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  “That helps.” She took another large gulp and went back to hugging people she barely knew, pretending to feel.

  * * * *

  Finally, after hours of unbearable politeness, the very last woman in line waddled down the aisle to Ruby’s shattered, tear-streaked smile.

  “Ruby, my dear.” She stood only four feet, eight inches and perched upon her tipped toes to hug her. Her cane was shakily holding her in place.

  Racking her memory, Ruby tried desperately to place her, but regretfully could not.

  The small woman didn’t seem to mind.

  “I see you’re wearing your mother’s pearls. They look just as beautiful on you as the first day I met her.” Her eyes were glowing at the memory.

  “You knew my mother?” Ruby’s voice came out in whisper.

  “Eli and Sophia.” She closed her eyes and smiled. Her round, wrinkled cheeks scrunched up at a memory. “They were my dearest of friends after they moved here to Mackinac. Oh how I wished we would have stayed in touch.” She placed her soft, swollen hand across her heart and grinned up at Ruby.

  “That is wonderful. I bet you have a great deal of stories.” Ruby smiled back. There was something about this woman that piqued her interest. She had never met her, of that she was sure, but something told her that she may have just a few of the answers she was looking for.

  “Stories?” she squealed. “Oh do I! My name is Marjorie Parsons, and I live just around the way at the Cedar Lane Senior Retirement Center. If you ever have a moment, I would just be delighted to tell you a few.”

  Ruby let out a breath that she was unaware of holding and rested her hand on Marjorie’s.

  “I would enjoy that more than you’d know.”

  * * * *

  The guests invited back to Ruby and Robert’s place were less than twenty. She couldn’t bear the idea of visiting with more but knew that a small gathering was necessary. The caterers had delivered an array of appetizers, including grilled asparagus tartines with fresh ricotta, pesto baked pops, sweet potato cakes with sour cream and black bean salsa and radish and ham tea sandwiches. If ever asked, Ruby couldn’t tell you one thing that was set out on the buffet line. This particular part of the evening was a thick blur of depression, passing from one sympathetic expression to the next. She distinctly remembered wondering how everyone could visit and discuss politics and local news, while her father lay in the cold ground.

  When it all became too much, she excused herself politely and made her way up to her bedroom to hide under her covers. She didn’t remove her makeup, her nylons or even the pearls, just climbed into her down comforter and pulled it high over her head. And that is where she stayed until she heard the last car pull out of the circle drive and into the night. She refused to care if it were selfish or immature. Losing a parent provides the right to revert to childish behavior and bury your face and cry.

  Kindly, the family gave her the space she needed as well and she fell into a deep and mindless sleep for the first time in weeks. The exhaustion was overpowering and slipped her into a state of relief and peace. She didn’t wake until the morning doves outside of her window cooed sweetly to the rising sun.

  * * * *

  Ruby didn’t tell Grant that she was going to visit Marjorie, but she told Anna, who immediately lunged at the opportunity. She hadn’t even told him about the letter yet, figuring the wound was too fresh. But this mystery, this secret hovered above her so intensely that she needed answers as quickly as possible. Perhaps, she told Anna, Marjorie could fill in the blanks with ease and precise detail so that they may be able to close this chapter briefly.

  The friendly receptionist whistled as she led Ruby and Anna down a long hallway filled with images of pear, apple and orange trees, to a large open room. The room was lined with bay windows that looked upon an immense flowing fountain and let in a great deal of morning light. Along the window were over a dozen wheel chairs filled with elderly folks reading and staring out into the fountain. Ruby was pleased to find the senior center smelled of pastries and fresh flowers. She had often believed that nursing homes or retirement communities were dark places that reeked of the dying. However, Cedar Lane was friendly and filled with color. Everywhere she looked, she was met with a tropical plant reaching toward the ceiling or brightly patterned carpet with neon orange and green circles and squares on a black background. Seniors, or rather residents, could be found sipping a coffee on the patio, playing cards in the game room or having a late brunch in the café. Her breath caught when she noticed a man edging his way to the patio in the morning sun. He looked a great deal like Eli.

