had a tulip hem. Nickiâs dress was made from a stretch satin and her black hair was positively striking against the bright red fabric. For a moment she wondered what Tâai would think of it.
âNow come on, letâs go,â urged Margo. âYou said you had some friends who wanted to meet up with you at the dance.â
âThatâs true.â
âThen youâll come?â
It would give me a chance to get to know Duncan MacDonald better. See what heâs up to.
âOnly if youâll let me pay for this dress,â insisted Nicki.
Margo thought about it.
âIâd be much happier if youâd accept it as a gift,â she said. âYouâve just started working, and Iâm sure money is tight. But Iâve got an idea. Come here and Iâll show you something.â
They went back into the deli and on a shelf behind the cash register was a big empty pickle jar with some change in the bottom of it. On the side was a picture of a palm tree cut out of a magazine, stuck down with a piece of masking tape on which the words Honeymoon Jar had been printed in black ink.
âAfter youâve been working for a while, and have whatever you need for yourself, Iâll let you put a couple of dollars into my parentsâ honeymoon jar, okay?â She held up her index finger. âNo more than that.â
âThey havenât had a honeymoon yet?â
âThey couldnât afford one when they got married, then they were busy trying to get the business going, then I came along. You know how it goes.â She picked up the pickle jar. âSo whenever we get an extra tip or something, we put it in here.â She shook the money around. âThey almost had enough once, but the refrigerator and oven broke within a week of each other.â
Ira walked by with a huge container of coleslaw.
âWeâd hoped by our tenth anniversary we could go. Then it was our fifteenth. Our twenty-fifth is next month, but it looks like itâll take until our thirtieth.â
âOh, come on Ira,â said Ruthie. âGet real. If we make it to Hawaii by our fiftieth , weâll be doing something.â
âHawaii?â asked Nicki.
âThatâs their dream.â Margo took a customerâs credit card and rang through his bill. âThanks a lot,â she said, handing the man a receipt. She turned to Nicki and lowered her voice. âI really hope they can go for their silver anniversary. Iâve been thinking about putting off nursing school for a year and giving them what Iâve saved upââ
âYou know what you can do with that idea?â Ira shouted from the kitchen. âForget about it!â
âI hope you donât mind stopping off here for a minute first,â said Nicki.
âThis is a social visit,â Margo warned the nurses at the desk. âDonât get any big ideas about putting me to work tonight.â
âI didnât even recognize you without the stripes,â joked an older nurse.
âNurse Cherry Ames, out on the town,â said another.
âI love Cherry Ames.â Margo swung her purse over her shoulder playfully.
âWhoâs she?â asked Nicki.
âOh, you knowâCherry Ames, from the series of books for girls. Sheâs like Nancy Drew, only a nurse. My grandmother gave me her set.â
âRight. They were in your bookcase.â
âI cherish them. Those books changed my life.â
Nicki started for Kahanaâs room.
Margo clicked behind, her heels hitting the floor like it was a steel drum.
Nicki turned down the west corridor and immediately noticed the hall was completely empty. There was no guard at David Kahanaâs door.
Whereâs the guard?
Nicki picked up her pace. She grabbed the door handle and tugged until it opened.
Kahana was gone!
âMargo, heâs not here!â gasped Nicki.
âHe was fine when I left here
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