The Ivory Keys
Josie stood in front of the mirror and carefully inspected her dress. It wouldn't be mistaken as her finest, but it was nice nevertheless. And besides, it was most important that she looked presentable for her Papa's customers this morning. For today was the first day that she would be delivering bread to her friend Mr. Snelker, since that fateful day his shop had been torn apart by vandals.
“Josie, come now. You must be off!” Papa's voice rang up the stairway and into the small apartment above the family bakery.
“Coming Papa”, she replied. She gave her dress one last inspection, brushing off a tiny fluff of lint that had presently settled on her shoulders, then politely curtsied to her- self in jest, and said said goodbye to her younger sisters Daisy and baby Emma just waking from their sleep, and headed down the stairs.
“My, my”, Mama scolded from behind the counter. “You take more time to get dressed than a Thanksgiving turkey!”
“I’m sorry Mama. I was just trying to look presentable for Mr. Snelker today,” Josie replied, hopeful her mother would not scold her any further.
"You just make sure you take care of all the customers today, not just Mr. Snelker”, her mother reminded her.
“Yes Mama. Is today’s basket ready?”
“We have three today so you will have to push them in your delivery cart. And be sure to deliver to Mr. Snelker last, since his is credited to us today.
Papa lifted a finger to his lips with a silencing motion. “But don’t tell any of the other shopkeepers or they will all want their bread for free", he added with a wink.
“Yes Papa”,
“And try to be back by noon meal”.
“Ye-e-s Mama”, Josie sighed as she grabbed the handle of the cart and pushed it out the front door of the bakery.
It was a golden day, perfect for delivering bread. And as far as Josie was concerned there was no better street to live on than Grand Avenue. Since the day she was born she had lived her on Grand, amongst all the shops and all the people of different nationalities. There was Mr. Le’Seur the barber, and Mr. O’Reilly the butcher, and the Amato brothers, who owned the auto garage. And of course, Mr. Snelker who ran the drug store and soda fountain, which was her favorite place to visit when she wasn’t helping her folks at the bakery.
With a bounce in her step befitting a girl of eleven, Josie made her deliveries to the shops all the way down on the south side of Grand Avenue, then crossed the street and began to deliver to the shops all the way down on the north side of the street. A loaf of sourdough to the Lesters, several pastries to the Duncans, and three large loaves of white to the Brubakers. After dropping off the last loaf of rye bread to Mrs. Thompkins the seamstress, Josie was finally out of bread, except for the pumpernickel and wheat she had saved for Mr. Snelker.
As she approached the drug store, she stopped and peered through the plate glass window as was her custom, and quickly spied Mr. Snelker standing behind the counter, serving a chocolate soda to Mrs. O’Reilly and her son Sean.
“Hello, Mr. Snelker. It's a pleasant day outside!” greeted Josie as she passed the O’Reilly’s in the doorway.
“A pleasant day to you also. Say, is that pumpernickel I smell?”
“It sure is!” Josie answered as she lifted the large loaf of bread onto the counter.
“And it comes with special regards from Mama and Papa”.
“Such nice generosity. Your parents will surely be blessed!”
Josie smiled and looked around the shop. Everything looked just as it did before it had been vandalized, except for the beautiful mahogany piano in the rear of the shop. “Mr. Snelker, are you going to fix the piano? I have always loved to hear you and Mrs. Snelker play it”.
“And how I love to play Josie. But I’m afraid the piano is a loss. It has cost me everything I have to rebuild my shop, I’m afraid I have not a penny left to fix the piano”.
“But couldn’t you remove this ugly orange paint from the sides of the piano?” Josie inquired optimistically.
“Perhaps, but look at these keys. My beautiful ivory keys. Most have been smashed by those vandals and they will not soon be fixed. I have called for the haulers. They will be here by noon Friday to remove it.”
Josie was saddened by the announcement. She remembered back to all those Saturday nights when Mr. Snelker would invite the neighborhood shopkeepers over after his store had closed for the day. It was there that she would meet her friends and oh what fun they had as they danced and told stories and listened to Mr. Snelker light up the shop with his dazzling songs.
