averted.
It took only a few minutes to slam the donations up onto the raised concrete dock. By that time, Maxine had disappeared into the building through, I assumed, the side entrance near the dock. I went in and scanned the open expanse.
There were no partitions in the room that I could see, just rows of tables and racks of hanging clothes. Making my way between the tables, I noticed that besides clothing, there were stacks of household gadgets, dishes, tools and tons of plastic toys that would be on the earth for the next billion years. I wondered why, if God existed, and if He knew so much, He hadn't made us out of plastic. Maybe He hadn't thought of it. Or maybe He knew the earth would be better off if none of us lasted forever.
At the other end of the room, my sister was in conversation with a woman in a blue suit and matching hat. Now when was the last time that kind of outfit was in style, maybe 1945? They were at least a hundred feet in front of me and Maxine hadn't seen me come in. Maybe this would be a good time to slip back outside and wait in the car. She must have read my thoughts, because my sister turned at just that moment and looked right at me. Instead of the wave that I expected, she turned back to the woman and they moved off together toward a long table heaped with clothing at the back of the room.
Maybe the woman didn't want to meet me after all. Or maybe this wasn't the one Maxine wanted to introduce me to. Either way, it made this mystery woman from the forties all the more interesting to me. Now I wanted to meet her. I cut across the aisle to my right and walked to the back of the store. I could see Maxine's broad back at the far end of the aisle and the top of the blue hatted lady on the other side of her. I sauntered the hundred feet or so toward them, pausing to look down at the occasional pseudo-interesting item on one of the tables.
"Hi, Max," I said cheerfully as I got close to them. "Who's your friend?"
When my sister turned to look at me, I could see a pained look in her eyes. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"Rudy, I didn't know she would be here." She started to speak, closed her mouth and then tried again. "I really didn't know. I promise."
I had looked past her and was now staring at the woman's outfit. The dark blue hat did indeed match the dark blue suit. The only decoration she wore was a large silver crucifix that hung from a matching chain around her neck. An alarm went off somewhere inside me, like an electric shock. It wasn't the gray coat and slacks she'd been wearing at the convent, but I knew, in that moment before I looked up, whose face I would be looking into.
I glanced first at her hair, still dark brown, shorter than I remembered and flecked now with a few strands of gray. Her eyes were brown, so dark they appeared almost black. They were more beautiful than any I'd ever seen. I don't know how long I stood there staring at her. I'd known the truth for fifteen years and had even seen Caroline from a distance at her convent, many times over the past five months. But I still wasn't prepared to meet her face to face. Caroline. Now Sister Mary Grace. But still Caroline, my Caroline. I stood there, aware of a lump where my larynx used to be.
"Hello Rudy," she said, smiling up at me.
I swallowed hard. I could feel Maxine's sturdy presence beside me, pressing tightly against my right side in the narrow space. Time seemed to stand still around me. I don't think I could have moved if I'd had to. My voice sounded strange to me, tight
"Caroline." I cleared my throat. "Or what do I call you now?"
"Sister Grace is
It took only a few minutes to slam the donations up onto the raised concrete dock. By that time, Maxine had disappeared into the building through, I assumed, the side entrance near the dock. I went in and scanned the open expanse.
There were no partitions in the room that I could see, just rows of tables and racks of hanging clothes. Making my way between the tables, I noticed that besides clothing, there were stacks of household gadgets, dishes, tools and tons of plastic toys that would be on the earth for the next billion years. I wondered why, if God existed, and if He knew so much, He hadn't made us out of plastic. Maybe He hadn't thought of it. Or maybe He knew the earth would be better off if none of us lasted forever.
At the other end of the room, my sister was in conversation with a woman in a blue suit and matching hat. Now when was the last time that kind of outfit was in style, maybe 1945? They were at least a hundred feet in front of me and Maxine hadn't seen me come in. Maybe this would be a good time to slip back outside and wait in the car. She must have read my thoughts, because my sister turned at just that moment and looked right at me. Instead of the wave that I expected, she turned back to the woman and they moved off together toward a long table heaped with clothing at the back of the room.
Maybe the woman didn't want to meet me after all. Or maybe this wasn't the one Maxine wanted to introduce me to. Either way, it made this mystery woman from the forties all the more interesting to me. Now I wanted to meet her. I cut across the aisle to my right and walked to the back of the store. I could see Maxine's broad back at the far end of the aisle and the top of the blue hatted lady on the other side of her. I sauntered the hundred feet or so toward them, pausing to look down at the occasional pseudo-interesting item on one of the tables.
"Hi, Max," I said cheerfully as I got close to them. "Who's your friend?"
When my sister turned to look at me, I could see a pained look in her eyes. She looked like she was about to burst into tears.
"Rudy, I didn't know she would be here." She started to speak, closed her mouth and then tried again. "I really didn't know. I promise."
I had looked past her and was now staring at the woman's outfit. The dark blue hat did indeed match the dark blue suit. The only decoration she wore was a large silver crucifix that hung from a matching chain around her neck. An alarm went off somewhere inside me, like an electric shock. It wasn't the gray coat and slacks she'd been wearing at the convent, but I knew, in that moment before I looked up, whose face I would be looking into.
I glanced first at her hair, still dark brown, shorter than I remembered and flecked now with a few strands of gray. Her eyes were brown, so dark they appeared almost black. They were more beautiful than any I'd ever seen. I don't know how long I stood there staring at her. I'd known the truth for fifteen years and had even seen Caroline from a distance at her convent, many times over the past five months. But I still wasn't prepared to meet her face to face. Caroline. Now Sister Mary Grace. But still Caroline, my Caroline. I stood there, aware of a lump where my larynx used to be.
"Hello Rudy," she said, smiling up at me.
I swallowed hard. I could feel Maxine's sturdy presence beside me, pressing tightly against my right side in the narrow space. Time seemed to stand still around me. I don't think I could have moved if I'd had to. My voice sounded strange to me, tight
"Caroline." I cleared my throat. "Or what do I call you now?"
"Sister Grace is
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