SUNSHINE ON MY SHOULDER

"Hey, Anne. H-e-l-l-o, H-e-l-l-o!" Holly yodeled down from the attic with her famous sing-song voice everyone knew from every corner of the library. Walking over to the open door, Anne's face peeked up to witness the black space above and said, "Uh, Holly? Why are you upstairs in the dark. We do have a light switch you know."

"I'm just trying to see the light, Ha, ha. If you know what I mean." Holly was always one for making a dull and quiet, rainy day somewhat better. We all thought, more than once, that she should try out for the upcoming music festival soon to be held in the mountain valley as it will feature the top yodelers across the country. She only looked at us sideways with a cheesy grin and batted her eyes with a strong, "NO!" Been there done that was her answer. We knew some of her history in the alpine region of the world with this unique voice only for the well-trained. It was a family thing, she admitted, and it was all she would reveal.

Anne flicked the light on, and Holly's footsteps sounded heavy up in the attic. Anne reminded her to ease up and that they all would help out lugging books throughout the day. "I know you all mean well, but I want to get this party started! I can't wait, so excuse me if I make some noise. It's my way or the highway aka Route 43." Holly kept going, dragging a few boxes to the exit point.

Julie was in the children's room closet as she was attempting to reorganize the shelves. Her method was talking to herself as this helped in remembering what to put where, and why. She heard Holly, now thumping her way down the stairs and went to meet her by the doorway. "Crazy lady, give me that box! I will now give you a hand as I am done over in my corner for now." Holly smiled, and thrust the box at Julie with a pleasant, "Thank you Miss Poppins!" and gave her a wink. Julie could only shake her head and smile as one too many times she was highlighted by this popular movie actress.

Back to the attic stash. The Library Committee was soon to have its annual book sale from all the donated ones that have been stored in the attic over the past year. The sale was always a big deal with a huge crowd turnout the week before the town's traditional Old Home's Day. It would happen in three short weeks so time was calling the shots. Reorganizing the overflow of small, medium, large and extra large collections of these bound words of Romance, True Crime, Mysteries, Suspense Thrillers, Action/Adventure, History, Hobbies and Crafts etc. was always a challenge. Who would have thought there would be an overload of cookbooks! Julia Child will need to make a guest appearance to promote her cooking genius ways with food magic. 

"Okay! Everybody!" Anne was adamant. "We will each take two boxes, no more, and put them down here and pointed to the floor. Then we'll haul them all into the downstairs area set up courtesy of the after school gang. Let's keep it real for today." They all hustled up and down until the boxes were laid out on extra long tables, ready for reorganizing. Back upstairs for a break, they talked about how to prep their treasure trove. The on duty librarian, Edie, was checking out the last batch of current books for a customer, then put up the 'closed' sign. "Okay, I need to leave now, so see you tomorrow." Without hesitation she grabbed her coat, purse, walked out the door and never looked back.

"What was that?" Holly's face turned into a grumpy old woman and threw her hands up. "Did she just bail on us. What a rotten piece of garbage."

Anne tried to make peace, put her hands in a kind gesture to Holly, and told her not to worry about any of it. Then before anyone knew what was next, they heard the downstairs community room door squeak open and quietly shut. 

"Wait here." Anne went downstairs to see who was there, since the library had just now closed for the day. Holly and Julie were waiting in the upstairs lobby when they heard Anne laughing hysterically downstairs. She then appeared at the bottom of the stairs to let Julie and Holly know that their co-worker, Edie, snuck in the back door to help. They all gathered downstairs to give each other high-fives. Holly smirked and told Edie, "You got me!"

Three weeks later and the book extravaganza that they had been preparing for was now in full force. Banners had been strung up and signs posted in the early morning. Before long the parking area around the old Town Hall was seeing a steady drove of cars making their way in. The weather was very accommodating so several tables were set up outside with an adornment of flower bundles to catch people's eyes. This book event was a huge way to make some income for the special programs supported by and at the library throughout the year. Before long people were steadily coming and going. Holly and Edie were at the inside tables where food was always a big draw of the day too. The chatter was crazy all around as Anne came to the outside table where Julie was manning the children's corner of book demands. "Hey, look what I found!" Julie was surprised to see Anne holding an open box of classic very old books in great top condition. The two grinned at each other knowing they held collector's items. One by one they carefully took each book and arranged them with added adornments in such a way to draw the eye. As they chatted and moved each book, the sky darkened for a moment and the wind suddenly blew around them. Trying not to panic, the wind took off some of the covers and in a flash blew open pages of the books. It was gust after gust and people around them tried their best to help catch and retrieve the covers. The moment passed and calmness ensued but some covers were missing and some slightly torn. 

