Page 20 of Maybe Some Other Time
Except it was late in the afternoon, and many of the houses on this quiet street were either unoccupied or covered by fences and tall shrubbery. The house she gazed upon, however, was modest and… dare she say it… modern?It’s quite elegant.She had never seen such a black house before, but the cream-colored trim, the white garage door, and all of the greenery in the yard offset any negative first impressions.
Until she heard a crowing in the distance.
“Hey! Rob! Yeah! Robert!”
Everyone, including Miriam, turned their heads toward the fenceline where a woman’s head peered over wood stained dark brown and tipped in white. At first, Thelma thought she was looking at a trendy teenager—then she realized that, much like Sandy had favored a pixie cut back in the ‘50s, this woman was a grown adult with a fashionable hair choice. Her plaid shirt was… well, it was fetching, wasn’t it?
“Ugh, what?” Robbie crowed back.
“Caught your poor cat going through my garbage again! What have I told you about keeping him inside? We’ve got coyotes around here! And Russell down the street has a lifted truck that will killmeif I step in front of it!”
“Fiddles?” Megan hurried to the fenceline. “You saw Fiddles? He’s been missing!”
The woman’s gruff face softened as she saw the neighbor’s kid. Arms clad in dark green and yellow plaid slung over the fence. “Hey, Meg. Yeah, Fiddles was around, sniffing in my trash. Guessing he hadn’t eaten in a couple of days if you say he got out.”
“Yeah! Believe it or not, I’mtryingto keep him in. Butsomeonethinks it’s cruel to coop kitties up inside, despite the dangers lurking about!”
“I actually don’t care!” Robbie shouted. “He must have gotten out without me noticing!”
The woman with short dark hair looked in Thelma and Miriam’s direction. “Oh, shit. I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company coming over.”
Just like that, everyone remembered Thelma was there.
“This is…” Robbie stumbled. “My, uh…”
“This is my cousin Thelma!” Megan interrupted. “We just picked her up from LAX. That’s our Uber driver there.”
Miriam bristled, but said nothing.
“I see. Where are you visiting from?”
Was she directly askingThelma?The woman who had remained quiet until now… and suddenly couldn’t find her voice? Especially when she stepped closer, cheeks pinkening and eyes bashfully downcast as she said, “I’m actually moving in with them. They must not have told you.” She extended her hand, much to Megan and Robbie’s chagrin. “Thelma Van der Graaf. Pleasure to meet you.”
The woman in flannel looked her up and down, particularly taking in Thelma’s blond curls and red lipstick. “Huh. Interesting. Didn’t know that grumble-puss had a niece.” A smooth hand appeared before Thelma. “Gretchen Stewart. I’ve been living next to your uncle ever since he moved in when I was eight.”
“God, has it been that long?” Robbie moaned.
“Only way you could afford that house is if you bought it twenty-five years ago!”
“Yeah, well, only wayyoucan affordthathouse is by inheriting it from your parents!”
“Hey, now,” Megan interrupted. “Let’s not hate on people whose only shot at homeownership is dead parents,Dad.”
Thelma took hold of Gretchen’s hand.So, she’s older than me?She would have never been able to tell!Such perfect skin! She doesn’t look a day over twenty!“Pleasure to meet you, Miss Stewart.”
“Oh, God, no. Anything but that.” Yet Gretchen was still smiling as she released Thelma’s fingers and returned to clutching the top of the fence post. “You can call me Gretch.”
“I call her a pain in the ass,” Robbie muttered as he took the suitcase from Miriam and headed toward his door. “Kids are supposed to move away from home when they grow up!”
“Hey!” was all Megan had to say about that.
“Thelma Van der Graaf, huh?” Gretchen slowly disappeared behind the fence, her eyebrows arching toward her hairline. “That name sounds familiar.”
“I promise I’m new in town,” Thelma said.
Dark hair headed toward the house next door. “See you around! Watch out for that cat they have!”
Miriam was keen to move everyone inside before a bigger commotion drew attention to Thelma’s presence.I get it…The FBI wanted her acclimated to modern life before she really put herself out there and started meeting people. Yet Thelma had met her first person who had no idea who she was—orwhatshe was. And something about that was a high she had not ridden since…
