After a sturdy yank, Zaide placed a box with a crushed pink bow on his desk and slid it toward Betty. She breathed hard, like she sometimes did after calisthenics. This was a present, not a punishment.
“The pageant is coming, and well . . . what do you kids say? I want you to feel swell when you go up against those other girls.”
Goose bumps danced down Betty’s arms.
Zaide pushed the box again. “I know you’re working more than other summers and you’re getting ready for Barnard and you’re seeing Abe Barsky. You’re not a baby anymore.” Zaide’s voice caught.
Betty’s throat burned as she swallowed her accusations, regret, and near-confessions. She fluffed the bow before untying it and set it on her lap. She glanced at Zaide, who was smiling at her. His eyes squinted small, his nose wrinkled.
“Go ahead now,” he said.
She placed the lid to the side and turned two layers of white tissue paper like they were pages in a cherished book. Then she lifted fabric, which unfolded as she raised her arms.
“Zaide, you shouldn’t have.” Oh, but she was glad he had! Betty hugged to her chest the most glamorous structured swimsuit she had ever seen. She held it out again and it regained its hourglass shape. The suit was purple, but not Shabbos-grape-juice purple—a richly saturated lavender with sparkly silver straps and a matching embellishment at the bust. Betty had assumed she’d enter the Miss South Haven contest wearing her favorite yellow swimsuit with white pinstripes. She’d never been so tickled to be wrong.
She laid the swimsuit, silky but firm to the touch, across the box and pushed back her chair. As she stood, the pink ribbon cascaded to the floor. She bounded around the desk and climbed onto Zaide’s lap the way she had when she was little and wanted him to read her a story. He’d always complied. Zaide had always made her feel special and safe and loved even though she wasn’t an ordinary girl who wanted a house and husband right away. He loved her unconditionally. Then, now, always. She hugged him around his neck. At that moment she loved him more than anyone because he knew what was important to her, and he cared enough to show her. How would she ever leave and go to New York? How could she lie to him about Abe?
Betty banished the thoughts. “You’re the best, Zaide. I never thought . . .”
Zaide pulled back and looked into her eyes. “If Nannie asks, you ordered this from Lemon’s with my permission.”
Betty nodded. “But where did it come from?”
Zaide whispered, “One of the girls knew just the store to call. Abraham and Straus.”
“In New York!”
“Now how will the judges be able to resist my bathing beauty?”
Betty wrapped Zaide in another hug. She would do anything to make him proud.
Chapter 14
BOOP
Boop, Georgia, and Doris stopped into Natalie’s salon the next day. Boop would prepare for this pageant the way she had prepared before—with an awareness of potential problems.
Natalie was standing behind the front desk.
“Smudges?” Natalie asked.
Boop glanced at her nails. “Oh no. I was thinking—” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “That you might like some help with the pageant. I could help with the registrations and even getting posters into local store windows.”
“No one says no to an old lady,” Georgia said. “And Doris and I will only be here a few more days.”
Boop scowled but acquiesced. “I’ve been looking for something to keep me busy—and I think we’d have fun working together.”
“I agree,” Natalie said. “It would be fun. You’re officially my cochairwoman!”
“Just like that?” Boop asked.
Natalie held out her hand and Boop shook it. “To be honest, I thought Piper might have fun helping me, but she’ll be at her dad’s most of the summer and she kind of rolled her eyes at me when I asked.” Natalie shrugged. “Oh! Since we’re partners, I should show you this. Remember I asked you if you remembered anything about the last Miss South Haven pageant?”
“Right,” Boop said.
“It was so long ago,” Georgia said.
“Well, I found a photo online.”
“You did?” Boop and Georgia said in unison.
Boop’s pulse sped up and her hands went clammy.
“Yes, but just one. It’s grainy and from the Benton Harbor newspaper. Nothing listed in the South Haven paper at all. Weird, right?” Natalie reached into her case and then handed Boop a piece of paper she’d never seen before. “The winner’s not even looking at the camera,” Natalie said. “There’s a short article to go with it. But this is it. Nothing else about her. I couldn’t find anything else online except her name.”
“Holy Toledo,” Georgia said.
“I know, it’s amazing, right? All you have to know is where to look and you can find anything online.” Natalie handed the paper to Boop.
Stern Granddaughter Wins Miss South Haven
SOUTH HAVEN, August 13—Mr. and Mrs. Ira Stern, owners of South Haven’s premier property, Stern’s Summer Resort, were as pleased as punch this year, as they had every right to be.
Their 18-year-old granddaughter, South Haven resident Betty Claire Stern, graduated with honors from South Haven High School in May and is planning to matriculate at Barnard College in New York, New York, in September.
Yesterday, brown-haired, blue-eyed Betty went on to win the crystal-encrusted crown and pink satin sash reserved for our Miss South Haven each year. Betty won the title over 19 other lovely girls representing local resorts.
The annual contest to pick South Haven’s summer sweetheart was sponsored by B’nai B’rith and held at the North Shore Pavilion.
Much to the crowd’s alarm, right after this photo was taken, our new beauty queen ran swiftly from the stage and fainted by the beach. At
