The Year I Almost Drowned by McCrimmon Shannon

Author:McCrimmon, Shannon [McCrimmon, Shannon]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, pdf
Publisher: Shannon McCrimmon
Published: 2012-12-17T22:00:00+00:00

“He got a transfer to a station in Greenville and is renting a place a few blocks from the diner. I thought you knew.”

“We don’t talk,” my voice was quiet.

“I know,” she said in a gentle tone. “I just thought maybe Lilly told you.”

“We don’t talk about him. Since the break up, she hasn’t brought him up to me,” I admitted. “So, he lives here?” She nodded her head. I took a deep breath and she took my hand. “Let’s go.”

Nana refused to wear black. She instead wore a red dress with a red belt that was fitted to her petite frame and red, strappy heels. Her toes were painted in the brightest shade of ruby red. “Charlie hated black. Said I looked like a sad sack of potatoes in it.” She sighed and faintly smiled, reflecting just for a moment.

Jesse wore a dark navy blue suit, with a light blue shirt underneath and a colorful tie with shades of turquoise, blue and yellow. I had never seen him in a suit before, just a picture of him from prom when he was wearing a tuxedo. There wasn’t a sign of stubble on his clean shaven face.

Dad was wearing a gray suit with a white shirt and maroon tie. He pulled nervously on his tie and would stand up, then sit, and then stand up again. I could tell he felt awkward around my mother. I know she was trying to pay her last respects, but the unspoken tension could be felt by everyone. She was making things worse. Far worse.

I could see her through the window, pacing back and forth on the porch, talking on her cell phone. Mom was a legal secretary and worked long hours at a law firm. She was a workaholic, and the attorneys took advantage of that. She got off her phone and opened the door. It was the first time I had seen her since spring break. She had driven up the night before and was staying at a nearby motel. Nana had offered for her to stay at the house with us, but she politely declined. At least she knew not to stay in the house–that would’ve been too much–with Nana having to worry about being hospitable while she was trying to deal with everything else.

Mom was wearing the Audrey Hepburn dress that I used to love so much. When I looked at it now, it just reminded me of that night–the night that started it all. If I hadn’t intended to borrow it the night of my graduation, I would’ve never seen those letters in her closet and wouldn’t have traveled to Graceville. I cringed at the thought and started to get angry. If she hadn’t kept my grandparents’ from me all those years, I would have had more than barely a year to get to know my grandfather–the man who had become a father figure to me in so many ways. He gave me my first job, taught me to drive, and offered me the most sage, solid advice I’d ever gotten.

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