Chapter 36 Diem
Diem
Diem
“What if they recognize me?” Darcy shuffled, scuffing one of Tallus’s expensive dress shoes on the asphalt parking lot as he tugged at the collar of his borrowed dress shirt. He looked about as comfortable as I felt.
“They won’t. You look nothing like the kid who visited Elwood over three months ago. You’ve got a new look and a proper name. You’ll be fine.”
Tallus had taken Darcy for a haircut and had spent an hour dressing him for Nana’s party, much to Darcy’s dismay.
The two had gone clothes shopping earlier in the week, but nothing Darcy picked at the mall was suitable for the event—or so Tallus claimed.
As a result, my clothing-obsessed boyfriend had begrudgingly allowed Darcy to borrow an outfit on the threat of death if he ruined it.
I could have left Darcy at home, but the kid had latched onto me since Lukyan’s arrest and rarely left my side. He’d overheard my conversation with Aaron at the cottage and knew the lengths I’d gone to, ensuring he wasn’t arrested as well. It had apparently elevated me to god-tier in his eyes.
On the days he wasn’t working at Giant Tiger, the kid followed me to the office, asking a hundred and ten questions about the ins and outs of PI work, claiming he wanted to be an investigator someday, too.
I allowed him to shadow me to the office on one condition. While I worked, he studied. I’d insisted that he get his GED since it would help him find a better job. If he succeeded before the end of the summer, the plan was to help him apply for a grant and college in the fall.
On occasion, Darcy even joined me at the gym in the morning, copying my weightlifting routine and learning to expel his frustrations on a punching bag. I didn’t mind the company and was proud to teach him healthy coping mechanisms for when his hot temper reared its ugly head.
The angry kid I’d met a lifetime ago outside the supplement store had changed.
He still wore a cloak of teenage petulance on occasion.
He still wrinkled his nose every time he caught Tallus and me kissing or touching or talking lovingly to one another.
He still ran his mouth often enough that he earned several harmless smacks to the back of his head and warnings to smarten up.
But he was better. Happier.
Oddly, so was I.
We joked around and ganged up on Tallus, teasing him or playing pranks.
We cooked together, and he was interested in learning about macros and how to eat properly to gain muscle.
He was a chatterbox; he gave Tallus a run for his money.
I enjoyed their bickering. It had become less hostile and more playful with each passing day.
Darcy posed a lot of questions and made me think deeply about a lot of things.
We had mutually decided to quit smoking, which was no easy task.
It helped that we never seemed to crave a cigarette at the same time, so we kept each other in line.
When I suggested he come to AA with me, he stood his ground, reminding me he wasn’t an alcoholic, but when I attended a meeting Thursday night, he tagged along.
He listened.
After, he spoke about his parents and how maybe addiction ran in the family, and he should try to stop before it became a problem.
I didn’t think there would ever come a day when I would be someone’s role model, but when Tallus pointed out that that was what I’d become to Darcy, it gave me an added drive to want to succeed.
Not because I thought I should be better for him or Tallus, but because I wanted to be an example worth following. I wanted to be a man worth modeling.
It was Saturday, Nana’s ninety-third birthday, and Tallus had arrived at Evergreen an hour ago to set up for the party. Since I’d let him run with the planning, I had no real idea what to expect or who he’d invited.
The gathering was taking place in a common room where events were often held. We signed in at the front desk—I introduced Darcy as my nephew—and headed where we were told.
Aaron no longer worked at Evergreen, but no one had explained why. His arrest had been hushed. What transpired at the police station that day and what charges he faced remained a mystery.
Lukyan Andrich had been charged with over three hundred counts of fraud, totaling in the tens of millions of dollars. He wouldn’t see the light of day again once convicted, and since he’d proven to be a flight risk, he was being held without bail until his trial.
We arrived at the party room. Foil balloons decorated the door, woven among a garland of fake flowers. Beyond, multiple tables had been set with platters of treats and finger foods—soft and easily chewable to accommodate the seniors.
At ninety-three, Nana didn’t have a whole lot of living friends apart from the other residents at Evergreen, so the guest list consisted of a lot of elderly people I didn’t know. Everyone wore ridiculous party hats.
Bobbing white and gray heads filled the room. A few used walkers, others moved about in wheelchairs, while some waddle-shuffled with canes. Among them, I saw Birdie, Nana’s old home care nurse, Kitty, Tallus’s coworker and Nana’s old knitting companion, and… my mother?
