Out of the Darkness

After a visit to the Rehab Center in Connecticut to see her beloved
Mother, Willa decided it was time to take a bigger look at her life.
Since last May and the shocks of the death of her younger sister, Addie,
and the serious stroke her mother had suffered, Willa had been able to
take only one day at a time.

On the plus side, Willa had seen how hard her Mother was working to
get better. The staff at the Rehab Center said they were very pleased
with her progress. It had been so disheartening to see that after five
months she still needed a walker. At least her speech was almost back
to normal. But when, if ever, would she be back to her previous level of
tennis, for instance?

It was still hard to take the fact that her Dad was still spending so much
time in China. How long he’d be there depended on how soon the
branch company he had set up would be operating on its’ own. It
seemed to take so long. Was Willa just being unrealistic?

She didn’t see much of her older brother, Danny, because he was at
West Point, and he made huge efforts to get down to see their mother as
often as he could. She smiled to herself, thinking how she had bugged
him when she was younger. It all paid off, though. He expected
nothing but the best, and consequently she was very competitive in
softball, tennis, and skiing. That certainly gave her an advantage at The
Day School in Milwaukee.

Reflecting on her present home life at her Grandmother Nordbergs’
house, really an estate, brought another small smile. Danny had given
her the name ‘The Ice Lady’ because he said she had no warm feelings
at all.

Willa had been in full agreement when she first arrived in Milwaukee.
But slowly things seemed to be changing for the better. Read to find
out how Willa and her Grandmother manage to work out a truce!

Upon arrival last year, an immediate comfort to Willa was the presence
of the housekeeper, Mrs. Werner, and her granddaughter, Polly, age ten.
Mrs. Werner, a Nordberg relative, had been brought over from Germany
by her Grandfather, after her husband, her only son, and his wife, had
been killed in a horrible crash on the Autobahn. Polly came several
years later. Her maternal grandparents were not able to care for her.

Mrs. Werner was a wonderful cook! Willa hadn’t asked if her
Grandmother cooked, but she had never seen her in the kitchen with an
apron on. Her Grandmother was paying the tuition for both Willa and
Polly at The Day School. Willa felt pleased when she looked back to
the ‘old’ Polly. After Willa came she just seemed to open up. Most
likely because someone younger was around.

Finally, she had to do an assessment of school. After all, it did consume
the majority of her time. Academically, she knew it was tops. Her
mind went back to being ‘The New Girl’. It had been tough at first.
Amy Wu, still her best friend, was a friend right away.

As for the majority of her female classmates, she had seemed to be the
enemy. Now, Willa was not unaware that she was an attractive person.
She had thick blond hair, like her mother’s. And she had big iceblue
eyes, just like her grandmother’s.Her slim build spoke to her
participation in sports. So the girls might have been worried about their
boyfriends?

Willa didn’t know the answer to that. But she smiled thinking how
Woody Reston came into her life at that bad time. And was still there!
There are many adventures and experiences still ahead. You won’t
want to miss these adventures, scary times, and the good times.