The Grandmother Plot
Page 24
Where was he right now? He brought up the GPS to see how to get on the interstate. Which interstate did he want? The north/south or the east/west? Was it time to head for the horizon?
No. It was time for food. He was starving. He wanted grease and salt.
GPS kindly supplied him with a nearby McDonald’s. Freddy pulled into the drive-through lane, ordered, moved up a window, paid, moved up a window, and took his bag of burgers and fries on his lap along with his very large Coke and chocolate shake. He slid into a parking space, drank deep of the Coke, slurped some chocolate shake, and had his first satisfying chomp of burger.
Then he looked at his contacts list, took a deep breath, and called Mapes.
“Freddy?”
“Mapes, I’m sorry. It was all my fault. Are you okay? I mean, I know you can’t be okay, but—”
“I am, actually, Freddy. My daughter is here with me. And that huge man? I don’t know his real name. He saved my life.”
“I heard,” said Freddy. “I’m glad. Really glad. Mapes, I’m very sorry they were there at all. I think what happened is, when I got in your car that day, they got your plate number. I was a jerk.”
“Jerkdom can be solved,” she said softly. “Death, not so much. I’m alive and my daughter is here and I’m happy.” Her voice adjusted to its usual bustling self. “We’ll discuss things when we’re at MMC. Will I see you tomorrow?”
Freddy was amazed he even had a tomorrow. “Tomorrow,” he agreed. What a great word. Full of hope and choice.
“Good.” She hung up.
Freddy salted his fries, opened a ketchup pack, had two bites, and made his next call.
“Dude,” said the Leper.
“Heads up, Gary. Bad stuff is going to trickle down. Doc got shot by his little sidekick. He’s in police custody. They both are.”
“Doc was shot? Doc doesn’t carry a gun. What sidekick?”
“I don’t have any details. But they think he’ll be okay. But they’ll have Doc’s cell phone so pretty soon they’ll have your name.”
“Freddy. Seriously? My name isn’t Gary Leperov. I’m two layers away from that. The question is, are you safe?”
Freddy had been amazed so many times today that finding out Gary Leperov wasn’t even Gary Leperov had less impact that it might have. “I guess so.”
“Good. What hospital would Doc be in? I gotta get on that.”
“I think Middletown. But maybe New Haven.”
“Thanks. I’ll see you at BABE.” He disconnected before Freddy could argue.
Freddy dipped a french fry in ketchup and his cell rang. There were more people out there he had to talk to?
It was Kara.
He vaguely remembered not bothering with her messages. How remote her world was, all those kids and horses and the great husband and the carpool line. He was surprised to hear himself say softly, maybe even affectionately, “Hey, Karrie Darrie.” He braced himself for a lecture on how feckless he was, not responding to her previous messages. And he was feckless, but if he’d had a camera taping him right now, he’d lift his chin, like those guys who lived above the Arctic Circle, and proclaim, I’m free.
Not just free of cops.
Free of guilt.
Freddy, who had done everything wrong, felt no nonvisit guilt and not even any Mapes guilt.
“I’m here, Freddy!” cried Kara.
“Here?” he repeated.
“We landed. Are you in the cell-phone lot? Tell me you’re in the cell-phone lot, Freddy.”
Uh-oh. Something to feel guilty about after all. “Something came up, Kara. I’m about half an hour away.”
“Oh, half an hour, that’s not bad,” said Kara.
She came, thought Freddy. It’s all about actually doing something. You can’t walk on by. You gotta stop and help.
Doc, of all people. He did the most. Knowing he’ll pay the biggest price.
And Kara. She got on a plane and came. She thinks Grandma and I need her, and you know what? I think so too.
“Karrie Darrie?” he said. “I’m really glad you’re here.”
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Reading Group Guide
1. Freddy doesn’t mind being “Arthur” on occasion, because at least then his grandma still knows he’s family. How would you feel in his place? Are there any other circumstances where you might set aside your identity to preserve someone else’s comfort or happiness?
