Grandma Robot (5 page)

Amy immediately assumed the worse.
“Aren’t you getting along with her yet?”

Karen rushed on. “It's iffy to say
the least. How much memory did you program into Henie?”

“Enough to function from one day
to the next as a maid and obey commands given to her,” answered
Amy.

“Does she have memory about
history or how human beings lived life sixty or seventy years ago?”
Karen probed.

Amy's voice sounded skeptical. “No,
no need for that. Why?”

“Just curious,” Karen said
evenly.

“It's about time I came out to
visit, but you haven't emailed or faxed me directions to your
house. Why don't you do that right now so I can find you?” Amy
asked.

“Sure, I'll do that. Talk to you
soon. Bye.” Karen hung up. Sending emailed directions wasn't going
to happen yet. She didn't need Amy to come out until she figured
out the inner workings of the robot. After all, the robot was
cleaning the house and cooking like she was programmed.

Karen walked into the living room
and listened. She couldn't hear movement in the kitchen.
“Henie?”

“In the attic,” came Henie's far
away voice. “You need something, dear?”

“No, that's fine. Just wondered
where you were,” Karen called back.

This seemed like as good a time as
any to check out Henie’s room while she wasn't in it. Amy slipped
upstairs and opened the bedroom door easy to keep the hinges from
squeaking.

She turned in a circle at the foot
of the bed, searching for anything different. The fact was the
whole room was different. She didn't remember any of the
accessories being there yesterday.

A bright Around The World quilt
covered the old fashion Jenny Lind bed. It's rows were comprised of
tiny colorful squares like most patchwork quilts made from left
over scraps in a sewing basket.

Along the wall, next to the chest
of drawers was the largest wicker basket Karen had ever seen. It
was about seven feet long with a thick coating of shiny shellac
which made the basket shine with a clear sheen.

The basket set on a wooden platform
with four wheels. Karen wrapped her fingers around the basket rim
and pulled. The basket rolled easily toward her on the red and
white linoleum. Behind the basket on the floor, leaning against the
wall was a long wicker lid.

Karen peered in the basket. It had
a black leather pad lining the bottom. The pad was cracked in spots
from heavy use, but what kind of use? She couldn't image what a
basket like this one was used for. It would take an awful large
family to use a seven feet basket to take laundry out to the
clothes lines.

It's odd she didn't notice the
basket when she had been in the room before. Something that large
should have stuck out in her memory. The wooden rocker hadn't been
by the window, either. How did that get there?

On the floor in front of the rocker
was an oval, braided rag rug in bright colors. It was new
looking.

Karen peeked into the hall to see
if the robot was near. The coast was clear so far. She better get
on with her search before Henie caught her snooping.

She twisted the clear glass knob on
the closet door and opened it. The clothes pole held several
flowered cotton dresses with a solid colored apron to match the
flowers in each dress just like Henie said.

One hanger had on it a gray wool
coat with large, dark gray buttons. Two pairs of SAS shoes lined up
under the clothes, a white pair and a tan pair. That made three
pair of shoes, counting the black pair Henie had on.

That's an awful lot of clothes to
be stuffed in the small satchel. What was missing in the closet was
the teenie bopper outfit and tennis shoes. Karen squatted and
pulled on the satchel's zipper. Inside the satchel was the neatly
folded teenie bopper outfit. Surely, the tennis shoes were
underneath the clothes.

Karen closed the closet door
quietly and surveyed the room again. She did a double take at the
embroidered sampler of her house hanging on the wall above the bed.
Obviously, she hadn't inspected this bedroom real close, but she
thought she'd have noticed the sampler when she was in here before.
Oh well, maybe she overlooked the picture, but she'd have
remembered the large basket and rocker against the wall. There was
no way to not see that wicker monstrosity.

She closed the door and stood at
the base of the attic stairs. “Henie, I think I'm going for a walk
to get some fresh air.”

Henie appeared and started down the
attic stairs. “That sounds like fun. I'll come with you, dear. I
can always use some fresh air after being in this stuffy
attic.”

“Come along then,” Karen
said.

Once they were off the front porch
steps, Henie asked, “Which way are we walking?”

“Doesn't matter to me. You pick,”
Karen said.

“All right, let's go look in the
pasture for wild flowers. I could put a bouquet on the table.”
Henie walked over to the pasture gate and stopped. Karen opened it,
and they went through.

“Don't forget to shut the gate
tight, dear. We don't want to let the farmer's cows out,” Henie
ordered.

Karen's brow furrowed. “I've never
seen cattle in the pasture. How do you know cows are in
here?”

“I've saw them from my bedroom
window. After dark, the cows graze along the fence. I hear them
snip sniping away as they munch on the grass,” Henie
explained.

“Okay, I guess I just never paid
enough attention,” Karen conceded.

“Closed up in that office, you
can't see a thing going on outside. Nice cows they are. Big Angus
ones,” Henie added.

Karen stopped walking. “Really, you
know the difference in cattle breeds?”

Henie kept walking as she said over
her shoulder, “Well, the cows are all black. What other breed is
black other than Angus?”

Karen caught up with her. “I don't
know, but now I'm wondering how you know.”

“Look, a wild violet patch in the
grass. I always think the purple and white ones are the prettiest.
Don't you?” Henie asked, cupping up her apron tail to carry the
flowers as she picked them.

“Why are you going to the attic so
much?” Karen asked.

“I've been looking for things to
furnish my room with. I now have a nice rocker to sit in by my
window. A pretty old quilt on my bed and an embroidered sampler
above it. The place looks lived in. You should stop in and see,”
Henie invited.

