A Year of Extraordinary Moments (A Magnolia Grove Novel)

by Bette Lee Crosby

  Gabriel wrapped his arm around her shoulders, then glanced at his watch. “If you’re not too cold, it’s early and the fairground is only a ten-minute drive; we can still go if you’d like.”

  A grin brightened Tracy’s face. “Absolutely!”

  When they arrived at the fairground, Gabriel parked the car, and they headed for the south-side entrance. As they neared the ticket booth, she heard the calliope music from the carousel. It was not a tune she could identify but one that she somehow remembered.

  “I love this,” she said with a shiver of excitement. “I only wish Lucas were here.”

  “Next year,” Gabriel promised as he wrapped his arm around her waist. “Next year we’ll come again and bring Lucas with us.”

  “That would be nice,” she said and snuggled a bit closer.

  They walked up one aisle and down the other, listening to the happy sound of country music coming from the bandstand, sniffing the sweetness of roasted corn and caramel apples, catching bits of laughter from riders on the Tilt-A-Whirl and shrill screams from the House of Horrors.

  At the Gypsy Fortune Teller machine, Tracy dropped four quarters into the coin slot, then placed her hand on the palm reader. The machine whirred as the gypsy’s head bobbed up and down and her eyes blinked. When she came to a stop, a card popped out of the machine. Tracy picked it up and read.

  “There is trouble ahead, but you will soon be in a place of happiness.”

  A look of apprehension tugged at her face. Trouble ahead? She studied the card for a moment, then, concerned that such a warning might justify a second glance later on, she tucked it in her pocket and walked off arm in arm with Gabriel.

  As they passed by the milk-bottle-game booth with its rows of stuffed toys on display, the carnie behind the counter tossed a baseball to Gabriel.

  “Try your luck,” he called out. “Five balls, five bucks. Clearing the deck gets winner’s choice.”

  Gabriel eyed the pyramid of bottles. “Looks pretty easy. And Lucas might like one of those teddy bears.”

  Tracy grinned. “I’m sure he would.”

  Pulling a five-dollar bill from his pocket, Gabriel stepped to the counter and took aim. Twice there was a wind-up and a pitch, and after the second ball, two bottles toppled over. On the fifth ball, the bottle on the right side wobbled but remained upright.

  “Try again!” the carnie hollered. “Can’t let that pretty missus go home without a prize.”

  Gabriel laughed and plunked down another five-dollar bill. With the second ball, he cleared all but that same right-side bottle. Again it wobbled but didn’t topple. The third and fourth ball breezed by and did nothing. The fifth ball hit the remaining bottle dead on, and down it went.

  Tracy clapped, then squeezed Gabriel’s arm as she excitedly pointed to the floppy brown dog. “Lucas would love that!”

  Strolling past the stretched-out row of game booths, they started down the midway. There at the end was the giant Ferris wheel, outlined in what seemed to be a million twinkling lights and towering over everything.

  Tracy looked up. “It’s just as I remembered!” she exclaimed with delight.

  A handful of people waited at the entrance as the wheel slowly moved from one carriage to the next, stopping at the platform long enough for the car to empty out and new riders to climb in. Once the people were seated, the door clicked shut, and the next carriage moved up to the platform.

  Gabriel steered Tracy into the line, then said, “Wait here; I’ll get the tickets.” He disappeared behind the throng of people coming off the ride. For a moment, she saw him talking to the operator, then lost sight of him again.

  The wheel moved to the next carriage, and the group in front of her stepped onto the platform. Fearing he wouldn’t make it back in time, Tracy was about to step out of the line when he returned. Moments later, they climbed into a carriage and sat side by side. Instead of stopping for the carriage behind them, the wheel kept moving.

  As they rose higher and higher, a galaxy of stars surrounded them, and moments before the sky exploded into bursts of sparkling light, Tracy leaned toward the window, hoping to see what she’d missed all those years ago.

  Gabriel touched his hand to her shoulder and said, “I think you can see the future clearer if you look this way.”

