No Place Like Home (Holiday Classics) (14 page)

“Never try to force anything. Maybe coming back here after all these years, you’ll finally get your memory back. They say you can’t go home again, but that isn’t true. I came back to Indigo Valley. And now you’ve come back. When I left, there were four stores and sixteen houses. I think the population was around three hundred. Now the little town is a city of forty thousand people. I imagine it’s changed even more in the twenty years since you’ve been here.

“Cady, dear, I know that we’ve talked about this in the past and I know how you feel about Indigo Valley. I know why you never wanted to come back here, and it’s all right. That’s why I always visited you in California. I knew it would be a trauma for you to come here. And now you’re here. I think I always knew you’d come, I just didn’t know when. I told Mandy and Anthony the day would finally come when you would want to explore your past. I think that time is finally here. I’m just so very glad to see you.

“Mandy, show Cady to her room. It’s time for my nap, too. Give her the Ginger Rogers suite. Dinner is at seven-thirty. Would you like Mandy to make something special for your dog? He looks like he could use some good food.”

“He pretty much eats what I do. I tried dog food, but he won’t eat it.” Cady dropped to her knees in front of her grandmother’s wheelchair. “I wish you had told me you weren’t feeling well. There was nothing keeping me in California. I can study and do my job anywhere. Just because Mom and Dad…”

“Shhh,” Lola said, putting her finger to her lips. “It’s all right. In all fairness to your father, I wasn’t a perfect mother. Hell, I wasn’t even a
good
mother. Oh, well, that’s all in the past. I’m so glad you’re here, Cady.”

“Me too, Grandma.”

“None of that Grandma stuff. You always called me Lola from the time you were able to talk. Don’t stop now. I don’t need to feel any older than I am. Go along and take a nice shower and a little nap. We can talk all night long if you want.”

Cady kissed her grandmother’s wrinkled cheek. She was appalled at how thin and bony her shoulders were. She could feel tears start to burn her eyes. She should have come sooner. A lot sooner.

“This is the Ginger Rogers suite,” Mandy said, opening the door and standing aside for Cady to enter. “I’ll have your bags brought up shortly. If you want or need anything, just press the buzzer on the phone console. It’s clearly marked.”

“Thank you. We’ll be fine.”

While Atlas meandered around the suite of rooms sniffing and growling, Cady checked out her surroundings. Aside from a pair of silver, sequined dancing shoes in a glass case, there were no other indications that Ginger Rogers had ever slept there or even visited. She felt disappointed.

It was a showy room straight out of a decorator’s portfolio. She sniffed, trying to identify the strange smell. Wallpaper paste, she thought. Everything looked new, unused, and incredibly expensive. The carpeting was thick and hugged her ankles. The drapes were raw silk and brocade to match the custom bedcoverings on the huge four-poster complete with lace canopy. She couldn’t help but wonder if Ginger would have been comfortable in a bed you needed a ladder to get into.

Ginger must have liked the color of champagne since the whole room was done in delicate tones of white and gold. A champagne-colored chair with burgundy cushions beckoned her. She just knew Fred Astaire would have loved the chair. She sank down gratefully and swung her legs over the arm. From her position in the chair she could see the sitting room and what was probably a dressing room. Same carpet, same drapes, same chairs.

She hopped off the chair to check out the bathroom. It was blinding in its whiteness. Every single thing was white. She blinked, wishing for sunglasses. She picked up a towel and was surprised at how heavy and thick it was. Not to mention expensive.

Lola had always liked fine things, costly things. She smiled when she remembered some of the presents her grandmother had sent her over the years. Things that were for looking at, not playing with. Things like rare porcelain dolls, fancy jeweled fans from the Orient, a kimono with a fire-eating dragon on the back stitched in gold thread, silver jewelry from Africa, jeweled combs, a sable hat and mittens from Russia. Then there were the wonderful storybooks, her first makeup kit, the pretty cashmere sweaters, the designer handbags, real leather gloves, fine jewelry and perfume. And then there was the time a big truck had pulled up in front of the house with a pony named Edgar. Everything, even Edgar, had been snatched away by her father. She’d never told Lola, though, because she didn’t want to hurt her feelings. She’d always sent long thank you notes. She wondered where those wonderful things were now. If she could only regain her memory of that long-ago accident. Atlas whimpered at her feet when he heard her sigh. She reached down to pet him. “I think I need to call my mother and let her know I arrived safely.”

Cady fished in her purse for her cell phone and dialed her parents’ number. Her mother picked up on the third ring, sounding breathless. “Mom, it’s me, Cady. I just wanted you to know I got here safely.”

“I knew you would. You’re a cautious driver. I was wondering if you would call.”

“I said I would, Mom. I got a dog before I left. He was a great car buddy on the trip. Mom, where are all the presents Lola gave me when I was a kid?”

Her mother’s voice turned chilly. “We gave some of them away to less fortunate children, and the rest were sold. They were decadent, not appropriate for a child like you.”

“Did you ask me if it was okay to do that?”

“No, I don’t believe I did. Is it important? Don’t tell me Lola wants them back.”

“No, Mom, she doesn’t want them back. I just wanted to know where they were. For some reason I thought you might have saved them. Did you save anything of mine?”

“No, not really. We moved so often, we had to travel light.”

“Aren’t you going to ask how Lola is? You said Dad was going to call her to tell her I was coming. He didn’t call, Mom. I felt like a fool barging in here. Couldn’t he have called her, Mom?”

Cady didn’t think her mother’s voice could get any colder, but it did. “Obviously Lola is well, or you would have said something straight off. I’m no hypocrite. I don’t like her, and she doesn’t like me. Your father said he was going to call. I want to say he did try and there was no answer. I can’t be sure, though. If he was having a bad day, he probably didn’t try a second time. I have a cake in the oven, Cady, and I hear your dad calling me, so I have to hang up now.”

Cady ignored her and kept talking. “How is Dad?”

“He’s the same. Parkinson’s disease doesn’t get better, only worse. He has good days and bad days. He prays a lot. For some reason God doesn’t seem to be responding to his prayers.”

“Maybe that’s because God knows he’s a sinner. He is, you know. Look at how he treats his own mother. Let’s not forget the way he treated me when I returned home after the accident. I wish you had left me with Lola.”

“That will be enough of
that,
young woman. I have to hang up now, Cady.”

Cady switched off the cell phone before she threw it at the bed. She slid off the chair and sat down next to Atlas. “They’re my parents, and I don’t even like them. I don’t think they like me either. You know what, Atlas, I don’t care. Someday I’m going to remember all about that time, and then I’ll have the answers to a lot of things. At least I hope I will. C’mon, let’s check out the grounds and see if there are any places where you can dig a hole.”