A Year of Extraordinary Moments (A Magnolia Grove Novel)

by Bette Lee Crosby

  Alice sat on the sofa. She placed her purse square in the middle of her lap, then decided such a position seemed rigid and too unyielding. She moved it to the floor alongside her feet. Her head was ducked down when Tracy entered the room.

  “Hi, I’m Tracy. You wanted to see me?”

  Alice’s head jerked up, and she looked at Tracy. She looked younger than the picture. With her hair in a ponytail and jeans cuffed around her ankles, she could have passed for a schoolgirl.

  Although she had planned to come right out and ask what she had to ask, Alice now felt the need to buy time, to talk to the girl and get to know her before she had a chance to say no. She introduced herself only as Alice and then, without leaving room for questions, moved ahead.

  “There was an article in the Barrington Post, and I was so impressed by what you said that I wanted to meet you.”

  Tracy gave a lighthearted laugh. “I just spoke about what the school has done for my son. The one you should be impressed with is Gabriel Hawke. He’s the founder of the school.”

  She went on to say that the school had helped thousands of children with the most severe hearing problems.

  “I only got involved because of Lucas; he was born deaf.”

  “Yes, the article mentioned that. How terribly sad.”

  “It was sad. Actually, it was pretty traumatic. I didn’t realize Lucas couldn’t hear until he was fifteen months old.” Tracy’s voice turned solemn. “Just remembering the ordeal we went through gives me the shivers. It was the scariest time of my life.”

  Her face softened. “I would have never made it through all of that if it weren’t for my sister, Meghan. She’s the one who discovered Lucas couldn’t hear.” Tracy gave a lopsided grin. “Well, Meghan and Sox together. Sox is her dog.”

  “Oh my.” Alice chuckled. “A dog?”

  Tracy nodded. “Yes. Meghan noticed that when the dog was behind Lucas and barked, there was no response, but when he could see the dog barking, he’d react like it was the best thing ever. Right away, she suspected Lucas had a hearing problem.”

  The conversation went back and forth as Tracy told about the months of testing and then waiting to see if the cochlear implant would be successful.

  “You said you were interested in the school,” Tracy said. “Do you have a deaf child in your family?”

  “There’s a possibility . . .” Alice hesitated, thinking she would use that moment to say she was Dominic’s grandmother and that Lucas was quite possibly her great-grandson, but she was interrupted when the boy came running into the room.

  “Mama, mama!” He opened his small hand and held out the broken shell of a robin’s egg. “Burr baby!” he said proudly.

  “Yes, it’s the shell of a baby bird,” Tracy replied, carefully pronouncing every syllable. “But, Lucas, don’t you see we have company?”

  He glanced at Alice, then gave a sheepish nod.

  “Don’t you think you should say hello to Miss Alice?”

  He gave another shy nod and backed in closer to Tracy.

  “Hello, Miss Awice.”

  Alice’s heart melted. One look at the boy’s face told her everything she needed to know. She thought back on Daddy DeLuca’s soft brown eyes and smile; this boy was the spitting image of the father-in-law she’d loved. There would be no more wondering, no more guessing; Lucas was indeed her great-grandson. If she could bottle a single moment of her life and hold on to it forever, it would be this one.

  “Hello to you too, Lucas,” she said. “Your mama has been telling me that you go to a special school where you learn all kinds of wonderful things.”

  He took a single step forward and held out his open palm with the piece of blue eggshell. “Baby burr.”

  “It’s the shell, but where’s the baby bird?”

  Lucas thought for a moment, then raised his index finger and pointed upward. “Burr in sky!”

  Alice clapped her hands with delight. “That’s absolutely right! Your mama is very lucky to have such a smart little boy.”

  “Do you have a wittle boy?”

  Alice laughed. “I’m much too old to have a little boy. Years ago, when I was younger than your mama is now, I had a little girl. Her name was Dorothy.”

  “Does Dowothy go to school?”

  “She did, but now she’s all grown up with a boy of her own.”

  “What’s his name?”

  Alice lifted her eyes and looked at Tracy. “Dominic.”

