The Flyboy’s Girl_A Photographs Novella Read online

  Mark planned the perfect evening. Starting with dinner at Mon Véritable Amour, a French restaurant with a wait list that spans months. As part of the surprise, Mark had preordered our menu. Once the maître d showed us to our table, our waiter arrives with a bottle of champagne. Pouring us each a glass of the crisp bubbly, while detailing each course of our meal, he wishes us a happy anniversary, before he places the bottle in an ice bucket next to the table and turns toward the kitchen to check on our meal.

  Raising his glass Mark began, “Happy anniversary Natalie. I can’t imagine the last twenty years without you in my life.” Touching his glass to mine, we both sip our champagne, before

  The meal consisted of a wonderfully light cheese soufflé, beef bourguignon so rich and full of flavor with roasted vegetables, and a classic crème brulee for dessert.

  After dinner, we spent the evening at the performing arts center, enjoying a rare performance of the only symphony composed by César Franck.

  At the end of the evening, as we wait for the valet to retrieve our car, Mark asks, “Did you enjoy the evening?”

  Looking up at him, the glow of the streetlights making his blue eyes sparkle, I smile and reply, “Yes, I did. Thank you for an amazing night. There’s no one else I would have rather spent the last nineteen years with.”

  “Me either,” he says as he strokes my cheek. “I love you Natalie, now and always,” he whispers just before he kisses me.

  The sound of a car door interrupts our moment as the valet arrives with the car. Assisting me inside and closing the door, Mark tips the valet and climbs inside turning the car toward home.

  * * *

  Arriving home, Mark clicks the garage door opener and pulls the car inside before turning off the ignition. We walk hand in hand to the door, inserting the key and turning the lock, Mark ushers me inside before locking the door for the night. The house is quiet as we walk from the kitchen to the foyer, but the lights are still on, alerting us that the girls are still awake. “Girls, we’re home!” I call as I return my wrap to the hall closet.

  Confusion appears on Mark’s face as he checks the game room and then the living room. “They’re not there,” he says looking slightly worried.

  “They’re probably in one of their bedrooms with earbuds in and didn’t hear us come in,” I say as we head upstairs in search of the girls. “Zoey? Alana? We’re home!” I call as we reach the second floor.

  Nothing.

  Checking both of their bedrooms, we find them empty as well.

  As panic starts to build, Mark’s voice booms through the second floor as he calls out one more time, “Zoey, Alana, where are you?”

  “Up here!” Alana replies finally hearing us call for them.

  Breathing a sigh of relief, Mark and I look at each still confused but greatly relieved. “In the attic,” Zoey clarifies.

  Making our way up the stairs and into the attic, we find our daughters sitting on the floor, various items strewn around them. “There you are, you girls almost scared us to death when we couldn’t find you,” I chide as we step further into the attic.

  “Sorry,” Zoey grimaces, “we didn’t hear you come in from up here.”

  Looking around, Mark asks, “What are you two doing up here anyway?”

  “Alana and I were discussing her dress when I remembered seeing a box of patterns up here when we got the fall decorations down. So, we came up here to see if we could use any of them for her dress.”

  “That’s a great idea,” I reply. “Your Grandma would love that you are using them. But what’s with all this over stuff?”

  “While we were looking for the patterns, we found this old box of photos,” Alana says as she holds up the box.

  “I don’t remember ever seeing this one, do you Mark?”

  “No, must be one of your parents’ that they left behind.”

  “I don’t know who this is,” Zoey says looking at one of the old photos, “but she was beautiful. She kind of looks like you Mom,” she says handing me the picture.

  Taking the picture from her, I look closely at it with Mark looking on over my shoulder. “There is a family resemblance,” he says as I flip the picture over.

  Seeing the date on the back, October 1941, it dawns on me who it is, “It’s Grandma Ruby.”

  “Really? She’s beautiful. No wonder the girls thought you looked alike.” Mark says as he kisses my cheek, making me smile. “October 1941, that would have been a few months before the United States declared war on Japan and joined in World War II.”

