Waiting for Dusk (4 page)

Miss Betsy was waiting for them. “Lucinda
dear, you will be working in the dining room all day today. Ruthie,
Anna and Kathryn, come with me.”

She assigned tasks in the kitchen to each
girl and then went into the dining room to watch over Lucinda.

Katie had the job of retrieving eggs from the
hen house again. She did much better this time. Just as she opened
the kitchen door to go inside, she heard a familiar voice.

“You do get a lunch break, don’t you,
Kate?”

She whirled around to see Drew standing
behind her. She almost dropped the basket of eggs.

“Yes, of course I do,” she said indignantly.
She really didn’t remember last time if she did or not.

“Well, then I would love to have lunch with
you. I’d love to show you the park.” Drew pointed past the
hotel.

“The p-p-park?” She completely forgot she was
at some sort of resort people in the 1920’s vacationed at.

“Do you know where you’re at?” Drew chuckled
light-heartedly.

“Well, I know it’s hot and dry here. Not too
much grass. Lots of pine trees. The sky is always blue and the sun
shines high in the sky,” Katie tried to be factual. Too scared to
look around the first day, she just gazed at the other girls’ faces
during the car ride to the hotel. This morning she had her eyes
closed the whole time.

“Come here,” Drew took Katie’s hand. She
almost dropped the basket again. He took it from her and set it on
the step.

They walked to the end of the building and
around the corner. Katie gasped. She put her hand over her mouth
and then mumbled, “The Grand Canyon.”

“Yes, that’s right. You didn’t know you were
working at El Tovar at the Canyon?”

“Yes...yes of course I knew!” Kate fibbed.
Her eyes were still as large as saucers. It was such an
overwhelming sight. She looked at Drew. He was looking at the
canyon with awe, too. “You love it, don’t you?”

“Yes, that’s why I’m here. To learn as much
as I possibly can about it.” He became very quiet.

“I need to get back, but I’ll meet you later
for lunch.”

“Lunch it is.”

The morning seemed to drag by. Katie thought
it would never be lunchtime. Then the backdoor flew open and Drew
walked in. He was greeted by everyone. He knew them all by name.
“Cook, what’s good for lunch today?” He slapped Cook on the
back.

Cook’s brown skin glistened from working over
the hot stove. He wiped his brow and turned toward Drew.
“Everything’s good, Andrew. You know that. I
am
the Cook!”
They laughed like they were the best of friends.

Katie loved when Cook laughed. His teeth were
the whitest Katie ever saw. His face lit up the room and he put
everyone in a good mood.

Cook handed Andrew a pail. “Have a good
lunch. And don’t fall into the canyon. I swear you get too close to
that edge.”

“You’ll have to join me, Thomas, on a hike or
maybe that mule ride down the trail,” he teased. “I know you don’t
care to get too close to the canyon edge in any form. You’ll have
to get over that fear if you want to be a ranger someday.” He
slapped Thomas on the back. “Or you can stick to being the greatest
cook here at the park.”

Andrew headed for the door, but not before
catching Katie’s eye and pointing toward the canyon. Katie’s heart
skipped a beat. She wanted to gaze into that face for longer than a
minute. She couldn’t wait.

Cook broke Katie’s thoughts. “Hello, Kate!
It’s time for a lunch break. Hey, that rhymes.” He laughed at his
own joke.

Katie jumped and came back to reality.
“Thanks, Cook,” she said as he handed her a little pail covered
with one of the dining room’s cloth napkins. She didn’t realize he
called her Kate.

Anna ran up to her. “You are on your own
today. You can go into the lunchroom or there are tables outside in
the back. Here’s some sweet tea.” She handed Katie a small jug.

“Thanks, Anna. I think I’ll go outside
today.”

Anna’s dark brown eyes seemed to have love
and concern in them as Katie took the tea from her. Anna was
lovely, even though her long hair was tied back in a bun and
covered in netting like the other girls. Anna’s dark blonde hair
was done up so neatly. Katie didn’t know if she’d ever get the hang
of it.

“Have a good lunch then. See you in a
half-hour.”

Half-hour? That’s all I get
?
Well,
I better make the best of it
. She hurried out the door.

