Page 26 of Grounded (May Hollow Trilogy #1)

The night before her grandmother’s surgery, a strange unease permeated Annie’s soul. The depth of her own self-centeredness settled full upon her like a heavy storm cloud. Sleep came with disturbing dreams.

There was her grandfather working in the fields.

He was hoeing between rows of tobacco, and the sweat rolled off his face and arms in stringing beads that dropped to the ground.

On the rich black dirt, the sweat turned to trickling streams of blood filling the furrow between the tobacco plants.

It flowed down the hill into Gibson Creek, where it turned back to water, rushing over rocks and around the creek bend until it disappeared beyond sight, beyond the farm.

Then, she was with her grandmother in front of the old stone house.

Her mother was there for a moment, but then she left the ground, floating toward heaven like a balloon, her feet dangling.

Annie reached for her, grabbing her feet and holding on as hard as she could.

Her mother was telling her to let go, pointing to her grandmother who was now leaving the ground.

Annie ran to her and held her, and when the alarm went off at four in the morning, she was hugging the pillow tight with both arms.

Annie slid out of the bed and onto her knees beside her nightstand. With a heavy heart, she prayed to the God of her childhood:

Lord, please forgive me. I have gone my own way these many years. Please make me a new person …

It was still dark outside as Annie helped her grandmother to the car and then slid into the driver’s seat. They were silent most of the way, neither of them morning people, before Annie finally broke the silence.

“Grandma, I’m sorry I haven’t been around much these last few years.”

“Oh, that’s all right. When you raise children, you expect them to leave the nest at some point.”

“I know, but I could have visited more. I think for a while I was running away from the grief of losing Mom and even Grandpa. I’m sorry I haven’t been around for you.”

“You’re here now, and this is when I need you the most. Let’s not dwell on things we can’t change.”

Annie felt warmth spread over her heart for the second time this morning and knew that all was well.

Something was different now, with her grandmother and with God.

There would be more visits to her grandmother even when she went back to New York.

There was no reason she couldn’t hop flights to Lexington anytime she wanted.

“Here we are,” she said, pulling up to the hospital.

They spent the next hour filling out paperwork and getting Beulah moved back to the surgery preparation area, where she changed into a hospital-issued gown.

Her clothes and personal belongings were put into a plastic bag with her name and room number.

A nurse recorded her vital signs and started an IV.

They waited in silence under the bright fluorescent light of the pre-op room, tucked behind a flimsy privacy curtain.

Annie sat in a molded plastic chair next to the mobile bed Beulah was lying on under blankets and a sheet.

The curtain shifted, and Scott Southerland moved inside the tentlike room.

“Land sakes, what in the world are you doing up here? And you, not even my own preacher?”

Scott nodded to Annie but made his way over to the other side of the bed where he could reach down and kiss Beulah on the cheek. “I needed to make hospital visits this week, so I figured I might as well come when you’re here.”

Annie saw her grandmother tear up and clasp his hand. “That was mighty sweet of you, Scott.”

“How about a prayer?”

“That’s what I was lying here thinking I needed.”

She reached out and took Annie’s hand and held Scott’s in the other.

“Dear Father, we are so thankful for your precious child, Beulah. Please guide the hands of the surgeons and strengthen her during and after this surgery. We ask that you bring Beulah into full recovery and give grace and strength to her caregivers. Amen.”

When they opened their eyes, a nurse was waiting.

“It’s time to go, Mrs. Campbell,” she said.

Scott squeezed her hand and slipped out with a wave to Annie. Annie held on to Beulah’s other hand. “See you in a little while.”

They wheeled her grandmother out of the pre-op room and down a long, well-lit hall. Annie watched until they turned a corner out of sight, and then she went up a floor where she would wait while the surgery took place.

After settling into a corner of the vast waiting area, Annie prayed for her grandmother and, like Scott had done, even for the doctors doing the surgery. After a few minutes, Evelyn stepped off the elevator with to-go cups of coffee in each hand and handed one to Annie before she sat down.

“Any word yet?”

“They just took her back about thirty minutes ago,” Annie said. “Are the men working?”

“They arrived after daybreak and started right away on scraping off the old paint.”

The door to the waiting room opened, and a nurse came out and asked for another family. Annie hadn’t realized she was holding her breath until she let it out.

Pastor Gillum, in a suit and tie, with his great white head of hair combed back in a wave, stopped by and had another prayer with her and Evelyn.

An hour passed. Evelyn went with her to the cafeteria for toast and coffee.

Afterward, they settled back in the waiting room, flipped through magazines and watched the news intermittently.

The door opened again and a nurse called, “Campbell family.”

Annie jumped to her feet. The nurse smiled and said, “Come on back, please.”

Annie turned and motioned to Evelyn. “You’re family too,” she said. Inside the door, the nurse talked to them as they walked down the hall.

