Do you ever find yourself in the Safeway lot, looking up at the house across the street where the MANNEQUIN was always in the window, and wondering whatever happened to it?

In April 2009, the Ear wrote a story about AMANDA, pictured left, described as a “true fashion diva with versatile style” by KYLE AND MICHELLE ADAMS, owners of the window in question, who said that Amanda worked for Flat Out Fun, the Adams’ novelty business, that was on Etsy.com.

But then, somewhere along the line, the window was just plain empty. And stayed that way. The Ear has always puzzled about what happened to the mannequin, and found out the answer completely by accident.

Former North Coast resident LORINNE MONDEAUX, pictured inset, stopped in town for a visit, and casually mentioned the mannequins. Yes, plural. There were actually two of them, AMY, pictured right, and Amanda Adams, “the mannequin twins.”

The story goes that the Adams moved from Astoria to Sugarloaf, Calif., and then to Big Bear City, Calif., where Lorinne was residing at the time. At that point, the couple wanted to get rid of the mannequins. Lorinne told the Ear she remembered the Astoria window icons, and bought the twins “to keep them together.”

So where are they now? They wound up in a open year-round shop in beach town Santa Cruz, Calif., Lorinne reports, that is Halloween-themed on the mannequin twins’ side, and normal beach-front store on the other side.

The “girls” are “living their sisterhood dream,” said Lorinne with a chuckle, “as window dressing on beachfront property.”

— Elleda Wilson