  “Oh yeah,” Zoey says. “We studied that last year in my American History class. The attack on Pearl Harbor is what launched the United States involvement in World War II.”

  “That’s right, Zoe,” Mark says. “Nat, did you have relatives involved in the war?”

  “My Great-Grandfather was in the Navy and I think both of Grandma Ruby’s brothers fought in it.”

  “Who’s this with her in the picture Mom?” Handing me the picture, Alana asks, “Is that Grandpa Calvin?”

  Looking at the picture, I say with both certainty and confusion in my voice, “No, that’s definitely not Grandpa Calvin.”

  “Then who could it be?”

  “I don’t know, but I know how we can find out.”

  Excited at the thought of solving this mystery, they ask in unison, “How?”

  “We’ll go to the source.”

  Chapter Three

  Pulling into the gated retirement community of Sunny Meadows, I maneuver the car down the winding road toward the assisted living facility. What started out as a typical retirement community, Sunny Meadows has grown into a premiere community with multiple levels of care for its residents.

  In addition to the housing development, there’s a full-service care facility and an assisted living complex that gives residents freedom, while also providing peace of mind to loved ones by having staff members check on them on a regular basis.

  That’s where Grandma Ruby resides. She and Grandpa were among the first residents in the Sunny Meadows community. When Grandpa passed away, Grandma moved into one of the deluxe suites in the assisted living facility. At ninety-four, Grandma Ruby is as socially active as I am, and sharp as a tack.

  Pulling into a parking space, I put the car in park. As the girls and I walk toward the entrance, I turn to them. “Grandma Ruby is going to be so excited to see you two. I think this is the first time since summer break that you’ve been able to visit with me.”

  Walking into the lobby, Eve, one of the receptionist greets us. “Hi Natalie. We weren’t expecting you today.”

  “Hi Eve. No, this one was a spur of the moment visit.” Gesturing toward the tin Zoey is carrying, I explain the reason for our visit. “The girls found a box of photos in the attic, and we were hoping Grandma Ruby could tell us about them.”

  “Oh, what I wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall to hear her stories,” Eve says. “She’s the most entertaining resident we have.”

  Laughing I reply, “I’m sure she is. You wouldn’t happen to know if Grandma Ruby is in her room, would you?”

  “On a beautiful day like today? No, she’s in the courtyard, giving the gardener tips on how to care for the roses.” She smirks.

  “Oh no, poor thing,” I say with a laugh. “Maybe there’s still time to rescue him, come on girls. See you later Eve.”

  “Enjoy your visit,” she calls as we start toward the courtyard.

  I can’t help but laugh as the girls and I step outside into the courtyard to find Grandma Ruby explaining that the dead blooms need to be pinched off and not cut.

  “Wait here girls,” I instruct as I walk over to let Grandma know we’re here. “Grandma Ruby, are you giving this nice young man a hard time?”

  Turning to see who dares to challenge her, her face lights up with a smile. “Natalie Jean, you know better than that. I’m just trying to impart some of my old lady wisdom before he kills these beautiful roses,” she teases.
/>   The gardener laughs, “I appreciate the tips, most of the time.”

  Laughing at his honesty, I turn back to Grandma Ruby, “How about we let Rick get back to work. I brought you a couple of visitors today.”

  Looking around me, she smiles again, as the girl’s wave. “Well if those two aren’t the prettiest sights I’ve seen lately. You girls get over here and give me a hug,” she demands opening her arms to them. Immediately obeying, Zoey and Alana make their way over and give her a hug. “You girls get prettier every time I see you,” Grandma Ruby says as she holds one of their hand in hers.

  “Thank you,” they say in unison, blushing slightly at her compliment.

  Looking at each one of us, Grandma asks, “So to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”

  Holding up one of the bags, Alana says, “We brought lunch.”

  “And we were hoping you could tell us about this,” Zoey says as she holds up the old tin box that they found in the attic.