That night Josie laid in her bed. She couldn’t help but think of the loss of the piano and what it meant to the neighborhood. Her heart ached for all of the shopkeepers who would miss the singing and dancing. Though many of them were from different parts of the world and though at times they didn’t understand each other all that well, they could always relate to the music that sprang forth from that piano.
Quietly, she slipped out of bed so as not to wake her sisters and knelt beside her bed and softly began to pray. "Dear Jesus, I know that you love me, and Daisy, and Emma, and Papa and Mama. I know that you love Mr. Snelker too. I know that he does not have a lot of money. Would you please provide him with the money to fix his piano? It is so important to everyone in the neighborhood. Amen".
Josie slipped back into bed and before long drifted away into a half-sleep, when suddenly a thought sprang forth in her mind. She had remembered Mr. Grimley. He was a recluse of sorts and a very unsociable man who owned Grimley’s Second Hand store just around the corner of 6th and Grand. She had only been there a few times with Papa, but in her mind she distinctly remembered an old set of piano keys for sale, taken from a piano that was accidentally dropped and smashed by an unlucky pair of piano movers. Maybe, just maybe they were still in his store and hadn’t been sold yet.
The next morning Josie rose early and was dressed and downstairs before her mother had a chance to call for her. Mama and Papa were both surprised by Josie’s promptness, but they were grateful nonetheless. After receiving her delivery instructions, Josie flew out the door with her cart of bread and headed for her delivery stops. With earnestness in her step she made her deliveries to all the shopkeepers, leaving just enough time to visit Mr. Grimley and be back to the bakery before Papa started to worry.
Slowly she walked up to the window of Mr. Grimley’s store and peeked inside the large plate glass window as was her custom, carefully surveying all of the items on the display shelving. Yes, there they were, after all this time. The very same piano keys she had seen with her father a few months ago.
Josie gathered her courage and left her empty cart at the window and stepped inside. Mr. Grimley heard the ring of the bell as she entered, and made his way behind the sales counter. He was a tall portly man and he peered at her sternly through his small circled glasses, perhaps quite surprised a young girl would be in need of something from his shop, and without her parents!”
“Have you come to buy something?”
Josie gulped. She wished Papa was here but she knew this was something she had to do by herself. “I am here to buy something, well, sort of,” she replied. “I have come to inquire about the ivory keys you have for sale”.
“Hmmm,” Mr. Grimley guffawed. “Those keys came from a piano intended for the new occupants at the old Higley Mansion. They are seventeen dollars and thirty five cents. Do you have seventeen dollars and thirty five cents?”
Josie was shocked. She had never even seen that much money in her life. “No, I don’t,” she muttered sadly.
“Goodbye then. Unless you want to buy something you can afford.”
“Please Mr. Grimley. The keys are not for me. They are for Mr. Snelker, to replace the ones the vandals broke. Couldn’t you make a gesture of kindness for his sake and just donate them?”
“Snelker! That old fool and his piano,” Mr. Grimley laughed gruffly. “Never has he invited me to his shop on Saturday nights. Why should I do that for him?”
“But the invitation was for the whole neighborhood. And if I may, he didn’t think you would come. No one did.”
“Hmmph!” Mr. Grimley snorted again, pondering the young girl's statement. “No, the answer is no. Now, be off with you, I have another customer,” he retorted as the bell on the door rang.
Josie was heartbroken and angry at the same time. That night she lay on her bed and thought about Mr. Grimley. Everyone was right. He was just a mean old lonely man. She was glad he had never come to the Saturday night gatherings because he surely would have ruined them.
But then, she began to feel sad. This was not how Jesus would want her to be. Though Mr. Grimley was not a very nice man, Jesus still loved him too, just the way He loved her, and Jesus had never given up on her when she did bad things. And the more she thought about it she realized she couldn’t let Mr. Snelker down either.
Josie rose even earlier the next morning. She emptied her piggy bank and counted out six dollars and fifty nine cents. Her entire life savings from her work at the bakery. But it was not near enough. What would she do?
Barter!
It was a common practice amongst the neighborhood merchants to trade with one another rather than pay each other with money. She would have to barter with Mr. Grimley if she really wanted those piano keys.
