Chapter 23
Twenty-Three
MISSED NEARNESS
Forty minutes later, as the band was playing a spot-on rendition of “I’ve Got A Gal In Kalamazoo,” Goldie was slowly walking by and examining each gingerbread house lined up on the tables.
She carried a little pad and pencil that she’d taken out of her purse before she checked it with her overcoat at the coat check.
She really didn’t need to take notes, but it made her look like an official judge.
As she paused and looked at each offering, some contestants stood nearby and watched her anxiously, which made her feel self-conscious.
While she judged, a dressed-up Clara and Stu Frey were also watching her from a distance.
“I’m telling you there’s something off about her,” Clara confided.
“What do you mean?”
“Don’t get me wrong,” Clara qualified. “I like Goldie, okay? But when she first got to town, she didn’t seem to know where she was, or the month, or the year. Then, another time, she came into the store, and I mentioned I’d just been reading about the Sullivan boys. You know who I’m talking about?”
“Sure. The five brothers who went down on the Juneau.”
“She didn’t know that. I mean, she acted like she did. But she didn’t. It was obvious.”
“Not everyone keeps up with the news, Clara,” Stu suggested. “It’s mostly depressing.”
“Yeah, but she’s a journalist,” Clara noted. “She didn’t know that a brass works would make munitions. She didn’t know Mount Elbert was the tallest mountain in the state, yet she’s in Colorado writing for a travel magazine. It’s like—she’s totally disconnected with what’s going on.”
The big man thought for a moment, then queried, “Who’s having the best Christmas season? Sears & Roebuck, Woolworth’s, or Macy’s?”
“What? I-I don’t know that.”
“Gee, Clara,” he smiled. “But you’re a retailer.”
She looked at him and pursed her lips but got the point.
After Goldie had carefully examined all of the entries and made the last of her notes, a woman approached her.
She was blonde and in her mid-fifties. She was naturally attractive, carried a small black patent leather purse with handles, and wore a nice but inexpensive dress with a cardigan draped over her shoulders.
She was naturally attractive, wore little make-up, and looked like someone Goldie had already met, but she couldn’t place
“Miss Maraschino?” she began.
“Call me Goldie.”
“I’m Mary Louise Johnson,” she said, extending a hand. “Eli’s mother. We’re from Brownsville, about eight miles away.”
“Oh, hey!” Goldie smiled, now realizing why she looked familiar. “So nice to meet ya!”
The two women shook hands while the band started to play a somewhat jazzy version of “The First Noel.”
“I just wanted to introduce myself,” she said with a soft voice. “You’ve made quite a positive impression on Eli.”
“Yeah, I bet,” she chuckled. “‘That irritating journalist.’”
“No. Quite the opposite,” the older one assured.
“Really?” she asked, looking around. “Where is our illustrious sheriff?”
“Over there, with his father,” Mary Louise gestured. “They’ve just ordered drinks and are holding down our table so we don’t lose it. Our daughter and her boyfriend are roaming around somewhere as well.”
Goldie spotted Eli in a suit and tie sitting at a table near the kitchen on the other side of the center with an older man also wearing a suit.
She noted he looked a lot like his dad and cleaned up well.
She was tempted to tell Mary Louise how Eli had saved her life with the mountain lion, or how brave he’d been with Horace Mason, but considering his penchant for downplaying things, she decided not to.
“I can’t imagine how I’ve made a positive impression,” she observed. “He’s spent half his time telling me I’m not focused on the job that brought me here, and the other half saying no to areas I want to explore.”
Mary Louise smiled politely. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know he hasn’t spoken to me so enthusiastically about any other young lady except his former girlfriend. That is, until he got a Dear John letter from her while he was in the service. So, you’ve gotten his attention somehow.”
She glanced over towards the sheriff again. “Yeah. What happened there, if you don’t mind me askin’? Eli said somethin’ about a girl when we first met but was pretty vague about it.”
“Lila Hemmings,” Mary Louise replied with an exasperated sigh.
“She was Eli’s first serious love and grew up here.
She was very pretty, and they both were full of high hopes and expectations.