Katie ran around to the front of the hotel.
She didn’t see Drew anywhere.

“Up here!” She looked back at the hotel. El
Tovar was an amazing structure of dark timber and stone. She
scanned the building from side to side. Then she spotted Drew on
the front porch.

“Oh, I don’t’ think I’m allowed up
there.”

“It’s fine. Come on!”

Katie sheepishly climbed the steps. It was a
beautiful day, the porch was beautiful and he was beautiful. Cook
gave them fresh turkey sandwiches on crusty rolls with lettuce and
tomato. Katie shared her tea with him. As they ate, they talked
about trivial things. Kate realized she wanted to know more about
him but could wait.

Drew pulled out a pocket watch. “You still
have fifteen minutes. I want to show you something.”

He took Kate by the hands and pulled her up,
stacked the pails and put the napkins inside. He set the pails
under some brush, hidden from view. They went straight to the
canyon from the porch. Drew walked out on a piece of rock that
jutted out a little further than the rest of the land.

“Drew!” Katie felt butterflies in her
stomach.

He held out his hand. “Come on. I won’t let
you fall.”

She slowly stepped onto the rock, and inched
towards him. Her heart pounded but she felt safe. He put both arms
around her, holding her tight as they both faced the canyon. “There
is nothing like it, is there?” He whispered softly in her ear.

Katie could have stayed like that for the
rest of the day, but knew she had to get back to work. The magic
had to end. “I have to go.”

“Yes, I know.”

They stepped back a few feet until they were
on what Katie thought was more solid ground. She knew the rock was
just an extension of the land but it felt as if she was miles from
El Tovar. She turned to run back to the hotel, then stopped.

“Drew, I...” She looked into his eyes, his
sparkling emerald eyes. Her heart flipped. “I hope to see you
later.”

“You will. You definitely will. Tomorrow is
Saturday!”

Katie ran up to the brush next to the hotel,
grabbed the pails and headed to the back of El Tovar. Saturday
couldn’t come soon enough. For now, she needed to finish her shift
and then head to the boardinghouse and go to sleep. She knew the
only way to get back here was through her dreams.
How confident
am I? Will I be able to return? I’ll just have to believe, like in
all good fairytales.

After the work day finished, Mr. Carl was
waiting in his usual spot as the girls came out the back door.
“Where to?” he joked.

“Home, my feet hurt.” Lucinda answered for
all of them.

“Sounds good to me.” Kate nodded in
agreement, although the girls would never know the real meaning of
those words.

Chapter Six

Katie woke up in her
own bed back in Ohio. Not as startled but still a little confused.
How could she keep having the same dream? She needed to do some
investigating. Maybe she saw those people on the family trip to the
Grand Canyon. She sprang out of bed because a brilliant idea just
came to her.

Her father always took a lot of pictures. He
liked to take what he called ‘people’ pictures because it added to
their memories of the vacation. He snapped pictures with the
servers in the restaurants, and even the bellhops bringing in the
luggage. He loved to get pictures of strangers doing interesting
things, too. Of course, there were lots of Katie and her mom,
too.

“Morning, Mom!” Katie glided into the
kitchen.

“Mmm, you’re in a good mood today, sweetie.
And look at you! You have quite a tan after being at the
beach.”

“I’ve been working on this tan all summer.
You just haven’t noticed.” Katie quickly changed the subject. “Mom,
where are the pictures from the Grand Canyon vacation?”

Her mother’s expression changed to one of
surprise. “You want to look at vacation pictures?”

“Mom...” Katie was impatient.

“They’re on the computer. You know that.”

“Yeah, I do. Didn’t you make an album, too?”
Her mom had the habit of making a scrapbook of all their trips.
Katie really wanted to study the pictures.

“Yep, I did. Guilty as charged. Don’t make
fun of me. It’s relaxing and also a good hobby.” Her mother
laughed.

“I’m not making fun of you. I really want to
see your album. I’m sure it’s very well done, fun to look at and
informative.” Katie hoped she gave all the right answers.

Her mother disappeared for a minute and
returned with the book. “Have fun! I’m going to the grocery store.
Want anything?”

