Katie smiled and shook her head.
"You're impossible."
"I'm serious though. Why use paper? Paper bags kill trees, kill fingers, and fall apart in the rain. If they weren't good for book covers, they would have no earthly purpose. I think we should demand that Mr. Greer switch to plastic."
"I don't think they have plastic bags," Katie said. "This afternoon I asked a man, out of habit, if he wanted paper or plastic, and he looked at me funny. Pete looked at me funny too."
"Then we'll just have to drag them into the twenty-first century."
Katie laughed again.
"You two are having way too much fun over there," Paula said. She rang up a large order at Checkout 1. "Can I get some help over here?"
"I'll go," Katie said.
"No. Let's both go," Ginny said. "That lady has a lot of stuff. I'll help."
"Thanks."
By the time the twins reached Checkout 1, Paula Benson, the fastest checker in the store, was more than halfway through a full cart of groceries. The courtesy clerks pulled out several of the brown-paper killers and bagged the customer's items without incident.
As the patron pulled a checkbook from her purse and began writing a check, Ginny noted that she was dressed differently than most of the middle-aged women who shopped in Greer's. She wore a business suit and carried herself with unusual confidence. A girl of maybe thirteen or fourteen years stood at her side. At 8:55 p.m., or five minutes before closing time, the two would likely be the last customers of the day.
The woman signed the check, tore it out, and started to hand it to Paula. She pulled it back the second it touched Paula's fingers. The check slipped out of both women's hands and fluttered to the floor, landing near Ginny's feet.
"Darn it!" the woman said. "I forgot to get buttermilk and tomato paste."
"I can get them," Katie said. "Does it matter what kind or what size?"
"No," the customer said. "Anything will do. Thank you."
Katie walked over to Checkout 2, which offered unobstructed access to the food aisles, and stepped through the lane. She headed for the far side of the store and disappeared.
Ginny remembered the check on the floor and lowered herself to retrieve it. When she picked it up and read the names printed on the front side, she became lightheaded and grabbed the end of the checkout counter for support.
"Are you all right?" the lady said.
"I'm fine, ma'am. Thanks for asking."
Ginny stood up straight, sighed, and offered the check to the woman. She became unnerved when the woman stared at her like a curiosity and very unnerved when she maintained that stare.
Ginny was so flustered by the time she put the check in the customer's hands that she had to break off eye contact. Her heart pounded as she turned to Paula.
"The tomato paste is on this end," Ginny said. "I'll go get it."
"OK," Paula said.
Ginny raced through the free lane at Checkout 2 and made a beeline for Aisle 3. When she got to the right section, she grabbed a small can of tomato paste off the shelf and ran through the back of the store to Aisle 12. She reached the aisle just as Katie pulled a pint of buttermilk out of the dairy case and started to walk away.
"Don't go anywhere!" Ginny said.
Katie stopped and turned around.
"What are you doing here?" Katie asked.
"I came to tell you something."
"Tell me later. I have to get the tomato paste."
"I have the tomato paste," Ginny hissed. "It's in my hand. Now listen."
"OK. What is it?"
"When you left, I picked the customer's check off the ground and read the names printed on the front," Ginny said.
"So?"
"The names on the check were Joseph Jorgenson and Virginia Jorgenson. Ring a bell?"
Katie's face turned white.
"That woman is our great-grandmother – and my namesake," Ginny said.
"That means the girl is Grandma Cindy."
"Or Aunt Joan. But I'll bet you a week's pay she's Grandma."
"What should we do?" Katie asked.
"I don't know. I haven't thought that far," Ginny said. "I just sense this is an opportunity. Let's just go back to Checkout 1 and see what happens."
"OK."
The twins walked toward the front of the store. When they reached the end of Checkout 1, they gave the buttermilk and tomato paste to Paula to ring up.
"Do you want to pay for these with cash?" Paula asked the lady.
"No. I'd prefer to write another check, if that's all right."
"It's fine with me."
The woman Ginny now knew as Virginia Gillette Jorgenson, mother of Cynthia Jorgenson and future grandmother of Joel Smith, pulled out her checkbook and repeated the process of paying for her groceries. As she finished signing the second check, she looked up and saw two nineteen-year-old twins stare at her and smile.
"Thank you, girls, for all your running around. I'm practically useless without a shopping list," she said. She handed the check to Paula and turned to face the clerks. "I haven't seen you two before. Are you new to Greer's?"
The girls nodded.
"We started here last week," Ginny said.
"Oh," the lady said. "Do you attend the university?"
"No. We hope to soon though. We just moved here from California and are trying to save enough money to go to school in the fall."
The lady, who looked a lot like Katharine Hepburn and even more like a woman in a photo at Grandpa and Grandma Smith's house, smiled warmly at the sisters.
"That's very commendable. Many young people these days expect their parents to foot their college bills. It's refreshing to see that some still believe in hard work and thrift."
"Thank you, ma'am," Ginny said. "We're doing our best."
The lady took a moment to take a receipt that Paula handed her. When she finished tucking it in her checkbook and returning the checkbook to her purse, she glanced again at the girls.
