SATURDAY STORY - AUGUST 6, 2022 - CELESTE PART II

 SATURDAY STORY, AUGUST 6, 2022 - CELESTE - PART II

On Saturdays, I write fiction (and tell myself that practice makes perfect).  This week I’m writing Celeste’s story.  She is 90 years old and is telling me about her life.

*****

Celeste continues her story.

Throughout elementary school, I talked with ladies in posters - like Pearl and Opal.  In third grade, the poster was touting athletic success and the lady was Rudy.  After my first experience, I started to look at posters expecting them to speak to me.  Seemingly only one poster at a time could talk to me.

Ruby was the poster my teacher had selected in third grade at Cleveland Elementary School in Prairie du Chien Wisconsin.  She was at the door of the coat closet.  During winter or rainy days, we would hang our coats in the coat closet.  In the morning it was a busy place and likewise in the afternoon.  I had looked at the poster on the first day of class expecting the lady to talk - but she didn’t talk, but she winked at me!!  YAY!!!

The first time Ruby and I talked was in mid-October.  It was a rainy day and I had worn my yellow slicker jacket to school.  After school, the sun was shining and I started to walk home but remembered I had left my slicker in the coat room.  I met Ms. Rentsch in the hallway.  She was headed to the faculty room and had an empty coffee cup in her hand.

Ms. Rentsch asked, “Did you forget something, Celeste?”

I answered sheepishly, “Yes, I wore my rain jacket this morning and forgot about it.”

Ms. Rentsch laughed, “I’m going for coffee and a faculty meeting.  The room is open, grab your jacket”.

My mind was racing.  I would be alone in the classroom with the poster for the first time.  Maybe I’d get to meet the new poster lady.  

I went into the room and looked around.  Yes, it was empty and I headed to the coat closet.  

“Hello,” I said to the poster.  “I’m Celeste.”

The poster lady grinned at me.  “I’ve been waiting to meet you, Celeste.  Opal told me all about you and your clarinet playing.  I’m Ruby.”

I said “Hi Ruby.  How are you?”

Ruby said, “I lead an active life (except for the time I’m in my poster).  I love to run and jump.”

I replied, “That’s neat.  I like to run.  I’m not much of a jumper.”

Ruby asked, “Would you like to run with me?”

“Sure”, I replied, not thinking about how that would work.

Ruby said, “Here - jump into my poster.”

At that, the poster grew to fit the door and Ruby’s hand stretched out to help me into the poster.

‘This is amazing, I thought.

I got into the poster and we were on a track outside a school, but it wasn’t our school or our track.  There were others there running around the oval track.  I recognized Opal from last year.  She waved at me, but she was helping an older girl with the high jump.

Ruby looked at me, and especially at my feet.  “Hmmm”, she said, “You need new shoes to run with me”.  

We walked to a table where an older lady sat.  And, immediately I recognized Pearl - the carnival lady with the sparkly blue hair.  I gasped.

“Hi, Pearl.  WOW - it’s nice to see you again”!!

“It sure is nice”, answered Pearl.

Ruby interrupted and said, “Celeste needs some running shoes, Pearl.  Can you help her?”

Pearl answered, “Of course, I can, Ruby”.

Under the table were boxes of shoes.  Pearl looked at my feet and picked out two boxes.  

“Here, try these on,” Pearl said and pointed to a chair next to the table.

Both Ruby and Pearl watched as I took off my old scuffed up shoes and tried on the first pair.  They were pink Nike shoes with the scoop on the shoes.  They were a little snug.  

“Take a step”, Pearl directed.  Somehow, the shoes resized themselves and felt so good.

“Run to the light pole and back,” said Ruby.

I did and it seemed like I was floating on air in those shoes.

“Now try the other pair”, said Pearl.

The other pair didn’t have a name and, really, were not all that stylish.  I didn’t want to wear a bland pair of running shoes.  But, with Ruby and Pearl watching me, I took off the pink Nike shoes and put on the dull, off-white, no-name shoes.

To my amazement, they felt even better than the Nike shoes, but they still weren’t very pretty. 

