Kaleidoscope Summer (Samantha's Story) (54 page)

I laid my head on the bed next to hers. I felt her reach for me and turned
her face toward me
. “My grandbaby—I’ve waited
nearly
thirty
years
to hold you.
I loved your mom
so mu
ch and she loved you.”

I tugged
a tissue from the box by her bed and w
iped the tears from her wrinkled
cheeks.
“Gra
ndmother, save your strength.” C
alling her
Grandmother
filled a crevasse
inside
I
’d never known
it
existed.

“
I need to tell you
.
” S
he closed her eyes a moment
.
“
When my Anne
gave you away
,
it
broke her. For weeks
,
I
help
ed her get dressed and spoon-fe
d her like a child. I told her she’d se
e you again someday—she clung to that hope
.”

I brushed her hair with my fingers. “
I’m sorry
I didn’t get here before—
”

“Some
thing
s
are in God’s hands
,
child.”

Her lips
slowed. Concerned she was using
too much of her strength
,
I motione
d for John
,
watch
ing
through the window.
H
e returned to her bedside.
“
I think she n
eeds you now.” He embraced me.
I pulled back and l
ooked into his face. “Thank you
.”

“I’m sorry for being such an old coot
.”
Was he the same man that had hurt
Anne
?
I’d prayed and hoped for this day, for
John
to accept me
.
And one thing
I
knew
for sure,
I could never
confirm
his fear by
walk
ing away.

Chapter
Forty-fiv
e

W
e ran into
Evelyn, Doc
,
and Thelma
congregated
i
n the lobby
. I placed my hand on the small of Sam’s back as we approached the group.

“Honey, God
answer
ed our prayers
.
Y
our
grandmother is going to be
fine.” Thelma put her arms around Sam.

“Oh,
I hope you’re right. I can’t bear the thought of losing her now.”
Sam returned her embrace.

“
We’ll check back later
for an update
.” I n
odded at Doc and the others as
Sam and I
left through the double
doors
.

We stood outside and I placed my hand on Sam’s arm.
“Never thought I’d see
John
cr
u
mble. Under his gruffness lurks
a real human being.”
Unresponsive
,
Sam
gave off the vibe she didn’t want to
talk about it. “When’s the furniture being delivered for Rachel’s house
?”

“About an hour ago
—if every
thing went
according to
schedule. We should check
in with Maggie
.”

“Y
ou got it.” As we turned on
to Rose Drive
, t
he house was
no longer a disgraceful eyesore. I
t
now
presented a polished exterior with
black shutters against
off-
white on
the wood siding. A
nd a
walkway, newly
lined with brick
,
invited us to the
entry
.

I was astonished at how Maggie had transformed the inside. “G
reat
job
.”
I gave her a
two-thumbs-
up signal.

Sam
ran her hand down the drapes. “
These
willowy sheers und
er
the
champ
agne-colored drapes are
fabulous
.”

“How’s Elizabeth?”
Maggie bent over the
sofa
, fu
ssing with the pillows
.

“W
eak
,
but I talked to
her for
a few minutes
.”
Sam picked up one of the pillows
and hugged it against her middle
.

“You
spoke with
her—
John
allowed
you
to see her
?”
Maggie threw her arms around Sam. “That’s wonderful.”
S
he
tugged
the pillow from Sam and returned it to its assigned place
.

Maggie made an
ex
aggerated sigh.
“I want everything to be perfect
.
”
She
pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced at it
. “Rachel should be here soon.”

True to
Maggie
’s prediction, less
than five minutes later
,
Rachel walked in
.
S
he scrutinized the room as though memorizing
every detail.
“I’m…I’m
speechless.”
She slipped her shoes
off before stepping on the
c
appuccino-colored carpet—at least that was the color listed on the order form.

From
the expressions on the women’s face
s
,
this was
quickly
becoming
a watershed
event
.
Nothing like women’s tears to make a man feel helpless,
I
located
tissues,
and passed them around.
“When’s
Brandon
being discharged from the hospital
?”

“He’s checking in
to a
rehab
center.
” Rachel twisted
the tissue in her hand.
“
T
here are
things you don’t know about
.” Sadness veiled
her face—t
he
way a storm cloud blocks the sun
.
“I’m sure you already have some idea
—given the disrepair of our home
. E
xcuse me
.”
She
covered her
face
as she rushed
from
the room.

Maggie
pale
d
.
“We shouldn’t h
ave sprung this on her
.
”

Rachel softly
returned and sat grasping the arm of the sofa
. “You added rooms?
” She took a moment
,
obviously
quiet
ing
her emotions.
“
The
house—I almost
believe
we migh
t
make it. Life has required
tough
choices
the past few days
. I refuse to put our children through anymore of t
he
nightmare we’ve been living
.
” Her expression saddened and her lips trembled
.
The three of us had
taken seats
,
listening without interrupting.
“Everyone
thought
Brandon
was
the fun
guy
in high school—w
e ignored his drinking. Today
,
s
ome wo
uld call him a functioning alcoholic
because he goes to work. I can’t remember the last time I saw him sober. Not exactly
a
prom king and queen
lived happily ever after story, is it?
”

Sam
held
Rachel’s hand. “When we a
re at our weakest, our
strength
come
s
from God
.”

Guilt pressed hard in the pit of my stomach. Why hadn’t we reached out to him back then?
“How is
Brandon
coping
?
”

“
Physically,
the healing process is going better than
expected.
Brandon
and I talked
, and w
e
agreed
changes have to be made.”

Maggie knelt on the
floor at Rachel’s feet. “Rachel
, can we pray with you?”

“It’s been
too
long—I
don’t
go to church a
n
ymore.” Rachel
rose and darted to
the kitchen.

I touched my sister’s shoulder. “W
e’re
taking
off—give you
space
with Rachel.
You guys used to be
close.”

“I don’t know—a
lot of time has passed since those days
.”
Maggie lowered her head.

Sam
knelt next to her
. “Do what you do best. Be there for her.”

I
grasped
Sam
’s
hand
as we left
.
“Rachel’s right.
Brandon
’s drinking wasn’t a secret.
All of u
s chose to ignore it,
not get involved
.” The
awareness
felt heavy
as we drove away.
“
I’ve been so absorbed in my own world I’ve n
eglected everyone else
. Not long
ago I had to remind myself to ask
Alec
ab
out his family—and I can’t
recall
what he said.
”

She laid her hand on
my arm
. “It’s difficult to know when to get involved and whe
n
not to
.
”

“Shall we go save
the dogs
?”
I threw a wink her direction, saving
the inner probing
for another time
.

“I think
Alec
’s the one needing to be
rescued
.” Her eyes sparkled with the
color of the sea
.

Her
fragrance attacked my senses
,
sending
a jolt of adrenaline through me
.
I remembered a time when
Brandon
and Rac
hel were inseparable. What
happened to
allow their lives to fall apart
?

I thought of my mother mourning my father’s death. Was there such a thing as happily ever after
s
? I glanced
at
Sam
.
Being with her felt right. W
herever life
took us—I wanted to make the
journey with her.

Chapter Forty-six

The p
romise of fall
has
blessed the earth
with her golden wand
. The green leaves ho
ld
tinge
s of colors—from bright yellows to vibrant red—in preparation to separate
from the branches. And the sea has taken on a silvery glow. Do people have similar seasons? Spans of time when we need to shed the old and make room for the new? Is there an interval to take a hiatus from the noise of the past and intensity of the future? ~
Jour
nal e
ntry