PACKAGE FOR ALICE
POINT CLEAR, ALABAMA
PETE THE MAILMAN WALKED TO SOOKIE’S DOOR AND KNOCKED JUST AS Lenore was coming up the stairs with a sack of B & B pecans she had picked up for Sookie. When Sookie opened the door, she saw them both and said, “Well, good morning!”
Pete said, “Good morning. I’ve got another package for Alice Finch.”
“Oh, thank you, Pete. I’ll take it.”
“She’s been here for quite a while now. She must like it here.”
“Yes, she does. Thank you, Pete,” Sookie said. “Have a nice day.”
As Lenore walked in the door, she asked, “Who’s Alice Finch?”
“Just a friend.”
“What friend?”
“You don’t know her, Mother.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
“I know everybody who’s moved here. I’ve never heard of anyone named Alice Finch.”
“She’s a friend of Marvaleen’s.”
“Oh, well, no wonder. Why are you getting her mail?”
“Mother, do you have to know everything?”
“Yes, I do. Here are your pecans.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any of Earle’s coffee left? I need a little more. Conchita makes the weakest cup of coffee known to man.”
“No, but I can make some. Did I tell you I spoke to Carter?”
“No.”
“He has a new girlfriend, but he isn’t serious about her, he says.”
“Well I certainly didn’t like the last one he brought home. She was far too loud and aggressive for my taste.”
ALTHOUGH SOOKIE REMAINED PLEASANT on the outside, the next hour and a half was sheer torture. She was dying for her mother to leave so she could open her package, and the minute she heard the front door shut, she tore into it.
Dear Alice,
Here are a few articles and other stuff. Some of the pictures are a little faded, but I thought you might want to see them. Will send more when I find it.
She opened the folder and saw a newspaper clipping with a picture of a slender young woman wearing jodhpurs, lace-up leather boots, and a white shirt standing by a plane with her hands in her pockets.
Sookie knew this was a special moment in her life. She was looking at a picture of her real mother for the very first time. The pretty dark-haired girl smiling at the camera couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen, but she looked so confident and self-assured. Underneath the picture was the headline:
MISS FRITZI JURDABRALINSKI OF PULASKI
BECOMES WISCONSIN’S FIRST GIRL PILOT
Pulaski News
1939
Miss Fritzi Jurdabralinaki, Pulaski’s own Amelia Earhart, will be appearing with the famous Billy Bevins Flying Circus.
Then Sookie saw a clipping with another photo of Fritzi.
SISTER JOINS HER BROTHER IN THE AIR, FLYING FOR THE USA
Green Bay Journal
1943
Miss Fritzi Jurdabralinski, a licensed pilot, has joined a group of women fliers who have volunteered their flying services to the United States government. She will be going to Houston, Texas, for training. “I am very happy and hopefully, with women taking over the domestic ferrying of planes, we will be able to get this war over sooner.” Fritzi is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Stanislaw Jurdabralinski of Pulaski, Wisconsin.
Sookie sat staring at the glamorous girl in the photos. She liked her face and the way she stood, looking like she was ready to go out and conquer the world.
Before that, Fritzi had just been a name on a piece of paper, but now that Sookie saw that she was a real person, the enormity of it all hit her. This was her mother, who had carried her for nine months. This pretty girl was the one who had given birth to her. Had she held her, she wondered? Or had she not even looked at her? Why had she handed her over to strangers? Had she done something wrong? Had her mother not liked her? Earle was right. She had to try to find her. She might not like the answers, but she couldn’t go on not knowing. Now she was worried she had waited too long.
When Earle came home, he was glad about the decision. “I know it’s a hard thing to do, but like I said, if you don’t try, you will always regret it.”
Earle went to the computer and started searching for websites pertaining to former WASP pilots and found one. After a few days, he had an answer and a telephone number. Mrs. Fritzi Bevins of Solvang, California, was still very much alive.
SOOKIE SAT THERE WITH the number in her hand. “Earle, could you call her?”
“No, sweetie, that wouldn’t be right. You’re the one she wants to hear from, not me. Do you want me to dial the number?”
“No.”
“Do you want me to be here with you?”
“No, it would make me too nervous.”
“All right, but I’ll be right outside on the porch, okay?”
“But Earle, what if she hangs up on me?”
“Honey, she’s not going to hang up on you.”
“Okay, but what if I faint?”
“You’re not going to faint.”
“I feel like I might.”
“All right, I’ll tell you what. I’ll go and get the smelling salts, and if you start to feel funny, just take a few whiffs. But you’re not going to faint.” He came back and handed her a small bottle. “You can do this, sweetheart. And you’ll be so glad you did. I’ll be right outside.”
Earle left, and she stared at the phone. She had the same feeling she had when she was eight and had climbed up on the high diving board at the swimming pool and had looked down. It had been so embarrassing. She’d had to turn around and crawl back down the ladder and make her way past all the other kids who just couldn’t wait to jump.
She went over all of Earle’s pep talk points in her head. Okay, you have nothing to lose … everything to gain. She will be glad to hear from you, and even if she isn’t, you at least tried.
