Sweetheart Braves

by Pamela Sanderson

  "You're the only one who has ever gotten away with that," Elizabeth said into his ear.

  All he heard was the only one. That's what he wanted, to be the only one.

  "They said Dr. Murray would come out and see us," Elizabeth said. She sighed and put her cold hand into his warm one and leaned against him. "I guess there's one good thing about going home tonight. You need clothes."

  "Do I stink?"

  Elizabeth leaned closer and sniffed. "No. But your look hints at an extended walk of shame." She gave him a playful smile. She didn't know his signature look was rumpled sweatpants and previously worn T-shirts.

  Elizabeth had on another dress, one with tiny pink flowers and a plunging neckline that gaped when she moved her shoulders a certain way. She managed to move her shoulders that way a lot when she was around him.

  There was a huge clock at one end of the entrance hall. A half hour went by and still they waited. Granny stared at the ground.

  He said, "Do you still have that phone number for Dr. Murray?"

  "It's in the car," Elizabeth said. "You okay, Granny?" The elder groaned unhappily.

  Tommy went to the information desk to find out how much longer.

  "Someone is on the way," the volunteer told him.

  "That's what you said when we got here," Tommy said. "That is a ninety-two-year-old elder who has worked her whole life on behalf of Indian people, and you are making her wait to see her family heirlooms. In our culture, we take care of our elders."

  "I'm just a volunteer," the young man said, but he brought out a couple of bottles of water. "I'll call back there again."

  Tommy gave a bottle to Granny and opened the other for Elizabeth.

  "That was sweet," she said.

  "I hate seeing elders being ignored like this," he said.

  Another half hour passed. The visitor line grew longer and then shorter again. The museum cafe opened, and Elizabeth went to inspect the menu. She came back with a cookie for Granny.

  "If you want to spend fifteen bucks on a ham-and-Swiss panini with field greens, this is your spot."

  "Grilled cheese? I like that," Granny said. She took a bite of her cookie.

  "This is taking longer than we thought," Elizabeth said.

  He had been thinking the same thing. At this rate he'd be up half the night driving home.

  "Maybe too late for you to go back?" It was a statement. He wanted to stay too.

  A hopeful feeling bloomed in his heart. Tommy pressed his leg against hers. "I don't know. I've got people expecting me."

  "I'd make it worth your while," Elizabeth said.

  Tommy laughed, his entire body throbbing with desire. "It's already been worth my while."

  "We gotta get Granny home. The family will give me so much grief, dragging her all over the place," Elizabeth said.

  Granny brushed the crumbs off her front in slow motion.

  "Maybe we should talk her into going. We'll set up a time to come back," Elizabeth said.

  Dr. Murray appeared at the museum entrance, and the volunteer pointed to them.

  "There she is," Tommy said.

  Dr. Murray hurried over, the words rushing out. "The trip down took longer than we thought and the accommodations were screwed up. I wish I'd known you would be here." She lowered her voice. "The item is not on display."

  "We know," Elizabeth said. "We toured the exhibits yesterday."

  "If it were just me, I'd haul you back there. I'd love to hear you talk about it as part of our documentation. But I'm not staff, I'm a guest, and I can't convince anyone to my way of thinking."

  Granny wilted in her seat. "They won't let me see my dance dress?"

  Dr. Murray held up her hands in surrender. "According to the collections manager, the museum's position is, if there were a formal process initiated by the Tribe, the artifact could be viewed, but as it is, the museum can't open its collection archive to any visitor that asks. Especially for a loaned item."

  "I thought you was someone fancy," Granny said.

  Dr. Murray forced a laugh. "You and my mother both."

  "You explained it was her family item?" Elizabeth said.

  "I'm sure it sounds petty to you," Dr. Murray said. "It's not like they can open a box and pull it out. They have archival procedures, so we would need to process it."

  "How do we set up a formal process?" Tommy asked.

  "Go back to the Tribe, provide official notice. Not something that can happen in a day," Dr. Murray said. "I haven't given up, but I can't do anything today."

