"Grandpa!"

Charlie burst through the door and ran over to his grandfather. He jumped into the older man's arms as though he were being chased by wild animals. He was greeted with open arms and a smile as wide as Texas.

"Charlie! What are you running from, boy?" William Taft laughed, holding his grandson close, as though protecting him from unseen danger.

"Grandpa, Daddy says I have to go on ear runs with him! Can I stay with you? Please, Grandpa?" Charlie pleaded with his grandfather, knowing full well that it wouldn't be necessary.

"What kind of "ear runs" do you need to run?" William asked his son, chuckling.

James thought for a moment.

"Not many, Pop. I just need to stop by the hardware store, and the grocery store. Jenny is craving black licorice today, yesterday it was sardines! Oh, and I need to go to the bank."

"The bank!" William sucked in a breath and looked down at his grandson. A grin slowly started to spread across his face. "You don't want to go to the bank?" Grandpa William said, sounding shocked.

James recognized the familiar look on his father's face, and the way the old man's eyes lit up. He knew his battle was lost; he would be running errands alone. As he closed the front door behind him, James heard the beginning of the story that he had grown up with...

"When I was a boy, back in Iowa..." Grandpa William began.

James smiled as he got into his car. It would be a long while before they even knew he was gone.

"... I looked forward to going into town with my father. We didn't get off the farm often, in those days, and it was a treat to go for a ride in the car. My favorite place to go was the bank." Grandpa William closed his eyes and he was transported back to his childhood.

"It was March 13, 1934, and I had gone into town with my father. We made several stops, finally ending up at the First National Bank, in Mason City. I couldn't wait to get inside and see Miss Sally. She was the prettiest woman I had ever laid eyes on, and I knew that one day, when I was old enough, I was going to marry her. She had curly blonde hair and the most beautiful blue eyes I had ever seen. Mama always said that Miss Sally wore more paint on her face than Mr. Thompson had in his hardware store. She said that Miss Sally dressed like a floozy, cursed like a sailor, and that she was not a lady." Grandpa William laughed.

"What's a floozy? And, if she wasn't a lady, what was she, Grandpa?" Charlie looked confused.

"Well, you know, I asked my father just that, once, and he said he would explain when I got older. So, I reckon, when you get older, I'll explain it to you." Grandpa William said with a chuckle.

Charlie, satisfied with the answer for the moment, snuggled back against Grandpa William's chest and waited for the story to continue.

"Miss Sally was a teller at the bank and her line was always busier than the other tellers. When Mama took me to the bank, we went to a different teller, but Daddy didn't mind waiting for Miss Sally. In all my eight years, I had never seen a woman that was more beautiful. Her lips were always painted red, and even standing at the back of her line, behind several other men, I could smell her perfume. Miss Sally always wore perfume. She would smile at each customer as though he was the most important man in the world, then she would wink at them as they walked away, a huge smile plastered across their face. Funny, I never saw any women in Miss Sally's line..." Grandpa grinned.

"The best thing about being in Miss Sally's line, besides looking at her, was that she always gave me a chocolate. They were wrapped in gold foil paper and tasted better than anything I had ever put in my mouth. She said she had a friend that traveled a lot and always brought her chocolates; and, since I was special, she saved the biggest ones for me. When I was a boy, in the 1930's, candy was a treat, especially when it was given to me by a beautiful woman."

"That day, as I stood in line with my father, I peeked around the customers in front of us and caught a glimpse of Miss Sally. She looked past all the other fellas in her line just to wink at me; I felt like the luckiest boy in the world. The line was moving slowly that day and I thought we would never get to Miss Sally. Finally, it was almost our turn; there was only one man between me and my chocolate... and, of course, the most beautiful woman in the world. I stood there, waiting patiently, as Miss Sally waited on Mr. Hughes. Miss Sally had to raise her voice and repeat herself several times, because Mr. Hughes was practically deaf; he was also very rich. She was counting out hundred dollar bills, making several stacks of $1,000.00, when we heard a loud "bang" come from the front of the bank." Grandpa's eyes sparkled as the memories of that day flashed through his mind as though it were yesterday.