Holly came out to help Julie and Anne. "I left Edie by herself. Don't worry she's not going anywhere." Holly gave them her classic cheesy grin and they laughed. 

People were talking a mile a minute about what just happened but all agreed that it was just a Mother Nature weather moment, or was it a sign? A woman approached Anne and held out a crumpled piece of paper. "Wow! Thank you!" The message Anne read was very cryptic. 

 "Hey! Don't rip this up. This is the only note I have to give you since we split ways. Every day has been an eye opener with the surprises you've given me. I never meant to leave without time to hear your side. But, you know how it is. I'm full blown in the drink until we reach stateside when the fun times are over. Hope to catch your bright eyes at the pub. You are my 'eye candy'. - Your Sunshine aka Drey.

Anne was puzzled and showed it to Julie. Hmm. "Do you think those old classic books could have been where this note came from, sort of like a book mark? It seems like there is more to this message than we know."

Julie nodded and said, "I think you are right. How about we find the name of who donated these and give back the note. They looked through all the books and found the same name and address in each one of the person whom they originally belonged to. "It seems like these were a heartfelt collection she had for awhile." Anne and Julie both nodded at the same time. "Let's do this." Holly, Edie, Anne and Julie finished off the day with great success in their efforts. Clean up happened as all the unsold books went into boxes except the old classic ones. Each one was sold in a heartbeat but for now they kept them aside and told the buyers each one would be safely stored as there were written documents needed as each book was signed by famous authors. Priceless! 

The next day Anne and Julie drove to the address listed in the book with the note safely tucked away. The two talked about the person, time frame and the mystery the note made reference to. Soon, they reached the address which was just in the next town. The home was a tiny ranch neatly taken care of they noticed as they stepped out of the car. They approached the door to the sound of lovely music playing. Anne knocked on the door and the two waited. The music finally stopped and the door opened. A young woman greeted them and politely asked who they were and the reason for their visit.

Anne stepped up and offered her library ID card and asked, and she named the woman, if this person lived here. The young woman smiled, opened the door and invited them in. "Please follow me." They walked through the neat and tidy home to the sun porch where an older woman was sitting, looking through a book. She closed the cover, smiled and said, "Hello, ladies. What brings you to visit?" She welcomed them in and stated her name. Anne and Julie did likewise. The book festival event came up and then the reason for their visit. "I have something for you. We found this and thought it must belong to you so here we are!" Anne placed the note in the woman's outstretched hand. It was a moment in time like neither of them suspected. The woman became teary-eyed, brought the note to her heart and then she paused, took a deep breath and spoke. 

"Ladies, I would like you to know, this brings me a sense of peace. Thank you so much as my love and I shared those books. He was aboard ship during World War Two in the Pacific. I am only sharing this with you." She paused and the air stood still. "We had a future. But destiny happened and there was another plan. I lost him that day." Anne and Julie felt a moment in time like no other when she shared more of her story. "It was a top secret mission." She went on with remembrance of the time and told them as the war hurtled toward its end, Indianapolis was tasked with bringing parts for “Little Boy,” the atomic bomb that would drop on Hiroshima, from San Francisco to the Mariana Islands. After completing its mission, and following a quick stop in Guam, the ship was heading toward the Philippines carrying nearly 1,200 sailors—without an escort—when disaster struck on the night of July 30, 1945. All were lost at sea.

"You bring closure to the man I loved with his kind sweet note. You were meant to find it and give me rest." The next words and message was overwhelming to Anne and Julie and to come to grips with in such a short time. This lovely lady, who lived with the loss of her love, offered to the library and the town to be the benefactor in her will. "I have no one and this would give me closure and help me spread joy to others with the words one finds by opening the covers of a grand assortment of literature." 

Anne and Julie were humbled beyond the moment. As a last gesture, she stated, "I know I am old, but I live each day as it comes. Please, let us share a toast." The young woman and her caregiver who first greeted them, immediately went to a special cupboard and retrieved a vat 69 whiskey bottle. "This was sent from Drey years ago. It was to be opened, in celebration, when he returned back from war time. With a tray set up with the proper glasses, our hostess held the bottle for a moment. We could feel the time fast forward to now. With a grand smile she opened and poured a portion into each glass. We held them up to for a final stellar moment. Her words. "From the sunshine of my life, I wish for the best of what life brings to each of us. Cheers!"