  "Always how it is. We'll fix it later," Granny grumbled. Tommy expected her to say more, but the fight was leaking out of her.

  "Should we come back?" Elizabeth said.

  "I don't know what to tell you," Dr. Murray said. "I can keep trying but no guarantees. It will be on display eventually. I could contact you then.”

  "We could make another trip," Tommy said, ideas for a plan forming quickly. "I could visit and bring you out here."

  Granny reached over and patted his arm. "You're a good one, but these people..." She grumbled unhappily to herself.

  Dr. Murray apologized again before heading back into the museum.

  "That was a big pile of nothing," Granny said. "Don't let me see my own dress."

  "Sorry, Granny. I'm disappointed, too," Elizabeth said. "Let's get out of here."

  Elizabeth couldn't help feeling relieved. They were headed home and Tommy had volunteered to bring them back. Another visit. This wasn't over yet.

  Granny gave them both a cross dismissal when they tried to help her down the ramp. Elizabeth hung back with Tommy, her heart twisting with every careful step the weary elder took. The sun was up in the afternoon sky, and a breeze stirred the leaves on the trees, bringing the scent of freshly mowed grass. A group of kids ran around the deer statue, posing for selfies while a woman tried to coax them into a family photo.

  Granny stopped and tugged at her sweater. Tommy set the brakes on the walker and helped her shrug out of it, one shoulder at a time. She wore a gray T-shirt with a black and white photo of a fishing weir and a fisherman. The text said: Lands and Sea Protector. She had light green pants on that had a splash of grease from when she dropped a piece of her breakfast sandwich. They hadn't expected to be away this long and had no clean clothes left. And after all that, they'd fallen short of their goal.

  Granny let Tommy walk with her, holding the sweater over his arm, his attention focused on her like another member of the family. They had a few more hours together, on the road. Elizabeth would see him react to the place she called home.

  Granny's step hitched. She stopped and braced herself against the handrail, her breath labored.

  Elizabeth tried to sound cheerful. "We know Dr. Murray now. We'll come back when it's on display."

  Granny gave her a disgusted look. "What if I'm not around?"

  Elizabeth blinked a few times, afraid she was about to lose it. It was one thing to know she wouldn't be around forever but another thing to be talking about it. Granny hugged an arm against her chest, and the walker rolled out of reach. Tommy pushed it back and set the brake. Granny set her shaking hands back on the handles, her eyes glued to the ground.

  "We'll be in the car in a minute," Tommy said.

  When Elizabeth was little and Granny in her seventies, they liked to hike into the woods and look for mushrooms. They would go up steep mountainsides slippery with leaves and damp earth. Granny had worn a netted bag draped across her chest as she pointed out little humps in the dirt and they'd fall to their knees and dig with their hands to see what they'd found. Watching Granny struggle on a gentle concrete ramp made her throat ache. She couldn't imagine a world without Granny.

  "You'll outlive us all." Elizabeth intended to tease, but her voice was uneven.

  Granny waggled a scolding finger, something Elizabeth had endured thousands of times. "All these things going on,"—she gestured at the museum like it was a mess that needed to be cleaned up—"I c
an't do it no more."

  The tears pressed behind her eyes. Elizabeth cleared her throat. "We need to get you home so you can sleep in your own bed and park on your couch without so much running around."

  Granny grew more agitated. "Our things are dead in there. Those people aren't our people. They call themselves doctors and call our things objects. Put 'em away in a cupboard where nobody sees them. For what? We bring those things into being for a purpose. Not for a closet."

  "I don't know what we can do," Elizabeth said, renewing her frustration with the museum and their rules. "Could you show us how to make a ceremonial dress?" She could picture them gathering the materials and working on it together when she came home from work. Her mom and some of the cousins might like to make something, too. Kora could document it for one of her tribal projects.

  "Then one of these people wants to take that one, too," Granny said. "We need our own people handling these things."

  "We said we'd look into it when we get home," Elizabeth said.

