by Mimi Grace
The two and half hour drive to the small town of Cedar Lake was uneventful for Duncan. He passed the main part of town to enter a more rural area where Retta’s grandmother lived. His GPS seemed unsure where it was leading him, and it didn’t help that the sun had set and there were no street lights.
When Duncan pulled up to a modest house and saw no sign of Retta’s small gray car, he texted her. As he’d told her, he was good with older women, and he had no problem going up to the door and introducing himself to her grandmother. However, he wasn’t positive he was in the right place.
It must’ve been close to thirty minutes later when Retta finally appeared and parked right behind him. He hadn’t realized he’d been worried until the muscles in his neck relaxed.
“Hey, sorry,” Retta said, pulling a tiny suitcase from her car. “I had to get gas.”
“All good,” he said, refusing to acknowledge his desire to hug her.
As they walked to the dark house Retta said, “Remember, Ms. Edie or ma’am.”
She pressed the doorbell, and a dog inside barked in response. When the front door opened, a woman in her seventies stood there in a matching navy tracksuit with jet black curls that hit her chin. A chocolate lab lumbered a few steps behind.
“I expected you an hour ago,” the older woman said, frowning.
“Hi, Granny,” Retta said, kissing the older woman’s cheek before crouching low to pet and rub the dog. “Hi, Levi, baby.”
Ms. Edie beckoned them inside with her hands. “Get in, get in, before the mosquitos swarm.”
They both entered the house, and Retta said, “Granny, this is Duncan… My boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?” Retta’s grandmother asked incredulously, giving him a good look up and down. “You told me a friend?”
“No, Granny. I said boyfriend.”
“Well, you’re not sleeping together under my roof,” she said. “The walls are too thin for all that. Not that the two of you could fit in the twin bed anyway. What are you? Six four?” Ms. Edie asked Duncan.
“Six three, ma’am. And it’s nice to meet you. I can see where Retta gets her beauty from.”
The older woman snorted. “Did you warn him shit like that doesn’t work on me?”
“I did,” Retta said, rubbing her forehead.
Okay, so, Ms. Edie was tough.
“Drop your things there, and I’ll show you around after we’ve eaten,” the older woman said.
“How’s the weather been?” Retta asked her grandmother.
“Really, Coretta, the weather?”
Retta laughed. “I’m genuinely interested.”
“The Internet can give you everything you want to know about the weather here going back a century—”
Ms. Edie had stopped mid-sentence to stare at Duncan’s sneaker-clad feet. At first, he thought she might be admiring them, but there wasn't an accompanying comment.
Retta made a polite cough and said under her breath, “Your shoes. Take off your shoes.”
Duncan looked down. Retta had removed hers and Ms. Edie was wearing house slippers.
“Shi—” he said, catching himself before he swore. “My bad.”
He removed his sneakers right there and walked them back to the front area. So the first impression was a bust.
They sat down at a small dining room table as Ms. Edie placed a cold looking dish of spaghetti in the center.
“Let me reheat this in the oven,” Retta said as she headed to the kitchen with the ceramic.
Duncan smiled at Ms. Edie who responded with an assessing look.
“Where did you meet?” The older woman asked, sipping something from a mug.
“He and his business partner opened a boxing gym next door to the bakery,” Retta said from the kitchen.
“Do you love her?” Ms. Edie asked.
Duncan almost choked on the frankly bitter lemonade she’d served. “I-I—”
“Granny, please stop harassing him,” Retta said as she returned to her seat.
“It was just a question.”
Thankfully, the conversation during dinner was much lighter. Once they were done, Ms. Edie showed him around.
“There’s a bathroom down here, so no need to come up and down those creaky stairs at night,” the older woman said.
Duncan eyed the phone booth sized shower. He’d have to clean one half of his body at a time. “Looks perfect.”
“As I said, I only have one other bed in this house so, you’ll have to sleep on the couch, Duncan.”
He made eye contact with Retta who mouthed, “I’m sorry.”
This was shaping up to be as cozy as the time he regrettably went camping with one of his friends in high school.
“My toaster oven, blender, and crockpot are off-limits to you,” Ms. Edie said, pointing to him.
“The toaster, really?” Retta said. “What would you have him do? Starve?”
“If that would keep him from touching my appliances, sure.”
Duncan was delightfully taken aback at the old woman’s words.
“She’s joking,” Retta said, turning to him.
“No, I would've laughed otherwise,” Ms. Edie said as they walked into the living room.
They all studied the dark green sofa that, to its credit, looked incredibly plush. But there was no way his feet weren’t hanging off the edge.
“Your back is going to kill you,” Ms. Edie said matter of factly. She provided no alternative solution or consoling gesture.
“Again, the walls are thin, the stairs are creaky, so please don’t try anything. I like my eight hours,” the woman said.
They left him downstairs, and he got ready for bed, trying not to disturb anything in the bathroom too much. Once Duncan settled into his couch for the night, he couldn’t shake the unsettling feeling that someone was watching him. It wasn’t until he sat up and flicked on the lamp near him that he found Ms. Edie’s cat perched on the settee on the other side of the living room.