  “Here she is,” said the receptionist. “Right where she is every mornin’. Miss Marjorie, you have company.”

  Marjorie was situated between three of her friends, wearing oversized red hats with purple bows wrapped around the base. They each wore bright red lipstick, dangling red hat-shaped earrings and cherry red button-down blouses with purple scarves. With their aged, but agile hands, they were weaving red yarn over and under a pair of knitting needles. The result of their hard work trickled down the edge of the square wooden table, in the form of a charming shawl.

  Marjorie turned from laughing with her friends, both of which had fluffy, sweet white hair and unevenly drawn-on eyebrows.

  “Ruby!” she shrieked and reached her hands up for a soft hug.

  “Marjorie, this is my daughter, Anna. I don’t believe you had the opportunity to meet the other day.”

  “Oh no.” She was grinning ear to ear. “I would have remembered a beautiful young face like this one.” She patted Anna’s arm with her small hand. “Come, sit, sit! Please meet my friends, Elizabeth and Betty. We were just working on today’s masterpiece.” She lifted the shawl out from the table and displayed it proudly.

  “That is beautiful,” smiled Ruby.

  “Thank you, thank you. We have a dozen more like it if you ever want one.” Elizabeth and Betty nodded in sincere agreement.

  “Oh that is sweet of you,” said Anna. “But may I ask, is there is a reason you all are wearing the same red outfit? If I would have known, I would have worn my red dress!”

  “My my,” said Marjorie. “Are you not familiar with the good ole’ Red Hat Society?”

  Anna shook her head.

  “Ladies?” Marjorie turned back to Elizabeth and Betty and snapped, “One…two…three…”

  In unison, they sang,

  “Well, I heard that they were comin’;

  I heard they were on the move.

  I heard that they were stunning,

  With nothing left to prove.

  And when I asked about them

  And how they came to be,

  They all laughed and they all smiled

  And said these words to me.

  Red Hat, Red Hat, Red Hat Society

  All my life I’ve done for you

  Now it’s my turn to do for me.

  Red Hat, Red Hat,

  I’m just as proud as I can be

  With my purple dress and my red, red hat

  The Red Hat Society.”

  Ruby and Anna threw their heads back in delight and clapped their hands in adoration.

  “Bravo, bravo!” laughed Ruby, the first real laugh in weeks.

  Marjorie dipped her head in a mock curtsey and patted her dear friends on the arm.

  ”Don’t clap too much…we’ll keep singing!” exclaimed Betty with a sly wink.

  “In all seriousness, the Red Hat Society is all about bonding and supporting each other,” spoke out Elizabeth. “We meet every week and talk and do crafts together, sometimes we even plan fundraisers!”

  Marjorie took a long sip of her tea, “Oh, like the bake sale for the Children’s Hospital?”

  “Or the walker race of ’99? Wasn’t that a hoot?” Betty slapped her knee with a loud, boisterous laugh.

  “Sounds fantastic! Wish I could join!” Anna was sincere as the day was long.

  “Don’t go volunteerin
g yourself, or a red hat you shall find,” said Betty and winked.

  “Enough ladies, let us leave these young women to their youthful glow.”

  Anna looking disappointed smiled and said, “Maybe you’ll change your mind once you get to know us.”

  “Perhaps, but for now, shall we find a quiet place to talk?” Marjorie surveyed the room looking for a quiet corner among the card players and socialites.

  “The patio looked pleasant,” suggested Ruby, beckoning toward the window. She could still see the man who resembled her father enjoying his morning paper and she suddenly wanted to be near him.

  “Indeed!” Marjorie stood shakily and reached for her cane. “Follow me, ladies!”

  The refreshing morning was quickly melting into another steaming summer day. Although the heat was strong and made her cardigan stick to her skin, Ruby was thankful that this was all happening now. If it had been any other season, Anna would have been in school still and Ruby’s charity work with the Boys & Girls Club would much more labor-intensive. Daddy’s timing was perfect, she thought to herself. If she had known any better, she would believe he planned it this way.

