The Charm Bracelet(13)

I have to admit—despite my own feelings—the crowd loves her, Arden thought.

“Let’s grab a little lunch and then do some shopping,” Arden said. “There used to be a great local winery not far from here, and I’m sure there’s a farm stand. Why don’t we pick up some wine and fresh veggies after we’re done, and I’ll make dinner for you and your grandma?”

“You’re cooking?” Lauren joked. “We might need two bottles.”





Five




Arden didn’t need GPS to find her way home again.

She simply followed the dragonflies.

Every year, as the cold spring rains ended and summer—ever so slowly—began to crawl onto the shores of northern Michigan like a forgotten castaway, the dragonflies arrived to signal summer had begun.

Arden navigated her car toward little Lost Land Lake away from downtown Scoops and the sprawling, historic cottages that lined Lake Michigan. Hidden in the woods, pirated away amongst the pines, Lost Land Lake is where she’d grown up.

The farther Arden drove and the nearer she got to Lost Land, the more the dragonflies darted alongside the car, serving as her guides.

“Tinker Bell?” she remembered having asked her mother when she was a girl.

“Yes!” her mother had said. “Magic is all around you! All you have to do is look!”

When Arden turned five, Lolly had given her a dragonfly charm as a birthday present.

“To a life filled with good fortune,” her mother had whispered. “Just like Tinker Bell!”

Arden looked out her window at the dragonflies, shook her head, and pressed her foot down on the accelerator.

Arden drove until she saw the old red barn with WILSON FAMILY DAIRY painted on the side, took a little two-lane road until she passed the massive weeping willow that arched over it, then turned onto a narrow dirt road, canopied under soaring pines that choked out the afternoon sun. Finally, the little road opened onto Lost Land Lake.

“It’s so beautiful, Mom!”

Arden looked over at her daughter, the wind from the open window blowing her long, blond hair.

“It is,” Arden said, slowing her car.

She had forgotten how stunning Lost Land Lake was: The sandy-bottomed lake, loons floating, swallows swooping, birch trees bending in the soft wind, like a Midwestern version of On Golden Pond.

Arden eased the car over the many potholes that pocked the old dirt road, around an ancient pine trunk, past an old birch stump, and across a swinging bridge that sat over a creek winding its way to the lake. And, finally, they drove alongside seven old log cabins with lake stone fireplaces, stoops filled with fishing poles, wet swimming suits and inner tubes, and screened porches that faced Lost Land Lake.

Home.

Lucky #7.

The last log cabin on the lake.

Arden parked in a little area outlined by a fence of stacked logs. Before she could even stop the car, Lauren bounded out.

“I forgot how cute it is! It’s so Walden Pond!” Lauren exclaimed, with more enthusiasm for the setting and little log cabin than Arden could muster. “I used to think Grandma’s house was made of Lincoln Logs, remember?”

Arden smiled, yanking their suitcases from the trunk.

“Lauren, I need some help,” Arden said. “Can you grab the groceries and wine?”

Too late. Her daughter had already kicked off her shoes and raced down the warped wood dock that jutted over the sandy shore, reeds, and blue-green water of Lost Land Lake.

“Thanks! Appreciate it!” Arden laughed.

Arden watched her daughter take a seat on the dock, whooping in delight as she stuck her feet into the water.

Arden relaxed for a second before she clamped her eyes shut, took a deep breath, and then willed herself to find her cell and make the call she didn’t want to make.

“Arden?” her ex said. “What’s going on? I’m about to go into a meeting.”

Nice to talk to you, too, she thought.

“I’m sorry to bother you, but…” Arden hesitated, instantly feeling like a failure as a wife, mother, and daughter.

“Yes? What is it?”

“I took a couple of weeks off to visit my mom in Scoops. Lauren and I haven’t seen her in years, and I was worried about her. She’s missing work. She’s just aged so much, Tom.”

“Get to the point, Arden. I’m in a hurry.”

You haven’t changed a bit, she smirked to herself.

“Well, since I’m missing work, we’re spending a little extra on vacation, and Lauren’s tuition payment is coming up, I just thought…”

“Are you telling me you’re not managing your finances? You received this month’s deposit, didn’t you?”

“Yes, it’s just that…”

“I’m sure you’ll be just fine. You’ve always been a hard worker. Why don’t you ask your mom to help out?”

Arden could feel her anger rising.

“Tom, that’s not nice! I can’t believe you would suggest that.”

“Tell Lauren hello for me. Hope she can visit this holiday season. I’m taking the family to Aspen. She’d love it.”

“Always a pleasure, Tom. Have a nice Memorial Day.”

Arden hung up and sighed, watching her daughter splash her feet in the lake.