He wanted to be a pilot in the Army Air Corps, and Lila was certainly attracted to the glamor of a pilot and officer.
But Eli failed his math requirement during training.
He became a mechanic and a sergeant instead.
That didn’t sit well with Lila. He was stationed at Pearl Harbor, and almost exactly a year ago, took a round in the leg from a Japanese Zero. ”
“He never told me any of this,” Goldie said, interested.
“No, he wouldn’t,” his mother said, knowingly.
“He was trying to pull a pilot out of a disabled plane at the time.
The pilot was killed, and Eli—well—he was actually very lucky.
He spent a month in a Honolulu hospital bed, then another learning to get around with crutches first, then a cane.
He was given a medal, discharged from the army in March, and came straight back to Sparkledove.
He knew Lila had already moved away by then, but he always liked the town and found a job instead.
He could finally walk without his cane in August. Just a little over three months ago.
“So, Banyan hired him with a cane?” Goldie asked.
Mary Louise nodded. “He really gave him a second chance and a sense of purpose. I’ll always be grateful to the mayor for that.”
“And Lila? What happened to her?”
“Oh,” the sheriff’s mother said, rolling her eyes, “she went out to California with a girlfriend. They went to Hollywood with the intention of meeting and marrying movie stars. She had the audacity to write Eli and tell him she deserved a ‘whole man.’”
“Jesus! That’s terrible,” Goldie gawked.
“Yes, well, selfish, superficial people with immature minds think that way.”
“He’s well rid of the bitch,” Goldie declared.
Eli’s mother was surprised at the word “bitch,” but agreed.
“I think so, too. Anyway, I just wanted to meet you. He turned down one of my pot roast dinners to stay in town and do something with you one night, so I was naturally curious. He loves my pot roast.”
Goldie just smiled, not having the heart to tell her the truth.
Within a minute of Eli’s mother returning to her table, Goldie ran into Father Fitzsimmons, who was carrying his camera with a flash attachment.
“Ay, Padre,” she said. “Gonna shake a leg tonight?”
“Hi, Goldie,” he greeted. “Actually, I’m working. I’m taking table photos for the mayor.”
“Really?”
“I ran into him on the street with my camera, and he asked what I was doing. I told him I was taking pictures for your article, and he asked if I’d like to take photos of people at all their tables and the festivities.
Apparently, it’s a big crowd pleaser. I’m here tonight, then I’ll also be here Sunday afternoon to take orders if people want copies.
I’m sure this isn’t exactly what my bishop had in mind for community involvement, but it gives me the opportunity to meet a lot of people.
And you were right, Mayor Banyan said he’d be happy to make a donation to the church since I’m taking photos for your article. ”
“That’s great! Where is Banyan?” she asked, looking around.
“Over there, by the ticket table, talking to those two men.”
Goldie looked and saw a very dressed-up Charles Banyan conferring with Tully and Crosby, who were decidedly not dressed for the dance. Seeing them together, she got an idea.
“Hey, Father. Without them knowin’ it, can you get me a couple shots of the mayor talkin’ with those two dudes? But be subtle about it.”
The wiry priest looked over at the ticket table. “Still think he’s your evil villain, huh? Did you ever speak with Evie Hines?”
“Yeah. I’m working on things.”
“Tread very carefully, Goldie,” he advised.
“I will. Can you get those pictures? A close-up, and maybe a full-body shot?
The priest gave her an unenthused look but headed toward the ticket table.
Goldie started to weave through the guests, looking for Peter.
She got distracted by chatting with Deke and Chad Miller and their family at one table, then another couple she had met at the Thanksgiving potluck, who wanted to chat.
During this time, Father Fitz successfully took the pictures she requested, and shortly after, Banyan was handed the golden cup trophy for the gingerbread contest. He took it over to the stage, stopped the music, and started his introduction of Goldie.
Caught off guard, she headed to the stage with her pencil and notepad in hand.
She looked truly radiant in her borrowed long black dress as she climbed the four steps to the stage.
The mayor finished his introduction, and she stepped over to a large, square-head microphone while the audience applauded.