"My name is Virginia Jorgenson, by the way."
"I'm Ginny Smith, and this is my sister Katie."
"It's a pleasure to meet you ladies," Virginia said.
When the woman extended a hand across the counter, the twins did the same. They smiled warmly and took turns greeting their not-so-dead great-grandmother.
"This is quite a coincidence," Virginia said. "I used to go by Ginny when I was your age. Is your christened name Ginny or Virginia."
"It's Virginia."
Virginia the Elder started to say something but stopped when the girl at her side tugged on her sleeve. She smiled at the teen and put an arm around her shoulder.
"How careless of me," Virginia said as she returned to the clerks. "This is my daughter Cindy."
Hi, Grandma.
Each of the twins gave the girl a small wave.
"Will you need any help taking your groceries to your car?" Paula asked.
"I'd love some assistance."
"Why don't you both help Mrs. Jorgenson?" Paula asked. "I'm ready to close up."
"OK," Ginny said.
Katie nodded.
The clerks followed the customers into a dark parking lot and loaded five bags of groceries into the back of a Ford Fairlane station wagon. Virginia held the door as the girls finished the job and then gave each a dollar – money that would have easily covered the cost of the buttermilk and the tomato paste.
"Thank you for the help," Virginia said.
"Thank you," the twins replied in near unison.
Virginia opened the driver's door, paused for a moment, and then turned to face the courtesy clerks. Cindy had already entered the vehicle.
"I know this is none of my business, but have you girls found acceptable housing in the area?" Virginia asked. "I understand it can be difficult to find during the school year."
"We're staying at the Coed Court, ma'am," Ginny said. "We're renting a room by the week."
Virginia tapped her chin with two fingers and lo
oked at the twins more closely.
"The reason I ask is that my husband and I maintain a duplex near our home, just north of here, and need to fill a vacancy in one of the units. Would you be interested in finding something that's a little more permanent?"
The twins nodded.
"We would," Ginny said. "We definitely would."
"I thought so."
Virginia put a hand in her purse and moved it around like she was fishing for a lottery ticket. A few seconds later, she pulled out a small slip of paper and handed it to Ginny.
"This is my business card. I'm an editor at the Seattle Sun. If you're still interested in looking at the unit when you get up tomorrow, give me a call. I'll see if I can arrange a time to show it to you on Saturday."
"We'd like that," Ginny said.
"Have a nice evening, ladies."
Ginny subtly waved to Virginia Jorgenson as she got in her vehicle, started it, and pulled out of the nearly empty lot for points unknown. When the station wagon rounded a corner and vanished from sight, she took a moment to consider a most remarkable end to her day.
Ginny and her sister had not just made a new friend. They had met a woman their parents had known and befriended in 1941, an icon of the extended Smith family who had been dead and buried, as they understood time, for twenty-five years.
The journey, she concluded, had taken an interesting turn.
CHAPTER 24: KATIE
Friday, May 15, 1964
Mike needed only twenty seconds to spoil the pleasant moment. Sitting across from Katie at a picnic table in the park next to Greer's Grocery, he reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a book of matches and a single cigarette. He put the cigarette in his mouth and lit a match.
"What are you doing?" Katie asked.
"I'm having a smoke," Mike said as he took his first puff.
Katie thought about the matter carefully before speaking. When she finally decided to proceed, she did so cautiously.
"When did you start smoking?"
"When I was fifteen, I think."
"Is that right?"
"I think so," Mike said.
"How come I couldn't tell the other day when I was kissing you?"
"That's because I wasn't smoking then. I just started up again on Tuesday."
"Why would you do that?"
Mike blew out a cloud of smoke, put the cigarette down, and tapped some ashes on the wet grass. He sighed and looked at Katie.
"I've been stressed lately."
"Are you upset over Monday night?"
Mike nodded.
"I thought we had a good thing going, but now I'm not so sure. It's like you put the brakes on us or something," he said. "It's been eating at me."
Katie understood his confusion and pessimism. She hadn't yet given him an answer about going out over the weekend or even going out again. She had wanted to take as much time as possible before jumping into a relationship she knew would have to end.
"I've been thinking a lot about it too," Katie said. "I do want to see you again, but I'm not sure I want to be more than friends."
"Why?"
"There are a lot of reasons, including a big one."
"What's that?" Mike asked.
"I'm not sure Ginny and I will be here past the summer."
"Is that so?"
Katie nodded.
"We've already discussed going back to California."
Katie made a mental note to add that whopper to her resume at the first opportunity. If there was one thing she disliked about living in the past, it was lying to people on a daily basis.
"I thought you came up here to get away from California."
"We did," Katie said.
"Then why would you go back?"
"We miss our family."
Katie congratulated herself for deftly handling a delicate matter. Then she berated herself for going too far. When she looked at Mike, she saw a crestfallen young man. Deciding to change course, she cocked her head, smiled sweetly, and looked at Mike until he finally met her gaze.
"Mike?"
"What?"
"That doesn't mean I want to stop seeing you," Katie said.
"Does it really matter?"
She put a hand on his.
