Chapter 11 Derek
DEREK
As soon as we step back into the lodge, J.B. hops up from the table where she was playing chess with her great-grandfather and flings herself at Darcy.
“You were gone forever,” she accuses her with a big smile on her face.
And once again I’m watching my daughter embrace the girl I’m trying not to have real feelings for like she’s already a part of the family—even more than that, actually.
In addition to her sensory issues, Judi-Bloom also doesn’t especially like being touched.
She’s a loving kid, but she’ll let you know she loves you by spending time with you, laughing, asking questions, playing chess, or talking about her latest science experiment.
She’s never really been the type of kid to hug or cuddle.
So seeing her embrace Darcy means she really cares about her—enough to show her affection in a way that will mean something to Darcy.
“What’s in all those bags?” she demands, pulling back from the hug.
“Oh, these are for your grandpa,” Darcy tells her. “And we have something little in the car for you, just a small thing, and lots of supplies for the cabin.”
“For me?” Grandpa Michael asks, looking a little concerned.
“Oh, yes,” Darcy says. “I had so much fun picking these. I hope you like them as much as I do.”
The little furrow in her brow wins him over.
“I’m sure I’ll love them, whatever they are,” he tells her approvingly. “I just don’t want you kids spending your money on me. You’ve got a future to think of.”
I barely manage not to roll my eyes. He hasn’t seen my investment portfolio, but I’ve told him enough for him to know that we can buy pretty much anything that’s for sale on Angel Mountain and not risk our future over it.
And it’s only some clothes. It’s not like I bought him a gigantic diamond ring too.
Although if I thought it would convince him to get the surgery, I’d buy him a whole jewelry store.
“Can I see what Grandpa got?” J.B. asks, trying to poke her nose into the bags.
“Sure,” Darcy says. “If it’s okay with him. We might want to do this in your room so we can see if it all fits, Michael.”
“Of course,” he tells her, rising slowly from the chair.
I can tell he’s a little tired, but his eyes are bright with excitement. It’s good for him to have family here and things to do.
I’m grateful all over again to Darcy for fixing my schedule. I probably couldn’t have done this on my own without throwing the whole company into chaos.
We follow Michael to his room, J.B. right by his side, like she knows instinctively he might need someone to hold onto.
I close the door behind us, hoping we might get him to try on some of his new wardrobe.
“Okay,” Darcy says. “We didn’t even take the tags off, so please don’t look at the prices. You know they don’t matter anyway. Your grandson is richer than Midas.”
“Ha,” Grandpa barks out.
“That’s not what I like about him, by the way,” she puts in quickly, like she’s worried he’ll think that.
“What do you like about him?” J.B. asks suddenly.
If I didn’t know any better I’d say she sounds suspicious.
Predictably, Darcy turns about as pink as a peppermint shake.
“Well, he’s kind and he’s smart,” she says quietly. “And he’s very, very handsome.”
I love the way she says that last part.
“Runs in the family,” Grandpa hoots.
“Gross,” J.B. declares at the same time.
I can’t help laughing and everyone turns to look at me. It’s fine though. I know I’m not much of a laugher, but this is my family, they won’t judge.
“Well, don’t worry, sweetheart,” Grandpa says, turning back to Darcy. “I couldn’t read those tags if I wanted to, not without my glasses.”
“Sit and be comfy,” she tells him. “J.B. and I will get everything out and show it to you.”
He lowers himself onto one of the chairs at the little table and I go over and take the other one, grateful to her for knowing he’s not up to a lot of trying things on.
The girls scurry off to the bathroom with the shopping bags, whispering to each other like they’re making a plan.
“Isn’t this a big production?” Grandpa Michael asks me, but I can tell he’s pleased at being fussed over a little.
“You should have seen her at the store,” I tell him. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen her so excited.”
“She’s a sweet girl,” he tells me, clapping my knee. “You’re a lucky man.”
