Waiting by Bonnie Dodge

Author:Bonnie Dodge [Dodge, Bonnie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Booktrope Editions
Published: 2014-08-30T00:00:00+00:00

***

January brought with it more than snow. For the first time in a long time, January filled Maxine’s house with excitement as she planned her trip to Graceland. She waited until the last possible moment to tell her family that she was going. She was settled at Grace’s kitchen table the night before, sharing a rare cup of coffee with her daughter and granddaughter.

“Graceland?” Grace said, her mouth hanging open. “By yourself? Mother, that’s not like you.”

“I know,” Maxine said. “And don’t try and talk me out of it. This is something I’ve wanted to do all my life. And now I’m going to.”

“Does Daddy know?”

“No, and I don’t want you to tell him. He’ll ruin it. I haven’t had a vacation in years. I think it’s about time I got to do something I wanted.”

“Don’t worry about Grampa,” Abbie said. “I’ll check on him every day.”

Maxine patted her granddaughter’s hand. “You don’t have to do that, Abbie. He can take care of himself.”

“Sounds like fun,” Abbie said. “If I didn’t have school, I’d go along to keep you company.”

Maxine smiled at Abbie. “It’s a bus full of old people, honey; you’d be bored right out of your head.”

“Maybe.” Abbie shrugged. “But at least you wouldn’t have to go alone.”

“Don’t you worry about me. I’ll be just fine.” Maxine stood and put her empty cup in the sink. “Thanks for the coffee. I need to get home and start packing.”

“I can’t believe you’re not going to tell Daddy,” Grace said.

Maxine bristled. “The only reason I’m telling you is so you won’t worry if you call the house and get no answer. I’ll be back in a week.”

“You should tell him,” Grace said, “so he doesn’t worry.”

Maxine pulled on her coat. “Grace. I rarely ask you for anything, and now I’m asking you to keep your mouth shut. If your father finds out, he’ll play sick and keep me from going.”

“How are you getting to the bus?” Abbie asked. “Maybe I can take you. Does it stop by your house and pick you up?”

“No,” Maxine said. “Shirley and Helen are going to drop me off.”

“So you’ve already told them,” Grace said.

“Yes,” Maxine said. “They know.”

“Well, then.” Grace folded her arms across her chest. “Have a nice time.”

Maxine gave Abbie a hug. “I intend to.”

Once home, Maxine began to pack. In a perfect world, she would still be size twelve, and the clothes in her closet would fit. But her world was far from perfect, her body far from slim, so she settled on the few nice clothes she owned, most of them the hand-me-downs that Helen had given her before Christmas. Maxine would be gone a total of seven days, which meant she’d have to wear several things more than once. She was tempted to toss in her comfortable sweats, but they were stained dingy gray, no longer their original pretty forget-me-not blue. If she were going to toss them anywhere, it should be the garbage.

“Look at the bright side, Maxine.” She unzipped a pair of pants and let them fall to the floor.

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