Suddenly, Linda remembers a scene from the not so
distant past. Ginger running through the train
station in her wedding dress to meet her returning GI
fiancé’s train. She was ready to marry Charlie when
he came home, why not marry Jeff before he leaves.
“Mrs. Szabo, calm down please. Do me a favor and look
in Ginger’s room. Is her wedding dress still there?”
Linda is trying not to let Mrs. Szabo hear the
laughter in her voice. As entertaining as this all
seems to Linda, she doesn’t think that Ginger’s mother
will find it quite as funny.
“Her wedding dress? OK, I’ll check.” After a few
minutes, Mrs. Szabo picks up the phone again. “Linda
her dress and veil are gone. What does this mean?”
“I have a pretty good idea what happened. Let me do a
little investigating and I’ll call you back as soon as
I know what’s going on.”
“Thank you Linda. Please call me as soon as you can.”
Linda hangs up the phone and sits on the stairs. The
laughter just won’t stop. “Oh, Ginnie, you are going
to give my little brother a run for his money.”
After Linda has had a chance to compose herself, she
calls St. Anne’s parish office.
“Good afternoon, St. Anne’s.” Linda recognized the
voice of Fr. Dreher’s secretary.
“Hello, this is Linda Metcalf. Is Fr. Dreher
available?”
“No, Miss Metcalf. You’re friend, Miss Szabo, ran in
here in her wedding dress and dragged the good Father
out of here like the devil himself were on her tail.
I think I heard her mention something about the train
station, minor leagues, GI marriages and Wichita. It
really didn’t make any sense to me at all.” Fr.
Dreher’s secretary sounded like she had been caught in
a whirlwind. Which, come to think of it, was not too
far from the truth. When Ginger had her mind set on
something, it was like being caught in a whirlwind.
“Thank you for your help. You’ve answered all my
questions. Please ask Fr. Dreher to call Mrs. Szabo
and let her know what happened. It will really ease
her mind.” Linda hung up the phone and gave in to
another fit of laughter. There had been so much pain
and sadness in this house for the past few months. It
felt so good to have a truly good laugh for a change.
Linda called Mrs. Szabo and relayed her conversation
with Fr. Dreher’s secretary. She also told her that
she left a message for Fr. Dreher to call her to put
her mind at ease.
“One more thing, Mrs. Szabo. Does it look like Ginger
remembered to pack a bag?” Linda had a feeling she
already knew the answer to that question.
“No, Linda. I don’t think she took anything with her.
What on earth was that girl thinking? She would
forget her head if it wasn’t attached.” Mrs. Szabo
thanked Linda for all her help and swore again that
her daughter was going to be the death of her yet.
“Oh, Ginnie. I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes when
you get back home.” Linda had an idea - Ginger was
not the only one who could set the wheels in motion
for a scheme or two. Linda had to call Hank. But
first, she made a couple of calls to get all the
details she would need to give her older brother in
order to carry out her plans.
After Linda had all the details she needed, she was
ready to call Hank. He would get a real kick out of
this. He hadn’t been home in almost a year but Linda
had kept him up to date on the trials and tribulations
of their baby brother. She had to stop thinking of
Jeff as her “baby” brother. Michael had taken over
that role. As much as Linda and Hank had teased and
tormented their younger sibling, they were very proud
of him. Linda knew that Jeff and Ginger had to change
trains in Chicago.
“Hank, it’s Linda.”