Pearl again asked me to run to the light pole and back.  WOW - these were super fast.  

When I got back to Ruby and Pearl, they both were laughing and nodding.  

“Yes”, said Ruby, “Those shoes are amazing aren’t they?”.

I had to agree with her.  “Yes, they are,” I commented.

“Go around the track with me”. Ruby said.  Ruby was fast, but, somehow, with those shoes, I was even faster and beat her around the track by about ten steps.

Then my brain clicked in.  “Oh no”, I said.  “I have to be home or I’ll be in trouble.”

Ruby and Pearl looked at each other and then at me.  

Pearl said, “Honey, you are in a magical world.  Time in your world stands still and waits for you while you are here.”

I looked at my watch.  It looked like it had stopped at 3:17 just the time I jumped into the poster.  

That afternoon, Ruby and I ran.  Then Ruby helped me jump over the low hurdles, tried the shot put, and finally tried out the long jump. We stopped by Pearl’s table twice and she gave up bottles of water.

“You have to keep hydrated”, she said.

There were other events.  I joined with three other girls about my age and we ran a relay against a boys team - and we WON.  I was second longest in the long jump.  I had three tries and I scratched twice by stepping on the line that marks the starting point.

I have no idea how long we were there, but I was getting tired and hungry.  Ruby recognized it.

Ruby said, “Are you ready to go back?”.

I answered “yes”.

Pearl looked at my feet.  “I think you’ll need to give those shoes back to me.  Your folks would want to know where you got them.”

I wanted to object, but I know the minute I walked in the door, Mom would look at my feet and say “Where did you get the shoes.”  Yeah, I had to give those shoes back.

Pearl hugged me and I walked back with Ruby to the spot where I had entered this world.  There was a white sheet there and Ruby held my hand as we stepped into the sheet and -boom- we were back in the classroom again.  I looked at my watch.  It was moving now and it read “3:18”.  Ruby hugged me and said, “I’ll see you again Celeste”.  

I grabbed my yellow rain slicker and walked home.  My feet felt so slow.  As I got to the corner of South Wacouta Avenue and Dunn Street, I decided to sprint home.  It was grand.

*****

I said “Hi” to Ruby’s poster every day and she winked, or if nobody was around would compliment me on what I was wearing and say something positive.  

I hoped Ruby would help me with the spelling quizzes, but she didn’t.  But, somehow I did great and was at the top in the class in spelling.  And, on the playground, I was the fastest, just barely edging out my friend Shelley.  

*****

Ruby would take me someplace about once a week.  Maybe the scariest time was right in the middle of class.  I needed to get my pencil case which was in the coat closet.  The rest of the students were writing and as I passed the poster, Ruby reached out and gestured to jump in with her.  I did.  

We went to a climbing wall.  The leaders, Opal, Pearl, Ruby, and others, fastened a rope around us - and we got to climb the wall. It was fun.  I became good friends with Cindy.  Cindy was heavier (okay, maybe fat).  She and I climbed together and she had the funniest laugh and joyous personality.  Somehow we didn’t ask too many personal things - like where she was from.  Once I tried to tell Cindy that I was from Prairie du Chien Wisconsin but it didn’t come out.  Cindy was black.  

There were boys too, but, girls in the third grade thought boys had cooties and we generally just hung around with the other girls.  

*****

Coming back while the class was still in session might be a challenge.  Ruby was at her poster and she whispered “now”, and I jumped back into class.  Ms. Rentsch must have seen the movement as she looked up and said “What are you doing Celeste?’  

Quietly, so as not to disturb the class, I said “I’m getting another pencil, this one is broken”.  I held up the two short pieces of my old pencil (which somehow were still in my hand).  She nodded, and I got a pencil out of my pencil case.

*****

After Thanksgiving and before Christmas, after school, Ruby called me into her poster.  We got into a room with piles of snow gear.  Ruby looked me over and picked a snowsuit and boots in my size, and we went outdoors.  A group of students - most of whom looked familiar was on the slopes, with toboggans and sleds.  Cindy and I shared a toboggan and we had races with some of the other kids.  Then there was hot chocolate and pizza.  

