The Charm Bracelet(32)

Arden looked skeptically at her mother from behind her water-spotted lenses.

“Now, go fly a kite!” the two generations said at the same time.

Arden slowly began to walk the shore alone, the kite still in her hand. She felt silly.

Overhead, a few puffy, white clouds bounced along the horizon, occasionally blocking the sun, as if someone turned off the overhead lights without warning.

Arden began to trot, slowly at first, until her legs were turning as quickly as they did in her spinning class. Her trot turned into a jog that morphed into a run, which, finally, became a full-out sprint.

The strong lake breeze made Arden’s dark hair dance, and spray from the lake coated her glasses.

But Arden, for once, didn’t care.

She kept running and running, churning sand, waiting for the right gust of wind, until …

Arden tossed the kite into the sky, a gust off Lake Michigan caught it and sent it flying up, up, up.

Arden screamed in delight, and, for one moment, time stood perfectly still. As Arden continued to run with the kite, she turned and looked back at her family: Her mother was no longer getting older, her daughter was no longer unhappy, and Arden was no longer consumed by work.

For one brief moment, life slowed. Arden was simply a child, flying a kite, having fun.





part five




The Puzzle Piece Charm

To a Life Filled with Friends Who Complete You





Fourteen

Any plans to cut your vaca short? We NEED you back … NOW! (Isn’t Michigan boring, btw?)—Van

Arden stared at her phone, her fingers poised over the keys, unsure whether to reply to her boss or e-strangle him. Still, she was about to give in to his request, tell him, yes, she would come back ASAP, when she heard the outdoor shower roar to life.

Though her mother was hidden just out of view, she could hear her humming an old tune and watched as a cloud of steam danced its way toward Lost Land Lake.

Arden felt as if she were caught in no-man’s land. She wanted to stay and help her mother, but Van’s thinly veiled threats scared her.

Arden looked over at her daughter and watched her furiously texting. Lauren felt her mother’s stare and looked up.

“Grades haven’t posted yet,” she said. “I think I’ll get all A’s again. Don’t worry.”

Arden’s heart sank, realizing how much pressure Lauren must feel to excel.

Before Arden could say anything, Lolly called to her from the stoop of the screened porch.

“Your turn!” Lolly stood, clutching her wig, drip-drying in a big towel tied around her body. “Water’s warm.”

Arden looked down at her phone, hesitating.

“You both need to wash that sand off your feet before you track it around the cabin,” Lolly said, pointing at their feet.

Arden sighed. “Okay. I’ll go.”

Arden walked around to the shower, only slightly hidden from the world on the back side of the cabin, and tested the temperature of the water.

Lolly had already hung towels for her and Lauren on side-by-side hooks, one hook in the form of a fish, the other shaped like a pine tree.

Arden started to shower in her swimsuit, but then said, “Oh, what the heck,” hanging her suit on one of the hooks and placing her glasses on the grass.

Arden washed the sand from her legs and then reached into an old minnow bucket holding a variety of mismatched shampoos, conditioners and shower gels to pluck a shampoo.

As she lathered up her hair, Arden squinted and took in the view from the shower, and the simple beauty caused her heart to skip a beat: Boats zipped across the hazel water, while smoke from grills cast the scene in an ethereal haze. Lolly’s makeshift shower was, in its own way, as lovely as any luxury spa in Chicago.

Arden leaned her head back and let the warm water run over her hair.

There was something about showering outdoors—that mix of water and nature, body and soul, trees as your ceiling—that reawakened Arden’s spirit.

Arden opened her eyes, her vision blurred by the steaming water and her lack of glasses, and saw something she couldn’t quite make out which seemed to be coming toward her.

“Mom? Lauren?” she asked.

Arden squinted and fumbled for her glasses. Not finding them, she called, “Hello?”

No answer.

She shook her head and leaned toward the minnow bucket, plucking out an apricot scrub for her face. She shut her eyes and began to massage her skin, before turning her face to the water. As she opened her eyes, something big yet still very blurry seemed to be approaching.

Arden shut her eyes and quickly rinsed her face, rubbing her eyes. When she opened them again, what looked like a bear was standing directly in front of her.

Arden jumped.

“I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I didn’t see a thing, I promise.”

Arden screamed.

Lolly came running, Lauren by her side. “It’s okay, Mom! We’re here,” Lauren said, handing her mother her glasses and shielding her as Arden hastily draped a towel around her body.

“It’s not a bear!” Lolly explained. “It’s a man!”

“You sound a bit too excited, Mother. Who are you?” Arden asked, pointing at the man.

“Jake. I’m here to check on Lolly, remember? We met the other day at Lakeview. I’m the geriatric nurse who will serve as her caregiver.”