Gertie's Choice by Carol Colbert

mother must
have hidden it from her somewhere. Since then she had given up on
running away and had instead concentrated on getting Donald out of
the house.
    “Yeah. Too bad you always
came back, Ophelia! But I can’t see how turning me into a Ducky
Shincracker will make her leave me alone. How would that make her
take a powder?” Donald asked.
    “Don’t you get it? Girls
always want what they can’t have. The fun is in the chase! Once you
actually ask her out on a date the thrill of the chase will be gone
and she will give you a Dear John!” Ophelia said. “Learning to
dance well is a plus in case you meet someone that you would
actually want to dance with.”
    “Now you’re cooking with
gas!” Ophelia said as she watched Donald repeat the few dance steps
she was teaching him. “No girl can resist a good
Charleston!”
    Gertie was enjoying another
cup of tea and another Glenn Miller record after the kids left for
the dance when the doorbell rang. What happened next would forever
remain a blur to Gertie.
    On the porch was a mail
carrier handing Gertie a yellow telegram. She read the
words.
    We regret to inform
you….
    Missing in
action…..
    Unrecoverable……….
    Official notice to
follow….

Chapter 17
     
     
    Gertie and Ophelia had been
fighting non-stop for days. “Why can’t we go back to Enchanted now,
mother? Donald is old enough to take care of his own sorry self!
What more do we have to stay here for?”
    “This is our home now,
Ophelia, our home with John.”
    “But John is not coming
back, haven’t you realized that yet? Do you even know how many
years ago you received that telegram?” Ophelia said
unkindly.
    A knock on the door
startled both mother and daughter. Gertie went to the door. “Hello,
Adela, come in.”
    “Is Donald
here?”
    “He will be back in just a
few minutes. Ophelia is here, excuse me while I finish the
laundry.” Gertie said, throwing a warning look to her daughter to
be nice to their guest.
    “Adela.” Ophelia said,
trying to choose her words carefully. “Have you given any thought
to what I have been trying to do for you? I have done everything I
can to try and hook you up with Donald, but you have to do your
part as well you know!” Ophelia said angrily.
    “If course! I have thought
of nothing but! I would do anything to get Donald to love me, you
know that. I have always wanted Donald’s love.” Adela Johnson
said.
    Ophelia could never figure
out what it was about her dorky brother that any girl would want to
be in love with him. “Have you told him that you love him? Have you
put out, sorry to be so blunt, but have you?” Ophelia
asked.
    “He knows how I feel. Today
is the last straw. I am here to tell him that I am leaving Kentucky
for good and that if he wants any kind of a relationship with me
that he has to leave with me, today!” Adela said.
    “That is great, just like I
told you to do. How long are you going to give him to make up his
mind?”
    “You don’t understand,
Ophelia, this is it. My bags are in the trunk and I am leaving
today with or without Donald Ellis! My mind is made up!”
    “Wait – what? What if he
has to take time to think about it?” Ophelia asked, knowing that
Donald never made up his mind about anything quickly.
    “He has had twenty years
of my loving him. That is much longer than I would have given
anyone else to make up their mind.”
    “Then you had better make
it good, Adela Johnson! For if you leave here without my stupid
brother in that car with you, well, I don’t know what I will
do!”
    “Don’t be so dramatic. I am
prepared to leave with or without him.”
    Just then Donald walked in
the door. Ophelia walked out onto the front porch after she noticed
that the living room window was opened, giving her a way to monitor
their conversation.
    “Hey, where are you going?
Donald asked Ophelia, not wanting to be left alone in the room with
Adela.
    “To some place that is –
Enchanted.” Ophelia said.
    After