I froze in the doorway, scanning for any sign that my father was present. Tallus promised he wouldn’t invite them. He swore the nurses understood that they weren’t to speak about the party in their presence.
But at our chance run-in with my dad the other day, it had come up.
Had he come? Why was my mother here?
I didn’t see Leroy anywhere, but Marlow Krause’s presence stiffened my limbs.
“What’s wrong?” Darcy asked.
“Nothing.” I shoved the discomfort aside and entered.
The room had been decorated to the nines for a party. Streamers dipped in low arches from the walls, converging in the center of the ceiling. More balloons, party favors, and fake flowers. A painted sign announced Happy 93rd Birthday, Hazel. I recognized Tallus’s artistry.
In the middle of the chaos, snug in a wheelchair, with a crochet blanket over her lap, was Nana, and she couldn’t have looked more charmed if she tried. Her cheeks held color, and her perpetually hazy eyes shone with delight. Her smile was enough to melt the ball of ice in my stomach.
She clapped to the music and bobbed her head as an elderly resident shuffled to the beat, dancing with her. At times, he held out his hand, and she took it.
Darcy beelined for the snacks, while I approached Nana. I waited until the song ended before squatting beside her chair and kissing her cheek. “Hey, Nana. Happy birthday.”
“Oh, Boone! You came. I was dancing with the boys. You aren’t jealous, are you?”
“Not at all. So long as you’re having fun.”
“Will you dance with me?”
I would never deny her, even if I had to act the role of her long-dead husband.
Even if I had to shuffle my awkward feet in something that resembled coordinated movement.
Whatever made her happy. I wasn’t a dancer, but I spun her wheelchair and rocked her around the room as another song played.
She squealed and clapped and waved to everyone we passed.
When the song ended, I brought her to the table with the birthday cake. “Kitty made your favorite.”
“Carrot cake?”
“Yep.”
“Oh. How lovely.”
“Do you remember Kitty?”
She didn’t, but drew on a memory from her earlier life and told a story of a girl named Greta.
Later, we sang and lit a single candle Tallus had specially made for the occasion. A wax ninety-three. Apparently, they weren’t easy to find. Nana couldn’t conjure enough breath to blow it out, so I helped. She ate some of the cake, but her appetite was fading with age, so she couldn’t finish it.
Nana opened a handful of presents, but none of them kept her attention like the music. She wanted to dance. She tried to sing. She clapped and smiled and reveled in the attention of people she didn’t honestly know or remember.
When Tallus announced the slideshow and requested someone dim the lights, I angled Nana’s chair so she could see and squatted next to her as it began.
“Oh.” She brought her hands to her mouth as she watched, enraptured by the montage of her life displayed in black and white and sepia tones across the bare wall.
She seemed to struggle to keep up with the pace, so I asked Tallus to slow it down, then she engaged, pointing and drawing up memories from her past.
“Look. That’s where you proposed to me, Boone.”
And, “I remember that car. Boy was it noisy. You took me to the lake, and we had a canoodle in the back.” She tittered, and I blushed. There were some things I didn’t need to know about my grandmother.
“That’s Matilda. We made those dresses for the school dance. Weren’t they darling?”
And, “Oh. Our wedding, Boone. Oh gosh. I was so young.”
And, “It’s my grandson. Do you see him? Isn’t he precious? His name is Diem. What a boy. I haven’t seen him in a while. He’s a policeman.” The photo was of Boone, not me, but the resemblance was uncanny.
“Your grandson’s a private investigator, Nana. Remember?”
On it went. I glanced at Tallus, who was running the projector. He watched me with a gentle smile.
“Thank you,” I mouthed.
He winked.
At one point, I introduced Darcy to Nana. She called him Jerry, and no one knew why, but that was Nana. Her shredded memories were all she had left. Not much from the present day stuck anymore.
Midway through the party, as Tallus took Nana for a spin around the dance floor and Darcy helped himself to his third piece of cake, I stood back and observed the gathering.
Tallus had done a great job. Nana was having a blast. She may not remember it tomorrow, but it was special now, and that was all that mattered.
Kitty approached and stood beside me. “You look well, cuddle bear. Haven’t seen you smile this much in… ever.”
“I’m doing okay.”
“I hear you adopted a stray puppy.”
I chuckled. “Tallus needs to stop calling him that. His name’s Darcy.”