The Color of Destiny (The Color of Heaven Series Book 2) (13 page)

“With combat boots.”

I stared at him for a moment, then couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “What is wrong with you? You’re not usually so judgemental.”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Something about her just rubs me the wrong way. She doesn’t look like a home care worker.”

“What did you expect? Someone in white pants and a white shirt? With those ugly white leather loafers? God, you have me picturing Nurse Ratched in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
. I promise you, Elizabeth is nothing like that. She had excellent references from the nursing home where she worked. And she’s creative. That’s what Gram loves about her.”

“
How
is she creative?” Ryan asked.

“She paints watercolors.”

“Of what? Dead seagulls?”

I laughed again. “You are too much, Ryan. Just relax. Everything’s going to be fine. You’ll like her once you get to know her. Now let’s get out of here before she figures out we’re hiding in the pantry closet. Then
we’ll
be the ones committed to a home.”

I pushed the sliding pantry door open. We crossed the kitchen and stepped out onto the sunny, breezy deck where Gram was chatting with the already tarnished home care worker with the butterfly tattoo.

o0o

“Elizabeth,” I said, “this is my stepdad, Ryan Hamilton.”

Elizabeth held out her hand. “Nice to meet you, Dr. Hamilton. You have a beautiful home.”

There, see
?
The spiky-haired home worker exhibits excellent social graces.

Ryan shook her hand and greeted her with a warm smile, behaving as if the conversation we’d just had in the pantry closet had never occurred. How thankful I was, in that moment, that he, too, could exhibit excellent social graces.

“Nice to meet you, as well,” he said. “You’ve been working in a seniors’ home, I’m told.”

“Yes, I was mostly involved in organizing social activities and crafts. Every Wednesday night we had a jazz band come in, and I loved getting the residents up to dance.”

“Are you a dancer?” Gram asked.

Elizabeth chuckled. “Not really. I took jive lessons once, years ago, which came in handy on jazz night. You’d be surprised at how some of the residents can move. I could barely keep up sometimes.”

“That sounds like so much fun.” I turned to Ryan. “Didn’t I always say you and Mom should take ballroom dancing classes together?”

“I wish we’d had the chance.”

An awkward silence ensued, until Gram started backing up. Soon she was doing the two-step around the deck. “Lessons!” she shouted. “Who needs lessons? Some of us are naturals. Watch and learn, young ones.”

Elizabeth laughed, hooted, and applauded.

“Gram!” I called out to her, raising my thumb and pinky to my ear and mouth. “The phone is ringing. It’s Tom Bergeron from
Dancing With the Stars
!”

Ryan watched Gram for a few seconds, then crossed toward her, held out his hand, and started singing “Only You.” She stepped into his arms and they waltzed together around the perimeter of the wide deck.

“You’re beautiful,” Elizabeth said to them.

I glanced at her in the sunshine while the breeze blew a part in her short black hair, and felt an immediate connection to her, which I couldn’t begin to explain.

In that moment, it was obvious—at least to me—that we had chosen the right candidate, and I knew it wouldn’t take long for Ryan to realize it, too.

Chapter Forty-four

The following day, while I was working at the yacht club, Elizabeth took Gram down to the beach where they hunted for seashells and unique rocks. When I returned at suppertime and walked through the front door, I breathed in the delectable aroma of creamy seafood chowder, warm bread in the oven, and boiled corn on the cob. I had to stop for a moment, close my eyes, and inhale as deeply as I could, for it was a heady fragrance. “Wow. That smells fantastic.”

Elizabeth, who was stirring the pot of chowder at the stove, turned and smiled at me. “I was told you aren’t allergic to seafood.”

“Heavens no. I’m a Maritimer. I have lobster in my blood.” I glanced to my left and saw Gram sitting on the sofa in the living room, leaning forward over something on the coffee table. “Whatcha doin’, Gram?”

I dropped my keys on the kitchen island and went to kiss her on the cheek. She leaned back to look up at me.

“Behold,” she said, sweeping a hand over three smooth beach rocks the size of ostrich eggs that lay on the table. She must have spent the entire afternoon painting them. I admired the colors and images she had created. One stone was blue with swirly textures, like ocean waves. Another was clearly intended to be a butterfly.

“You’ve been busy,” I replied with fascination. I sat down on the sofa cushion and put my arm around her shoulders. “They’re wonderful.” I examined each one. “What should we do with them?”

“We should put them in the rose garden at the edge of the yard,” she suggested. “I think that’s a good place, don’t you?”

“Overlooking the Bay,” I replied. “It’s perfect.”

Gram beamed.

“They’re beautiful,” I said. “And this one has glitter.”

I felt Elizabeth approach us from behind. Though she wore no shoes and made no sound, I knew she was standing over us even before she spoke.

I turned and smiled up at her. “You must have brought the paints?”

“Yes,” she replied. “When it comes to art supplies, I am very well stocked.”

I nodded. “This is wonderful, thank you. Can I paint one?” I asked Gram.

“Sure!” She pointed at the steel bucket in front of the fireplace. “We collected a boatload.”

I laughed. “That bucket must have weighed a ton, hauling it up here!”

“We each carried some,” Elizabeth explained, “and made a few trips throughout the day, so it wasn’t that bad.”

“I wish I could have joined you,” I said.

“You always loved walking on the beach,” Gram mentioned. “Remember when you were little?”

“You took me every day,” I replied, feeling a tremendous wave of love wash over me, for Gladys and my parents, Ryan and Abigail, had given me the best childhood a girl could ask for.

Raising Gram’s frail, blue-veined hand to my lips, I kissed it and held it against my cheek.

If only she could be a part of my life forever.