  A look of nostalgia washes over Grandma Ruby’s face as she reaches out to run her hand over the top of the box. “Where did you find that?”

  “It was up in the attic. Zoey and I found it when we were looking for some of Grandma’s old dress patterns,” Alana says.

  “Dress patterns, huh? Well that sounds like a story I want to hear too, so how about we go up to my room, eat lunch, and swap stories?”

  Smiling, the girls nod and turn toward the lobby. Threading my arm through Grandma’s I walk with her to the elevator. “I should probably warn you that, like me, they are hopeless romantics, but don’t sugar coat it for them.”

  She laughs and pats my hand. “Now have you ever known me to sugar coat anything?”

  “No, that’s one thing you never did, and I always appreciated your honesty.”

  Reaching the lobby, we enter the elevator and ride up to the fifth floor, making a couple of stops first. Opening the door to her suite, we step inside and the girls begin unpacking lunch, setting it up on the table surrounded by four chairs.

  The deluxe suite is more like a small two room apartment. The door opens into a living room dining room combination, and a small fully equipped kitchen. Down a short hallway is a full bath and a large bedroom with a walk-in closet. The walls are full of family photos and memories of Grandma and Grandpa’s travels.

  Sitting down at the table, Grandma says, “Now tell me why you were looking for dress patterns.”

  “I was invited to a school dance by this boy I’ve known forever!” Alana exclaims. She begins telling Grandma how she’s going to her first dance with a date and how Justin finally asked her himself yesterday during lunch. Smiling proudly at her older sister she finishes with, “Zoey is going to make my dress for me.”

  “Oh, I remember going to school dances. They were so much fun.” She takes a few bites of her lunch before asking, “So this boy, does he have a name?”

  “Yes, it’s Justin,” Alana says smiling, as her cheeks turn slightly pink.

  “What about you Zoey? Any boys I should know about?”

  Zoey smiles. “A couple, but no one special yet.”

  “Smart girl,” she laughs, reaching over to pat her arm. “Play the field. You’re both young, you have plenty of time. Enjoy it while you can.”

  Small talk continues as we eat lunch. Alana talking about how she was selected to perform a flute solo during the annual Christmas concert they’re preparing for.

  Zoey tells Grandma of her love of fashion. Her eyes lighting up as she talks about how she enjoys sewing, and watching one of her designs come to life. Of course, this leads our discussion back to the attic. Both girls tell Grandma how they were looking for Mom’s old dress patterns for Zoey to use when she makes Alana’s dress for the dance.

  “Then we found a box of old photo albums and started looking through them. They must be Grandma and Grandpa’s, because there were a lot of them when they were young and when Mom was little,” Alana explains.

  “That’s how we found that box,” Zoey says. “It was in the bottom of the box with the photo albums.”

  “These two almost scared us to death. Mark and I had gone out to dinner for our anniversary, when we came home we couldn’t find them anywhere. We searched the entire house hollering for them the whole time. Finally, when we got upstairs and Mark called out for them, they answered from the attic. I recognized you in the pictures, but there were some people I didn’t know, and we were curious,” I admit. “Would you mind telling us about them?”

  A wistful smile appears on Grandma Ruby’s face, “I’d love to,” she says. “Let’s finish our lunch and get this cleaned up, then we’ll get comfortable and I’ll tell you all about it.”

  Chapter Four

  Sitting on the sofa, Alana on one side of Grandma Ruby and Zoey on the other, I sit beside Zoey as anxious as they are to hear the stories that accompany the photos inside the box. Carefully removing the lid and placing it under the antique tin, Grandma begins to sort through the pictures in search of where to begin.