  Granny leveled an angry look at her. "We know it's in there."

  Tommy gave her a sly look. "You want to break in and search the back rooms until we find it?"

  Granny's face brightened at the idea. "You two. I don't move fast enough."

  "You'll bail us out of jail?" Tommy asked.

  "It's my dress," Granny said.

  "Was your dress," Elizabeth said. "We can't make them show it to us. It's time to go home. I start work tomorrow. Tommy is already in trouble."

  Granny grabbed the walker and fumbled with the brake before she slowly turned around, so she was facing the museum again. She shuffled back up the ramp, an inch at a time, pushing the walker with small steps.

  "We're going home," Elizabeth said.

  "Go ahead. I'm sitting there until they show it to me." Granny kept moving, each step more labored than the previous, every exhale a wheeze of defeat.

  Tommy watched Granny move past him, an amused smile on his face.

  "This isn't funny," Elizabeth hissed.

  He circled an arm around her waist. "I like a sassy elder." His calm, steady gaze helped quiet the uncertainty.

  "We need to get her home," she whispered. His body pressed warm and firm against hers, one hand stroking her back, in no hurry to do anything. The gesture was supposed to be comforting but it reminded her she wanted to get her hands all over him.

  The walker clanged against the handrail. Granny had let go of it again, and she sagged against the rail.

  Elizabeth's heart dropped to her feet, but before she could move, Tommy was at Granny's side, keeping her on her feet and wrangling the wheeled walker all in a split second.

  Granny propped herself up. "You two go back to Linda. Find out about the process."

  Tommy put his arm around her shoulder, holding her steady. "Auntie, we've done everything we can. We did our best, but we all need to get back. I wish we could have done more."

  "Things never get better when we give up," Granny said. "That's why we lose everything."

  Elizabeth sighed. She wanted the decision to be Granny's. She didn't think they could force her into the car.

  Tommy said, "Let's get lunch and make a plan. Maybe there's someone at your Tribe who can make some calls. We'll come back."

  Elizabeth tried to picture George being this patient with Granny. He'd have pressured her until she relented and she would have punished them with a poor temper.

  Granny knees bent as if she wanted to sit on the ground. If she went down, they might never get her up. Tommy swiveled the walker around, but she refused to sit down.

  "Fine. We'll go back inside," Elizabeth said. "You can get your fifteen-dollar grilled cheese."

  She waited for Granny's response—a chuckle, happy that she got her way, but the grumpy face remained.

  Tommy offered Granny his arm. "I want to help you because I'm worried."

  Granny ignored it. "You worry about the wrong things."

  "Want me to borrow a wheelchair to get you back inside?" Tommy asked, unable to keep a straight face. Granny swatted his arm before grabbing onto it, her strength miraculously restored.

  18

  After lunch, Granny parked herself on one of the stone benches. Tommy pulled Elizabeth aside, and she surprised him by putting her arms around him and hugging him tight, fitting comfortably in his arms, like she was meant to be there.

  "Now what?" he said. All the abandoned responsibilities weighed on his mind. He'd missed another call from his uncle, and there was the insurance adjuster appointment. Linda would never forgive him for not being there.

  Elizabeth adjusted her arms around him, her cheek on his shoulder, showing no signs of letting go. This was the part he wasn't prepared to leave. Both soft and substantial against him, her breath in his ear, the sweet smell of her hair, and the distressed look in her eyes every time Granny faltered.

  She said, "Is this thing that's happening here temporary?"

  "Has this risen to the level of a thing?" Tommy said, trying to keep his tone light. She loosened her hold on him and held his gaze with a look of tender affection. "I don't want it to be," he said.

  The activity of the museum receded and it was just the two of them. He wanted to declare himself, whatever that meant. Whatever fragile thing they could keep together, over the long distance, even with only a vague plan for the future in mind, he was willing to try. He needed to know that, somewhere in the world, Elizabeth was thinking of him and they were working toward something together.

