Carry the Light (18 page)

T
he following morning, Charlene woke early after a fitful sleep. She met Ellie for their usual morning walk at six-thirty and was back at the house by seven-fifteen. Both Aunt Dorothy and Daniel were still asleep, so she showered and changed quietly, trying not to wake them. At eight o'clock, Daniel got up, skipped breakfast and went outside to work in the yard.

By eight-thirty, Charlene was returning to her aunt's bedroom every ten minutes to reassure herself that the frail elderly woman was still breathing.

Finally, a little after nine o'clock, Aunt Dorothy got out of bed. Acting a bit lethargic, considering she'd had a good thirteen hours in bed, and looking unusually pale, Aunt Dorothy complained of feeling a little dizzy, and she was unsteady on her feet.

Charlene helped her aunt change her nightgown and took a fresh housecoat out of the closet for her aunt to wear. Charlene also stayed very close as her aunt walked out to the kitchen for their pre-breakfast morning ritual of glucose testing, insulin injection, weigh-in and pills.

Aunt Dorothy's sugar level was higher than yesterday, although still within normal range. But she had gained three pounds overnight. Charlene added that number to the daily log. Only time would reveal if the weight gain was a warning that she was beginning to accumulate fluids again or the result of eating an amazing portion of last night's smorgasbord.

Already fearful that her aunt might be on the verge of another episode that could land her back in the hospital, Charlene grew even more concerned when her aunt asked her to call Max Duncan to tell him not to stop by today since she was not feeling up to par.

 

By late afternoon, after a dreary but rain-free day, Daniel was still in the backyard, trying to make good use of the waning daylight. Charlene was in the living room watching her aunt nap yet again, still worried about the shallowness of Aunt Dorothy's breathing. When the telephone rang, Charlene bolted to the kitchen to answer it.

“Hi, Charlene. Andy Johnson here. I'm sorry to have to bother you at home, but we've got a bit of a problem here.”

Charlene closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. She had all the problems she could handle right now, including how she might manage to make her calls to her customers when her aunt obviously needed her attention. “What kind of problem?” she asked, trying to keep her voice loud enough for him to hear her, yet low enough to keep from disturbing her aunt.

“Like I promised, I've been taking in some deliveries for you, but there've been so many today, I'm about out of room. I know things are probably pretty hectic for you right now, but is there any possibility you could come over and move these boxes into your own store?”

Charlene furrowed her brow. When she had accepted his offer to take in her mail and any deliveries that might come, she really hadn't expected there would be more than a few supply catalogues or bills, and she wasn't expecting any deliveries for the simple reason that she hadn't ordered anything from her suppliers. Everything she needed for Easter, as well as Mother's Day, had been delivered weeks ago.

“You've got that much?” she asked, hoping he was exaggerating the situation.

“Seven boxes. No, make that eight. I forgot to count the one that just got dropped off.”

Thoroughly confused, she shook her head. “I can't imagine what they'd be for. Did you check the mailing labels? Are you sure they're mine?”

“Every box has Sweet Stuff written on it.”

“All right. I'm really sorry you've been bothered—”

“No bother. I just need to clear a path to the cash register for my customers and all the folks stopping by to find out if you'll be reopening for Easter.”

“I'll be over as soon as I can. Give me half an hour. Maybe a little more.”

“Great,” he replied, and hung up.

“Great,” she repeated, and hung up, too. Still confounded by having so many boxes delivered when she couldn't remember ordering anything, she had yet another problem to solve before she could leave. With Aunt Dorothy feeling so poorly she simply couldn't, in all good conscience, leave her alone in the house. She hesitated to ask Daniel to stop working since he had already lost a whole day yesterday. She didn't want to call on either Annie or Madeline again, either, for fear Aunt Dorothy would overdo it. Ellie would probably be home from school by now, but she needed to stay with her mother.

Charlene sighed and shook her head. Agnes Withers was probably the only option she had, but she was reluctant to ask the next-door neighbor, especially without asking her aunt first. She turned away from the telephone to walk back to the living room, but immediately flinched and halted her steps, startled to see Aunt Dorothy walking toward her.

Heart pounding, Charlene managed a smile. “Mercy! I didn't hear you coming.”

Aunt Dorothy stopped and looked down at the hospital slippers she wore on her feet. “I'm sorry. I guess these don't squeak like my slippers do. I brought so many pairs of these socks home from the hospital that I thought I might as well use them,” she said while walking toward the table a bit more steadily than she had all day.

She sat down, smoothed the collar on her purple housecoat and untangled the corded necklace she still wore faithfully, which had gotten caught on the white enamel elephant pinned to her housecoat. “Did I hear the telephone ring?”

Pleased that her aunt was looking and acting quite a bit better than earlier, Charlene explained the call from Andy Johnson, as well as her dilemma. “I feel awful imposing on him, so I really don't want to keep him waiting, if I can help it.”

“Don't worry about me. I'm feeling a whole lot better now that I've slept most of my day away. Take Daniel with you and let him help you with the boxes. The yard has waited this long, so another day or two won't matter. I'll just sit here a spell, have a cup of tea while you're both gone and give Annie a call. If I have a problem, I'll hang up and call you on your cell phone. I have my necklace right here, too.” She smiled as she held up the Total Care pendant she could press to summon help.

“Are you sure? Maybe it'd be better if Daniel stayed here. I could probably move the boxes myself, if Andy is too busy. But I'll fix your tea for you before I go,” Charlene said. She filled a mug with water, added a tea bag, slid the mug into the microwave and set the timer.

“Every man likes to be needed, and I'd venture to say that every man
needs
to be needed,” Aunt Dorothy countered. “It might be better all around if you asked Daniel to help you once in a while instead of being so independent all the time, especially when it comes to that store of yours.”

