We knew it was a holiday and we went anyway. To the Grove. To the American Girl store. We reasoned it was better than Disneyland on a holiday. The Grove was wall to wall. The store was wall to wall. As I kept track of Bo and Taylor and Gramma on the down escalator, a presence swept by. I halted our descent, waiting for the next one to board the moving stairs. She was older, in a jeweled caftan. I turned down the stairs and saw Helena turned up, making sure her mother (?) had indeed embarked on our slope. Our eyes met. I kept her secret. Her hair was high, her face natural. I liked her immediately. But, I've always liked her. Almost without exception I embrace all British actors and she is one of my favorites. She stars in one of my favorite movies: Howards End. No, there is no apostrophe. As I reported my sighting to mother, I identified Helena as the bad woman in Harry Potter. Bellatrix. I guess that is the fate of all actors. One role, or in this case, their latest role. In her shopping bag, she had an American Girl.