  When she finds it, she holds up a photo of a family for all of us to see. “I’m not sure how much you know for our family history, so it’s best to start at the beginning.” She points to the couple in the middle she says, “These are my parents Doreen and Edgar Thorpe, and these are my brothers Eddie and Billy, my sister Tess and me. I was the youngest, and the only one of my siblings that would be moving with my parents to California. My father was a Captain in the Navy and had just received orders to report to Point Mugu to become the commanding officer. Along with the new post, came a promotion. Rear Admiral Edgar Thorpe. It was a huge accomplishment. We were all so proud of him,” her voice takes on a wistful note.

  Confused Alana asks, “Why weren’t your brothers and sister going with you?”

  “My sister had just gotten married and she and her husband were moving to Colorado. My brothers were both in the Army. Eddie was stationed at Fort Bliss, in Texas and Billy was stationed at Fort Sill, in Oklahoma.”

  Studying the picture for a few minutes, Zoey asks, “Grandma Ruby, how old were you in this picture?”

  “I was about your age,” she says smiling at the photo. “It was taken just before my fifteenth birthday.”

  Taking in the snowy landscape in the background of the photo I ask, “Where were you living before the transfer to Point Mugu?”

  “We were living in Illinois. Being in the Navy, we moved around quite a bit. Each one of us were born in a different place. I was born in Maine, and we lived there until I was three, then we moved to Maryland and lived there until I was eight, and then to Illinois, and were there until we moved to California.”

  “Did you mind moving around? I would miss my friends if I moved now,” Zoey says.

  “When you are a military family, you get used to it. I did miss my friends at first. Given the choice between living on the lake in Illinois where it snowed and was below freezing almost five months out of the year, and living in California. I’d make the move every time.”

  Sorting through the box Grandma Ruby takes out another photo. “Dad was only allowed to take leave when it was approved, so we didn’t go on many vacations. On our way to California we stopped at the Grand Canyon.” Looking at the photo she says, “It was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen.”

  “What was it like living on a military base?”

  She shrugs her small shoulders. “To me, there wasn’t anything unusual about it. It was all I had ever known. The friends that we had were all like us, growing up on military bases. You learn how to make friends quickly and how to have friends without getting too close. It’s always in the back of your mind that you could be transferred to another post at any moment.”

  Grandma pulls out several photos of her brother Eddie, the first one of him standing proudly in his uniform. “This was taken when Eddie made Sargent. We were all so proud of him.”

  “Why didn’t he join the Navy?”

  “He wanted to make a name for
himself. He was afraid that if he joined the Navy, he would be given special treatment because of Dad. At least that’s what he told everyone. Eddie wasn’t a big fan of boats or open water. I think he didn’t like the idea of being stationed on a ship in the middle of the ocean.”

  Smiling warmly as she looked at the next picture, Grandma says, “This picture was taken on one of the rare occasions that both Eddie and Billy had leave at the same time.” Pointing to the first couple she said, “This is Eddie and his wife Sue, and this is Billy and his wife Joan. Eddie and Sue told us on that visit that they were expecting a baby. They had a boy, and then three more after that one. Billy and Joan had their first child the next year. The first granddaughter, followed by another grandson.”

  “What about your sister, did they have children?”

  Grandma nodded, “They did. Tess and David had two daughters and a son.”

  As Grandma Ruby continues to relay our family history, the girls and I listen intently, hanging on her every word, until my cell phone rings interrupting her latest story.

  Rising from the sofa, I dig my phone out of my purse. Seeing Mark’s name on the screen I answer it. “Hey, everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything is fine. I was just wondering if you all wanted to pick up something for dinner on your way home, or if you wanted me to start something here?”

  Looking around for a clock and not finding one I ask, “Dinner? What time is it?”

  Mark chuckles in my ear. “Babe, it’s six-thirty.”

  “What! No, it can’t be that late,” I say as I walk to the window and peer through the blinds finding the sun has already set. “I can’t believe we’ve been here that long. I’ll pick up a pizza on the way home.”

  “Sounds good, no rush though. Say hi to Grandma Ruby for me.”

  I smile into the phone as I reply, “I will. See you in a little while.” Ending the call, I turn back to the sofa, “Girls, we need to be going.”