Stung by her aunt's gentle reprimand, which was as unexpected as it was uncharacteristic, Charlene swallowed hard.

“Sit down. Talk to me. Andy Johnson can wait a bit,” her aunt instructed.

Charlene sat down opposite her aunt.

“You've been good to me, Charlene, and I'm grateful for everything you're doing to help me,” her aunt said. “Now you can take what I'm going to say with a grain of spilled salt and toss it right over your shoulder if you want to, but I've got something that needs to be said, because days like this remind me I might not have too many days left.”

Charlene nodded. Although she wasn't sure where her aunt was going, she had a feeling this conversation was not going to be as lighthearted as their talks usually were. She was relieved, however, to know she hadn't been overreacting today, and she was moved by her aunt's ability to talk openly about her death.

Aunt Dorothy folded her hands together and laid them on top of the table. The bright orange nail polish was the only reminder of yesterday's makeover session. Her expression grew serious. “When you moved in here to take care of me, and Daniel came down on weekends, I noticed that you two didn't seem as happy with each other as you used to, although you both try to hide it pretty well.” She drew in a shaky breath. “I'm probably to blame for that, since I was the one who encouraged you to open that store of yours here in Welleswood. And I—I wanted you to know I never would have encouraged you to do that if I thought for one minute that running that store would put a strain on your marriage.”

Charlene glanced away, troubled that her aunt seemed to be taking responsibility for the distance in Charlene's marriage—an estrangement Charlene had thought was undetected. Obviously, she had been mistaken. She needed to reassure her aunt that she was not to blame, although Charlene felt very awkward discussing these problems.

“It's not your fault,” Charlene whispered, drawing in a long breath and looking directly at her aunt. “Ever since the children left, things between Daniel and me have been…different. I thought we just needed a little time to adjust, and with Daniel working all the time, frankly, I needed something to do. Something meaningful. If I hadn't opened my store here, I would have opened it somewhere else.”

Her aunt's gaze was steady, if not piercing. “Do you love that man? Really love him?”

Charlene blinked hard. “Yes. Of course, I do,” she insisted without hesitation.

Aunt Dorothy cocked her head. “Do you think he still loves you?”

“I—I guess so. Yes, I do,” she replied with more confidence—confidence that had somehow grown since coming to stay with Aunt Dorothy.

“Then stop dillydallying around, and get his attention again, even if that means shutting down your store for good,” her aunt instructed. Her eyes began to twinkle. “Flatter him. Wear some toilet water. Cut your hair and fix it pretty, like you used to do before you opened that store. And learn how to flirt a little, too.”

Charlene gasped with surprise at receiving pointers from her aunt on how she might win back her husband's devotion. “Flirt? With Daniel?”

Her aunt shrugged. “Why not? But all the flirting in the world won't keep him interested unless you have something in common, something you love to share together as much as you loved raising your children. And don't think it's taking care of me now, because I'm not going to be here forever. And if you think you can't do it, then remember those rings I showed you. You come from a long line of strong women, Charlene. Do what you have to do, just like I'm certain they did.”

Flustered by her aunt's candor, as well as her advice, Charlene didn't know what to say. At that moment, however, the microwave dinged, and Daniel came in through the back door, giving Charlene a double excuse to avoid responding to her aunt, and to end their conversation.

When Charlene got up from the table to get the mug of tea, Aunt Dorothy turned and smiled at Daniel. “There you are. Were your ears ringing?”

He laughed as he brushed the dirt from his jacket. “No, why?”

“We were just talking about you. Andy Johnson called. Apparently, there were a lot of boxes that got delivered today for Sweet Stuff, and Charlene needs your help getting them out of his way,” she said before turning her back to him again. Glancing in Charlene's direction, she lifted her brows and batted her lashes, as if urging Charlene to do the same.

Charlene caught a chuckle before it escaped, and thought about imitating her aunt for less than half a heartbeat. But she smiled at her husband, instead. “It wouldn't take too long, but if you're too busy in the yard…”

“No, I'm done working outside for today,” he said before walking toward Aunt Dorothy. “Take a look,” he urged her, and helped her out of her seat and over to the kitchen window, where Charlene joined them. “What do you think?”

His blue eyes sparkled and his smile was proud, reminding Charlene of how he'd looked the day he'd finished building the fort for their son in their backyard in Grand Mills. Warmed by the memory, she looked out the window, and heard Aunt Dorothy gasp with surprise.

“The birdbath is done! And look, Charlene. There are feeders for the birds, too.”

“I see them,” Charlene replied, equally surprised and impressed by the transformation of the area just outside the window. Freshly trimmed bushes and trees now created a natural backdrop for a small alcove, where a pair of double shepherd's hooks held wooden bird feeders. In the center of the alcove, the cleaned and restored birdbath rested on a concrete pedestal.

“With all the wild-bird seed out there now, you should have plenty of birds to watch this year, right from here. I should have the rest of the yard trimmed back, and a walking path cleared out so you can see right through to the creek, by Easter,” he informed her. “I haven't found it yet, but I'll keep looking for that bench you mentioned.”

“Thank you. Thank you,” Aunt Dorothy whispered, then turned and kissed his cheek. “I think I'll just stand here and watch for a while, just to see if the birds will find the feeders. You two go ahead.”

Charlene dragged a kitchen chair over and set it next to her aunt. “If you sit down, you can still see just as well, and you won't get as tired. Your tea is ready, too.”

“I think I'll wait awhile for my tea. Just set it on the counter for me,” her aunt replied. She sat down, but kept her gaze focused on the window.