haven’t considered it.” Gladys looked tired and heavier.
Tracy was glad her own job required so much running around that her admittedly poor diet hadn’t settled on her hips. “You still have things to do?”
“We haven’t been able to contact Henrietta. I thought if I tried all the numbers we have early this morning, I might get lucky.”
“You don’t think she’s going to blow this off, do you?”
Gladys chewed her lip. Then she lowered her voice. “There’s a word that describes a woman who’s so impressed with a few people who treat a stranger nicely that she writes the town a check the size of the Grand Canyon.”
“Nuts?”
“Eccentric. She’s just the sweetest little thing—”
“Little?”
“Oh yes. Somewhere under five foot. Ninety pounds soaking wet. And genuine right down to her toenails. Which are probably painted passionate purple or Day-Glo orange. Anyway, she’s the soul of kindness, but she’s, how shall we say it? Flighty? We’ve reminded her and reminded her to be here. But I’m not sure she’ll remember.”
Tracy thought of all the work she’d done to get ready for the banquet. Using her minimal artistic skills to set up a table with youth camp journals and craft projects. Helping Janya select and add photos to a lovely bulletin board display. Drilling her best campers until they could repeat their script if a hurricane swept in and the rec center fell down around their ears.
Her eyes narrowed. “She’d better be here.”
“Yes, well, I see where you’re coming from. Now why are you here so early?”
“On the way out last night I checked the nursery. It’s a mess, and if she shows up tonight, I’m sure she’ll want to see it.”
The nursery, where limited child care was provided, was the rec center’s weak spot. As a whole, the facility lacked little. But the designers had underestimated the need for a suite of rooms where mothers could leave babies and preschoolers so they could participate in the programs. The planners had reasoned that mothers could afford to hire their own babysitters or use the two day cares in town.
Unfortunately, they hadn’t factored a recession into their equations, a recession that had led to the closing of one day care center and severely reduced hours at the second. Now the limited spots were always booked, with long waiting lists during classes. Hard feelings often ensued.
Last night before leaving, Tracy had taken a good look at the scuffed and stained walls, the games with missing pieces, the peeling decorative decals, the battered wooden cubes where children stored their belongings. She planned to make a list this morning and sweet-talk the custodial staff into quickly sprucing up the place. If necessary, she would find a herd of preschoolers and bribe their moms to bring them in to hide the worst offenses.
“That nursery.” Gladys shook her head, and her third chin wobbled. “Woody tried to tell the planners we needed to spend more there and less other places.”
Tracy listed several other things she had planned for the day.
“Be sure to leave enough time to run home and change for the banquet and the tour,” Gladys said. “I had to buy a new dress this week. I’ve gained so much weight, I couldn’t fit into anything I had. This has to stop.”
“Maybe we both ought to do the early-morning dance class to shape up.” Tracy smiled encouragement.
“It would be nice to work on my weight problem with somebody who understands.”
Tracy couldn’t think of a thing to say to that. She wasn’t sure what Gladys meant, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She gave a brief wave and started down the appropriate hallway.
An hour later she had done what she could in the nursery. She had stored some toys and disposed of others, remade the lone crib with brighter sheets, moved two tables to cover the worn spots on the nylon carpet and tacked a package of cheerful alphabet letters on the bulletin board, which had contained nothing but printed information about the center. For the rest, she went in search of one of the weekend custodians.
Al was a middle-aged curmudgeon with a thick Russian accent who maintained a daily schedule as rigid as the chalk-board Tracy had just scrubbed clean. Today he grumbled his way through her sweet talk, but in the end he agreed to wash walls and baseboards, even slap a coat of paint on the worst stains if she promised to leave him alone so he could work in peace.