Ben almost gave it away when he snickered, covering his mouth with the hasty motion of a boy in trouble. Heather ensured that she gave him the side-eye of the year, anyway.
“As I said, we’re a couple of true crime fanatics who have followed your grandmother’s case ever since we found out about it years ago. Semi-famous case in this area, even though she wasn’t from Van Nuys.”
“I suppose Robbie living here made it more personal for you.”
“Oh, Robert is so closed-mouthed about it, but that’s how he always is!” Heather huffed. “We just wanted to come say hi. Happy Thanksgiving, and all that.”
Something about this encounter tripped Thelma’s warning bells, and it wasn’t because the neighbors had never really spoken to her before. “Is that all?”
“Well…” Ben tugged at the goatee struggling to grow on his chin.Just shave it off, young man.Thelma thought that while simultaneously acknowledging that, biologically, they were probably the same age.Is he a father yet, though? Didn’t think so.“We couldn’t help but notice that you look a lot like her. I mean,a lot.Especially when you, quite frankly, dress up like her.”
Thelma refused to cast her gaze downward or show them how much that otherwise unnerved her. “I don’t ‘dress up’ like anyone but myself.”
“Of course! And you look utterly lovely in those vintage clothes.” Heather grinned. “Actually, you remind me a lot of my grandmother. My mother had me young, you see, so my grandmother was the quintessential 1950s housewife. Styled herself just like you! She was all about the shirt dresses and curls. All you’re ever missing is a set of pearls!”
“I’ve never cared much for pearls, honestly,” Thelma said. She didn’t care much for necklaces in general, especially those that wrapped more closely to her throat than Catholic beads. “If it’s styling tips you’re after, Megan knows more about how to find those online than I do. I’ve just always done myself up like this.”
“Riiiiight.” Ben snickered again. This time, Pauline wasn’t backing down.
“We’ve got a lot of frozen groceries to unload for Thanksgiving,” she said with her curt politeness that Thelma often tried to emulate. “Sorry.”
“And you are?” Heather asked, incredulous.
“Pauline. Thelma’s friend.”
“Her friend! Well, how about that? We’ll leave you to it, then.” Heather motioned for Ben to come with her back across the street. “Happy Thanksgiving, ladies, and thank you for humoring us.”
Pauline watched after them as Thelma opened the truck again and grabbed everything she could carry. “What a couple of weirdos,” Pauline said as she followed Thelma to the front door. “It’s none of their business who you look like.”
Thelma didn’t bother turning on the lights as she headed straight back to the kitchen, where she planted the bags on the island counter and shook out her limbs. “Perhaps not.” She began meticulously unpacking the bags to assess what needed to go into the freezer first. “But I think they’re on to me. Or something.”
“Hmm. That would besomething,all right, considering your missing persons case is considered closed by the government.”
“But it’s cold, according to the public.”
“Indeed. True crime enthusiasts are a thorn in our sides, though. Luckily, my parents couldn’t file any such report on me back in the ‘30s. Didn’t have a birth certificate, either. Do you know how much convincing I had to do to ensure thoseFBI numb nuts knew who I was? They had no record of my existence!”
“Jo is from the 18thcentury.”
“True, but that’s actually easier for them to work with. When she got here, she was babbling inoldSpanish and dressed like she lived in the original LA pueblo. Shit, I never knew about that when I was a kid! I had to learn everything about that history from her.”
“I only really knew about the missions.”
“Same.”
Thelma sighed. “Obnoxious, isn’t it? People like that could cause me some real trouble. But why would they come out of the woodworknow?It’s like they knew something new.”
Pauline picked up the car keys from the counter. “Let me go grab the last of the groceries. You put these away. Let them lose interest.”
Nodding, Thelma opened the freezer and shoved the turkey in the spot she had already cleared away for it.Let them lose interest.That was how she would have to navigate this nonsense from now on. There would always be people curious about her appearance. Her case had become a local legend, probably because of how young she was and her husband and Sandy pushing it for years. Maybe Robbie had been happy to finally leave his mother to rest in the past.Yet, here I am.
Indeed, here she was. The spitting image of a dead woman.
The succulent scents of Thanksgiving dinner were the backdrop to Thelma’s triumphant return to the domestic sphere. She had taken such precious care of the tablescape the night before that nobody, least of all her own family, was allowed to eat theirdinner of chili at the table. For once, Thelma didn’t faint at the insinuation that they should eat on TV trays in the living room.
She had gone all out for the few guests who came. The straw and wax cornucopia centerpiece was pulled out of the attic, supposedly from the ‘70s. Thelma had picked up some matching brown and wine-red cloth napkins from the local thrift store.To go with my Fiesta collection, of course.Robbie had mildly lost his mind to ask where she had found the money to purchase more sets from the department store. When she told him she used her monthly government stipend, he lostmoreof his mind, since those werehistaxes going toward “fancy ceramics.”I had to remind him that these are finely American-made! That’s American jobs!Thelma would not apologize for her meticulously set table, which mixed pieces from not just her fall favorites of Mulberry and Paprika, but incorporated Sunflower, Cinnabar, and Claret as well.Don’t get me started on my Christmas plans.Megan continued to tease her for such a “grandmotherly” obsession with dishes, and Thelma had to remind her thatevery homemaker should take quality into account as well as beauty.Besides, they needed more nice dishes for all the company coming over!
“This looks great, Thel!” That was how Pauline greeted her in the morning before they went right to work with peeling, basting, and chopping. Robbie stayed out of the way by eating cereal for breakfast in front of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade, and he did not want to hear how it was a throwback to the last Thanksgiving they celebrated together in 1957.Eating cereal in front of the parade. Adorable.Ethan had come over with his wife and spent most of the morning reading a book in the downstairs nook. Rain had lightly fallen, casting a somber but cozy mood on the living room.