He tried a few times to shoo the feline away, but she sat there watching him. Eventually, he grew tired of staring down the cat, and he accepted the possibility he might wake up in a pool of his own blood.
Waking up in her grandmother’s pristine guest room made Retta want to sink deeper into the bed. This was the only place where she could sleep in. She hadn’t been here in almost a year, and the last time she was, she’d been in the middle of a spiral over her Winner Bakes All “win” and recent breakup.
Not wanting to tarnish the moment, Retta got up and ready for the day. From experience, she knew her granny would’ve already eaten, but a box of cereal and a pot of tepid coffee would be waiting for her.
As she descended the stairs, she spotted Duncan and her grandmother sitting at the breakfast nook, silent. Retta loved that the older woman was able to knock Duncan down a few pegs. He thought he’d come in here with his smile and strong shoulders and charm Grandma Edie, ha!
“Good morning,” she said.
Duncan turned around and winked at her.
Her gran moved the newspaper from in front of her face long enough to reveal her bob with blunt bangs and say, “Morning, sweetheart. The cereal box is on the counter.”
After preparing her breakfast, Retta joined Duncan and her grandmother at the table.
“How was everyone’s night?” she asked, breaking the silence.
“Perfectly fine,” her granny replied.
Duncan closed his eyes and shook his head.
Pressing her lips together she dumped teaspoons of sugar into her coffee and doused it with almond milk to make it somewhat palatable.
“I should get you better coffee, granny.”
“I’ve been drinking that brand for thirty years. It hasn’t killed me yet.”
“That’s a low bar. You should want it to taste good,” Retta said as she gathered a spoonful of cereal.
“The best coffee I’ve had is from that cafe we first met at,” Duncan said.
“I haven�
�t actually tried—”
Her grandmother tsked behind the newspaper.
Retta looked sideways at Duncan. “Is everything okay?”
She didn’t answer right away, and when she did, it was from behind the paper. “Well, last night you told me you met because your businesses are beside each other, but now you’re saying you met at some coffee shop.” She dropped the newspaper. “What is the truth?”
“Both are true. We briefly met at the coffee shop before officially meeting when we realized we were neighbors,” Retta said.
Her grandmother pursed her lips and studied the two of them before saying to Duncan, “You seem like the flighty type. I don’t know if I trust you.”
It could be intimidating being on the receiving end of Edith Rankine’s sharp tongue, but before Retta could smoothly change the subject, Duncan said, “That’s cool. I’m grateful you let me stay here, but at the end of the day, I’m here for Retta.”
His words made her tingly all over. She knew he meant he was there because of their agreement, but for a moment it sounded as if he was truly there for her and not parking spaces.
Her grandmother made a non-decipherable sound before returning to her reading material.
“I think I’ll go for a run,” Duncan said, getting up from his seat. “Excuse me.”
When he disappeared into the bathroom, Retta said, “You’re doing too much.”
“Perhaps,” her grandmother replied.
“He’s a good guy.”
“We thought that of the last one as well,” the older woman said.
Retta shook her head. Sure, Chris was sometimes condescending and she’d mistaken his arrogance for wit, but he wasn’t a bad guy. She even suspected she would’ve thought fondly of their relationship if they’d had a regular breakup.
“Get to know him.”
“Why?” the older woman asked, without looking up from her page. “So, I can see all the ways you’re too good for him?”
Retta’s heart squeezed. Her grandmother had been there for her during her breakup and career setback. She’d escaped to this mountainous small town to hide away for several weeks, and her tough as nails granny let her. Not only that, but Grandma Edie had also cooked her a huge batch of beef stew with tons of garlic and chilies and cut her sarcastic comments in half.
They both remained quiet as Duncan emerged from the bathroom in running shorts, shoes, and a t-shirt.
“All right, I’m heading out,” he said.
Retta turned to wave, trying not to sigh at the image he cut in his workout clothes.
Once he’d left the house, Retta said, “He’s a good one. Trust me.”
She hated that it was important to her that her grandmother liked and approved of her fake boyfriend.
Her granny scoffed and collected her smart speaker before moving to the balcony with Levi right behind her. “We’ll see.”
When Duncan returned from his run, Ms. Edie asked if he wanted to help her in the garden. Actually, she more or less told him he was assisting her.
“You think I’m safe?” he asked Retta, whispering from the side of his mouth.
“You’ll be fine,” Retta said, blowing a curl out of her face. She was in full-blown baking mode with an apron fastened around her waist and hands covered in dough. “As long as you don’t bring up her ex-husbands. Or the unfinished patio.”
“No exes or renos. Got it.”
Exiting the house, he was met with birdsong and Levi with a ball in his mouth. Duncan chucked the toy across the manicured yard and watched the good boy run to retrieve it, his dark coat gleaming under the sun.
“I’d like to get this done before the Second Coming if that’s fine with you,” Ms. Edie called out to him without turning around. She knelt in front of a small garden bed near the right side of her property. The wide-brimmed hat she wore completely hid her face.
“Pull the grass you see poking out through the soil,” she said when he joined her. “Make sure you don’t disturb the vegetables.”
They worked side-by-side mostly in silence. She picked beautiful ripe tomatoes while Duncan split his time playing with Levi and pulling grass and weeds.