  But thinking about her and the future only reminded him of the family counting on him at home. Angie needed family support after her screw up. Arnie had a car for him now but how long would his goodwill last? The unanswered questions churned through his head.

  He studied Elizabeth's face as she went through a set of complex emotions he couldn't guess. She said, "When I agreed to take Granny on this trip, I thought it was nostalgia. Now I understand. It's not just a ceremony dress. It's like her family. I can't ask her to leave."

  "The museum can, beloved elder or not," Tommy said. Over at the information desk, a couple of people in security uniforms joined the volunteer. They were deep in discussion, periodically looking over at them.

  "When you get back, you can ask Linda what to do," Elizabeth said.

  "You want me to go?"

  "You've already done so much."

  Tommy’s heart sank. "How will you get around? What about Granny?"

  She waved her phone. "We can get rides." A sliver of afternoon sun shone through a window and lit up Elizabeth from behind. Her hair was aglow with reddish highlights. Their faces were inches apart. She pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.

  In the corner, more activity at the information desk. A third person in a security uniform joined them. Elizabeth turned to follow his gaze. "What a lot of trouble for a little old lady," she said.

  Granny sat on the bench with a map of the museum spread out on her walker seat, strategizing their heist, no doubt.

  "Could be something else," Tommy said, but the museum team had them under careful scrutiny.

  "Granny's dealt with worse." Elizabeth leaned up to kiss him, barely touching her lips to his. Her words said one thing but her eyes said something else. "We're going to be fine. Call me when you get home."

  The parking garage was a fifteen-minute walk. He'd be home before midnight and trade cars with Linda in the morning. Tomorrow he would be back at the office, unraveling all the mess that he'd made. And when Linda asked if he'd taken good care of her family...

  "There is no way I'm leaving you two," Tommy said.

  "But—"

  "Nope," he said. "Not until we figure this out."

  By this he meant everything.

  There was a popping sound with a splash. A water bottle rolled on the floor under Granny's feet and the water glugged out before Elizabeth got to it and set it upright. She found a couple of flimsy diner napkins and did what she could to mop up the spill.

  O
ne of the security guards headed for them while the others watched from the information desk.

  "Here we go," Tommy said.

  The guard was an older woman, outwardly friendly but with an undercurrent of no compromise, like a school principal. "You folks having a problem?" she asked, her expression stern but her voice light, as if making friendly conversation.

  "Not at all," Elizabeth said. "Can we get a towel?"

  "Someone will call maintenance." She indicated Granny. "Does the senior need assistance?"

  Tommy took a protective side-step toward Granny.

  "I can speak for myself," Granny said, staring up at the guard with a glare that would stop a thunderstorm. "I'm staying until those people let me see my dance dress."

  The guard turned her body to nod at the information desk. "Museum staff tell me they've addressed your inquiries."

  "Did you come over here to kick a ninety-two-year-old woman out of your museum?" Elizabeth asked.

  "We're concerned for her health. We could call an ambulance if you'd like."

  "I don't need your help," Granny said.

  "You're welcome to sit here, if that's what you'd like." She walked back to the information desk.

  Tommy swallowed back a hot flash of anger. Sure, they had a job to do, but the lack of understanding, the lack of respect was infuriating.

  The exchange had invigorated Granny. "You think they'll throw me out?"

  Elizabeth managed a half-smile. "If they try, I am afraid for them."

  "Been arrested before. If it happens, make sure I have my medicine," Granny said.

  "I don't want to miss this," Tommy said. He found Elizabeth's hand. "I gotta call Linda."

  "But you're coming back," she said, hanging on to him.

  "Always," he said.

  Tommy went outside to find a place to make his call. The museum was on a small rise and surrounded by a huge park with green grass and tall, leafy trees. A landscaping truck was parked on an access road, and two men with leaf blowers moved along the path blowing the leaves back and forth with no apparent goal in mind. A golf-cart with SECURITY painted on the side was parked nearby. The occupants were probably inside keeping the world safe from Granny.