The Lilac Tunnel: My Journey with Samantha

I tell Samantha I don’t know, we have no proof Elsa’s a thief, could something else explain it? She stares up at the ceiling, thinking hard, then brightens: I did the wash yesterday, maybe the brooch was pinned to Grandmary’s dress and fell into the tub, or landed in the grass under the clothesline! Her eagerness gets my heart racing at once, and I’m tempted to run outside right now, but she reminds me Elsa’s expecting me downstairs, acting perfectly normal. We’ll search the lawn together the first chance we get.

Sure enough, Elsa’s waiting in the kitchen with breakfast and my first task: heating the irons on the stovetop. She pulls matches from a metal holder mounted above the stove, then a loud knock interrupts, the milkman, always at the most inconvenient times, and she hands me the matches, telling me to light the burners myself.

My parents never let me anywhere near a stovetop, and since when does a stove even need lighting? I turn to Mrs. Hawkins for help, but she’s busy on the phone ordering meat. When Elsa returns to find me still standing there holding the matches, she takes them with a disgusted look and lights the burners herself, setting three heavy irons to heat, one or two in use while the third warms, so a hot one’s always ready the moment I bring a cool one in.

Elsa helps me carry the hot irons outside, though she keeps a close, watchful eye on me all morning, probably to make sure I don’t steal anything else. Not until after lunch do Samantha and I finally get our chance, while I’m hanging clothes out to air and she slips outside saying the coast is clear.

We start with the wash tub of clean clothes sitting at my feet, stacking each piece carefully on the grass to tip the tub on its side. I run my hands slowly along the bottom, hoping to feel the brooch, but find nothing at all. I’m about to mention the second tub inside when Elsa storms out, scolding me for dirtying fresh laundry on the grass and socializing with Miss Samantha besides. I must always remember my place.