Pearl was serving the pizza.  She whispered to me “Take only one slice of pizza.  Your Mom will think you’re sick if you have a full stomach and don’t want to eat when you get home”.  

The pizza was delicious.  I’m not sure what was different - the sauce, the dough, the toppings, but it was just better than any pizza I had before.  I wanted a second slice, but realized that Pearl was right - don’t overdo the pizza eating.

A bell rang someplace, and Ruby came to retrieve me.  I changed out of the snowsuit and boots and Ruby led me back to the poster and back home.  But, like before, no time had elapsed from the time I left my school room and I returned, even though we had spent most of a day on the snow slopes.

As I walked home, my stomach was full and I was glad I didn’t have a second slice of pizza.  

******

Mom thought I had some extra sun - and I might have from being out on the snow slopes.  But, she just passed the information on to me that I looked tan and happy.

*****

It wasn’t just all about me.  Ruby gave me some ideas for homemade Christmas presents, and my family was impressed that I made them.  I stayed after school and used some construction paper for Christmas Cards, and then some stickers and cut-out items for calendars.  I made Mike a baseball calendar with pictures I cut out of magazines that Ruby gave me; and pasted recipes and food pictures on a calendar for Mom for the kitchen.  I put all the relevant birthdays, anniversaries, and family events on the calendars.  From the internet, I got the baseball dates for the Milwaukee Brewers for Mike’s calendar.  Ms. Rensch had the school calendar and I used those dates for Mom’s calendar.  I didn’t know what to do for Dad’s calendar so I put down the fishing season opener, deer hunting opener, and some of the baseball dates too, plus the family dates. On both Mom and Dad’s calendars, I found pictures of the Wisconsin Dells and put them on the calendar for July (hint!!) 

*****

Like second grade where I had helped Mrs. Freund by staying after school to clean erasers and desks, I volunteered to help Ms. Rentsch as well.  Of course, it wasn’t as much to help Ms Rentsch as it was to have a possible interaction with the poster and Ruby.

One day, Ms. Rentsch had to leave early.  She had a dental cleaning appointment.  She trusted me and said, “Just clean things up for us Celeste”.

“Oh My”, I was thinking.  

I watched out the window until I saw Ms. Rentsch get into her car and drive off, and then I ran to the poster.  Hmmm, Ruby wasn’t there, but I thrust my arm into the poster and stretched it so I could get in.

Bad Decision!!

Ruby wasn’t there to guide me, so as I got into the other place, it wasn’t fun.  Actually, it was terrifying!! I wasn’t in a nice garden, I wasn’t on a track, I wasn’t on a snowy slope, no, I was in a barren, rocky land.  The wind was blowing snow and sleet and I didn’t have a coat.  I looked for some shelter out of the wind and crawled in between two boulders.  

It wasn’t much better.  It was freezing cold and with sleet falling into my hair and on my skin.  I tried to get as small as I could and looked for a way back to the poster to get out of that place, but the poster was gone.  And, the night was falling.  It was already dim and the sleet and snow fell at a faster pace.  

And, if that wasn’t bad enough, I first heard a growl and then several growls as some fierce animals - like wolves - were coming closer to my hiding place.  I couldn’t hide from them as they could smell me - like a starving child can smell a meal.  The leader came closer to me, I could see his teeth, and see his saliva dripping from his mouth as he advanced on me with his companions right behind.  I could smell his foul breath as he got between the two rocks.  There was no place I could go.

“HELP” I yelled out.

And, Ruby instantly appeared and with what seemed to be like a magic wand waved it and the wolves backed away.  Ruby grabbed my hand as we advanced upon the wolves.  They scattered away and she almost dragged me to the point where I had come into this evil place.  The poster appeared and she pulled me in behind her.  

We didn’t go back to the classroom, but to a barren, open place where we stopped.  At least it was warm, with no sleet or snow, no wolves.  She looked me directly in my eyes and said “Don’t ever come into this world alone.  Do you understand me?” 

I sure did understand her.

