Year of the Monsoon (37 page)

Nan smiled as she followed Ellen out the door. It had taken the collapse of her world and the near ruination of her life for her to learn that lesson. “You always did learn things the hard way,” Maddie would have reminded her.

When she got home, Leisa and Mariela were already there. Mariela was now going to day care, where she was getting some review prior to the start of first grade in a little over a month.

“I could keep taking care of her,” Jo Ann had protested.

“We know you could,” Leisa said fondly, “and we may take you up on that sometimes, but this is good practice for school. And this way, you’re not tied down when you’ve got other things to do.”

Leisa helped Mariela get Gimli outside so they could play in the backyard. “How was your day?” she asked as Nan flipped through the mail on the kitchen counter.

“It was –”

Leisa turned to see Nan staring at a manila envelope in her hand.

“What is it?” Leisa asked, coming over to her.

“It’s from Savannah,” Nan said quietly.

“Todd’s mother wrote a very nice letter,” Leisa told Maddie and Lyn on the telephone later that evening after Mariela had been put to bed. “When Todd went back into the hospital a couple of weeks ago, he asked her to return the photo of Nan’s grandfather. He must have known he wouldn’t be going home this time.”

Lyn, speaking on a second extension, sounded as if she was crying as she asked, “How is Nan?”

“I’m not sure,” Leisa said softly. “She’s back in the den. She wanted a little time alone.”

“She never got to speak to him again after she told him he couldn’t come up here, did she?” asked Maddie heavily.

“No,” said Leisa, her own throat tightening painfully. “I think that will be the hardest part, that she never got to say she didn’t mean it.”

When Leisa hung up, she went back to the den. Nan was watching
City of Angels
. Leisa sat down next to her on the couch, putting an arm around her shoulders.

“I hope his angels were with him,” Nan whispered as her eyes filled with tears.

“I know they were,” Leisa said, holding her tightly.

Chapter 27

MARIELA’S FACE WAS SCRUNCHED
up with her intense concentration as she took a mighty swing and… hit the whiffle ball to the far end of the yard. Amidst the cheers and claps, she heard Leisa yelling, “Run!” Still carrying her bat, she took off for the paper plate serving as first base. “Keep going!” Leisa yelled again and Mariela kept running, Gimli nipping at her heels as she rounded second and kept going to third while Bruce fumbled about in the azaleas for an extraordinarily long time trying to get his hands on the ball. “All the way!” Leisa called out, and Mariela ran towards home plate, beating Bruce’s feeble throw in to home.

“I did it! I did it!” Mariela squealed happily, giggling as Leisa picked her up and swung her around.

The game broke up as Gimli grabbed the whiffle ball and ran away with it, his huge ears folded flat against his head as he was chased by Mariela who thought this was as much fun as the puppy did.

“I haven’t heard this much laughter in your house in a very long time,” Maddie said, leaning toward Nan as they sat at the table on the patio, watching the goings-on.

Nan smiled. “You’re right.”

Maddie watched Nan’s face shrewdly as she asked, “How are you?”

Nan thought about her answer as she watched Mariela and Gimli who were now playing tug of war with a stick. “I’m doing better than I would have before.”

They were interrupted by Leisa calling through the kitchen window, “Nan, could you get the grill started, please?”

That was the signal for everyone to pitch in and help with dinner preparations. Mariela was learning how to husk corn outside with Jo Ann and Bruce; Lyn and Maddie were putting together a huge salad while Leisa sprinkled seasoning on the steaks and hamburgers.

“Give me something to do,” Nan pleaded.

“It’s your birthday,” Leisa said. “You take it easy.”

Nan went back outside to help with the corn. She sat down next to Mariela who was wearing a large number of corn silks – all over her lap, in her hair, everywhere.

“When’s my birthday?” Mariela asked out of nowhere.

“Ask your mother,” Jo Ann said.

“Which one?” Mariela asked.

Nan stared hard at the ear of corn she was husking. “You better ask your other mother,” she said quietly.

“I am so sorry,” Jo whispered when Mariela had left. “It just came out.”

“It’s okay, I just… Wow. Hearing that for the first time.” She shook her head.

Mariela went to find Leisa who was in the kitchen with Lyn and Maddie. “Mom, when’s my birthday?”

