Рита Браун - Pawing Through The Past

"Susan, you look fine."

"Easy for you to say." Susan felt that Harry would never know the battle of the bulge, as both her parents were lean and food just wasn't very important to her.

"She have a fit?"

"No, she asked again if I would help with Wittiest."

"Will you help?"

"Yes." Susan sighed. "What about you?"

"No!" Harry said this so loudly the animals flinched.

"One hour of your time," Susan cajoled.

"BoomBoom wanted to be the chair of our reunion, let her do it. I'm doing my part."

"Okay . . ." Susan's voice trailed off, which meant she was merely tabling her agenda until a better time.

The front door opened, and a well-built man of average height stood there, the light behind him. He had thick, steel-gray hair, a square chin, broad shoulders. He opened wide his arms as he walked toward the counter.

"Cuddles!"

Miranda squinted, looking hard at the man, thrust aside the broom, and raced to flip up the divider. She embraced him. "Tracy Raz!"

"Gee, it's good to see you." He hugged her, then held her away for a moment, then hugged her again. "You look like the girl I left in high school."

"What a fibber." She beamed.

Mrs. Murphy looked at Pewter and Tucker as the tiger cat whispered, "Cuddles?"

12

"How many of us are left?"Tracy reached over for another orange-glazed bun.

Harry, upon learning that Tracy Raz was a "lost" member of Mrs. Hogendobber's high-school class, forced her to take the day off. Miranda huffed and puffed but finally succumbed. She tookTracy home, setting out a sumptuous breakfast-homemade buns and doughnuts, cereal with thick cream, and the best coffee in the state ofVirginia .

"Forty-two out of fifty-six." Miranda munched on a doughnut. "Koreaaccounted for two of us,Vietnam one-"

"Who was inVietnam ?"

"Xavier France. Career officer. Made full colonel, too. His helicopter was shot down near theCambodia border."

"Xavier France, he was the last kid I would have picked for a service career. What about the others?"

"The usual: car accidents, cancer-far too much of that, I'm afraid-heart attacks. Poor Asther Dandridge died young of diabetes. Still,Tracy , if you think about it, our class is in good shape."

"You certainly are."

"You haven't changed a bit."

"Gray hair and twenty more pounds."

"Muscle." And it was. "How did you hear about the reunion? We'd given up on ever finding you."

"It was a funny thing." His movements carried an athlete's grace as he put the cup back on the saucer. "Naturally, I knew this was our fiftieth year. I hadn't much interest in attending the other reunions and I'll come to that later. I remembered that Kevin McKenna worked for Twentieth Century-Fox. I'd see his name in the papers. He's director of marketing. Got to be worth a bundle. I called and got the usual runaround but I left a message with my phone number and damned if he didn't call me back. He sent me a copy of the invitation. I was footloose and fancy-free so I came early. Thought you might need an old fullback to help you."

"Where do you live?"

"Hawaii. TheislandofKauai . After high school I enlisted, which you knew. Well, in our day, Miranda, you enlisted or you were drafted. I figured if I enlisted I'd get a better deal than if I let myself get drafted. Army. Got good training. I wound up in intelligence, of all the strange things, and once my tour was up I re-enlisted but I made them promise to put me through Ranger school. Now it's Green Berets but then it was Rangers. They did. I stayed in for ten years. Left after being recruited by the CIA-"

"A spy?" Her kind eyes widened.

He waved his hand to dismiss the notion. "That's TV stuff. I had a wonderful job. I was sent all over the world to see events firsthand. For instance, during the oil crisis in the seventies I was inRiyadh . Worst posting I ever had wasNigeria . But basically I was a troubleshooter. I'd be the first one in, scope the situation and report back. They could make of my data what they wished-everyone inWashington has his own agenda. My God, Miranda, bureaucracy will ruin this country. That's my story. Retired and here I am."

"Did you ever marry?"

He nodded. "A beautiful Japanese girl I met inKobe in 1958. That's when I bought a little land inKauai . Li could get back to her family and I could get to the States."

"I hope you'll bring her to the reunion."

He folded his hands. "She died two years ago. Lymphatic cancer. She fought hard." He stopped to swallow. "Now I rattle around in our house like a dried pea in a big shell. The kids are grown. My daughter, Mandy, works for Rubicon Advertising inNew York , John runs the Kubota dealership in Kauai, and Carl is a lawyer inHonolulu . They speak fluent Japanese. I can carry on a conversation but the kids are fluent, which makes them valuable these days. They're all married with kids of their own." He smiled. "I'm kind of lost really." He slapped his thigh. "Here I am talking about myself. Tell me what happened to you."

"I married George Hogendobber, he became the postmaster here, and we lived a quiet but joyful life. He died of a heart attack, nearly ten years ago. Sometimes it seems like yesterday."

"I don't remember George."

"He moved here fromWinchester ."

"Kids?"

"No. That blessing passed me by, although I feel as though Mary Minor Haristeen is a daughter. She's the young woman you just met."

"Miranda, you were the spark plug of our class. I've thought of you more than you'll ever know, but I never sat down to write a letter. I'm a terrible letter writer. You'll always be my high-school sweetheart. Those were good times."

"Yes, they were," she said simply.

"I wanted to see the world and I did. But here I am. Back home."

"I feel as though I saw the world, too,Tracy . I suppose my world was within. I've drawn great strength from the Bible since George died. Harry calls me a religious nut."

"Harry?"

"The girl in the post office."

"Yes, of course. Minor. The people out onYellow Mountain Road . He married a Hepworth."

"Good memory. She's their daughter. They're gone now."

"Whatever happened to Mim Conrad? Did she marry Larry Johnson?"

"No." Miranda's voice dropped as though Mim were in the next room. "Larry was four years older than we were. Remember, he was finishing college as she was finishing high school? Well, he did go to medical school. They dated and then the next thing I knew they weren't dating anymore. He married someone else and she married Jim Sanburne."

"That oaf?"

"The same."

"Mim marrying Jim Sanburne. I can't believe it."

"He was big and handsome. He runs to fat now. But he's a genial man once you get to know him."

"I never tried. Larry still alive?"

"Yes, he practiced medicine here for decades. Still does, although he sold his practice to a young man, Hayden McIntire, with the provision that Larry'd work just one more year, get Hayden settled with the patients. That was several years ago. Still working, though. Hayden doesn't seem to mind. Larry's wife died years ago. He and Mim are friendly."