded. "Just one more question. . . . Was there ever another Cho Cho?"
"Cho Cho, the monkey?" Gwyneth declared, hooting with laughter. "I'd almost forgotten about him. No, my dear, just as there was never another Tommy, there was never another Cho Cho. We can only expect so many good things out of life, can't we?"
Katie gave Gwyneth a hug, then turned away so the older woman wouldn't see the tears welling up in her eyes. Meeting Gwyneth Plum was one of the best things that had ever happened in Katie's life.
CHAPTER 16
Later that afternoon, Katie sat with her hand on the telephone, trying to decide what she would say. What if Jana and the other members of The Fabulous Five were so mad they wouldn't talk to her? She remembered what Gwyneth had said: If they were truly her friends, they would forgive her. Still, it was scary.
Katie took a deep breath and punched in Jana's number.
"Hello." Jana's voice sounded cheerful.
"Hi," said Katie softly. "It's me, Katie."
"Oh, Katie! I'm glad you called. Guess what! I just hung up with Alexis and she said that Bill Soliday called her right after she got home last night. He said he was sorry Tammy Lucero sat on his lap. He didn't want her to, she just plopped down on him." Jana giggled. "Alexis said he was absolutely apologizing to her all over the place and asked her to go to the movies with him on Friday. She thinks it was because she finally really got angry at him, and he knew it. She tried to call you this morning to tell you, but no one answered."
Katie held the receiver with her mouth open, not knowing what to say.
"And Katie, I tried to call you, too." Jana's voice softened. "I don't know if you realized it, but I kind of got mad at you last night. I should have known better. It was obvious that Laura had set the whole thing up, and Randy got caught in her trick just like we did." Katie noticed Jana's emphasis on the word we. "I want you to know I'm sorry. Forgive me?"
Tears flooded Katie's eyes. "There's no need to forgive a friend," she said. "But thanks, Jana."
An hour later Katie was still sitting by the telephone, but now she was smiling to herself. She had called Beth, who had talked to Keith, and everything was okay between them, too. Christie had talked to Lisa Snow, who said she was glad to find out just what Richie Corrierro was really like, and even if he groveled in front of her, she would never go out with him. Lisa also realized that Laura had been behind the whole thing and didn't blame Katie. She said that none of the girls she had talked to did. And, best of all, the boys were changing their computer club meetings to Saturday mornings so they could be with the girls on Friday nights.
Melanie acted as if nothing at all had happened and only wanted to talk about the three pounds she had lost doing aerobics. She couldn't wait for Scott, Shane, and Garrett Boldt to see the new her.
The doorbell sounded, and Katie stretched lazily. It was probably Mr. Dracovitch for Willie again. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and it would be just like him to want to take her mother on a picnic. Katie chuckled to herself. Maybe she should go along as a chaperone. He might have a basketful of bat-wing sandwiches and eyeball olives.
"Katie! It's for you," Willie called.
Tony was standing in the foyer. Katie's knees almost buckled when she saw him. "Yo, Your Honor," he said with a little sideways smile.
"Hi."
"I wondered if we could talk," he said.
Katie looked into his dark eyes and nodded. "Let's go outside."
He sat on the top step, and Katie sat beside him. The spring sun felt warm on her face.
Tony rubbed his thighs with the heels of his hands as he searched for words. "I've been thinking. I don't like our being mad at each other, and I guess I should have said something to you before I joined the computer club. I, uh . . . I'm sorry."
Katie slipped her arm through his. "I've been thinking, too. I was hurt that you wanted to play computer games with the guys more than you wanted to be with me. She grinned ruefully. "Especially after I'd bragged to my friends that you would never treat women unfairly. Now, I know that you weren't being sexist or anything. It's just that there are times when you should be with the guys just like I want to be with my friends." She looked up at him and smiled teasingly. "But does it have to be on Friday night?"
Tony grinned at her. "No. Never again on Friday night."
Katie squeezed his arm and he squeezed back.
The next morning, Katie went to the administration office before classes started.
"Oh, hello, Katie," said Miss Simone. "If you can wait a minute, Mr. Bell would like to see you." She stuck her head in the principal's office and turned back to Katie. "He'll see you right now."
"Sit down, Katie," said Mr. Bell. Katie slid into the chair across from him.
"This petition of yours. I'm impressed with the number of names you've gotten, and I might say"—he looked at Miss Simone—"you certainly have a friend in the king's court. I don't know if you understand how difficult it is to add a class to the curriculum. It takes approval of the school board, teachers have to be trained, it requires a classroom, and new textbooks have to be bought."
Katie sank in her chair. She could hear the bad news coming.
"I have a suggestion. What if, rather than adding a new class, we made some changes to the Family Living class to include information on the role of women in history and on equal rights? Would that meet your expectations?"
Katie was thrilled. It was what Christie had suggested, and in her push to get the petition signed, start the girls' club, and her problems with Tony, she had let the idea slip out of her mind. It was almost as good as a whole class. It would work. She tried to keep her composure when she answered. "That would be fine, sir."
"Understand, now," continued Mr. Bell, "I still have to get approvals, teachers' guides have to be developed, and so forth. At best we'll be able to start it next semester."
Katie practically skipped out of his office after they had finished talking.
"Are you going to take all day, Katie?" asked Melanie. The Fabulous Five were congregated in Katie's bedroom. Katie was sitting at her table writing, and Melanie, Christie, Beth, and Jana were sitting in a circle on the floor with a square plastic container in the center. Its lid was on the floor next to it.
"Just a minute," answered Katie. "I'm almost through."
"I'll probably die next week because I put my favorite earrings in," said Beth. "Can I dig them up if I find something I want to wear them with?"
"No, dummy," said Christie. "When you put something in a time capsule, it's for keeps." Beth made a
sour face.
"Okay, I'm ready," Katie said as she scribbled a final sentence on the bottom of the page. She stapled the sheets together. "Let's go."
The Fabulous Five gathered around a large hole under the tall tree in the backyard.
"I hope some boy finds our time capsule and likes the picture of me I put in," said Melanie. "Maybe he'll come looking for me, like Katie did for Gwyneth."
"You might be old enough to be his grandmother," said Jana.
"So what?" Melanie said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Let's see, we put in The Fabulous Five T-shirt we had made," said Christie. "Is there anything we've forgotten?"
"Katie hasn't put her stuff in yet," said Beth.
Katie took the notebook from Gwyneth's time capsule and put it in a brown envelope. Next she looked at the papers on which she had written her own story about the last few days. In it she had told about wanting to start the women's history class and the girls' club and the problems she had had with Tony. She had also told about how everything had worked out and how she had learned that people need to talk when they have problems and even if you like someone very much, you still need to be an individual. Katie glanced at the last line she had written. It said:
Pass it on.
As she put the envelope in the plastic container, she looked at her best friends. "I hope a thirteen-year-old girl finds our capsule," Katie said. Gwyneth Plum's time capsule had certainly changed her life. It sent shivers up Katie's spine to think that Gwyneth's and her own experiences might help another girl in the future.
CHAPTER 17
Bumpers was filled with the usual after-school crowd. Laura McCall, Tammy Lucero, Mellisa McConnell, and Funny Hawthorne were sitting with Elizabeth Harvey and Heather Clark at two tables they had pushed together.
"That's interesting," said Laura half to herself.
"What's interesting?" asked Melissa, glancing quickly around the room.