Why do people have to go?

The love in her eyes told me she remembered all the joy and laughter from our lives, and she, too, felt blessed and fulfilled.

“I’m so glad we can be together,” she said. “We are lucky, aren’t we?”

I was very aware that Elizabeth had watched our exchange with tender but aching envy, before she quietly backed away and returned to the pot of chowder on the stove.

o0o

“The beach rocks are great,” Ryan said to me that evening after Elizabeth went home.

We had all eaten dinner together, but as soon as I stood to clear the table, Gram said she felt tired and wanted to go to bed. Ryan and I insisted that Elizabeth should not have to stay to help with the cleanup. She had already worked more than her scheduled hours for the day.

“I love the rocks, too,” I replied as I bent to load the chowder bowls into the dishwasher. “Didn’t I tell you Elizabeth was a good choice? Gram said she was a lovely companion today, and I really think the painting is a wonderful creative outlet. It’ll be good for her to have a way to express herself when she starts to lose her language ability. She’ll find joy in that. I know she will.”

Ryan put the butter and salad dressings in the fridge. “I agree. And it was nice of Elizabeth to cook us this meal. She didn’t have to. It’s not part of her job description.
Or is it?
”

“No. But she said she wants to fit in like a family friend, so that Gram feels comfortable with her—especially later on, when she might forget who she’s actually related to.”

We were both quiet for a moment. “That makes sense,” he said.

I closed the dishwasher door and pressed the start button. The motor quietly began to hum.

“How was she today?” Ryan asked.

I faced him. “Who? Gram or Elizabeth?”

“Gram,” he replied with a smirk. “Were there any major incidents? No car keys or lamps discovered in the freezer?”

I chuckled. “No. It was a good day. Uneventful. Elizabeth said she’d call if there were any problems, but you can just read the report if you want to know everything that went on.”

“There’s a report?” he said, lifting an eyebrow.

“Yes, right over there.” I pointed.

Ryan went to the counter area under the microwave, and flipped open the binder. “Doesn’t she know how to use a laptop?”

“She prefers loose leaf and longhand. She’s not the techie type, or haven’t you noticed?”

“She has a cell phone,” he mentioned.

“But it’s a dinosaur—one of those flip-phones with just a number keypad. She only uses it for talking. With her
voice
. No texting. No Twitter.”

“Wow.” He leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. “I gotta say, I admire her fortitude.”

“She told me she likes to live life in the moment with her head up, not with her eyes down, fixed on a screen.”

Ryan nodded again. “I like that idea.”

“Yeah, me, too. We could all use a little less screen time. Want to go into town and get some ice cream?”

“I’d love to,” he replied, pushing away from the counter, “but we shouldn’t leave Gram alone. How about you go buy a tub and bring it home.”

He picked up his car keys, twirled them around his forefinger, and tossed them to me.

“Do you think Elizabeth will cook for us every night?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I replied as I opened the door. “Maybe you should ask her.”

Chapter Forty-five

A week later, I invited Elizabeth to stay late and watch an old Demi Moore movie on television—
About Last Night
. Elizabeth was officially off duty in the evenings, so we decided to have a girls’ night in and make popcorn.

Elizabeth brought the popcorn. It was the organic kind, and she popped it on the stove with an equal mixture of olive and canola oils. It was the best popcorn I’d ever tasted.

Ryan was on call at the hospital, and Gram had gone to bed early, as she did most nights. I told Justin, the night shift worker, not to come until midnight because we had Gram covered. He was happy to have some extra time off—with pay, of course.

When the credits started to roll, I had to pass Elizabeth a tissue.

“I forgot how much I love that movie,” she said. “I was in high school when I first saw it.”

“It’s a great film,” I agreed. “And who doesn’t love Jim Belushi? He was brilliant in this.”

She inhaled deeply. “I suppose I should get going, but let me help you clean up first.”

She picked up the empty popcorn bowl, and I collected our water glasses. Together we moved into the kitchen and piled everything on the counter at the sink.

“Have you decided what you’re going to do after you graduate?” Elizabeth asked as she squirted dish soap into the popcorn bowl and filled it with sudsy water.

“I have a few different interests,” I replied, “but this is my last year at Dal, so I’ll have to choose something.”

“What are your options?” She reached for the water glasses and gently dipped them into the water.

I pulled a clean dishtowel out of the drawer. “I want to do something in the health professions, so I’m thinking about occupational therapy, physiotherapy, or maybe even medical school.”

“Like your dad. How are your marks?”

“Straight A’s,” I replied, “but after what’s been happening with Gram, I’m also considering a nursing degree. Maybe I could specialize in geriatrics and work in a nursing home.”

Elizabeth nodded. “That all sounds great. I don’t think there’s any wrong decision.”

“That’s why it’s so hard to choose. Part of me would like to work with elderly patients and just take care of them on a daily basis, you know? But another part of me is fascinated with the science of what’s happening to Gram. I’ve been reading a lot about Alzheimer’s lately, and I might like to do something on the research side.”

Elizabeth rinsed a glass under the running water and handed it to me. I dried it with the towel and set it upside down in the cupboard.

“What about boys?” Elizabeth asked. “Any handsome young men in your life?”

I sighed. “Not at the moment. I’ve had a few relationships, but nothing has ever stuck. The first one lasted just over a year,” I told her. “That was in high school. His name was Robert and he works at one of the golf courses in Halifax now. We’re still friends.”

“That’s nice.” She rinsed and handed me the second glass.

“Then I dated a guy my first year at Dal. That also lasted about a year, but he cheated on me, so that was the end of that.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Yeah, well, what are you going to do?”

“Dump him,” she said, giving me a playful nudge.