After dressing she ran downstairs and pleaded with Papa to bake several of his Cherry Cheese rolls. Reluctantly he agreed, although it would cost her two weeks allowance. Times were tough in 1931 and Papa couldn’t afford to bake such costly food without being compensated, unless there was a really good reason. It was a hard decision for Josie to give up her allowance but it was well worth it. And besides, she needed something Mr. Grimley really desired for her barter with. Though he didn’t order from the bakery often, it was always Papa’s tasty Cherry Cheese rolls he ordered.
After everything had been baked and placed into the cart, Josie headed out the door with the days orders and with her Cherry Cheese rolls, leaving Mama and Papa perplexed as to what she was up to.
Josie took her customary route, delivering each order to the waiting shopkeepers. Today though, she went much slower. Her stomach hurt so much at the thought of seeing Mr. Grimley again, and she longed for a tonic to settle it down.
Finally, she couldn’t wait any longer. With a new found resolve she decided not to finish her deliveries and she turned towards Grimley's Second Hand shop. As she walked along she could feel the perspiration build in her palms and she began to feel nervous.
"Dear Lord", she said under her breath as she approached the shop. "I do not know what to say to Mr. Grimley, but I pray that you will give me the words to say. And I pray that he would listen".
Soon she turned onto 6th street and approached Grimley's and the big plate glass window. Secretly she peered through the glass at the ivory keys. There they were, right where she had seen them the previous day, but... everything else seemed out of placed. As she gazed around, she noticed the entire shop was in shambles. And there in the midst of it all was Mr. Grimley sitting with his back to the counter and his hands tied behind his back.
HE WAS BEING VANDALIZED!
Josie could see three teenaged boys moving quickly, knocking things over and stuffing items into a large bag. Then suddenly, through the window, she heard one of the boys whistle. Each of the boys picked up a few more items, shoved them into the bag, and then raced for the front door.
Josie shuddered. What could she do? In a way she felt Mr. Grimley was getting what he deserved, but in her heart she knew no one deserved to get robbed. If something wasn’t done to stop these vandals they would end up destroying all of the neighborhood shops, maybe even Papas!
Suddenly she realized she still had her delivery cart with her. Before the boys reached the doorway, she crouched down and with a shove pushed the small cart right in front of the doorway, then swiftly crept behind a large mailbox right next to the shop.
WHAMM!
The three boys ran out of the doorway so fast they never saw the small cart filled with bread sitting in the doorway. The bread in the wagon flew into the air and into the street as the boys stumbled and fell over each other and crashed to the ground.
The noise from the crash and the sight of the bread flying through the air was such a spectacle that all of the shopkeepers ran out of their stores to see the sight. In an instant they realized what had happened and quickly detained the teenage vandals until Mr. Steele, the policeman had been called and had come to haul the troublemakers away.
In short order, Mr. Grimley was untied and informed of the happenings outside the shop since he was not able to see what happened. Upon hearing the news that it was Josie who stopped the vandals, a softhearted look quickly came, and then left his face. Seeing her through the plate glass window, he made his way outside to confront Josie, who was still shuddering from the excitement.
Standing before her, he straightened his ruffled vest and peered down at Josie. “I have been informed that it was your brave act and quick forethought that stopped these hooligans," Mr. Grimley exclaimed, as gruff as ever.
“I, I guess it was,” Josie replied hesitantly.
Mr. Grimley stood tall and then pulled again at his ruffled vest. “Well then. I want you to know I will never sell you those ivory keys, not today, not ever.” Then he bent his portly body over to meet Josie face to face as a smile broke over his face. “I will never sell you those keys, for they are yours, for free.”
Josie was not sure what came over her, but she was so happy she reached over and hugged Mr. Grimly, which caught him by surprise. With a rare tenderness, he accepted her hug, and then quickly composed himself, pulling again at his vest.
“With one condition,” Mr. Grimley added.
“What might that be?” Josie questioned.
“If I might have one, just one, of you fathers Cherry Cheese rolls!"
Josie laughed and handed Mr. Grimley one of the Cherry Cheese rolls that still remained in her basket. Maybe, just maybe, she had made another friend. Mr. Snelker would be able to fix the piano, and the neighborhood could once again sing and dance. She was so happy. Once again she said a prayer under her breath, "Thank you Jesus. You sure do work in mysterious ways!"
U.Art.Known;