The Charm Bracelet(11)

“So? What brings my girls to Michigan unannounced?”

Lauren and Arden stared at each other.

“Okay, what gives, girls?” Lolly asked, hands on hips. “Going somewhere on a whim—even to the bathroom—is so unlike you, Arden.”

Lauren couldn’t help herself: She began to laugh, so hard in fact, she had to double over, until her face was near the sidewalk outside Dolly’s.

“Thanks, you both,” Arden said. “Really appreciate it.”

“Spill the beans, or no one gets any fudge.”

“Mom! Talk! Now!” Lauren said, suddenly very serious. “There’s chocolate at stake!”

“Well … let’s just say Lauren and I needed a road trip.”

Lolly looked at her daughter with great skepticism. “That’ll do for now,” she said. “I’m just happy to see you both again.”

Lolly paused, and opened her mouth to speak, but her cheeks quivered, and Arden could tell her mother was either ready to cry or to tell them something. Instead, she simply chirped, “Now … who wants candy?”

What is she holding back? Arden wondered.

Lauren took off for the fudge shop. Through the window, Lolly and Arden watched Lauren nab a little white sack and run through Dolly’s like a kid in a candy store. The brick walls of Dolly’s were lined with uneven wooden shelves and rickety tables covered with red gingham tablecloths and little red baskets overflowing with chocolate and sweets. Lauren grabbed all flavors of homemade saltwater taffy and licorice, before nabbing turtles and a mound of maple fudge. Without slowing, she headed toward the ice cream counter in the back of the shop, where high school kids in white smocks dispensed a rainbow of flavors.

“I bet she gets a triple scoop of Superman, Blue Moon, and Birthday Cake,” Lolly said, her eyes twinkling as she watched her granddaughter. “I knew it! That’s my Lorna.”

Lorna? Arden wondered. Again?

Arden turned to look at her mother, waiting for her to catch her error. But Lolly only continued to smile and admire her granddaughter. Arden thought of the card she had received from her mother with the charm, containing the same mistake, and was about to say something when Lauren reappeared carrying a bag stuffed with sweets and a triple scoop ice cream cone.

“I’m glad to see you haven’t changed,” Lolly said, as her granddaughter licked the cone, the ice cream already beginning to trickle down her arm in the surprisingly strong May sunshine.

Lolly smiled at her granddaughter, and Lauren placed her head on her grandma’s shoulder, sighing.

“My beautiful baby girl,” Lolly whispered. “I’ve missed you so much.”

Arden watched her mom hold her daughter, and she was nearly overcome with emotion.

It’s been way too long since I’ve been home, Arden thought.

“Hey! It’s the fudge lady!” a little boy with unruly curls suddenly screamed, knocking Arden from her thoughts. A group of children quickly gathered around Lolly. “When’s your next show?” they asked, as Lolly pointed at the clock in the window.

“Five minutes,” she chirped.

“Arden? Arden, is that you?”

A pretty blond woman in bright Lilly Pulitzer and a choker of pearls was holding the hand of a girl, while a gaggle of children trailed closely behind.

“It’s Kathy,” she said. “Kathy Van Wieren.”

Arden felt like Alice again, falling down the rabbit hole. Suddenly, she was back in school, the lonely, shy, dark-haired girl who read too much, in a sea of tall, towheaded, beautiful and popular Dutch girls.

“Hi,” Arden sputtered. “My gosh, it’s been … so long.”

“I haven’t seen you since we graduated,” Kathy said, her chirpy voice as happy as a robin’s. “I heard you moved to New York to write for People magazine…”

“Actually, I live in Chicago and work for Paparazzi,” Arden answered. “I … well, I…”

Arden stopped. She realized suddenly that, other than her job, she didn’t really have a reason for staying away so long.

“Well, it sounds so glamorous,” Kathy said. “Working next to all those stars.”

Kathy gestured at her children. “My life is anything but. Not with five kids … my youngest is six.”

Kathy looked at her youngest, ruffled her locks, and chuckled. “I’m such a good Catholic.”

She continued, “My husband and I live in Chicago, too, but we spend our summers in Scoops at my grandparents’ cottage, and he comes up when he can.”

Lolly reached into her apron to grab some taffy. Kathy’s son lurched for the candy while her daughter hid behind her mother’s body.

“Sugar,” Kathy sighed. “Just what they need. But they just love your mother. Everyone does.” Kathy stopped and smiled at Lolly. “She has always been quite the character, hasn’t she? You two are so different.”

Arden couldn’t help it, but she flinched at Kathy’s words, which made her uncomfortable and reminded her why she had so much trouble coming back home.

“Can we stay and watch her show, Mom?” the little boy asked, his mouth stuffed with taffy. “Puh-leeeze!”

Kathy rolled her eyes at Arden. “Yes, yes, of course. But no more candy, okay?”