Page 27 of The Newcomer
“I’m Letty,” she said.
“Oh yeah. The newcomer. With the kid. I heard about you.”
“Well, I hope you didn’t hear anything bad,” Letty said, flashing him what she hoped was a disarming smile. “And you are?”
“Merwin Maples. Unit four.”
The door opened again and a woman pushed through, leaning on an aluminum walker.
“What’d she say?” the woman asked. “Can we get the Sheehans’ unit, or no?”
He went to the door and opened it wider. “Ava’s not here.” He jerked his thumb in Letty’s direction. “This is the woman Ruth told us about.”
Merwin turned back to Letty. “This is my wife, Trudi.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Letty.”
Trudi Maples had creamy, almost unlined skin and pale blue eyes. She wore a broad-brimmed straw hat, a knee-length snap-front housecoat, and sensible thick-soled lace-up walking shoes. But the oddest thing about her was the white cotton gloves she wore on both hands.
“Don’t I know you?” she asked, studying Letty’s face.
“I don’t think so. We just moved into the pink unit this week. I’m going to be helping out here in the office.”
“Where are you from?” Trudi asked, inching closer to the reception desk. “I could swear I’ve seen you someplace before.”
Letty felt a tickle of fear. “I’ve pretty much lived all over. Most recently in New Jersey.”
“We’re from Jefferson City. Ever spent any time in Missouri?”
“Not really,” Letty said. She needed to change the subject. “You were saying something about moving into the Sheehans’ unit?”
Merwin spoke up. “Yes. Word on the street is that Bill and Alice are moving into the Polaceks’ unit. So we’d like to move into the Sheehans’ unit.”
“Is there something wrong with the unit you’re in?” Letty asked.
“No view,” Merwin said. “You can see the water from the Sheehans’ place.”
“All you see out our window is the ice machine,” Trudi griped.
“Oh,” Letty said. “Ava should be back around lunch, so I’ll tell her you came in and made that request.”
“Write it down,” Trudi instructed. “I know for a fact that the Weidenauers have been angling to move. But we’ve been coming down here way longer than they have, so by rights, we should get first shot at it.”
“Okay,” Letty said, dutifully scribbling a note to that effect. “I’ll let Ava know.”
Trudi looked past Letty at Maya, who was peeling the paper off a purple crayon.
“Pretty little girl,” she said. “Whose is she?”
“Mine,” Letty said, not bothering to explain. “Was there anything else I can help you with?”
“I never forget a face,” Trudi Maples said. “And I know I’ve seen you someplace before.”
“People tell me that all the time,” Letty said. “I’m always hearing that I look like somebody’s high school classmate or second cousin.”
“No. It’s nothing like that,” Mrs. Maples insisted.
Merwin rolled his eyes. “It’s her superpower. Sooner or later, she’ll figure out how she knows you. And it’ll probably come to her at four in the morning, so she’ll wake me up to tell me all about it.” He touched his wife’s shoulder. “Come on, Trude. I want to start packing our stuff so we can move into the Sheehans’ unit as soon as Ava gives us the go-ahead.”
