After the lunch dishes were washed, Brenna turned to Molly. “What now? Do you want to go back up to the attic, visit Helena, just lie around...”
“Well, I think I’ve earned that ‘lie around’ part, but I’d rather visit Helena, I’ve learned a lot about her since seeing her last.”
Brenna grinned. “I know what you mean.”
They went outside and Brenna fetched her gardening shears from the shed. She noticed several new buds on her white rose bush and felt a glow of pride; something she planted was flourishing. Walking around the yard, they cut sprays of the pink roses, some feathery tulips and a few branches of fuzzy pussy willow Brenna had discovered on the edge of the property. Molly put them in a clear vase while Brenna whistled for Zoe who came running, her hind end bouncing in a different direction from her front.
“I should have called you Tigger. Hop in.” Brenna opened the back door of the Blazer for her.
The drive to the rest home was enjoyable as the warm spring air blew through the windows. Flowering baskets of geraniums were hung across the front of the home and Rusty sat out in the sun in his wheelchair, his face to the sky.
“My young lady! Are you still holding that dance for me?”
“You know it, Rusty.” Brenna introduced him to Molly, who also had to promise him a dance. Although cheerful, it seemed to Brenna that Rusty was more thin and pale than he had been. On their way down the hall, she stopped a nurse to ask about Rusty and Helena.
“Rusty is starting to fail, I’m afraid. His heart is just too tired. Helena’s about the same, sometimes with us and sometimes in the past.”
“Thank you.”
Pausing at her door, they looked in on Helena, seated in her chair by the window. She was dozing, her head bobbing slightly, her rose shawl around her shoulders. Someone had french-braided her hair and wound the end around her head, and in the sunshine it resembled a gossamer halo.
“Oh, I hate to wake her up,” Brenna whispered. But as they stood watching, Helena raised her head slowly and brushed a hand over her hair, smoothing stray hairs escaping their braid. Brenna eased into the room.
“Helena?”
She started slightly and turned her head. “Oh, Brenna! It is so nice to see you.” She looked out of her window. “Isn’t it beautiful today? I spent the morning out in the sun.”
“That’s great. We saw Rusty out there when we came in.”
“And who have you brought with you today?”
Brenna motioned Molly forward. “This is my friend, Molly. Do you remember meeting her a couple weeks ago?”
Helena frowned, looking vaguely confused. Brenna hastened to reassure her it had been a brief visit and Helena had been sleepy at the time.
Molly moved to shake Helena’s hand. “It’s an honor to meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Helena laughed gently. “How could you have heard much, dear? All I do is go to the dining room or sit at my window.”
“Yes, but my best friend lives in your old house and...” Molly paused at the same moment Brenna nudged her foot. How could Helena know...or understand...that most of Brenna’s knowledge was acquired through dreams? It sounded crazy to Brenna and she was the one living with it.
Brenna cut in. “Well, I think you kind of get a feel for what a person’s like when you live in their house, and I’m also a friend of Adam Chambers’ who happens to be very fond of you.”
“Adam...he’s such a fine boy. He was engaged...has he married yet?”
Brenna’s stomach recoiled at the thought of Adam marrying smeone else. “No, it didn’t work out. She wanted to stay in Eugene.”
“Hmm, she must not have been the right one or she’d have followed him. That’s what I did, you know. I had to leave my family and move out here in order to marry Martin. I was lonely, but I never regretted it. We had a wonderful life together. The right woman for Adam is still out there; he’s a good young man. He was very helpful to me when he came back from college.”
“I’ve had a good time getting to know him. He’s been helpful to me, too. Molly and I are going to the firemen’s spaghetti feed with him tonight.”
“Oh, those are so much fun. Martin used to be a commissioner for the fire district and we would go to their functions. A lot of good people in Seacliff...” Her voice trailed off as she stared out her window, lost in memory.
Brenna watched her for a moment, wishing badly that she could question her about her past, about Victoria and Martin, about her sadness. Helena seemed so content now it was hard to picture her as the grieving mother Brenna dreamed of.
Molly set the vase of flowers on her windowsill and Helena turned back.
“Thank you, dear. It’s so nice of you to remember the flowers. I do miss them.”
“You’re more than welcome, Helena. We’ll tell everyone ‘hi’ for you tonight, okay? Take care of yourself and I’ll come back to visit soon,” Brenna said.
“You do that and bring Adam with you, I’d love to see him,” Helena requested.
"I'll see what I can do. Bye for now.”
As they went out, Molly said, “It was nice to see you, Helena.”
“It was nice to see you, too, dear. Take care of our Brenna, now.”
After they got out of earshot, Brenna grabbed Molly’s arm. “I can’t believe how lucid she was! She’s always kind of faded out quickly, if she was even here to begin with!”
“I’m glad I got to see her on a good day then,” Molly said.