“I did,” Karen said.

Henie wrinkled her nose. “What did
you think of my room?”

“It looks comfortable and homey,”
Karen admitted.

“The room is homey. Since you went
in my room, it's only fair you let me see your room.” Henie sounded
edgy.

Look out. You
just upset the robot.
“Sure, when we go
back in the house you can look in my room if you want
to.”

Henie pointed toward the cottonwood
tree grove. “Let's go there. I'll bet we can find meadow phlox in
those trees. That's a good smelling, little, purple
flower.”

Karen walked along with her,
thinking she wasn't about to bet. She had the feeling Henie would
win every time. Henie certainly had good memory recall. More than
the robot needed.

As soon as Henie had the wild
flowers in water, she placed the drinking glasses on window sills
in the kitchen, one on the table and one on living room lamp table.
Wiping her damp hands on her apron, she walked over to the open
office door and knocked on the door frame.

Karen quit typing. “Yes,
Henie?”

“I'm ready to see your room now,”
she stated.

Karen looked from her computer
monitor to Henie. The words I don't have time now wasn't going to
work on Henie. “All right, let's go. After you, Henie. You know
where my room is right across from yours.”

Henie circled Karen's bedroom with
a frown on her face.

“Well?” Karen asked.

“You couldn't have a much worse
looking bedroom. It's so drab. Your dark brown bedspread is ugly.
There's a quilt box full of quilts in the attic where I got mine.
We could get you a bright one for the bed.

Those old yellowed lace curtains
have been on that window since the house was built.” When Karen's
mouth opened, Henie added, “I'll bet. It's time for them to go. I
saw nicer curtains in the attic. They might be a little newer than
these old things.” Henie stuck her hand behind one of the curtains
and shook her head disdainfully.

Karen suggested, “I'm game. How
about we go on a treasure hunt in the attic and find some things to
cheer up my room? I've been wanting to get a closer look at the
stuff in the attic anyway.”

“Can we go right now?” Henie
asked.

“Suits me. Let's go,” Karen
agreed.

Henie glanced around the room
again. “Where do you keep your hope chest?”

“I don't have one,” Karen
said.

“That's not right. What's the
matter with your mother anyway? Every girl should have a hope
chest. I bet she had one. Matter a fact, I know where that one is,”
Henie declared.

Once inside the attic door, Karen
stopped. She looked around in awe at the dusty trunks and cobweb
covered boxes stacked tightly over most of the room. “I had no idea
the attic was so full of old stuff. I didn’t come up here to see
what it was like when I bought the place. I have no idea where to
start. Where do we go from here?

Chapter 6

“We can look at the quilts first.
Follow me.” Henie took off and led Karen between piles of boxes and
trunks. “In this cedar chest is the quilts. It has always been used
for a bedding box. Open it, dear.”

Karen could see Henie's finger
marks in the dust on the lid when she opened the chest. Inside were
two stacks of folded quilts and the strong scent of cedar. “These
are like new and so pretty,” Karen exclaimed. “Why do you suppose
they were never used?”

“Making the quilts was the past
time of an old woman just to stay busy and put in her time until
she died. I'll bet she put them in this chest and left it set right
here. No one was curious enough to look inside until now,” Henie
explained. “Now pick out as many as you want for your bed and make
sure to get a very bright one for the top cover.”

Karen took two. The one she wanted
for the top cover had red tulips set on white blocks and surrounded
with red strips. “Now what about the curtains?”

“Right behind us in a box.” Henie
pointed out a cardboard box perched on a small table.

The box was full of curtains. Karen
picked out a pair of white lacy curtains with a scalloped bottom.
“I like these.”

“I do, too. I bet they were part
of a set that hung in the parlor,” Henie said.

Karen set the quilts and curtains
on top the chest. “I want to look at that lamp table under the
box.” She placed the box on the floor and studied the table. A
small, square, walnut table with a smaller lower shelf attached to
the legs, and the claw feet were on glass balls. “Oh my, how neat
is that. Would this table look all right in front of my
window?”

“It would. Now we have to find a
lamp to put on it,” Henie said and took off to a far corner to the
discarded lamp pile. She said in disappointment, “These are so old
I don't think any of them will work. Most of them aren't
electric.”

Karen caught up to her. Right away
she spotted a porcelain, round, white lamp base with a glass shade
that had prisms hanging from the shade. “I like that
one.”

“It's not modern, dear. That lamp
used to light with kerosene,” Henie said.

“It doesn't have to be modern to
look pretty on my table. I can buy fuel something like kerosene to
put in it. If the electricity goes off in a storm, we'd be all
set,” Karen decided.

Henie smiled. “I think that sounds
like a plan. Now I want you to look at the hope chest.”

Henie walked along the stacks and
came to a cedar chest. She opened it up. “This was your grandmother
Mary's wedding dress.” The dress was ivory satin with pearls sewed
in two rows at the neck and the end of the cuffs just below rows of
lace. The skirt was an A line shape all the way to the
floor.

“That is a beautiful gown,” Karen
exclaimed.

“I'll bet that was the dress your
mother was suppose to wear when she got married,” Henie
said.

“Did she wear it?” Karen
asked.

“I don't know,” Henie said. “But
the dress stayed in Mary's hope chest.”

That is one of
the few things Henie confessed to not knowing.
“What else is in there?”

“Assortment of linens, like
sheets, pillow cases with embroidered baskets full of flowers on
them to match. Dish towels with the day of the week on them. I
forget what else,” Henie said.

Karen fingered the neatly piled
linens. “Why do you suppose Grandma Mary didn't use all these
things?”