  Tracy turned and saw the blue velvet box in his hand. He thumbed it open and in the center was a sparkling diamond ring.

  “I’d like to be your ‘forever,’” he said, and offered out the ring. “I love you more than anything else in the world, Tracy. If you’ll marry me, I swear I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to make you happy.”

  A sigh floated up from her heart and her eyes sparkled brighter than all the stars above and the lights below as she answered. “You don’t have to try, you’ve already made me happier than I ever imagined possible.”

  When he slid the ring on her finger, they were at the topmost point of the Ferris wheel, and the carriage was rocking gently in the breeze. As he folded her into his arms and covered her mouth with his, the sky exploded into sparkling bursts of light.

  “Oh, Gabriel,” she gasped. “This is magical! I’ve never seen anything so beautiful!”

  He smiled. “I’m looking at something far more beautiful right now,” he said, then kissed her again.

  Later on, after they’d left the Ferris wheel and started for the parking lot, Tracy pulled the gypsy’s card from her pocket and tossed it into a garbage can.

  “Trouble ahead?” she said laughingly. “No way!”

  40

  Lessons of Love

  A week later, Alice and Charlie came for Sunday dinner. Charlie held tight to Alice’s arm; he eased her into the club chair, then brought a straight chair from the dining room, placed it beside her, and sat by her, his hand holding hers. Opposite them, Tracy and Gabriel were together on the sofa.

  Before Tracy spoke, Alice knew—maybe not knew but certainly suspected—it would happen. She’d seen the way they looked at one another. Although it would not be what she’d wished for, it would be as it should be. Life had taught her that a forced love is not always a true love. The only true love is the one your heart leads you to. She glanced down at the calloused hand cradling hers, then smiled and settled back into the chair.

  Tracy made the announcement a short while later. Gabriel sat beside her, his arm draped across her shoulders and leaning in so close they seemed inseparable. “Gabriel and I are getting married,” she said, then stopped and looked at Alice. “I know you’re Dominic’s grandma, but all the same, I hope you can find it in your heart to be happy for us.”

  “Of course I can.” Alice gave the brightest smile she could muster, then said, “Now come on over here and let me give you a hug.”

  When Tracy knelt beside the chair, Alice stroked her cheek. “You chose wisely,” she said. “A man like Gabriel will be the rock you and Lucas can build your lives on.”

  Although the pain in her back was more powerful than the blow of an ax striking a centuries-old oak, Alice leaned forward and kissed Tracy’s cheek.

  Later on, after the dinner dishes were cleared away, Lila served the frosted cake she’d made to celebrate the engagement. Although Tracy said they hadn’t yet begun making plans, there was talk of a winter wedding.

  “Best cake I’ve ever tasted,” Charlie said.

  Alice nodded her agreement even though she’d eaten only a few tiny bites. She pushed the remainder onto Charlie’s plate.

  In time, the conversation moved on to other things. Tracy spoke of how Miss Margaret had given Lucas a gold star for sharing his book with another child.

  Lucas beamed. “Miss Magwhet said I am a good fwiend.”

  “It’s so much fun watching the kids play together,” Tracy said. “That’s one of the reasons I love helping out at the school.”

  Meghan let the comment slide by without saying anything.

  Alice gave a sigh and a fragile smile. “I envy you. I’d give anything to see
Lucas in one of his classes.”

  “Why don’t you come and visit the school?” Gabriel suggested. “You can sit in on Lucas’s class, and I’ll give you the grand tour.”

  “That sounds wonderful, but I doubt I could handle so much walking.”

  “You won’t have to; we’ve got a wheelchair. Once you get out of the car, you can just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

  The look on Alice’s face indicated she was thinking it over. “How far . . .”

  Before she could finish the thought, Charlie gave her hand a squeeze. “I’ll take you no matter how far it is.”

  She smiled at Charlie, then turned to Gabriel with a broad grin. “Well, then, I guess it’s settled. We’d love to take you up on your kind offer.”

  Lucas jumped down from his chair and circled the table. Standing next to Alice’s chair, he hugged her waist. “Gwammy, you can see Miss Magwhet.”

