Unsettled by Patricia Reis

Author:Patricia Reis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sibylline Press

MAPLE GROVE, IOWA

JUNE 17, 2000

__________

SATURDAY MORNING AND DEE DEE’S was a clatter of plates, cutlery and the congenial chit-chat of old folks waiting for breakfast. Dee Dee was working at a pace from grill to table to counter. Lillian from the town office was in line for a takeout lunch. She gave Van a wide smile. “Maybe see you later, dear, but first, you get yourself a hearty breakfast.”

Van stepped aside as Dee Dee squeezed past juggling a foot-high stack of pancakes destined for a crowded table. “Folks here prefer to eat home-style,” she explained, spelling out the obvious.

Back at her post behind the counter, she asked, “Now what can I get for you this morning, hon?”

“Give me the whole shebang. I need nourishment. Between the town office, the library and the Ida County courthouse, I’ve got my work cut out. Research burns calories like you wouldn’t believe.”

Dee Dee cracked eggs with one hand, laid slabs of bacon and hash browns on the sizzling griddle and popped two slices of wheat bread into the toaster. “Those girls helping you out?”

“Best research assistants I’ve ever had, bar none.”

Van settled into her back table. No one else ever ate alone; even the old-timers perched side by side on the red stools kept up a continual banter. Dee Dee brought her coffee.

“Helen was in the other day asking about you. She’s on her way up to South Dakota to visit her ninety-five-year-old sister who’s in a nursing home. She seems to have taken an interest in you. Hopes you’ll be here when she gets back.”

“I guess it depends on when she’s coming back. I gave myself a week for this project, but the more I get into it, the longer it takes to sort out. It’s already day six. Which reminds me, are you open on Sundays?”

“Even God took a day off, hon. But there are a few other places to get some eats. Chinese. It’ll get you by for a day.”

Dee Dee brought a breakfast fit for a giantess. Between forkfuls of eggs and hash browns doused in ketchup, Van listed out her next steps—back to Marion and the library, and then to Shirley in Ida Grove to see if there were more Kohler documents.

Fully fortified, Van walked to the library and found Marion minding the front desk. “Not many patrons here this morning. People getting ready for the weekend I suppose. What can I help you with today, dear?”

“I thought as long as I’m doing research about early pioneer days, it might be a good idea to explore Iowa’s Native history. You know, the tribes that were here before the land was sold to farmers.”

“I see.” Marion frowned. “Well, there are a few textbooks. But I guess they are pretty outdated, if you know what I mean.”

“I do know. I took a look at a few of them the other day. Isn’t there anything more recent? Maybe something from the university?”

“I’ll check the catalogue for you, dear. Maybe something has come in.

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