Page 46 of It's Me They Follow
“Down by the riverside.”
“Let’s just start speaking practically about delivering this baby if that is what needs to happen next,” The Shopkeeper said, cutting off the game and changing the subject.
“I was just getting into it.”
“Well, we have other things to get into.”
Sometimes games saved them, but sometimes games made things worse.
“Our grandmother is a storied woman.” Elle stopped her clapping. “Agree or disagree?”
The Shopkeeper agreed.
“When she doesn’t have eyes, she can see. And what she cannot see, she can feel. Somehow, she always knows where a story will go.”
“Always.”
“She is like the dolphins; she can feel what bounces off of people. And that’s what she uses to navigate the world. So we aregoing to make it to her house, and she is going to tell us the next part of this story.”
“I thought you said no make pretend,” The Shopkeeper corrected.
“It’s not make pretend; she’s our real grandmother. When we get to her house, you’ll go straight upstairs. Gather towels and blankets and pillows in a basket and bring them to the sunroom, where I’ll be running hot water into a blow-up pool filled with...”
“Calendula.” The Shopkeeper thought she had heard it all. Besides still thinking they were going to make it home in time, Elle also believed they were gonna sit at their blind grandmother’s feet and have her tell a story that would help them birth a baby in a kiddie pool filled with calendula.
“She can do it,” Elle said. She was quietly sweating and swearing every fifteen minutes now, but otherwise, she was taking the contractions quite well. “Just like you can drive faster!”
“I’m waiting for the dolphins to take my burdens away.”
Elle looked at The Shopkeeper, completely confused, and shook her head. “That’s what I mean by no make pretend.”
But just when The Shopkeeper was about to explain, the never-ending tunnel ended, and they were officially Down South once again. A star-filled sky greeted them as they emerged from the tunnel, with the North Star shining the brightest behind them. A school of dolphins splashed on the side of the shore, so close to the car that The Shopkeeperswore she could feel their mist. Her eyes widened; her mouth dropped open.
“Close your mouth,” Elle said. “This ain’t even the good part of the story yet.”
She looked at her sister, and her sister looked at her.
“To grandmother’s house we go.”
Chapter 26
LATER THAT MORNING
6:33 A.M.
Things had changed a lot since the last time The Shopkeeper had visited their grandmother’s house, but most things remained the same. While Elle came back and forth often to visit, The Shopkeeper hadn’t been back since their grandfather had passed away. Twenty years prior, she’d been so angry at him for leaving that she’d vowed never to pull back into the driveway of his antebellum home ever again, yet here she was.
The haint-blue house of her childhood had turned a dreary gray, and like their white picket fence and outdoor swing, everything looked aged. Even the weeping willow that she’d written under as a child was now bent over as though it were in pain.
She wondered again what ME had meant when he’d written,To find ME, go HOME.She fondled his letter in her pocket. Touched its grooves, knowing he had touched them too, and just the thought of him, the scent of him, sent electric flutters up and down her spine.
And then she caught ME peeking from behind the weeping willow. He August Wilson–grinned as he waved and bopped toward her.
She’d kiss him this time, she promised herself as she adjusted her clothes and packed up her book bag. She’d kiss him—shock waves, sleeping spells, celibacy, and all; anyone who came all this way for her deserved a kiss, even if it left her passed out and asleep.
Elle would kill her for giving out their address, but technically she hadn’t given it to ME. It was in every copy ofConversations with Harriettif anyone looked closely. But The Shopkeeper knew that ME was the type to read closely. She was gathering her things to get out of the car when she nearly tripped over a family of fluffy bunnies that hopped in front of her feet. The tiniest one was so small, it looked like a mouse with a puff for a tale. It turned and winked at her, then tiptoed away. She winked back and was about to follow it when she caught herself.Why would a bunny be winking at me?she asked herself. She turned around to find ME, but again, ME had gone away.
The Shopkeeper’s long and heartbroken stare was ignored by Elle, who rolled out of the car and waddled toward the front door with pain and relief in her eyes. The sky was turning from night to day, and her plan was working. Her belly had dropped, or as their grandmother used to say, her plug was released, so she knew she had just a few more minutes to get into the house and get things set up.
