The Charm Bracelet (34 page)

“Congratulations!” Arden screamed when she reached her daughter and mother. “What a surprise! How did you two manage to pull this off?”

“Teamwork,” they both said in unison, laughing.

“And Spanx,” Lauren added.

Arden smiled and took the hands of her mother and daughter in hers.

“Seriously,” she asked, giving their arms a gentle shake. “How did this happen?”

“I was painting this morning—I was painting
us
, all of us—and I could see everything so clearly for once,” Lauren said. “Everything seemed—oh, I don't know—
possible
and
exciting
. I thought of all the stories Grandma has been telling us. I thought of all she had done for us, and I thought, there has to be something I can do for her. And there was.”

Lauren dropped her mother's hand, repositioning the tulips to her other arm, and handed her grandmother the gift box she had been given after her win.

“I think this is for you, Grandma,” Lauren said.

Lolly opened the little box with shaking hands. Inside sat a silver charm of a tiara. “Oh, I can't, Lauren,” Lolly protested.

“I insist, Grandma,” Lauren said, handing her mother the tulips and carefully adding the charm to her grandmother's bracelet, which she took off her own wrist and placed back on Lolly's slender wrist.

Lolly held up the bracelet to her face. “Every woman deserves to feel like a queen, even for a day,” she said quietly. “You know, this is the one charm I always wanted. It's the one I never thought I'd get, and one day it will be yours, my dear.”

She hesitated.

“It's the one I'll never forget.”

Lolly gave her bracelet a robust shake and then pulled her granddaughter close.

“I love you, more than anything,” she whispered.

“Me, too, Grandma.”

“I've had the best time this past week,” Lolly smiled, surveying her girls' faces. “It's nice to have my family back for a little while.”

“I've had the best time, too, Mom,” Arden said. “It's nice to have my mother back. I'm just so sorry … for … well … everything.”

“Can't change the past,” Lolly said. “But you can change the future.”

“Speaking of which,” Lauren said, “can I talk to you for a minute, Mom?”

Jake picked up on Lauren's need for some privacy. “You look like a real beauty queen with that crown, Lolly. Mind showing me how you do that pageant wave so well?”

Lolly smiled broadly. “Of course,” she said, walking toward the river with Jake, the two looking like a modern version of Abbott and Costello. “First, you have to cup your hand … like this.”

Lauren laughed, as she led her mother over to the corner of the park, where they took a seat on a bench underneath the massive weeping willow.

For a few moments, the two watched boats—big and small—float by on the river, some heading out to the big lake for sunset, some heading back to the dock. Finally, Lauren broke the silence.

“I'm staying with Grandma, Mom.”

Arden shook her head, not comprehending what her daughter had just said. “What?” She shook her head again. “What did you just say?”

“I've decided to stay with Grandma. And I've been looking into attending Interlochen for the summer. It's a great art school, Mom. It's only a few miles away. I can help Grandma. I'll work with her at Dolly's. And she's offered to help with tuition. It will help ease your financial burden, too.”

Arden's heart raced. “Is this your grandmother's idea?”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Arden wished they had been attached to a rubber band, and she could just easily retract them, but it was too late.

“No, Mom, this was actually Lexie's idea at first,” Lauren said, her eyes wide. “What this has all been about is healing. Grandma's ‘influence' has been good for us all. Aren't you happier now than you were a few weeks ago?”

“Yes,” Arden said without hesitation.

“So am I. So is Grandma. She needs
me
, Mom. And I think I need her even more.”

“What about your internship this summer, Lauren? What about your future?”

“I never applied for one, Mom,” Lauren said sheepishly. “I just can't imagine…”

Lauren began to cry softly. “I've just been so unhappy, Mom. And I'm happy with Grandma. I'm inspired here. An artist doesn't need an internship. An artist needs inspiration and a safe place to create. I have found that here. My future is here for a little while. Let me find myself this summer. I need you to be okay with that.”

Arden looked out over the water, sighed, and then smiled and took her daughter's hand. The two sat in silence and continued to watch the boats pass. As the sun lowered behind the dunes, a chill quickly settled over them.

“Lauren, I admire and love you so much. But do you understand how much care your grandmother will require? Do you understand that her bad days will eventually outweigh her good ones? That is a huge burden on anyone, but especially a young woman whose life is just beginning.”

“I know, Mom. I've talked extensively with her doctor about it.” Lauren hesitated, but continued. “I've even talked with Jake about it.”

“You have?” Arden asked, trying to hide her upset.

“Mom, he echoed the same concerns you did,” she said. “But he also said he'd be here to help. I know that eventually Grandma will need more care. And, ultimately, she will likely have to go into a place that can better address her needs. But, right now, what she needs is family. What
I
need is family. What
we all
need is family. I want to be here, Mom. I want to be with her.”

“You're a good person, Lauren, but it's such an obligation.”

Lauren smiled and looked her mother square on, her blue eyes unflinching. “It's not an obligation to me, Mom. It's a
privilege
. I want her to know—every single day—that it has been my privilege to be her granddaughter.”

Arden hugged her daughter. “I can't stay, though. I have to go back to work. Van has been pressing me about coming back.”

“We all understand that. It's not about guilt anymore, or running. It's about being a family. Supporting one another. But remember, you need to find yourself, too. You need to write, Mom.”

