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"Boy," she confided suddenly, "wait till next year Next year when Mrs Rhea retires, I' over as head librarian You come back next year, you can use the phone, whistle, huned perhed "I don't want to use the phone, anyway I just want to look so up"

Cleht Natalie For a ht I was really a hot-shot detective Boy, if they'd put nment, Nixon would still be in office

"Do you by any chance," she asked, returning the telephone book, "have old yearbooks froroaned "You've really made my day," she said "Yes, we have the yearbooks But now I have to read you this" She took a paper frolanced at it, and recited, '"In the past, certain people have abused their library privileges by defacing the high school yearbooks that are kept here It should be clearly understood that anyone who marks these books in any way, particularly with obscene drawings or remarks, will be held liable for the replacees suspended for one year'"

Natalie crossed her heart earnestly "I promise I will not deface the yearbooks," she said "Crossbreasts with a ball-point pen on the gy breasts with a ball-point pen on the gy "Honest"

"Okay, then What year?"

"1960"

"Darn," said Ms Farley "If you'd asked for 1970, you could have seen hed and found the 1960 book in a locked closet lined with shelves

The 1960 Sireen and was called "The Oracle" The school colors were green and gold, and the yearbook was dedicated to Her shop

Julie Jeffries looked exactly like Natalie She had expected that, but the surprise of seeing it was so great that her knees shook, and she had to sit down

"You okay?" asked Ms Farley, watching her

"Yes," said Natalie slowly "I'"

21

NATALIE SPRAWLED crosslegged on the bed in her rooh her notes, and summarized what she had learned about her mother She had spent al the yearbook from cover to cover

Julie Jeffries was not in the 1961 yearbook; she had not returned to Sih School for her junior year She was also not there as a fresh dark hair and light blue eyes, had spent one school year in Si of her sophomore year, apparently, because she was a cheerleader Cheerleading tryouts were always held at the very beginning of a school year Julie had been pictured s short plaid skirts and dark sweaters with a large SM on theht, with bangs Lipstick: this was 1959

She was probably the daughter of Mr and Mrs Clement Jeffries, who had lived on Falls Road They were listed in the 1959 and 1960 telephone directories; there were no other Jeffries in Simmons' Mills Clement Jeffries was very probably an executive of the P R Simmons Paper Co heavy yellow fumes over the town

Julie had been on the honor roll She was also on the girls' field hockey team that fall and a member of the French Club

She attended the Christmas formal Natalie found her in the crowd in a yearbook picture, wearing a floor-length net-skirted gown, ruffled around the shoulders, with a corsage, s the hand of a tall, dark-haired boy whose face was turned away and blurred Da the picture That is probably h sense to hold still when the picture was taken

She had been in the school Dramatic Club, as well, and in November had appeared as Cleopatra in Shaw's Caesar and Cleopatra Natalie blinked in astonishraph of Julie in the role She was stunning She was slender, sophisticated for her age (maybe only fourteen then, in November?), heavily made up for the role, with dark shiny color above her eyes, and her hair heavy, herCleopatra to be

In other pictures, she was siirl, usually laughing

What else do I know? In Decenant (by whom? Probably the boy who took her to the dance on the 23rd; who is he? No way to know) She would have realized that by what? February, probably; or at least she would have been scared stiff by February; by March, for sure ItBut at some point--say March--she went to Dr Therrian Did her parents know?

Would she have finished the school year? Can't tell; the yearbook pictures are all taken before Christmas The school year ended here in late May; she would have been five ; that was the year (she had realized, from the yearbook) that those awful "sack" dresses were in style Julie could have pulled it off, could have finished her sophonant

Then what? She had stayed in Simmons' Mills Dr Therrian had delivered the baby (my Lord: me!) in September It must have been a horrible suoes unnoticed

And then she, and her parents (and other kids? No other Jeffries in the high school, at least), had moved away

Where? And where is she now?

Natalie thrust the notes into her suitcase and went out to her car Falls Road wouldn't be hard to find, she thought There are so few streets in this town

It wasn't It was, in fact, very close to the hospital, just beyond the huge brick s mill Falls Road turned off River Road in a curve, crossed the Penobscot on a narrow bridge, and radual bend up the hills until it overlooked the town of Simmons' Mills There were very few houses on Falls Road; Natalie counted seven at wide intervals before the road ended in a circular turn at the top of the wooded hill