"Of course it matters. Just because I might leave at the end of the summer doesn't mean we can't enjoy the next few months."
Mike stared at Katie for a moment as if trying to decide whether she was still worth it. When he was done, he smiled and shook his head.
"What the hell," he said. "Being friends with you still beats dating anyone else."
Katie tightened her hold on his free hand.
"There is one thing though."
"What's that?"
"If we spend more time together, I'm going to insist that you give up smoking."
"Why?" Mike asked.
"Because I'm allergic to the smoke. I also care about you and know that cigarettes are not good for you."
"Who told you that?"
Katie smiled. She was tempted to say the Surgeon General of the United States, who had concluded in a report just four months earlier that lung cancer and chronic bronchitis were causally related to cigarette smoking, but she knew that answer would fall on deaf ears.
"A little birdie told me the other day that it might be harmful to your social life," Katie said. She smiled, leaned across the table, and kissed him on the cheek. "If I were you, I wouldn't second-guess little birdies."
Mike chuckled. He looked at his cigarette, snuffed it out on the end of the table, and tossed it in a nearby garbage can.
"I guess I'm not as stressed as I thought."
"Thank you," Katie said.
She started to bring up the previously sore subject of the weekend but stopped when she saw Ginny approach with James. The two had each just finished a ten-to-four shift.
"I do hope we're not interrupting anything," Ginny said in a playful voice.
Katie smiled and stared hard at her sister.
"You never do," she said. "Take a seat."
Katie slid over to make room for Ginny and watched Mike do the same for James. When the late arrivals settled in, she glanced at James.
"You look tired."
"I am," James said. "The last hour was nuts."
"What do you mean?" Katie asked.
"I mean a hundred people came through the door. They all wanted the same things too: beer, pop, potato chips, and ice cream. We ran out of vanilla ice cream at three thirty. Who runs out of vanilla ice cream in May? This isn't the Fourth of July."
Katie laughed.
"It's the weekend," Mike said. "People are stocking up for the weekend."
"Well, next time they should stock up on toilet paper. We've got plenty of that," James said.
Ginny smiled at James.
"Why don't you tell them what really made your day?" Ginny asked.
James shook his head.
"No. It's too close to dinnertime."
"OK. Now you have my attention," Mike said.
"Oh, jeez, now look what you started, Ginny."
"Did you have to clean up a spill," Katie said.
James sighed.
"You might say that."
"A kid blew chunks in Aisle 5," Ginny said.
"No. That's not right," James said. "He blew chunks on Aisle 5. He barfed on all the cans of cream of chicken soup. How sick is that? I had to take all the cans outside and wash them off."
Mike put a hand on James' shoulder.
"You call me the next time that happens, buddy. I'll be sure to bring a camera."
"If that happens again, I'm going to bring you a mop," James said.
"It must have been awful," Katie said.
"The customers thought so," James said. "They scattered like rats. None of them came back either. Can't say I blame them. I wouldn't eat cream of anything after that."
Mike and Ginny laughed.
Katie laughed too. She liked James' sense of humor and easy manner. Sh
e also liked how he interacted with her sister and how she interacted with him. She couldn't remember the last boy friend Ginny had had. Each new guy in her life had been a conquest in waiting.
When James was done detailing the horrors of his last hour, Katie decided to seize on the good vibes around the table. The four friends had not yet done anything as a group. Maybe it was time for that to change.
"Are we done talking about projectile vomit and cream of chicken soup?" Katie asked.
"I think so," James said.
"I don't know about you two, but I'd like to hear more," Ginny said. "I only heard the kid barf. I didn't actually see the flying chunks. Did they scatter or splatter, James?"
"Ginny!" Katie said.
"OK. OK."
Ginny folded her arms and stared at Katie as if she had just undercut a glorious opportunity to impress an audience of men. Ginny was the one who did the interrupting in the family.
"I suppose you have something important to say."
"I do," Katie said. "I'd like to know what each of you thinks about going to a movie tonight. Dr. Strangelove is playing at the Phoenician."
Katie laughed to herself as Mike sat up straight. She had his attention anyway.
"Are you suggesting a date, Miss Smith?" Mike asked.
"I'm suggesting a date," Katie said as she smiled sweetly.
"Do I have to behave myself?"
"You do."
Mike rubbed his chin.
"Do I have to pay for my date?"
"You do!"
Katie gazed at Mike and brightened when she saw the sparkle return to his eyes. She'd had him at "date." Boys were so easy.
"OK," Mike said. "I can do that."
Katie laughed.
"I knew you could," Katie said. She shifted her attention. "What about you, James?"
"I'd love to see a movie," he said. "It's been months."
Katie nodded and turned to Ginny. She expected another affirmative answer but knew she wouldn't get one the second she saw a hot glare.
"Gin?"
"You know I can't, Katie. I told you this morning I had plans."
Katie's heart sank as a tidbit she'd forgotten came rushing back.
Ginny looked at James with apologetic eyes.
"I'm going out with Steve," she said.
"So we'll go tomorrow night instead," Katie said, jumping back in.
The Mirror (Northwest Passage Book 5) Page 11