*****

We returned to the classroom.  The room was still empty.  Ruby said, “Let me help you”.  And between the two of us, we soon had the erasers dusted, the desktops cleaned and the room straightened up.  

She gave me a hug and repeated the warning, “Don’t ever go into the poster alone”.  She didn’t have to say it, I KNEW the message.

She gave me a second hug, and she jumped back into the poster which had the familiar track scene.  And, she was gone.

*****

I walked home very slowly and solemnly that afternoon.  It was like I had a fairy Godmother like Cinderella but I still had to be careful.

*****

One morning as Celeste was getting ready for school, her mother looked at her shoes.  

Mom said, “Celeste, I think your feet are growing.  I think it is time for new shoes.”

I replied, “But, Mom, I like these shoes, they are comfortable.”

I already had my shoes on, but Mom sat, “Take your shoes off, I want to look at them.”

There were some “hmm”, and “oh my” as Mom looked my shoes over.  

Then she pointed them out to me.  “See here”, pointing to the inside of the left shoe, “You’ve almost worn it to nothing.  Then here” pointing to the bottom, “there hardly is enough tread left.  Do you notice if you walk through a puddle that your feet get wet?”

I had noticed that my feet did get wet when I walked through a puddle or walked in the rain coming home from school.

Mom added, “This Saturday, we’re going to Sportsworld and look at shoes”.

I really didn’t like looking at shoes or clothes.  It almost always started a fight between Mom and Dad.  They worked hard and things like shoes could be expensive.  I didn’t mind the cheap shoes at Walmart, but I knew that I would have to have better shoes.  

Reluctantly, I said “Yes”.

*****

So, on Saturday, Mom dragged me shopping.  Sportsworld was having a sale.  And one of the reasons Mom took me to Sportsworld was they had real people helping you pick out shoes and athletic equipment as compared to shopping at Walmart.  

We spent a few minutes looking at sizes and styles until a saleslady came up to help us.

The saleslady was RUBY - the lady from my poster this year.  She winked at me to keep our secret.

“Can I help you?” Ruby asked.  

“Absolutely”, said Mom.  

Ruby looked at my old shoes and nodded.  “Yes, her current pair are pretty worn.”

She brought out about five shoe boxes and I tried them on and walked around.  Some of them were very nice.  Then, she brought out a box of Pink Nike shoes - the shoes I had been wearing when I went into the poster.

Ruby put the shoes on my feet and immediately my feet felt great.  “I like these,” I said.

Ruby looked at Mom’s shoes, and said, “Excuse me, but I think you might need some newer shoes as well.  Mom, scared of the price of buying two shoes, was reluctant to speak up.

I walked around the store while Mom and Ruby tried on shoes and found a great pair for Mom. I overheard Ruby say to Mom, “You have a very nice daughter”.  

Mom decided on the shoes for me and a pair for her.  My box of pink Nike shoes said $109, and Mom’s box was $49.  

Ruby walked with us to the checkout and scanned the shoe boxes for the price.  My shoes were ringing up at $25 and had a message “Used”.

“Oh my,” Ruby said.  Looking over the shoes, she did notice some wear. “This is unusual for us, but somebody must have bought these shoes and wore them for a while and then returned them.  We generally don’t sell used shoes but somehow these are used and only $25.”

Ruby winked at me.  I knew the shoes were used - I had used them!!!!

Ruby used her scanning tool and scanned Mom’s shoes - they were showing up at $24.  

Ruby tsked and said, “Well we are having a buy one get the second pair for half price.  Somehow, even though they are ringing up at $25, the computer thinks they are the higher priced shoes and then scans the second pair at half price.”

Mom was overjoyed - both she and I were getting new shoes and the price fit Mom’s budget.  

As we left Ruby gave me a side hug and I knew my fairy Godmothers were still helping me out. 

*****

How I wished I had somebody I could talk to about these things, my friends in the posters, the world I had visited.  Who would know?

*****

End of Celeste’s story - part II

So, what will happen in part III?  Stay tuned.

LOVE WINS!!

Karen

August 6, 2022