Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The salty coastal breeze blew in through the open windows in the rental car as Nora and Gram made the last leg of their trip to the cottage. After a quick flight and a fifteen-minute drive from Panama City Beach, the villages gave way to empty land that stretched out to the Gulf of Mexico on one side and the tree line on the other. The late-afternoon sun came in at a slant, casting a bright beam on Nora’s legs. She held her hair back with one hand and drove with the other, whisps escaping her grip and tickling her cheek.
Gram was quiet. She peered out the window, taking deep breaths, and smiling every so often as if she were having an unspoken conversation. Her shoulders were relaxed, her hands folded in her lap, and Nora was glad she’d decided to do this for Gram.
Nora recognized the clapboard bungalow sitting right on the coastline from the photos Gram had given her. She pulled into the sandy drive and put the rental car in park.
“We made it.” She popped the trunk and opened the door.
Gram got out on the other side and put her hands on her hips, facing the turquoise water of the Gulf. “It’s like a dream.”
“It definitely is.” Nora pulled their suitcases out of the back and set them in the sand. “Why don’t we get you settled, and I’ll find the market where I can pick up some groceries?” Nora suggested.
“I’ve already thought of that.” Gram pointed to a couple of paper bags on the front porch.
Nora shut the car door and picked up two of the suitcases. “What are those?”
“I called a grocery delivery company, told them when we’d arrive, and had them deliver groceries from the local market. I paid for it on my credit card.” Her eyebrows bobbed and she looked proud of herself.
“That’s amazing. What did you get?”
“I got the basics, plus your favorite granola cereal, fresh bread, pizza, and pina colada mix.”
“But we don’t have rum.”
“Yes we do. It’s in my carry on. I got it at the airport when you were in the bathroom.”
Nora laughed. “You’ve thought of everything.”
They stepped onto the wooden porch, the light gray paint on the boards peeling from the salty air and the grit of sand. Gram checked her phone and input the door code, the latch clicking. She pushed open the door and Nora set the suitcases inside then grabbed the groceries and carried them into the kitchen. She dropped the bags on the small counter, distracted by the view through the sliding glass doors opposite them. She pushed the gauzy curtains to the side and opened the door to the back porch.
The wind was stronger on this side of the house. She tucked her brown hair behind her ears and sat down on the bench swing, the ropes that suspended it creaking with her weight. The waves lapped quietly on the pearly shore. The sand was so fine it appeared to be powder, and she couldn’t wait to get down there and sink her toes into it.
“I will definitely relax here,” Gram said, lowering herself next to Nora.
“That’s for sure.”
With the rocking swing and the shushing of the waves, Nora almost felt as if she could leave the last year behind. The only thing she couldn’t quite shake was that final day with Ivy, when she swore she’d seen tears in the girl’s eyes. She took in a deep breath of the briny air.
After getting the rest of their bags and putting away the groceries, she and Gram sat together for quite a while. As they rocked, Nora worked to clear her mind and slowly let her thoughts go—Ivy, Blaze, Carson, and his new fiancée, and even some of the pain from losing her parents that had been dredged up by working with Ivy.
“Should we see if we can find the blender?” Gram asked. “I’d love one of those pina coladas.”
“Sure,” Nora said, finally on the cusp of relaxation. “That sounds fantastic. I’m ready for dinner. I’ll put the pizza in the oven as well.”
Gram hoisted herself off the swing. “I’ll dig out the rum. I wrapped it in my cardigan so it didn’t break on the flight.”
With the drinks made and the pizza in the oven, they stepped down the wide wooden staircase and onto the beach. Nora sipped the pineapple-coconut drink as she padded through the soft sand. It felt just as powdery as it looked, the warm smoothness of it soothing her feet after her travel. It was hard to believe she’d been at a coffee shop in downtown Nashville with Blaze just this morning.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Gram asked as they made their way to the water.
“Nothing, really.” She pushed Blaze from her mind, promising herself not to allow him to creep in again. “I’m just drinking in this view. The water seems to go on forever.”
They stepped up to the quiet surf, the shades of blue striping the water taking Nora’s breath away. The waves were small today, barely more than ripples—just enough movement to create a sparkle on the horizon.
Gram stepped forward, the foam gurgling over her toes, making her laugh. “The water’s warmer than I’d thought. I’d like to get my swimsuit on and float around in it, but I’ll wait until I’m not so tired. In this state, I’m liable to fall asleep and float out to sea.”
“Maybe we can come out first thing tomorrow.”
Gram held up her drink. “Yes. It’s a date.” She linked arms with Nora. “I can’t wait to spend two weeks with you—just the two of us.”
A sense of excitement filled Nora. “It’s going to be great.”
* * *
Gram laid down a yellow four. “Uno.”
As they sat at the small table on the back porch, the sky had exploded in bands of pink and orange, the Gulf’s light turquoise turning a deep green. Condensation dripped down their pina colada glasses. They’d switched to just the mix after their pizza, saving the rest of the rum for another day, but Nora’s cheeks were still warm from the earlier alcohol and the salty air.