  Alice smiled like it was Christmas. “Indeed I can, Lucas, and see her I shall.”

  The following week, Alice and Charlie visited the school. True to his word, Gabriel met them at the car with a wheelchair, then led them across the parking lot and up the ramp.

  “Tracy’s helping out in one of the classrooms,” he said, “but she’ll join us for lunch.”

  When they arrived at Margaret Pringle’s room, the class had just begun. Gabriel pushed the door open, and Charlie rolled the wheelchair into the room.

  “Gwammy!” Lucas shouted and bolted from his seat.

  “I’ll be back when class is over.” Gabriel squeezed Alice’s shoulder, then disappeared out the door.

  Few things rattled Margaret Pringle, and having visitors in the classroom was not on the list.

  “Lucas, would you like to introduce your grandparents to the class?” she asked.

  Lucas nodded happily, then proceeded to introduce first “Miss Magwhet,” then the others in the class. He was spot-on with the pronunciation of the names with the exception of Rebecca Riley who became “Webecca Wiley.”

  “I think you had a little trouble with Rebecca’s name,” Margaret said. “Try again.”

  “Webecca.”

  “Do you remember what sound the lion makes?”

  Lucas scrunched his face and bared his teeth. “Grrrrrr!”

  “Right. Now use the last part of that growl to say Rebecca’s name.”

  Lucas hesitated a moment, then gleefully said, “Grrrbecca.”

  Margaret gave a nod. “Much better.”

  For the remainder of the class, Charlie stood beside Alice and watched as the children worked at identifying sounds. They did the hum of a bee, the shushing sound of a call for quiet, the tick, tick, tick of a clock, and the mew of a kitten. First they practiced the sound, then called out words that used that sound. It seemed to Alice that Lucas bumped his chest out and tried harder because he knew she was watching, and that made her all the prouder.

  The lesson was almost over when Gabriel slipped quietly back into the classroom and stood alongside them.

  “Enjoying yourself?” he whispered.

  Alice looked up with a smile. “Very much so.”

  She didn’t mention how she’d taken stock of every child in the class or how she’d noticed the way Margaret never hurried the children but gave them time to find their tongues. In the short while she’d been there, Alice hadn’t just noticed everything but committed it all to memory.

  She had a month, maybe less, but for as long as she was here, she’d remember how the room was not at all like a regular classroom. It was cozier, friendlier in an odd sort of way. She’d remember the colorful books stacked high and the playthings scattered about. Tomorrow and the next day and the day after she’d think back on how three little girls squeezed together in the big overstuffed chair; not a classroom chair, but the kind you’d find in a comfortable living room. Most of all, Alice would remember the sound of the children with their less-than-perfect voices singing nursery rhymes. She was certain that sound would remain in her heart even after she’d left this earth.

  Once the class was dismissed, Lucas hurried off to meet Tracy, but they stayed behind and chatted with Margaret for a few minutes. When Margaret spoke of what a wonderful student Lucas was, Alice beamed with pride.

  “He takes after his great-granddaddy,” she said, not mentioning the two generations that came between.

  Just then, Gabriel saw Alice’s back stiffen and her hand clench the arm of the chair. She was obviously in pain.

  “It’s time for us to get going,” he said and eased the wheelchair into the hall. “I was planning to show you around the building, but if you’re not feeling up to it . . .”

  “I doubt I’ll ever have the chance to come back,” Alice said, “so I’d like to see everything this time.”

  “You’re sure?” Gabriel asked.

  She nodded, and they started down the hallway. Instead of taking them from one classroom to the next, Gabriel kept to the hallway, explaining the use of each room but stopping in only a few. At the end of the long hallway, he slowed in front of the sound studio.

  “We’ll just peek through the glass here,” he said. “Our sound technician is working with a family, and I don’t want to disturb them.”

  He went on to explain, “This is where the children with cochlear implants have their sound turned on for the first time. It’s usually about a month after their surgery.”

  “Oh my.” Alice sighed. “I can imagine that’s quite an experience.”