Zoe wriggled anxiously and barked as they approached the Blazer.
“Do you have to do your business?” Brenna asked her. She got Zoe’s leash and attached it to her collar before opening the door. All Rusty needed was sixty pounds of dog in his lap. When he saw her though, his eyes lit up.
“Hey, I used to have a dog like that! Best dog I ever had.” He sat back and coughed, trying to catch his breath.
Brenna hurried to his side while Molly took Zoe across the street to some bushes. “Are you okay? Do you want me to call a nurse?” She felt silly asking him that after years of nursing, but she didn’t remember a thing about geriatrics.
“No, I’m fine,” he wheezed. “Just let me catch my breath.”
By the time Zoe and Molly returned, Rusty was feeling better.
“Hey, buddy, how are you?” he rasped, reaching out to pet Zoe’s head.
“This is Zoe, Rusty,” Brenna said. “I’ve only had her a short time, but I can’t imagine how I lived without her.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Rusty said wistfully. “I had my Buddy for twelve years, never got over losing him. But that’s life, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s life,” Brenna replied, leaning over to hug his thin shoulders. “Here’s your nurse, Rusty; I’ll see you next time.” Rusty waved as the nurse rolled him away.
They started for home in a more somber mood than they'd had driving in, but by the time they reached the south end of town and the beach highway, they were regaining their usual ebullience. As they pulled into the drive, Gary’s car with its postmaster sign drove up to the mailbox.
“Hey, Gary. How’s Julie doing?” Brenna called, heading toward him with Zoe hot on her heels.
“Oh, she’s doing pretty good...she has to lie down a lot. Doctor says she’s having some premature labor. No medication, but it’s a possibility if things get worse.”
“I’m sorry to hear that...let me know if there’s anything I can do. Does she want any help with housework or anything?”
“No, she has a friend who’s coming up to visit for awhile and help out, a friend from Eugene. Thanks for the offer though. I’ll keep it in mind.”
Molly had followed them to the road and now held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Molly, Brenna’s best friend.”
Gary shook her hand. “Glad to meet you. Brenna’s a real nice neighbor.” He put his car in gear and rolled away toward his house.
“I hope she doesn’t go into hard labor here at home. I don’t want to get stuck with that delivery
!” Brenna complained. Then she laughed. “That sounded terrible, didn’t it? I’d be glad to help her if she needed it...I just don’t want to be needed.”
Molly put her arm around Brenna’s shoulders. “That’s okay, you know. God didn’t put you here to be a servant for all mankind. It’s okay to just take care of yourself for awhile. And me occasionally, too.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right, I’m the coffee guru.”
“That’s right, and don’t you forget it.”
They trooped noisily into the kitchen as the cats dashed out. Zoe trotted over to her water bowl and slurped for several minutes. “I’m sorry, honey. I forgot to bring water in the car for you,” Brenna said as she poured lemonade for herself and Molly.
Sitting down at the little table, she laid out the mail Gary had handed her. “Bill, bill, junk...oh, dang, a letter from Maureen.”
Molly laughed, well acquainted with the ambivalent relationship between Brenna and her only sister. “Do you want me to open it?”
Brenna sighed. “No, I can do it. Let’s get it over with.”
She scanned the rose-scented stationery quickly. “Sophie’s stitches are out...her leg is fine, Bryan got a promotion, the twins are going to a new preschool, why don’t I see if I can get my old job back before all my bridges are burned...yada, yada, yada...nothing new really.”
“I’m sorry, Bren. Well, if she has to be your cross to bear, at least it’s long distance.”
“Thank God for small favors.”
“Let’s take a walk and go see the headstone,” Molly requested.
“Okay. Want to go out, Zoe?” Brenna tossed the letter and junk mail into the trashcan. They grabbed some cookies on the way out of the door and Zoe bounded after them.
Brenna made her way through the rough trail, trying to hold blackberry branches out of the way for Molly. “I swear to God, these things grow overnight.” Finally they reached the small headstone and Molly knelt down, as transfixed as Brenna had been when she had first seen it.
“This is beautiful, a perfect headstone for a baby,” Molly said, running her hand over the fine engraving.
“What is it about this stone? Helena traced it with her fingers and so did I when I found it. It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah. It’ll be nice when all this brush is cleared away. We should have a work party on a nice weekend. After we paint the house, of course.”
Brenna smiled. “Sounds good to me. This was hard work, just clearing this path. They used to have a white picket fence in this corner, around the stone. It’d be nice to put that back up. Although I think I'd better work on the fence in the front yard first.”
“I think you’re right there. Well, let’s go get ready for this spaghetti feed. Firemen!” She stood up, rubbing her hands together greedily.
“Molly, they’re just regular guys with families.”
“Adam is not just a regular guy with a family.”
“Well...he’s an exception.”
“We’ll just have to scope out some more exceptions. Race you to the house!"
Chapter 30