"What was it, Grandpa? What happened?" Charlie sat up straight, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Well, at first, no one knew what was happening! Within seconds, a man with a hand gun appeared. He fired the gun into the ceiling and demanded everyone get down on the floor. Even as a child I recognized the robber's face. It was John Dillinger, the most ruthless, violent, bank robber ever! His face was plastered in every public building across town, on Wanted posters. Behind him, was Baby Face Nelson, another brutal bank robber, and standing at the front door of the bank was Red Hamilton. There were several other men with machine guns, but I didn't know who they were. I realized at that moment that the bank was being robbed."

"Were you scared?" Charlie asked, his eyes wide.

"Of course I was scared, boy, these men were known for killing folks just 'cause they looked at 'em wrong. I was shaking in my shoes! My dad tried to keep me behind him, protecting me as best he could, as Dillinger started toward us. As much as I was afraid for my dad, and for myself, I was really scared Miss Sally would be hurt. I turned to her, expecting her to be crying and scared, but instead, she was smiling at the robbers! Mr. Hughes was standing in front of Miss Sally, saying something... but she ignored him. He hadn't heard the gunshots, or any of the chaos that was going on behind him, in the bank. He got impatient 'cause Miss Sally had quit counting out his money, so he picked up the bills that were on the counter and started to take the money from her hand. Dillinger told him to put the money down, but Mr. Hughes didn't hear him and tried to pry the bills out of Miss Sally's hand. Dillinger shot Mr. Hughes in the leg, and when the old man fell down, the robber snatched up all the money on the counter, including what Miss Sally had in her hand. He grabbed Miss Sally by the arm and I thought he was going to kill her. Instead, she held onto Dillinger's arm as she climbed across the counter and jumped down beside him. She had a bunch of money bags in her hand, which she handed to Dillinger. He gave half of them to Baby Face and the two of them proceeded to go to each teller and demand all the money they had in their drawers. They got away with $50,000.00 that day.

When the men had all the money, they started to back out of the bank, pointing their guns at all of us, threatening to shoot anyone that tried to follow them. Miss Sally put her arm through John Dillinger's and stayed by his side, as they made their way to the front of the bank. They were almost to the door when Miss Sally whispered something in Dillinger's ear, then let go of his arm and ran back into the bank. She went behind the counter, where she always sat, and got something from underneath. When she came back around, she had a gold, rectangular shaped box in her hand. She ran up to me, knelt down, and put the box in my hands. Then she kissed me on the cheek and winked at me. She ran back to Dillinger and the entire gang slipped out the doors of the bank. They were long gone before the police ever arrived, and I never saw Miss Sally again." Grandpa sighed as he gently brushed his cheek where Miss Sally had kissed him all those years ago.

"What did she give you?" Charlie whispered. "What was in the box?" He could barely wait to hear the answer.

"Miss Sally gave me a whole box of chocolates. It hadn't even been opened yet! She stole my heart, but she gave me a box of chocolates. At eight years old, it was a pretty good trade." Grandpa laughed and hugged Charlie.

"Hey, Charlie, you know what I'm in the mood for?"

"No! What?" Charlie smiled, anticipating the answer.

"What do you say we go get into Grandma's chocolate stash? I know where she hides the good stuff!" Charlie jumped off his grandpa's lap, face beaming with excitement. Grandpa took Charlie's hand and the two of them set out to find some chocolate.

Forty-five years later...

Willa stopped by to see her Grandpa Charlie, on her way into the city. With her grandmother out of town, visiting her sister, Willa worried about her grandfather being alone. Her son, Jimmy, ran up to Grandpa Charlie and climbed into his lap.

"Papa! Mommy is going to the mall and I don't want to go. Can I stay with you?" Jimmy put on his "cute look" for his grandfather... as though Charlie would actually tell him no.

"I thought you liked the mall, kiddo. You don't want to keep your mommy company?" Grandpa Charlie said with a grin.

"I don't mind the mall, but then she has to go to the bank, and the bank is boring." Jimmy smiled his best smile at his grandpa.

"The bank! You don't want to go to the bank?" Grandpa Charlie sounded shocked.

Willa recognized the familiar look on her father's face, and the way the older man's eyes lit up. She knew her battle was lost; she would be going to the mall alone. As she closed the front door behind her, Willa heard the beginning of the story that she had grown up with...

"When my grandpa was a boy, back in Iowa..." Grandpa Charlie began.

It would be a long while before they even knew she was gone.