My heart aches and I just nod. He’s not wrong. I am lucky. Just not in the one way I wish I could be.
“Okay,” J.B. announces, pushing open the bathroom door. “This is outfit number one in your brand-new wardrobe, Great-grandpa.”
They come out with a thick wheat-colored cardigan draped over a pale blue turtleneck. J.B. is carrying the hanger holding the tops and Darcy is holding a hanger with a pair of brown trouser-sweats under it as they walk out.
“You’ll be the best-dressed man in the lounge,” J.B. tells him.
And it’s true. These days most people dress casually wherever they go. Other than the staff and the occasional regulars from the old days like the Applebaums, the whole place is normally in jeans.
“Isn’t that something?” Grandpa says. And I can tell by the way he reaches for the sweater and tests the softness in his hand that he actually likes it and he’s not just being polite.
“It’s nice and warm,” J.B. tells him.
“And the shirt will bring out your baby blues,” Darcy adds.
That earns her a big smile.
“Should I try it on?” Michael offers.
“Sure,” Darcy tells him. “But you’ve got a lot of options.”
“Do you want to see them all and then choose?” J.B. offers.
He does want that, so the girls put on a whole pretend fashion show. By the end they’ve got the hangers doing a sort of strut from the bathroom to the table and we’re all laughing and having a blast.
There’s a tap at the door when they’re just about finished.
“Come in,” Grandpa calls out.
“Hi, everyone,” Margo from the front desk says with a big smile. “I was going to reserve a table for you all if your guests are staying for dinner, Michael?”
“Can you all stay for a bit?” he asks me, but I can tell he’s tired.
“Why don’t we eat in your room?” I offer. “We’ve all had a long day, but a little room service sounds great. Does dinner in bed sound okay?”
“We’ll eat in the dining hall tomorrow,” he agrees, looking relieved.
The girls use the scissors from the sewing kit Darcy keeps in her purse to snip the tags from the outfit Grandpa liked best. And while they do that, he gives Margo a dinner order for all of us.
“I’ll just go and change,” he says when they’re done, nodding to the bathroom.
“Oh, J.B. and I were going to go get hot chocolate anyway,” Darcy says immediately. “We’ll knock before we come back in. Can we bring you guys some?”
We wave them off, and I stand to help my grandfather with his change of clothing. I’m grateful to Darcy all over again for knowing that he shouldn’t try to change by himself in that tiny bathroom, especially if he’s tired.
It’s quiet in the room except for the whistling of the radiator and the soft sounds of the fabric moving. I hate being faced with his frailty, but it’s an honor to be here for my grandfather.
I should be here all the time, a little voice whispers in the back of my mind.
And maybe it’s right. What’s all the money for, if not to give me the freedom to be around when my family needs me?
When we’re finished, I walk with him to the bathroom so he can admire himself in the mirror.
He looks great. He chose the first outfit the girls prepared for him and the blue turtleneck really does bring out his eyes.
“Not bad, eh?” he asks, winking at me in the mirror.
“You look amazing,” I tell him honestly.
He chuckles and shuffles back into the room, climbing into bed and sighing when he gets himself comfortable.
“I get tired so easily these days,” he says softly. It’s his first reference to his illness since he told me he didn’t want the surgery.
“You had a busy day,” I remind him.
“I didn’t even work,” he retorts.
“Well, I don’t think opening doors was really giving you much of a workout,” I tease him.
He chuckles at that. We both know he does a lot more around here than opens doors.
Well, he did.
It’s a sobering thought, and I think we’re both relieved when there’s a knock on the door.
“Come in,” he calls out.
Darcy and J.B. spill in with steaming mugs of hot cocoa and news of the family with the support dog that’s checking in right now.
A few minutes later, there’s another knock and a couple of employees are greeting us and carrying in our dinner.
J.B. scrambles up to eat dinner in bed with her great-grandpa while Darcy takes the other seat at the little table with me.