  In less than a heartbeat, Tracy’s expression grew icy cold. Keeping her voice level, she turned to Lucas.

  “I think Grandma has some cookies in the kitchen. Tell her I said to give you cookies and milk.”

  Without a moment’s hesitation Lucas dashed off, hollering, “Gwandma, Gwandma!”

  As soon as he was out of earshot, Tracy looked across the room with a frosty glare. “Why are you here?”

  Alice could no longer look Tracy in the eye. She lowered her face, looked down at her lap, and mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to be this way. I was going to ask right off, but then—”

  “Ask what?”

  Alice raised her chin and in the humblest voice imaginable replied, “If Lucas is Dominic’s child.”

  “You know he is; otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

  “You’re wrong.”

  “Wrong? Wrong about what?”

  With her eyes again turned to her lap, Alice nervously fingered the gold band she wore.

  “I’m ashamed to say this, ashamed my grandson would do this to both you and me. God knows I would have rejoiced at the thought of a great-grandson, but Dominic told me he wasn’t Lucas’s father.”

  “He’s a liar!” Tracy snapped. “He lies about everything. But this is the lowest he’s ever—”

  “I agree.”

  Tracy’s eyes widened. “You agree?”

  Alice gave a sorrowful nod. “Dominic takes after his granddaddy, which isn’t necessarily a good thing.”

  She told Tracy the whole story, starting with how Dorothy had left Dominic in her care, then vanished into nothingness, and circled back to how much respect she had for Daddy DeLuca.

  “I’d always hoped Dominic would take after Daddy DeLuca, who was his namesake, but he didn’t.”

  Tracy’s expression softened as she listened to Alice tell of heartache and dashed hopes.

  “I’m sorry about everything you’ve gone through,” she said, “but I don’t see what Lucas or I can do.”

  “I’m an old woman riddled with cancer. I’ve got a few months left, maybe less. The only thing I want is to go to my grave knowing the last of Daddy DeLuca’s line is being cared for properly.”

  The start of a smile tugged at Tracy’s mouth. “I think that’s pretty obvious.”

  Allowing herself to relax a bit, Alice nodded. “Yes, it is.” She hesitated, then said, “If it isn’t asking too much, I’d like to visit with Lucas a time or two.”

  Noting the apprehensive look settling on Tracy’s face, she added, “And with you, also.”

  “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea. Lucas and I have a different life now, and Dominic’s not a part of it.”

  “I’m not asking for Dominic to come,” Alice pleaded. “Just me.”

  The look of apprehension was still there but softening at the edges.

  “Lucas wouldn’t have to know I’m his grandma or anything like that. We could just all have lunch together or maybe meet at the park.”

  Giving in a bit, Tracy said, “You have to promise that Dominic wouldn’t be around. I don’t want him anywhere near Lucas. He gave up that right when . . .”

  She shook off the bitter memories and let the rest of the thought drift away.

  Alice caught the implication. She gave a mournful sigh and said, “It must have been something terrible.”

  “It was,” Tracy said, then one word led to another, and before the clock chimed again, she’d told Alice the whole story of why she’d left Philadelphi
a and how Dominic then cut her and Lucas from his health plan.

  “He knew I needed to take Lucas to the doctor, but he didn’t care. Getting even with me was more important than taking care of our son.”

  When she finished telling the story, Tracy seemed to sit taller in the chair, her back straighter, her shoulders less rounded. It was as if the weight she’d been carrying around all these years had suddenly been lifted. She looked across and saw Alice’s sorrowful expression.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have told you about all that; I mean, you are Dominic’s grandma.”

  “Don’t be sorry. It’s better I know. As I said, Dominic takes after his granddaddy. Joe might’ve done something like that, but Daddy DeLuca never would have. I only wish Lucas could have known Daddy DeLuca; at least he would have had one relative to be proud of.”

  Alice fumbled in her purse for a moment, then pulled out an old photograph and passed it to Tracy. “That’s Daddy DeLuca when he was a young man. If you want, you can keep that picture and maybe someday give it to Lucas.”