  “So tell me, Ruby, what would you like to know? You see, my memory is still sharp as nails, but from time to time, I slip into a bit of a forgetful moment.” Marjorie took off her large red hat and laid it gingerly on the table.

  “How often does that happen?” Anna asked sharply.

  “Anna!” Ruby snapped.

  “Oh, darling,” Marjorie patted Ruby’s arm. “You may ask me anything, you’ll see, I am as easy-going as hammock in late afternoon.”

  A sudden breeze picked up and ruffled her soft, white hair as if in agreement with her.

  “And to answer your question,” she continued. “Only every few days or so. I am one of the lucky ones, keeping my wit intact and all. You should see some of the other ones around here.” She gestured to the group playing cards and rolled her eyes.

  “I can imagine that would be hard,” Ruby said.

  “Oh pish posh, enough about this old bag of bones. What brings you by today? Come for a few stories have you?”

  “Well yes, actually. Mom and Daddy were surprisingly private and just to be frank, we have reason to believe that there is a lot about their history we didn’t know.”

  Marjorie nodded, listening with her eyes as much as her ears.

  “For instance, we discovered something that leads us to believe Daddy, and maybe Mom for that matter, were in the Holocaust.” There, she said it in one long wind. It was out in the open now and felt so foreign to her lips. She took a deep breath and waited for Marjorie’s reaction.

  “Ahh.” Marjorie leaned back in her seat and glanced up toward the sky, almost as if asking for a silent permission from Eli.

  “Did they ever mention anything to you?” Anna asked.

  “Maybe I should start with how we met. Perhaps that would help explain a few things.”

  Spring 1950

  “Don’t take my picture!” Marjorie squealed in delight. Peter, skipping behind her, was holding his brand new camera. While laughing, he attempted to manage the gearwheel to bring her into focus.

  “Stay still.” He laughed. “Just one picture!”

  “No!” Marjorie covered her eyes and turned sharply from him, her black, tightly pinned hair starting to come loose. “If you don’t buy me an ice cream cone right now, Peter…well I…I…”

  “One condition…” He flashed his crooked teeth.

  “Fine. One picture.” Marjorie huffed and crossed her arms.

  “I can take the picture for you,” a voice from behind Peter spoke out. The accent was peculiar, strong and thick. He couldn’t quite place it.

  He turned to see a young man, wearing a striped blazer and over-collared shirt. His slick, dark hair was gelled to one side and he held his fedora in his left hand. On his right arm, a stunningly beautiful woman with neat blonde curls smiled back at him in a pale green polka-dotted dress with matching gloves and a simple strand of pearls around her neck.

  “Thank you, mister.” Peter ran to join Marjorie and the camera flashed sharply in the night, capturing first love’s purest form.

  “My name’s Peter and this is my wife, Marjorie. We just moved here from St. Louis.”

  “Nice to meet you. I am Eli and this is my wife, Sophia. We just moved here from New York.”

  “New York? Wow! Why would you ever move to Michigan?” Peter was clearly intrigued by Eli. “That’s a big fancy city and all! We’ve not got nearly what they have there, with all those ways to make a living!”

  “It was time.” Eli tipped his hat as if to say good evening, but Peter wasn’t having it.

  “Have a drink with us, won’t you? There is a nice little place just around the block. They serve really good and strong drinks.”

  Eli glanced at Sophia, who blushed.

  “Oh come on, please?” Marjorie joined in on the persuasion. “I don’t have but one girlfriend in the area and we’ve been here over a month!”

  “Alright, we are happy to.” Sophia spoke up this time, her accent even stronger than his.

  “Wonderful!” Peter reached out to shake Eli’s hand and they made their way down the block to the quaint bar next to the Grand Hotel. They sipped and laughed through the evening, with Peter and Marjorie doing most of the talking.