2. Freddy considers his own biggest flaw to be “failing to think.” Do you think he’s right? How is this failure present throughout the story?
3. Laura struggles to consider herself worthy of forgiveness or trust. Do you think she’s too hard on herself? If she were your friend, what advice would you give her?
4. Many of Freddy’s problems come from selling pipes to make more money than he could with beads or other glass projects. How do we value art as consumers? How do artists know the value of their work?
5. Do you ever feel like you’re trying to please someone who isn’t there? Are your experiences similar to Freddy’s ongoing quest to make his mother proud?
6. Laura’s natural nosiness leads her to take pictures of Maude’s records at MMC. How does she justify her actions to herself? Do you think that justification is good enough? Where do you draw the line between privacy and safety?
7. None of the characters are who they seem to be at first. Which characters were you most surprised by? Who did you find most sympathetic?
8. Freddy’s sisters constantly assume that he doesn’t have any responsibilities because they don’t take his career seriously. What are the consequences of that assumption? If you’ve ever been in a similar situation, how did you handle it?
A Conversation with the Author
Why did you decide to write Freddy’s story?
When my own mother was in dementia care, I was struck by the deep goodness of the staff and the constant, loving attendance of so many families. Dementia is horrifying for the patient and for the people who love her, but it’s a privilege to be able to visit and comfort and hug and read to her. My mother’s courage and constant good cheer were beautiful. I wanted to tell the rough and cruel story of dementia.
If you are the family of a dementia patient, you face sacrifice, sorrow, and above all, a decision: the decision not to abandon somebody just because that person’s mind abandoned her. Not everybody visits or cares. I wanted to write about somebody very unlikely, somebody you would never expect to do his best and make the hardest sacrifices: Freddy. I wanted love, because it’s love that keeps families close in these really lousy circumstances.
Which character do you most relate to?
I’m very similar to Laura in many ways. I have owned smashed brass, had a parlor pump organ and three pianos, and did indeed live on Magna Lane where the extended Ives family summered. As a church organist and member of quite a few concert choirs over the years, I created a woman I knew well. But Laura did abandon her mother, a decision I came across only once in real life, and it was wrenching. I wondered how that family dealt with it later—whether it bothered them or whether they shrugged, as they did over their person.
You include some pretty specific details about Freddy’s lampwork process. How did you research glasswork? Have you ever tried it yourself?
I have a Freddy, of course, or I could never have written this book. My Freddy is a lampworker who talked to me for days about what he does, where he does it, and why he does it. This is his vocabulary, his attitude, his studio. That was yet another privilege—getting close to an existence so removed from my own.
What’s on your reading list these days?
For my own reading, I like high action mysteries and I like history. I read mysteries by the armload. If there’s no action, I set it down. Stuff has t
o happen. I am working my way through the Louise Penny, the Sarah Shaber (both series), and the Daniel Silva books, in order. History for me is a slow read, a completely different occupation from mystery reading. My two histories at the moment are Erik Larson’s The Splendid and the Vile and Valerie Hansen’s The Year 1000. I like to have a few books open to the next page in every room of the house, so I can start in immediately, slouching down on the nearest comfy chair or sofa. I like reading several books at a time. You savor an exciting chapter, but instead of racing on, you switch to history.
About the Author
Photo by Greg Douglas
Caroline B. Cooney is the bestselling author of more than ninety suspense, mystery, and romance novels for teenagers, which have sold over fifteen million copies and are published in several languages. The Face on the Milk Carton has sold over three million copies and was made into a television movie. Her books have won many state library awards and are on many book lists, such as the New York Public Library’s annual teen picks. Caroline grew up in Old Greenwich, Connecticut, and spent most of her life on the shoreline of that state but is now in South Carolina near her family. She has three children and four grandchildren. She was a church organist for many years and accompanied the choirs at her children’s schools.
Don’t miss Before She Was Helen,
another quirky mystery from international bestselling author Caroline B. Cooney!