  Tracy looked at the photo and smiled. “He’s got wide-set eyes like Lucas.”

  Alice nodded. “Joe and Dominic both have those hooded eyes, the kind that make you think—”

  “They’re up to no good,” Tracy cut in and laughed.

  After they’d talked for almost an hour, Tracy invited Alice to join her and Lila for a cup of coffee and cake.

  “Right now?” Alice asked eagerly.

  Tracy nodded. “Mama makes the best carrot cake you’ve ever tasted.”

  As they headed for the kitchen, Alice walked with a bit of bounce in her step, the cane dangling loose in her hand.

  35

  Tracy Briggs

  Without a doubt, this has been the weirdest day ever. The whole time Dominic and I were together, he never once mentioned that his grandma was living here in Magnolia Grove. All he ever talked about was how his mama dropped him off and then disappeared. Sure, that’s a terrible thing to have happen, but living with a woman like Alice couldn’t have been so awful. The truth is Dominic had a way of taking something good and making it seem bad. That’s obvious when you think about how he acted with Lucas.

  I understand people can fall in and out of love, but your child is your child, and you don’t stop loving them just because you stopped loving your partner. I almost said “wife,” because at the time I felt like we were husband and wife. At first, even Dominic acted like that’s how it was. He used to say the only reason we weren’t married was because relationships went from true love to boring responsibility once a couple tied the knot. He kept mentioning Brad and Angelina to prove his point.

  Of course, we all know how they turned out.

  Now that I think about it, maybe it’s a good thing we didn’t get married. I’m glad Dominic’s out of my life and Lucas’s. He’s not good for either of us.

  When Alice DeLuca walked in, I thought she was just a sweet old lady looking for a cause to help out. A lot of older people do that. They volunteer to sit at the reception desk, answer phones, or stuff envelopes. Alice is sweet as all get out, but when I saw how frail she was, I wasn’t sure how much volunteering she could do.

  Then she said she was Dominic’s grandma, and it knocked me for a loop. My first thought was to tell her she needed to leave, but I’m glad I didn’t. She’s got a good heart, and I guess she can’t help what Dominic did any more than I could.

  The truth is I started liking her after she told me about Daddy DeLuca, and when she gave me that picture for Lucas, my heart kind of melted. I could tell the picture meant a lot to her, and the fact that she was willing to give it up let me know she was nothing like Dominic.

  I like the idea that Lucas has a relative with a kind heart, even if he is three generations back. If Lucas grows up to be a mix of my daddy and Daddy DeLuca, I’ll be pretty proud.

  She’s coming back to visit with Lucas again, and I think I’ll tell him that she’s a grandma on his daddy’s side. He’s probably too little to understand family relationships, but I think he’ll enjoy having another grandma, even if it’s only for a little while.

  36

  The Best of Times

  Some people say summertime in Georgia is way too hot. They claim if you step out onto the sidewalk in the noonday sun, your shoes will melt and your brain will sizzle like a fried egg.

  The summer that followed Alice’s meeting with Tracy was different. It was as if all good fates had come together to make it the best summer ever. As July turned into August, the mornings started off cool and temperatures topped out in the low eighties. At night you could throw open your windows and sleep comfortably without air conditioning. The townspeople of Magnolia Grove went about their business happily nodding to one another and expressing a hope that this weather would hold through September, which, with its deluge of rainstorms, tended to be the worst month of the year.

  Alice came to visit throughout the summer. On her second visit, Tracy explained the relationship to Lucas.

  “Alice is your daddy’s grandma, so that makes her your grandma, too,” she said. “Aren’t you a lucky little boy to have two grandmas?”

  Looking a bit confused, Lucas peered over at Alice and gave a shy smile.

  Tracy pushed him forward with an encouraging nudge. “If you want to, you can give your new grandma a hug.”

  He turned and looked up. “Weally?”

  Tracy nodded. “Yes, really.”

  Lucas made his way across the room with trepidation, his eyes turned to the floor until he stood directly in front of Alice, then he looked up.

  “Awe you weally my gwandma?”