“My granddaughter wants me to get to know you,” Ms. Edie said after several minutes. She pushed her large hat back and peered over her sunglasses at him. “Are you worth knowing?”
“Yes?” Duncan replied.
“You don’t sound so sure.”
He wasn’t. Half of his brain was thinking about how he wouldn’t see the older woman ever again after this weekend. Getting to know him would be a waste of her time.
Before he could respond, she winced and shook her hand for several seconds.
“You okay?” Duncan asked.
“Of course,” she said, going back to picking tomatoes. “And don’t you go worrying Coretta about anything. It’s carpal tunnel. An occupational hazard of doing hair for fifty years.”
“If you want, I can show you some exercises that might help,” Duncan said.
The older woman stilled before pushing her hat back once again to look at him. “I can’t stop you.”
Duncan smiled. That was as big of a resounding yes as he was going to get. He sat on the grass and Ms. Edie followed suit, discarding her gardening gloves and tools.
He started with a simple stretch that she mimicked. “Stop if you feel any discomfort,” he said.
They worked through several exercises, and after a few minutes she asked, “What are your intentions with her?”
Intentions? Duncan didn’t know what she wanted him to say, but he knew he couldn’t lie. Mainly because Ms. Edie would call bullshit.
“I care for Retta,” Duncan said. “I want to be there for her and make her happy.”
Even behind the sunglasses, he could feel her scrutinizing stare.
“Good,” she finally said. “She’s been hurt before, and she deserves someone dependable because she throws herself fully into everything she does.”
Duncan nodded. He couldn’t be that guy, but he wholeheartedly agreed Retta deserved the best.
“When she and her brother were younger, they’d come down here for winter breaks,” Ms. Edie said, pausing for a moment to pet Levi who’d taken to lying beside her. “We took them skating on the lake one year. They’d both never done it before. Her brother gave up once he fell a few times, but she spent hours that day trying to get the hang of it.”
“Did she?” Duncan asked.
“Oh yes, she was able to skate around the lake once without falling. That’s the kind of commitment she deserves.”
Something tightened in Duncan’s chest.
He was about to say something when the topic of their conversation stepped out of the house, carrying two glasses of punch. She looked charming in her apron covered in flour and her unruly coils.
Duncan moved to get up, but Retta said, “No, stay. I’ll join you. I thought you two could use something to drink.”
She handed him and Ms. Edie each a glass before taking a seat in the grass with them.
The older woman took a sip and said, “Thank you, love.”
“It’s good,” Duncan said as he lightly smacked his lips in response to the tangy cranberry flavor. “Thank you.” Without so much as a second thought, he leaned in and kissed the side of her face.
He wished he could say the move was part of his performance as her boyfriend, but it came too naturally.
“You’re all sweaty,” Retta said, smiling and dramatically wiping her face with her apron.
He teasingly went in for a hug. “Come on, it’s only a little perspiration.”
Giggling, Retta ducked to avoid him. He then grabbed her ankle and attempted to pull her toward him.
“Is this my punishment for not letting you share a bed?” Ms. Edie asked, watching them over her sunglasses.
They both froze.
Retta scooted out of his reach and cleared her throat before saying, “The sour cherry pies are done. All I have to do is
put them in the oven before we eat dinner.”
“I’m excited to try it,” Duncan said.
“Not to brag or anything, but the recipe won me the final mini-challenge on Winner Bakes All.”
“Nice—”
“You told him about the show?” Ms. Edie asked, her thin eyebrows high on her face.
“Yeah, it came up,” Retta said, playing with blades of grass.
“Hm,” Ms. Edie said before turning to Duncan. “I guess you are worth knowing after all.”
Chapter Seventeen
It was still dark outside when Retta’s alarm went off. Whenever she visited her grandmother, she was compelled to watch the sunrise at least once. She’d never been someone who was awed by nature until she’d experienced a Cedar Lake sunrise as a teen. A rendering of it was submitted for her high school senior art project.
After getting ready, she did her best to descend the stairs and not hit the squeaky points. She had no gripes about going alone or with Levi, she actually preferred it, but she also knew Duncan slept in the living room and might appreciate an invitation.
She felt her way into the living room, almost tripping over a dog toy. Squinting, she cautiously approached Duncan. He’d somehow pretzeled himself onto the couch, and it didn’t look remotely comfortable.
“Duncan,” she whispered.
Not so much as a twitch.
She got nearer and said his name again.
Nothing.
Time was of the essence; the sun waited for nobody.
Retta pressed her hand on his shoulder and gently jostled him, and before she could register what was happening, Duncan grabbed her wrist.
She croaked. “Yeah, okay, that’s a bit tight,” she said, patting his shoulder to get him to release her.
“What are you doing here?” he whispered as he loosened his grip but didn’t let go.
“I-I’m driving out to one of the mountains to watch the sunrise, and I was wondering if you wanted to join me? You don’t have to.”
“Right now?” he asked, his voice rough with sleep.
Retta looked down at her phone, the light breaking the darkness. Sunrise would begin at 5:25, and it took about thirty minutes to get to their destination.