The Sometimes Sisters(21)

“Maybe if it’s not rainin’,” Dana agreed.

“You know what I liked best about comin’ to Granny Annie’s?” Brook asked and continued before Dana could answer. “I liked sitting on the porch swing with her. When we finish supper, can we just go out there and swing? That way we can talk about her and I can tell her goodbye.”

“Yes, we can sure enough do that,” Dana said around the lump in her throat. “We can even take our dessert out there if you want.”

“Granny would like that,” Brook said.



A dark cloud shifted over the moon, blocking half the light as they sat in the swing and listened to the squeak of the chains as they ate chocolate pie and shared an orange soda pop straight from the bottle.

“This taste reminds me of the chocolate-orange candy we got Granny Annie at Christmas,” Brook said.

Dana bought those little foil-wrapped oranges for Granny Annie every year. She’d loved the combination of the two tastes and had always looked forward to getting one in her stocking.

And I didn’t even know last Christmas would be the final time I’d ever see her. If I had, I’d have brought her a dozen of those chocolate oranges, Dana thought.

Brook pointed toward the sky. “Look at those stars. Do you think there’s really holes in the floor of heaven like that country song says? Can Granny peek down and see us?”

“I don’t know,” Dana said. “But if there is, I bet she’s real happy that we are here takin’ care of things.”

“Especially Uncle Zed,” Brook said. “She’ll miss him more than anyone else. Does he look even skinnier to you than the last time we saw him?”

“He does look like he’s lost weight, but then he’s taken on his and Granny’s jobs for several weeks now. Maybe he’ll gain a little now that we’re all here to help take care of things. What makes you think that she’ll miss him more than any of us?”

“They were best friends their whole lives. Granny told me that the last time we saw her. She said that her and Grandpa Seamus and Uncle Zed grew up right here before the lake was made, when it was just farm country, and they’d always been friends. If I had a friend like that, I’d sure miss her.” Brook finished off her pie and licked the last of the chocolate from the plate.

“Brook Clancy, that’s bad manners,” Dana fussed.

“It made Granny laugh when I did it and I’m tellin’ her goodbye, so it’s okay.”

Dana couldn’t contain the smile. “So you think Cassidy will ever be a friend like Granny and Uncle Zed were?”

“Maybe if we stay here forever. We’ll have to see how things go.” Brook shivered. “It’s getting cold. We’d better go inside.”

A burst of warm air greeted them as they entered the house, along with a phone ringing in the kitchen. The old yellow wall-hung telephone was right inside the back door, and Dana made a beeline for it. Dana caught it on the fourth ring and breathlessly said, “Hello.”

“I think you’re supposed to say ‘Lake Side Resort,’ or at least ‘Annie’s Place,’” Tawny said.

“Maybe I’ll just say, ‘Beer, bait, and bologna. Drink it, catch it, or eat it—we don’t give a damn, long as you pay your bill,’” Dana shot back. “What do you want?”

“Would it be all right if I came to the house and sat on the swing for a little bit? Seems strange not to have Granny here, and I’d like to say goodbye to her,” Tawny answered. “I won’t disturb you.”

“Fine by me,” Dana said.

“Thank you.”

Dana stood there with the phone in her hand staring at it for a full thirty seconds before Brook took it from her and hung it up.

“You okay, Mama?”

“Tawny said, ‘Thank you.’ I don’t think I’ve ever heard her say those two words—at least not to me.” She thought about all the times that she’d sat on the swing or the porch with her much younger sisters. It had been a common ground for them, so maybe that’s what Tawny was thinking about.

“Think y’all will ever get along?” Brook asked.

“Probably not,” Dana answered.

“But—” Brook started.

“Granny used to say, ‘It is what it is,’ and I’ve come to accept that. You’d better go take your shower, young lady. It’s getting late.”

“Yes, ma’am, but I love Aunt Tawny and Aunt Harper so much. I wish . . .” She hesitated.

“Me too, kiddo, me too.” Dana gave her a quick hug.

She was determined not to even look outside and to let Tawny find closure however she wanted. But then she heard voices and stepped out onto the porch to find Harper sitting on the top porch step and Tawny stretched out on the swing, taking up every bit of it and not even offering to share.

“I didn’t know you both were coming over here,” she said.

“I didn’t know I had to ask if I could.” Harper raised a small bottle of Jack Daniel’s. “To Granny Annie. Rest in peace and in the knowledge that we’ll keep this place runnin’.”

Tawny held up a can of beer. “To Granny Annie. This was your favorite kind of beer. To the legacy you left for us.”