“Not that I can think of but I’ll call you if
I do!” Katie said as she headed outside and sat on the deck. She
really wanted to concentrate on the photos.

Her mom did a nice job. The book began with
their road trip. They stopped along the way to detour from their
route and do extra sight-seeing. Katie flipped the pages.
Come
on! Get to the canyon already!
She thought and then
stopped.

There was a beautiful scenic picture of the
canyon with her father standing on the edge of what looked like a
rock, a very familiar rock—like the one Drew and Katie had stood
on.
So it does exist!
She probably remembered that spot and
placed herself there in the dream. Next she scanned the faces of
the people in the pictures, but did not recognize anyone.

Suddenly she realized her mother didn’t use
all the pictures, so Katie ran in the house and turned on the main
computer. She sat down and waited, tapping her foot. They took over
three hundred pictures on that vacation, so it would take some time
to load.

The phone rang. Katie picked it up one the
first ring since she was right at the computer desk in the
kitchen.

“Katie? It’s Mom. I’m going to have to go to
the university. Got a call from a student. I’ll grocery shop on my
way home from there. Sorry to leave you home alone. I thought we
could do something again today.”

“Not a problem. I have things that will keep
me busy.”

She hung up the phone, then got back to
studying the pictures.
Ooo!
There are some pictures of
our servers at the Grand Canyon,
she thought
.
One girl
had blonde hair.
Anna?

Katie clicked on the girl’s face and zoomed
in. Not a match. She continued doing that throughout the day and
came up empty.

Her phone buzzed. Katie took it out of her
pocket and looked at the screen. She got a new text message. It was
from Ty.
Coming home tomorrow. Can’t wait 2 c u.

Wow! Is it August already?
Ty had been
at basketball camp for the month of July. They would start school
in a few weeks and be juniors together—Ty on the basketball team
and Katie as a basketball cheerleader. That’s what they always
promised each other every summer since Ty moved in across the
street from her. Had eight years gone that fast?

Well, Tyson would be on the basketball team
but Katie would definitely not be a cheerleader because she didn’t
try out. Ty kept telling her that she was good enough to make the
squad but that wasn’t the point. It wasn’t a top priority anymore.
She’d have one more chance in the fall and wasn’t sure if she was
going to take it.

Katie’s mind wandered. She thought about the
girls from the boardinghouse and hoped Lucinda had a good day as a
Harvey girl. She wondered what Drew was doing at that very moment.
Katie clicked on the picture of her father standing on the rock by
the canyon. She stared at it until she heard someone come in the
door.

“Katie, are you still looking at pictures?”
her mother asked.

“No” She clicked off the picture and closed
the window.

“Look who I found in the driveway,” Joanna’s
voice sounded light and happy.

Katie swung around. “Ty! Your text said you
were coming home tomorrow!”

He just gave her one of those goofy, crooked
grins that she loved.

Katie jumped up and flew into his arms after
he set the groceries down.

“Thanks, Ty, for helping me bring the bags
in. I’ll let you two catch up. I’m glad Katie has one of her
friends back in town.” Katie’s mom patted him on the arm.

They went into the family room to talk.

“I swear you grew another inch while you were
gone!” Katie exclaimed.

“Six-foot-three now! I’m going to make the
varsity team, I just know it!” Ty seemed so self-confident. The
camp must have really helped him. His sandy blonde hair was tousled
and his hazel eyes flashed brightly. “Our dream will finally come
true!

“Oh, Ty, that’s just a kid’s dream. I
probably won’t make the cheer squad. I don’t think I will even try
out.”

“You have to! It will be a perfect junior
year just as we planned. Remember the other part of our plan?”

Katie nodded. “When we turn sixteen we have
our first beer together. How lame is that?” Katie laughed so hard
she rolled onto the floor.

Ty laughed, too, and joined her on the floor.
He was lying very close to her. “Gosh, Katie, you are so
beautiful.”

Where did that come from? Ty was one of her
closest friends. He was not supposed to be calling her beautiful.
He moved his face closer to hers.

Oh, no, he wants to kiss me
, Katie
thought. She pulled back and then jumped up. “Come on, Ty. Let’s go
for a swim before dinner.”