She closed her eyes and dialed. 805-555-0726. Oh, God. As the phone was ringing, she suddenly felt her mouth go dry. She might not be able to speak. Should she hang up?
“Hello.”
“Hello … is this Mrs. Fritzi Bevins?”
“Yes, it is.”
“From Pulaski, Wisconsin?”
“Yes.”
“Uh … you don’t know me, but I recently received some papers. From Texas. And, well … I think I might be your daughter?”
There was a long silence on the other end, and then after a moment, the woman in a softer voice said, “Hiya, pal. I’ve been waiting for this call for a long time.”
A FEW MINUTES LATER, after she hung up, Sookie screamed, “Earle!” He jumped up and ran in, and Sookie said, “I just talked to her.”
“You’re kidding.”
“No!”
“How did she sound?”
“Very nice. And she’s invited me to come to see her.”
“No! Wow.”
“Can you believe it? She said she would love to meet me.”
“See? Now, aren’t you proud of yourself?”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to go?”
“Well, maybe …”
A FEW DAYS LATER, Sookie went up and knocked on Lenore’s door, and Lenore opened it just a tiny crack. “Mother, it’s me. I just wanted you to know that I will be gone for a little while, so if you need me to do anything before I leave, let me know.”
“Well, come in, don’t stand out on the porch. You’re letting all the air-conditioning out.”
“Okay, but I can’t stay.”
“Come in. Now, what do you mean you’re going to be gone? Where are you going?”
“To a health spa.”
“A health spa? What for?”
“Earle thinks I’ve put on a few pounds, and I just need a little rest … after the weddings.”
“Where?”
“Oh, I guess my hips.”
“No, where is the spa?”
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“California.”
“California? What’s the matter with the hotel spa right up the street?”
“Nothing. I just need a change of scenery.”
“You don’t look fat to me.”
“Mother, please!”
“All right, all right. But I just hope this trip is not another one of Marvaleen’s harebrained ideas.”
“No, Mother, she has nothing to do with it.”
“Well, good. That girl is just not up to you, socially or otherwise. Don’t forget you have your reputation to think about. When will you be back?”
“I’m not sure, but call Earle if you need anything.”
Lenore looked at her as she walked toward the door and called out, “Sookie!”
“Yes?”
“Make sure your luggage matches.” Lenore had not said anything to anybody, but she was still concerned about her daughter. She just hadn’t seemed herself lately.
MEETING MOTHER
SOLVANG, CALIFORNIA
THE CAR PICKED SOOKIE UP AT THE SANTA BARBARA AIRPORT AND drove her about forty-five minutes up the 101 Freeway and into the small Danish town of Solvang. Sure enough, there were windmills everywhere. She had never been to Europe, but she felt like she was there. The driver, who had the address, went through town and made a right turn on Alisal Road and drove about three blocks, and there was the sign, RANCHO ALISAL ESTATES. AS he turned right on the street, she suddenly said, “Stop! Please, may I just sit here for a minute?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said and pulled over to the side of the road.
She took her small bottle of smelling salts out and took a few sniffs and sat and waited. There was a moment when she just wanted to turn around and go home. But she pulled herself together and said, “All right, I’m ready.”
FRITZI HAD SAID SHE lived in a trailer park, but this was no ordinary trailer park. This one was beautiful, with a lovely little golf course in the middle. They found her street and pulled up to a pretty light blue mobile home, and the driver said, “This is it.”
Sookie got out and walked up the three steps covered with green felt leading to the front door with her heart pounding, but before she could knock, an older woman with dyed blond hair worn up on her head in curls, wearing a sleeveless striped cotton dress and white plastic earrings, opened the door. And after all the mental rehearsing of just what she would say, at this very moment, all Sookie could manage was a weak little, “Are you Mrs. Bevins?”
“You bet I am,” said the woman in a definite Midwestern twang. “You must be Sarah Jane. Come on in. I was kinda worried you wouldn’t find me, but here you are.”
“Yes, well, I had someone drive me.”
“Ah, smart. Come on in the living room, and have a seat. You must be tired coming all this way.”
Sookie walked over and sat down on the brown plaid sofa and placed her purse by her side.
The woman sat across from her and said, “Well … you made it.”
“Yes,” and after an awkward silence, Sookie said, “Uh … you have a lovely place here.”
“Thanks. It’s not much, but it’s paid for. You need to use the facilities?”
“Pardon me?”
“The bathroom.”
“Oh, no, I’m fine. Thank you.” Sookie couldn’t help but stare at her. The lady was older, but she still recognized her from the old photos. And now seeing her in person, she could see a definite similarity to her own face. “Well … so here we are, after all these years,” said Sookie.
“Yeah, here we are.”
“Yes.”
“Is this your first time in California?”
“Yes.”
“Would you like some coffee or a drink? I’ve got some beer or wine and some hard stuff in there, I think.”
“No, thank you, but I would love some water, if you have it.”
“Oh, sure. It’s not bottled, though. Is that all right?”
“That’s fine.” Sookie looked around and noticed the photographs that almost filled the fake brown wooden walls in the living room and all the way down the hall. “This certainly is a lovely spot, Mrs. Bevins. Driving in from Santa Barbara was just beautiful. All the mountains and trees.”