Everything smells delicious. Grandpa says a quick prayer for us, then we all dig in.
I’ve eaten at the most expensive restaurants in New York and the food hasn’t tasted nearly this good.
I guess it’s the company.
Later that night, I’m feeling well-fed and content as I follow Darcy and J.B. into the cabin. The walk down the hill was brisk enough to wake me up a little, but I don’t think I’ll have any problem sleeping tonight. It’s been a day.
“Hey, wait,” J.B. says suddenly. “You said you had something for me.”
“Something teeny,” Darcy warns her. “Just a little treat in case we have a movie night.”
When Darcy pulls out the sack of peanut M&Ms and three envelopes of extra-butter microwave popcorn J.B. squeals with excitement.
“Can we do a movie night right now?” she asks.
“I think we’re all tired,” I tell her, not wanting Darcy to be the bad guy. “And we want to be up early to visit with Grandpa.”
“He’ll be working,” J.B. says, shrugging. “He won’t care if we sleep in.”
It hits me in the gut that she doesn’t know how serious all this is, and that I’m going to have to tell her right now.
“Sit with me,” I say lightly, pulling out a dining room chair.
“What’s going on?” J.B. asks, eyeing me suspiciously without taking a seat.
“You know your great-grandfather is sick,” I remind her.
“Yeah, but he loves his job,” she says. “He’s just staying at the lodge so he doesn’t have to drive.”
“Is that what he told you?” I ask.
“Pretty much,” she says, shrugging.
I’ve been wondering how much they might have talked about it over their chess games while Darcy and I were in town. I guess it wasn’t a whole lot.
“He doesn’t want you to worry,” I tell her, steeling myself. “But I don’t ever want to lie to you. He passed out this morning while he was working. The owners of the lodge gave him that room so he can spend the rest of his time among the people who love him. He can’t work anymore, Judi-Bloom.”
I brace myself for her to correct me for calling her Judi-Bloom.
“The rest of his time?” she echoes instead, looking haunted.
“He doesn’t want to go to the city for surgery, remember?” I tell her. “He wants to be with his friends here on Angel Mountain.”
“He doesn’t want it?” she asks me in the saddest voice.
I know I told her this before, but it’s clear now that she didn’t realize what it really meant.
“I’ve tried to convince him,” I tell her honestly. “More than once. But the odds of it working are low. And at the end of the day it’s his decision.”
“Can’t you just make him?” she yells at me. “You make everyone else do stuff they don’t want to do.”
That accusation sounds almost personal and oddly specific. But I don’t think I could make Judi-Bloom Lockwood do anything if I tried. Maybe it’s just that she’s angry and emotional. I was too when I really took in what was happening.
Before I can question J.B., I catch Darcy heading quietly into the bedroom they will be sharing with the bag of stuff she got at the store. I guess she wants to give us space.
Oddly, I think maybe Darcy could help us through this. She always stays so calm, and J.B. and I can both get a little heated. We once got into a full-on shouting match over whether a shirt of hers was blue or green.
“I know you’re upset,” I tell her, forcing myself to stay as steady as I can. “I’m really sad too. This is hard.”
“It doesn’t have to be hard,” she cries. “He can come live with us. I’ll go to the hospital with him. You won’t have to do anything.”
“You have school,” I tell her automatically. “He wouldn’t want you to leave your school and your friends.”
I wait for her to unload on me. But instead of yelling, she marches off to join Darcy.
In their shared room Darcy has already made up the bottom bunk with the stuff we got in town, and now she’s hanging those extra sheets around it like a fort.
I feel a piece of my heart break off and dissolve. Darcy knows J.B. likes her privacy and needs an escape more than most people. She was planning to create a safe space for my daughter before I even put together that she would need one.
I’m about to follow her in, but J.B. slams the door in my face before I have a chance.
If that’s how well this conversation went, what’s going to happen when she finds out the truth about Darcy and me?