Meta lived right by the beach, so you may wonder if, in the summer, she ever went away on vacation. After all, many Dutch and foreign people, who go away for a holiday, go to Scheveningen. The big attractions there were, not only the beautiful strand (beach), but also the Kurhaus with its curative waters, the Pier, which stretched into the ocean, and the Seinpost, a movie theater located high on a sand dune. But, the people who live there do like to visit other places.

Because Mamma grew up in Germany, the family was in the habit of visiting her relatives during the summer holidays. That’s where Mamma’s brothers, Wilhelm and Paul, and big sisters, Anna, Ciska, and Paula, lived. It was also where Meta’s cousins lived. A few of them were older than some of her aunts and uncles.

Even though Germany had invaded Czechoslovakia in March and was occupying three other countries that summer of 1939, Meta’s parents decided to visit Mamma’s relatives anyway. They just couldn’t believe that there would be another war so soon after the Great War. The family stayed with Onkel (Uncle in German) Wilhelm.

Onkel Wilhelm and his tall, sparse wife, Liesbet, had a grocery store in Bottrop, Germany. Because this was a long time ago, it was the old-fashioned kind. That is, it was only as large as a big room. The food was not wrapped up in packages, but came in huge bins and tubs.

Meta’s uncle was an attractive, outgoing man who knew all of his customers by name. He also knew their life stories. In fact, everybody in that town knew each other, mostly because of that shop.

“Ah, here comes Frau (Mrs.) Graeffner down the street. I wonder if her son is feeling better,” Onkel Wilhelm mused, as he arranged the window display. Frau Graeffner was dressed in a long, gray skirt, white blouse, and had a blue kerchief on her head. She always walked as if she was in a great hurry and, perhaps, she was. She came to the store, climbed the two steps, and opened the door. A clear bell sounded every time the door opened, so that Ilse, the sales girl, would know that someone was in the shop.

“So, the little Dutch girls are here again,” Frau Graeffner commented, as she entered the store and saw Meta and her sisters. “A half kilogram of flour and a quarter kilo of sugar please,” she said to Ilse.

Ilse weighed the sugar in a pointed paper bag and closed it so well that she could put it upside down on the counter, and nothing would spill. Meta thought that was truly amazing. Ilse weighed the flour in a regular bag. Then, she asked, “Will there be anything else?”

“Hmm, yes. I think I’d like a Holzhandgriffzuckerlutschbonbon (wooden-handled sugar sucking candy in German) for my daughter.”

Ilse put the lollipop into a little brown bag and gave it to Frau Graeffner. She told her how much money she owed. Frau Graeffner paid, put everything she bought into her cloth shopping bag, and off she went—in a hurry, of course. Meta watched her and that lollipop go.

The candy made Meta’s mouth water. It was displayed in big glass jars on the counter. There were so many colors! Sadly, she couldn’t reach high enough to help herself to a piece. Even on her tippy toes. Of course, just taking a piece of candy wouldn’t have been allowed. But, you know Meta…

At the front of the counter was a wooden barrel filled with lemonade powder. Meta was shorter than the counter, but she could just about reach inside the barrel, if she ssttrreeettched as high as she could go. 

Meta looked around first. Onkel Wilhelm had gone to the back of the shop to get a refill for the sugar barrel. Ilse was busy filling an order. Corrie had wandered outside. Meta really wanted to taste the powder, so she quickly licked her finger and dipped the wet finger into the white lemonade powder. It turned yellow on her finger! Meta sucked the powder that stuck to her finger off. Oh, the wonderful sweet-sour taste! She closed her eyes blissfully. 

Sieglinde was looking around at the other side of the shop. “Sieglinde, come here!” Meta whispered, “Try this!” 

Meta showed her sister what to do. Sieglinde was a little worried about doing something that she knew was wrong, and also about being caught, but the lemonade powder was just too tempting. She also stuck her finger in her mouth, put her wet finger into the powder, and sucked it off. They both had several licks before Onkel Wilhelm came back to the front of the shop. Then, they quickly put their yellow-stained hands behind their backs. 

Onkel Wilhelm probably wouldn’t have liked children putting wet fingers into his lemonade powder. He didn’t know or even suspect, not even when he noticed the clumped together lumps in the powder. I guess he didn’t know his nieces all that well.