  The wrinkles on Alice’s face seemed to disappear as she broke into a smile. “I’d like to be, if you’ll have me.”

  He nodded. “Okay, I have you.” He cautiously hugged her waist, then ran back to Tracy. “Mama!” he said excitedly. “Miss Awice is weally my gwandma!”

  Before Alice left that afternoon, he’d taken to calling her “Grammy,” which was what Tracy suggested.

  Although Lucas couldn’t remember a daddy, he was nonetheless happy to have a second grandma fussing over him.

  Alice came at least once a week, and she often brought small gifts: a toy truck, a book, or board games such as Zingo and Ladybug where she would sit for hours playing with Lucas.

  After a few weeks, Alice was like a member of the family. Lila welcomed her visits and set aside whatever she was doing to join in the spirited conversations. On those afternoons, Tracy forgot about the Snip ’n Save work waiting to be done and joined in as the women gathered at the table with a freshly baked cake and a pot of coffee.

  There was always something to talk about. Alice told tales that had been handed down for decades, and Lila talked of when the girls were babies. There were stories Tracy could have told, stories of things that had happened in Philadelphia or of the long drive back to Georgia in the dark of night, but she kept those things in the past and spoke only of how Lucas was growing and learning.

  Dominic’s name was seldom mentioned, and even on those few occasions, it was in the context of something else. One afternoon when his name came up, Alice mentioned that he was back in town.

  “He’s living with me,” she said, “and working at the Texaco station over near the highway.”

  “Oh?” Tracy took a moment before carving off a piece of fudge ripple cake and handing it to Alice. “Well, I hope he’s better behaved than he was when he was living with me.”

  Alice gave a regretful-looking half smile. “He’s not,” she said and forked off a piece of cake.

  That was the end of the discussion. Tracy seemingly had no interest in seeing or hearing from Dominic. Although Alice wished it were different, she accepted the way it was and never told Dominic that she’d met Tracy and was growing ever closer to Lucas.

  She did mention it to Charlie one morning when they were having breakfast together. She scooped a spoonful of sugar into her cup and said, “I
f Dominic saw what a lovely child Lucas is, I believe he’d be more willing to step up to his responsibilities.”

  Charlie looked across the table, wide-eyed. “You’re not planning to say something to him, are you?”

  “Well, not unless I discussed it with Tracy first.”

  “That’s not a good idea,” Charlie warned. “Dominic knowing you’re friends with her might open up a whole new can of worms.”

  “I don’t see why.”

  “You can’t trust what he’ll do. If he gets riled up and goes over there, carrying on like a crazy man, Tracy might not want you coming back.”

  With that thought in mind, Alice decided to leave things as they were.

  Happy to be free of the arguments, Dominic didn’t question the long afternoons she was gone from the house. When he crawled out of bed, he always found a casserole dish ready for the microwave or a sandwich wrapped in tinfoil on the kitchen table. As far as he was concerned, that was just fine.

  37

  Cherished Moments

  In early August, the pain in Alice’s back grew worse. One morning, as they sat at the kitchen table having coffee, she reminded Charlie she had an appointment with Dr. Willoughby later that week.

  “I know,” he said, “I’ve got it marked on my calendar.”

  She fumbled with her spoon for a moment, then asked, “You think maybe this time you could come in with me, instead of staying in the waiting room?”

  Charlie suddenly lost interest in the muffin he was about to bite into and looked up. “Is there something you’re not telling me?”

  She shook her head. “Not really, but it gives me a great deal of comfort to have you beside me.”

  Alice suspected that this visit would bring bad news. She’d felt it in the way her limbs had grown heavy and breathing more labored. Her back ached from morning to night, and, when the spasms came, it felt as though her body were being torn apart. Twice when Lucas wanted to toss the ball back and forth, she’d had to stop. Even though she was sitting on the sofa, lifting her arm was more than she could bear.

  Charlie reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Of course I will,” he replied. “We’ll make it a nice day. After the doctor, we’ll have lunch at the Copper Kettle, and then I’ll drive you over to the Briggses’ house so you can visit with Lucas for a while.”