Leisa’s only sign of shock was dropping the steak knives in her hand. “That could have been dangerous,” she muttered under her breath. “Um,” she stalled, with a quick glance over to Maddie who shook her head. “We don’t really know.”

“Do you remember your mama ever celebrating your birthday?” Maddie asked. “She might have called it
cumpleaños
.”

Mariela shook her head.

“Well,” said Leisa slowly. “I came to the police station to get you on January 16th. How about we make that your birthday?” she suggested with a shrug, glancing at Maddie who shrugged also.

Mariela thought about this. “Okay,” she said, and went back out to shuck more corn.

Soon, they were all seated at the table, eating and laughing their way through Nan’s birthday dinner. After dinner, a large cake with thirty-eight lit candles was produced as they sang to her. “Thirty-eight?” Mariela counted with a gasp, as if she couldn’t comprehend such a large number.

“Thanks a lot,” Nan grumbled jokingly.

Mariela seemed to be impatient for everyone to finish their cake. “Is it time yet?” she whispered dramatically to Leisa.

“Yes,” Leisa whispered back. “It’s time.”

Mariela leapt out of her chair, taking Nan by the hand, and dragging her from the kitchen. “Come on,” she urged.

“Where are we going?” Nan laughed as Mariela pulled her down the hallway toward the den. “I haven’t been allowed in here for two days,” Nan said suspiciously as they approached the closed door. “What have you been up to?”

“Open it,” Mariela commanded.

Cautiously, Nan opened the door of the study and entered. There, one entire wall had been converted to a huge collage of photos. Some of them Nan recognized as ones that had been in Rose and Daniel’s house, the ones Leisa had packed away. But there were others as well – there were pictures of Maddie and Lyn, Bruce and Jo Ann, Jo and Rose. Many of them Nan had never seen. In the center was a recent snapshot of Mariela with her arms wrapped around Leisa and Nan’s necks.

“It’s our family!” Mariela said proudly.

Nan stepped closer and saw an early photo of Florida Gonzalez, before drugs and a harsh life had taken their toll on her beauty. There were photos of Bronwyn, and a few of Gimli. And there, in the middle, was Nan’s grandfather next to Todd’s high school photo. Leisa stepped close and wrapped her arm around Nan’s waist as everyone else came closer as well, laughing and pointing to various pictures.

Nan turned to Leisa. “Our family,” she murmured. “Thank you.”

“Play for us?” Leisa asked.

She could see the hesitation in Nan’s eyes, but then, to her surprise, Nan went to the piano and sat. Everyone stopped talking and turned as she began to play. Leisa recognized it as one of those pieces Nan said she’d learned for Marcus many years ago, a wistful, haunting composition.

“If people know the monsoon is coming, why don’t they flee?” Nan asked, perplexed.

The old woman peered at her with her stony black eyes. “Would you flee life? Yes, monsoon brings flooding and death, but without monsoon, there is no life. All becomes stagnant and still. Only after the destruction can life begin again. Without the rains, the floods, all would wither and die. Nothing could grow. We fear monsoon, but we need it as well.”

Nan had never understood what the old woman meant. Life was tough enough without putting yourself in harm’s way, but “she was right,” Leisa would have said. “I would give anything to have Mom and Bronwyn back, but now, knowing how easily it can all be taken away, knowing what it feels like to be so utterly lost… everything feels more real, more precious… just more.”

“So, you thought of me as a monsoon?” Mariela asked years later when they spoke of this.

“Not you,” Nan said, smiling indulgently. “But all of the things that coincided with you coming into our lives? Yes. You blew in with the monsoon. The deaths, the loss, the threat of losing everything we held most dear. But, without that, I don’t think my heart could have opened enough for all that came later.”

In her mind’s eye, she could see the old woman nodding her approval. “Now you understand.”

THE END

Author Biography

Caren was raised in Ohio, the oldest of four children. Much of her childhood was spent reading Nancy Drew and Black Stallion books, and crafting her own stories. She completed a degree in foreign languages and later another degree in physical therapy where for many years, her only writing was research-based, including a therapeutic exercise textbook. She has lived in Virginia for over twenty years where she practices physical therapy, teaches anatomy and lives with her partner and their canine fur-children. She began writing creatively again several years ago. She is an award-winning author of several novels, including
Looking Through Windows, Miserere, In This Small Spot
and
Neither Present Time
. Look for her books on Amazon, Smashwords and other booksellers.