  “It is. Once they realize they’re hearing their mother’s voice, their happiness is almost uncontainable. Most of these children have been living in a world of silence, so the first time they hear a noise, they don’t know what to think. Some of them scream, some laugh, and some cry. And when the child is a bit older, it can take days, or even weeks, for them to become comfortable with the concept of hearing.”

  “Did Lucas . . .” Alice let the remaining words trail off. She knew Gabriel understood her question when he nodded.

  “Lucas was puzzled at first and tried to tug the receiver off. After a few minutes, he seemed to realize it was Tracy’s voice, then he turned to her and pulled her mouth open to see if he could find where the words were coming from.”

  Alice held her hand to her mouth and gave a soft chuckle.

  “He was almost sixteen months old at the time. Meghan had taught him a little bit about the feel and vibrations of speech, and we believe that’s what prompted his reaction. Although we can’t say for sure, we think it was the first time he ever heard Tracy’s voice.”

  Alice allowed that thought to settle and then gave a sympathetic sigh. “How sad. Do the doctors know what caused his deafness?”

  “They know the cause but not the reason. No one can explain why something like this affects one child and not another. Most babies are tested at birth, and if the baby is deaf, they know it before he leaves the hospital. In Lucas’s case there was no evidence of deafness at that point.”

  “Then what happened?” Charlie asked.

  “It could be they missed finding it, or it could have happened in the first few months of his life.”

  A sharp pain fluttered through Alice’s chest, and she couldn’t help wondering if, in some unknown or untold way, Dominic was responsible.

  “In those first few months, would there have been a way to prevent this from happening?” she asked.

  Gabriel shook his head. “It’s doubtful.”

  They moved on, but as she rolled by the big window, Alice took one last look at the couple in the room. The woman held the toddler in her lap, and the concerned father offered out a toy for distraction.

  Tracy went through that alone.

  Once the tour was over, they headed for the conference room to meet Tracy and Lucas.

  “Supwise!” Lucas hollered. “Lunch pawty!”

  The conference table was set with a bouquet of flowers, colorful place mats, and trays of sandwiches and pastries.

  Alice’s eyes widened, a
nd her mouth curled into a smile. “Good gracious, I wasn’t expecting all this.”

  Gabriel wheeled her chair over to the table. “We thought having lunch here would be easier than going to the café.”

  Alice gave a nod of appreciation and said nothing of the pain that was constant. Sitting, standing, walking, even rolling over in bed, it was always there, stabbing her in the back like a sharp butcher knife. Day by day, things were becoming more difficult. It was happening just as the doctor warned it would.

  As she picked at the food, she looked at the faces around the table. Charlie, a man who’d been her friend forever and in an odd way more of a partner than Joe. And Lucas, sweet adorable Lucas, with his bright smile and trusting heart. She could imagine him growing into a fine young man, a man Daddy DeLuca would be proud of. How sad that she would not be here to see it.

  A dull ache throbbed in Alice’s left hip, and she leaned heavily on the arm of the chair, trying not to make it obvious. As soon as everyone finished eating, she looked over at Charlie and gave a nod. He stood and came around to Alice’s side.

  “It’s time for us to be heading back,” he said. “All this excitement has tuckered us old folks out.”

  Alice gave an appreciative smile. Even though she’d taken just small sips of her sweet tea and forced down a few bites of a ham sandwich, Alice said it was the finest lunch she’d ever experienced. Which in many ways was true.

  Alice was silent for most of the drive back to Magnolia Grove, but when they turned onto Lakeside Drive, she looked at Charlie and said, “I’ve made my decision.”

  Having seen her wincing and trying to push through the pain, Charlie said, “About the morphine?”

  She shook her head. “About the farm. I’ve been thinking this over for a good long time, and while there’s no easy choice, I’m going to do what I think Daddy DeLuca would do if he were here to make the decision.”

  Charlie stretched his arm across the seat, took her hand in his, and gave it an affectionate squeeze. “I’m guessing you’ll want me to take you to see the lawyer, then.”