Lauren held her mother by the shoulders. “You need to tell them you're a writer, not an online editor. If they don't let you write, find someplace that will. And you need to finish your book. Even if it's never published, it's important to who you are.”

“I have to make a living, honey.”

“You're so driven and so talented, Mom. Think of what you could be, not what everyone else wants you to be. Right?”

Over Lauren's shoulder, Arden could see her mother showing Jake how to cup his hand to wave like a princess.

“He's a great guy, Mom. Make the long distance thing work, okay?” Lauren said, giving her mom a gentle shake, before finally noticing her changed appearance. “No glasses? Makeup? Tousled hair? You look amazing, Mom!”

The two hugged again, until Lolly's voice shattered the moment. “Drinks on me! The old crow is taking everyone to the Old Crow!”

Lauren and Arden stood, and the foursome started toward the ancient outdoor bar that overlooked the lake.

“What exactly does royalty drink?” Lauren asked her grandmother, taking her hand in hers, their bracelets tingling.

Lolly smiled. “Anything she darn well wants, my dear, especially,” she said, stopping to curtsy and touch her tiara, “when a queen gets to be my age.”

 

epilogue

The Book Charm

To a Story That Will Never End

 

July 4, 2014—Arden, Lauren, and Lolly

“Hurry! The show's starting!” my mother yells from the yard.

I peek off the screened porch, and—for a moment—all I can see are fireflies blinking, briefly illuminating the steppingstone path, the dock, and the still waters of Lost Land Lake in the twilight.

But then …
BOOM!

An explosion of colorful fireworks suddenly lights the skies, as if God has plucked out His own crayon box and set to work on coloring the heavens.

I can see my mom standing there just like a kid, slack-jawed, looking up, her hands on her heart. She is barefoot, a jacket wrapped around her waist, her old body perched on a single steppingstone, her red wig mimicking the flaming trail of the fireworks as they fall toward the lake.

This is her night,
I say to the old cabin.

Beyond the fireworks, I can see so many changes lingering on the horizon. Come September, the air will turn chilly, and Lauren will be attending art school full time and staying here. Her father has even offered to help us more.

He is happy now, I am happy now, and that has made us kinder, more generous.

We are all happy now. Happiness, I've learned, is not only quite magical, but also contagious.

Yes, my mother requires more help, but she is holding her own right now, and Jake comes every other day. He adores her. He loves
me
.

I have to say it again to myself: He
loves
me.

“Hurry!” I yell into the cabin.

I hear Lauren's charm bracelet first, followed by the squeaks of the wood floor. A large circle of light temporarily blinds me.

“Think we'll need this?” Lauren asks.

My eyes adjust to see she is holding an old flashlight, held together by decades of masking tape. Behind Lauren, I can see her portrait of us hanging on a log wall.

“No,” I say, nodding toward the blinking fireflies and fireworks outside. “There's enough light.”

“Got it?” Lauren whispers.

“Yep,” I say, touching the pocket of my hoodie.

The screen door bangs shut, and Lauren and I join my mother. Slowly, we three make our way to the end of the dock.

There are sounds of summer I now know will stay with me forever, no matter where I live or what I do, sounds that I will hear as I take my last breath.
This
summer orchestra will always remain in my ears: Bullfrogs moaning, cicadas chirping, hummingbirds zipping, fish jumping, dragonflies fluttering like violins, the mournful call of loons, the excited yells of children, and boat engines on the water.

But, mostly, I will forever hear the jangling of my mother's charm bracelet.

It is getting very dark now, and I stumble on the edge of a stepping-stone. I was wrong to have told Lauren to forego the flashlight.

My mother grabs my hand to steady me and our wrists collide, setting our charm bracelets jangling. Lauren giggles, and I can hear her grab her grandmother's other hand.

“You're wearing your bracelet again,” my mom says, her voice lifting.

My mother's touch fills me not only with love but also with strength. It centers me. I now know that I have been blessed with the greatest gifts any woman could ever have. It just took a great teacher to show me.

My mother's charms, I now know, aren't just charms. They are pieces of her, hard won through love, loss, and life.

I take my fingers and begin to feel for her charms, trying to guess each one by touch rather than sight, wondering if her lessons have stuck.

“Your sewing machine!” I say.

“To a life bound by family,” my mom replies.

“Your kite!” I say.

“To a life filled with high-flying fun!”

“Hmmm,” I start, feeling the charm. “Oh! A puzzle piece.”

“To a life filled with friends who complete you!”

My fingers continue to move, rifling through her many charms until I no longer simply feel their silhouettes, I can actually feel their power vibrate.

“An ice cream cone, a mustard seed, and a loon!”

“To a life filled with a passion for what you do, to a life filled with faith, and to a life filled with a love that always calls you home!”

My mother slows and sighs. “You came home.”

“I never really left,” I say.

We take a seat at the end of the dock and dangle our feet in the water, the fireworks lighting up Lost Land Lake.

“Happy birthday, Mom! All those fireworks are for you! The world is celebrating your uniqueness!”

My mother squeezes my hand tightly. She knows that I have remembered her stories.

I pull a little box out of my hoodie pocket and my mother yelps in surprise, reaching out her hands for her present, just like a kid.

“No,” Lauren says, laughing. “You have to recite the poem first, Grandma.”

“I'm
way
too old for this.”

“You will never be too old for this,” I say. “Let's do it together!”

This charm

Is to let you know

That every step along the way,

I have loved you so.