Nora dropped her last card, a yellow six, onto the pile. “I’m out.”
“I demand a rematch.” Gram picked up the discard pile and shuffled it with the remainder of the deck. “Best out of three?”
“You’re on.”
While Gram divvied up their cards, Nora turned her face toward the water.
“It sure is peaceful out here. There’s not a soul but us.”
Gram wriggled a finger down the beach. “And that cottage over there.”
“It’s far enough away that they can’t hear a word we’re saying. Unlike our apartment back home.”
Gram raised her eyebrows in agreement and flipped the top card over—a blue two. “You go first.”
Nora studied her hand and then dropped a blue four onto the table.
“Gramps would’ve loved it here,” Gram said as she added a card to the pile.
“I think so too.” Nora took a drink from her glass, the sweet pineapple-coconut flavor going down easily in the warm weather.
“Your grandfather was always preaching to live life to the fullest. I thought his wild ideas were silly until one night I realized they weren’t at all.”
“What ideas did he have?”
“He wanted to take me here, and skiing in the mountains, he wanted to go on an African safari!” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head.
“Well, I’ll fulfill his wish to go to the beach, but I might not be a great safari companion.”
“Why not?” Gram asked, chewing on a grin.
“I prefer vacations that don’t involve wild beasts that could have me for dinner.”
Gram let out a loud laugh and dropped a card onto the pile. “Your go.” She seemed more animated tonight than she’d ever been, and they’d only just arrived.
“What do you want to do tomorrow besides float in the Gulf?” Nora asked.
“I want to get up early, sit on that porch swing with my book and a cup of coffee, and read until the sun comes up. Other than that, it’s your call.”
“Maybe we could go into the villages and peruse some of the little shops.”
Gram took in a contented inhale, her eyes closing. “Yes. The village names here are something out of a storybook: Rosemary Beach, Santa Rosa Beach, Watercolor, Seaside…”
“I know. The whole place is a picture book.” Nora moved her feet gently back and forth on the old wooden boards, the remnants of sand carried on the wind making a scratching sound under her toes. “I can’t believe people get to live here.”
“Going back to the apartment will be difficult, for sure, but we can always return. Where do you want to go shopping tomorrow?”
“I’d like to go into Watercolor. I saw one shop on the drive in that had beautiful paintings in the window.”
“That sounds like the perfect way to spend the day.”
Nora laid down another card. “Should we also do something in honor of Gramps? What would he have wanted to do?”
Gram rolled her eyes. “Well I’m certainly not smoking cigars and drinking whiskey.”
Amusement bubbled up in Nora at the memory of Gramps in his favorite chair.
“What?” Gram asked.
“I just got an image of Gramps with a cigar between his fingers and a splash of whiskey in his tumbler on the table beside him while he flipped through the news stations, complaining about how no one actually reported the truth anymore.”
Gram laughed. “That memory surfaces because it was what he did every evening.” She set her hand of cards onto the table face down and leaned on her forearms. “But when we were alone, he liked to dance with me.”
Nora’s eyes widened. “ Gramps? Danced?”
“He’d turn on the old radio in the living room, take my hands, and pull me off the sofa, and then he’d pull me into his arms and spin me around the room.” Gram closed her eyes. “If I try hard enough, I can still smell his Brut cologne and the bite of whiskey.”
“Wait here.”
Nora put down her cards, got up, and went into the kitchen. She made a beeline to the old radio she’d seen when they’d first arrived. She’d wondered if it had been there for use during storms, when cellular service was out. She grabbed it and brought it to Gram.
“Let’s see if it works.” Nora plugged it into an exterior outlet and flipped the switch.
A fuzzy squeal and then a buzz came through the speakers. Nora tuned the knob until she found a station and when a song began to filter through, Gram gasped and reached across the table, grabbing Nora’s arm.
“That’s ‘Something’ by The Beatles.” Her eyes became glassy. “He used to sing that to me.” Gram put her hand to her heart. “He’s here with us. I can feel him.”
The lyrics filled the space between them. What were the odds that the old radio would work and that song would be playing?
“You don’t think it’s just a wild coincidence?” Nora asked, not ready to fully believe that Gramps could be dancing around them right now. If that were true, surely her parents were there as well, and if so she might break down into tears.
Gram shook her head. “It’s definitely not a coincidence. I’ve come here, the place your gramps always wanted to go, and we were just talking about him. He’s telling us he’s here.”
Nora’s heart pattered and she looked around for a flash of light or a glitter of something in the distance, but there was nothing. She couldn’t believe it. Gramps being with them would be too wonderful.
She picked up her cards. Gram’s fanciful ideas had rubbed off on her. But in a way, she was glad. She’d never known Gramps had been a secret romantic. She only hoped she could grow old with someone like that one day.