It's the year 1967. Kaethe Daube, a 20-year-old Boston resident, works hard to make a simple living to support herself and her elderly grandfather. She expects to continue living the quiet life -- but when TF Industries comes knocking on her door...
Kaethe's thoughts continued to haunt her with no promise of ever leaving -- not after she left the ecstatic embrace of the girls, not after they had finished packing the boxes, not after Mrs. Armani praised them when she had come in at three and discovered that the job was finished, not when she walked to the restaurant with Mrs. Armani for the first time in two days, not even when she finally left the restaurant and went home. I just don't understand, she thought in dismay for the second time that day as she walked along. I shouldn't feel like this... and yet... She sighed, shaking her head. No matter. By tomorrow morning, I'll feel better about this. I have to, or I'll lose my mind.
And she was mostly right (at least about that, anyway). By the next day, the majority of her thoughts had left her after BLU had come by and picked up the crates of washed clothing at noon, and she thought very little of what had been troubling her before -- for she had more important matters on her mind, especially by the time four o'clock came around. "Have a good evening, Mrs. Armani!" she said with a wave of the hand and a smile.
"You do the same, Kaethe!" Mrs. Armani called cheerfully amidst the farewells from the other girls. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon!"
Kaethe smiled to herself as she went out the front door, sighing happily as she looked up at the gray sky above her. I'd better hurry, she thought to herself as she began making her way down the street. I don't want to be late again like I was last week.
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A library visit and a bike ride later, Kaethe was following a young nurse down the halls of the nearby nursing home. "He just woke up from his afternoon nap," the nurse said, "and he's down here, keeping away from the other residents."
Kaethe smiled the tiniest bit. "No different than the usual, then."
The nurse chuckled a little. "No. Your grandfather is an interesting man, Miss Daube."
"Ja, he is." Kaethe laughed a bit. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."
The nurse smiled a little -- then, suddenly brightening, she gestured to a door ahead of them. "Here we are -- they said he was in here." She walked up to the door and gave it a solid knock as she asked in a firm but not unkindly voice, "Mr. Daube, may I come in?"
"Just a moment!" a German-accented voice dearly familiar to Kaethe's ears called. From behind the door, there was a sound of papers rustling wildly -- then the sound stopped as quickly as it began. "Ja, come in!"
The nurse reached for the doorknob and opened the door. She beckoned to Kaethe with a hand as a silent way of saying "follow me", and Kaethe obliged by trailing behind her.
Upon entering the room, Kaethe was met with the ever-familiar and endearing sight of her grandfather sitting in an armchair across the room. He was a distinguished-looking older gentleman with a chiseled, craggy profile with a straight nose and thin lips, and had laughing gray eyes lined with wrinkles, gray hair combed off to the side, a neatly trimmed beard, and a pair of round-rimmed spectacles rested on his nose. He wore a sweater vest with a tie over a button-up shirt, dress pants, and his favorite pair of slippers, which was the outfit Kaethe was most used to seeing him wear. He was preoccupied with a newspaper he held in one hand, and did not look up as he calmly asked, "Ja, what is it?"
