Page 23 of Anchored

She’s already started. I duck my head and immediately start swimming. She drapes herself over the buoy two body lengths before me, declaring herself the winner. I declare her a cheat. I don’t press the matter because seeing her in a swimsuit with a large hot-pink lotus flower tattoo across her back is about the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.

We head back toward the cabin where I hand her a towel as we climb out of the lake and we both dry off. It is not my imagination when we both catch each other staring at the other person. It’s when she’s drying off her chest that I hear an insistent dinging coming from the cabin.

“Oh shit! The cookies!”

I take off running to try to save the last batch of cookies, Maple’s laughter ringing in the pine trees.

ChapterNine

Maple

I’m still worried about Grandma Gracie, but spending time with her in the cabin yesterday gave me something I hadn’t even known I was missing until it was right in front of me. I missed her. I missed the cabin. I missed this cute little town in the summer. Being back here makes me feel like I somehow belong again.

Holt’s back at work today, the head nurse barking instructions at him like she’s the boss and not him. I get a bit annoyed on his behalf, but then bite my tongue when she slips him a pair of glasses as he squints at a chart. It’s kind of cute how she takes care of him. I’m glad he has good people around him. He’s always around people, which is the opposite of my job. I see mostly furry friends through my computer screen.

Speaking of which, I’m almost late to my first virtual appointment when I head to Grandma’s condo and catch her trying to knock something out of an upper cabinet in the kitchen with her cane. I get it for her, only lifting an eyebrow when I see it’s a chocolate bar. This is how she got into this mess in the first place.

She smiles and snatches the chocolate from my hand, grumbling about breakfast of champions. She heads back to her bedroom while I set up my laptop on the coffee table in the living room. I work until lunchtime when I sign off the computer and get Grandma ready for the day. She insists on doing her own makeup, which means her eyebrows are painted on halfway to her hairline. She does let me push her in the wheelchair though, saying she’ll start using her walker tomorrow.

“Hey, Grandma? Do you remember a Hank living in Anchor Lake?” I ask as I push her down the long hallway to the recreation center where they serve lunch. The rubber wheels on the wheelchair squeak on the clean floors.

“Oh! He was such a sweet boy. All those dogwoods…”

My heart starts to beat faster. “What was his last name?”

“Whose name?” Grandma answers after a long beat of silence.

“Hank’s.” I hold my breath and then let it out in a disappointed sigh when Grandma gets confused.

“That’s not your fiancé’s name!” she cries, sounding agitated.

I pat her shoulder and push the wheelchair a little faster. I see some of her friends up ahead. “You’re right, Grandma.”

The doctor said not to get her upset and I’ll be damned if I impede her recovery just because I’m curious who this Hank character is from her past. I already went through the yearbook between appointments this morning and didn’t see a Hank listed anywhere. I feel like Grandma might be the only one who remembers him and yet the cruel state of her mind is robbing her memory of him. At this rate, I might never find out who Hank is.

“Did you decide if you’ll make your chili recipe, Gracie?” Pat asks as soon as I get Grandma settled at a table. Pat has dark brown hair that sees a bottle of dye and curlers on a regular basis. Her pantsuits always match and her tennis shoes are bright white.

“Oh, I don’t know,” Grandma replies. “I might see if Maple can help me.”

“What’s going on?” I ask.

Nancy leans over, diamonds flashing on her fingers. Where Pat leans into comfort clothes, Nancy goes for sophisticated style. “The chili contest this next Tuesday! Everyone’s participating! Did you see what the grand prize is?”

“A day on the lake!” Pat blurts out, too excited to hold it in.

Nancy glares at her, then leans in, dropping her voice to a whisper. “And that hunky Holt McGrath will be there.”

Grandma cackles with the ladies. I decide I could use a restroom run before I try to eat the mashed potatoes on the menu for today. The meatloaf is a definite no.

“Grandma, where’s the bathroom?”

She points to the door we came in through. “Down the hallway, on your left, honey.” She goes back to chatting with the ladies while I get up and dutifully head down the hallway.

Every door here looks the same. I don’t know how these retirees tell them apart. I get to what I think is the right door and pull it open. It’s pitch black, so I take a step in, looking for the light switch. I don’t find it before a broad chest rams into the back of me. I stumble forward and barely catch myself. I hear the door slam behind the person as I right myself.

“Hello?” I still can’t see my own hand, let alone the mystery person.

“Maple?”

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