  The four of them became fast friends. They spent weekends sailing along the Mackinac shore lines in posh sailboats, sipping wine as the sun set. They held martini parties under the stars before heading into town to hear the big bands. They danced until the sun rose in the sandy coves with dramatic beams shooting across the ocean from neighboring lighthouses. Marjorie often took Sophia shopping in town to try on new dresses shipped in from the latest designers. Now that the war was over and the economy was booming, wild, irrational spending was in full swing in Mackinac Island and they loved every minute of it.

  Until one day, Sophia reached for Marjorie’s hands across the breakfast table in their new cottage home with the most joy in her eyes that Marjorie had ever seen.

  “I’m pregnant.” Sophia’s petite lips broke into a grand smile.

  Marjorie gasped, lifted her hands from Sophia’s and covered her mouth. She shook her head back and forth, shiny tears swelling in her eyes.

  “No, it can’t be true!”

  Sophia nodded and reached for her glass of ice water.

  “But we both started trying at the same time and it has only been…a month! It is impossible!” Marjorie was almost bouncing in her seat now.

  “I know, I know, it is incredible. We are blessed.”

  Marjorie jumped up to her feet and started pacing the room. “We have so much to do! You have to get a crib, buy a whole mess of cute baby dresses, and we certainly need to consider painting the baby’s room. Do you think light lavender? Pink is overdone.”

  Sophia laughed quietly to herself, her gaze following Marjorie as she danced around the room.

  “Oh this is magnificent!” Marjorie clapped her hands in delight.

  “Wait just a minute.” Sophia held her hand up with a giggle. “Why not little jumpsuits instead of dresses?”

  Marjorie turned to face her friend with a gleaming expression. “Because it’s a girl, of course!”

  * * * *

  Shortly after Sophia’s big announcement, Marjorie declared she too, was expecting. It was exactly as they planned; two best girlfriends, starting their families in this safe and picturesque town. Instead of dancing until the wee hours, they now spent all of their time preparing for their babies. Marjorie was dead set and convinced that Sophia was carrying a girl and that Marjorie was carrying a handsome young man. They were destined to fall in love, she repeated over and over. They would play on the sandy beaches together in the summer building crumbling castles, start school together in the fall and when they were ready for their first high school dance, Harold, as Marjorie intended to name her little man, would dip down on one knee and beg
little Sophia II to escort him.

  Sophia laughed heartily every time Marjorie told this story at dinner parties. She would flick her soft blonde curls from her petite shoulder and rub her round bump gently. The insanities and laughable stories of her best friend were enough to remind her of the blessings they had finally found.

  Eli was often noticed to reach across the table, lift his wife’s chin to meet his eyes and whisper something in another language—German she thought. Sophia would always blush before he kissed her gently. Marjorie would sigh dramatically every time before slapping Peter on the shoulder. He would grimace and rub his arm, embarrassed that his wife could hit so hard.

  But Eli and Sophia were special that way. They were intensely passionate and dramatic, and it elated everyone they encountered to see such fine love. Eli never let his wife sit down without pulling the chair out for her to sit upon. He doted upon her every wish, and not just because she was with child, but because he always had. One night, much to Marjorie’s delight, they sat upon an open patio listening to a soft piano from the restaurant inside. It was a peculiarly warm night in late October and the owner had opened up the patio just for his special customers. Eli and Peter drank strong gin and water, reminiscing upon their summer days while Marjorie and Sophia continued their planning. They were each showing impressively now, with Marjorie at six months and Sophia at seven and a half.

  “Business going well?” Peter reached across the table to take a breadstick from the basket.

  “Indeed.” Eli flicked a match to light his cigar. Soft, billows of smoke circled up around his hat.

  “Who knew another jeweler would do so well in this town. When you first told me that Eli, well I thought you were crazy. Old man Thompson’s been running his place since the beginning of time. I thought he had everyone’s business, but here you come with your fancy accent, seducing all of your customers.”

  Eli laughed and took another puff of his cigar. “Lucky, I guess.” He winked at Sophia. “That reminds me, I’ve been meaning to say thank you, Peter. To you also, Marjorie.” He tilted his hat in her direction.