“Call me Fritzi, honey, everybody does. Yeah, I’m from Wisconsin, but hell, after you’ve seen California, I couldn’t live anywhere else.” She walked over and handed Sookie a glass of water.
Sookie took it, but her hands were shaking so much she spilled some of it on the rug. “I’m so sorry. I think I’m just a little nervous.”
“Don’t worry about it, kid. We both are. Don’t forget the last time I saw you, you had no hair or teeth and weighed eight pounds, and now look at you. A grown woman with four kids. And good-looking, too.”
“Really? Well, thank you.”
“I know I’m not much to look at now, but believe it or not, I used to be somewhat of a looker.”
“Oh, you were. Absolutely. I’ve seen pictures of you. You were wonderful looking and still are. Your hair is different, but I would have recognized you anywhere.”
“Yeah? Well, I guess I look pretty good for an old bag. Where did you see my picture?”
“In the newspaper articles. I read all about you, and I’m just in awe of what you did during the war. You were so brave.”
“Well, honey, it was a job that needed to be done, and we did it, that’s all. What about you? Have you had a good life?”
“Oh, yes, and as I mentioned, I have a wonderful husband and four wonderful children, and well, you have four wonderful grandchildren.”
“And the people who adopted you, were they good to you?”
“Oh, yes, just wonderful. I have no complaints.”
“Are they still alive?”
“Just my mother—well, the lady who adopted me. My father passed away in 1984.”
“I’m sorry to hear it. Does your mother know you’re here?”
“No. She doesn’t know that I know I was adopted.”
“Ah.”
“I didn’t see any reason to upset her. She’s not … well, anyhow … no, I didn’t tell her. I hope you don’t mind that I came. I can understand that meeting me must be very difficult for you, but I really needed to see you in person and, well, come to terms with … well, as you can imagine, it was quite a surprise to find out after all these years.”
“Ah, yeah, and I’ll bet you have a lot of questions you need me to answer. So ask away.”
“Well, yes I do. I have a list somewhere here.” Sookie fished in her purse. “Oh, here it is. I guess I need to know about family health issues. If there was anything genetic we should be worried about, any heart or diabetes or mental issues. Things like that.”
“No, everybody mostly died of old age. Everybody was pretty hardy.” She laughed. “Some a little too hardy. Momma and Gertrude got pretty fat in their old age.”
“Oh, well, that could explain my oldest daughter, Dee Dee. She’s always had a tendency to put on weight. So, umm … no dementia or Alzheimer’s?”
“No, everybody—Momma, Poppa—were as sharp as tacks right up until the day they died. And just so you know, all of us Polacks are pretty healthy.”
“Well, that’s certainly good to know.” Of course, the elephant in the living room was who her father was. Fritzi didn’t seem to be forthcoming with that information, and Sookie thought it might be rude just to ask her outright so soon. “I guess I have so many things I’ve wondered about.”
“Yes?”
“I guess I wondered, during all these years, did you ever think about me?”
Fritzi nodded. “Oh, sure, kid. All the time. I always wondered how you turned out. What you looked like, what you were up to. Things like that.”
“I see … and did you ever think about trying to find me?”
“No, I never did. I figured it was best not to. To tell you the truth, after the war, I went through a pretty rough patch. Drank too much, stuff like that.”
“Oh.??
?
“Did you bring pictures of your kids?”
“Oh, yes.”
After Fritzi looked at all the pictures, she said, “Great-looking kids. And your husband looks like a regular nice guy.”
“Oh, he is. And he said to be sure and tell you that he would love to meet you one day, but he thought that maybe I should come by myself the first time. And, of course, if you ever need any dental work, he’d be glad to do it. To tell you the truth, I really wanted him to come with me. I was kind of scared to come by myself, but I’m so glad I did. I’d love to see some photographs of your … well, my family.”
“Oh, sure, kid. I got all of them hung up.” As they walked down the hall, Sookie saw a picture of the four sisters standing in front of the all-girl filling station taken in 1942. Sookie was surprised at how much her girls looked like the Jurdabralinski sisters.
Sookie said, “I just can’t imagine how hard it must have been to run a gas station.”
Fritzi nodded. “It was, but it was also a hell of a lot of fun. And this is your Uncle Wink when he was in the Air Corps over in England.”
“Oh, wow, he looks a little like my son, Carter.”
“Yeah?”
“He has the same smile.”
Then Fritzi pointed to another photograph. “And here’s a picture of your grandmother standing in front of the house. You can’t tell here, but Momma was the one with the really red hair.”
“Really?”
“You bet. Even redder than yours.”
“Is this the house where you grew up?”
“Yep. Poppa built it for us in the twenties. But after Wink died, Angie sold it to a real nice family in town.”
“Is the filling station still open?”
“No, it closed down a long time ago. I think they just use it for storage or something now, but it’s still there.”
After they had visited for a while and Fritzi had made them a cup of coffee, Fritzi picked up the pictures of Sookie’s family and looked at them again. “Real nice house. Right on the water.”