“Mrs. Campbell did fine,” she said. “She’s in recovery. I’m taking you to that waiting room. Someone will come and get you as soon as she is awake.”

In a few minutes, she and Evelyn were in the room with a groggy Beulah. Annie thought her grandmother looked so vulnerable, lying there with her leg stretched out and wrapped in bandages.

She smiled at Annie and held out her hand to her. Annie grasped it.

“How are you?” Annie asked.

“I’m still here,” she said, letting go of Annie’s hand to reach for Evelyn.

“Are you in any pain?” Evelyn asked.

“If I am, I don’t know it yet.” The corners of her mouth pushed up slightly in an effort to grin. “Did they say when I can go home?”

Annie fought to control a laugh. “They’re mostly concerned with getting you into a room right now.”

“I reckon.”

“The doctor won’t be by until tomorrow morning to check on you. Evelyn will come and spend tomorrow afternoon and evening with you. I can stay the rest of today.”

“No sense in that.”

Evelyn smiled at her. “We can watch soap operas like we used to.”

“I reckon.”

Two orderlies entered the room in squeaking tennis shoes, white shirts and pants, with clipboards in hand. “Mrs. Beulah Campbell?” said one of the men, but even though she nodded in answer, he checked her wristband and her chart to make sure.

“We’re taking you to room 305.”

“Okay,” Beulah said. Annie smiled at her still-sleepy grandmother.

Evelyn left to fix lunch for the painters.

Annie went on to the room, getting there before Beulah.

The squeaking tennis shoes announced her grandmother’s arrival as two orderlies wheeled the awkward metal transport bed into the room.

With tender, experienced hands, the men transferred her from one bed to another.

After they left, she saw that her grandmother was comfortable, had ice water and was settled on the pillow just so.

“Why don’t you go on home, Annie? I believe I’d rather you be home seeing after things.”

“I don’t mind staying here at all. Don’t you want the company?” Annie asked.

“I’ll be fine. I’ll probably sleep most of the day. I think I’d rather you be home. I don’t like leaving the house to sit empty. And you’ve already had a long day.” Annie knew the house was anything but empty at the moment, but she didn’t want to give the secret away.

“If you’re sure … I’ll be back later tonight, anyway.”

“Betty Gibson said yesterday she would come by this evening. Pastor said he would be by tonight as well. You stay home and rest. You’ll have the full care of me soon enough.”

“I’ll leave this afternoon, but I’d like to stay for a while.” Annie leaned over and kissed her grandmother on the forehead.

After she left the hospital, Annie stopped at a department store and got a few items of clothing she could use on the farm.

A grocery store had a selection of organic produce, something missing from the locally owned store in Somerville, and she stocked up on fruits and vegetables.

There was a Chinese restaurant in a strip mall out on the bypass, and she picked up a carry-out for supper.

She was too tired to fix anything for herself tonight.

Funny, she hadn’t lifted a finger all day, but waiting in the hospital was exhausting.

It was nearing dusk when Annie passed the grove of walnuts in the driveway. As the house came into view, it looked naked with all the old paint scraped off and the primer not yet on. The men had done good work in one day.

She put away the groceries and then carried the Kung Pao chicken to the front porch, settling herself on the steps as the fading light of evening slipped away.

At first it seemed so peaceful and quiet, but as she listened close, there were the bullfrogs croaking in the pond, and in the front yard, a kildeer made a terrible racket as one of the cats got too close to her nest. She feigned injury, trying to lure the cat away, squawking and holding one wing out as if it were broken.

The ruse worked, and the cat went after the mama bird, who escaped with a perfectly good set of wings at just the right moment.

A hoot owl called from above, adding to the evening cacophony.

Annie was finishing her dinner when a tiny greenish-yellow light floated up from the ground and blinked on and off.

Then another and another floated up until the yard was full of hovering yellow beads of light, blinking signals to each other.

The lightning bugs put on a mesmerizing show.

Annie sat a long time and watched the magical display.

A ringing phone interrupted the wonderment. When she went in to answer it, she closed the door and locked it.

“Are you in for the night?”

“I am,” Annie said, happy to hear Jake’s voice.

“How’s Beulah?”

“Ready to come home, but the doctors are saying Wednesday or Thursday. We’ll be lucky to keep her in there long enough for the house to get painted.”

“I’ll help on Saturday if they are still painting.

“I’m hoping they’ll be finished by then. And won’t you have Camille here?” Annie asked.

“One of her staff is out sick and she has to help with a convention coming in this weekend. She’ll come in Monday and we’re both taking vacation next week to be here.”

“Good,” Annie said. “We’ll have time to get to know her.

“She’s a great girl, Annie. I think you’ll like her.”

“If you like her, I know I will,” she said.

“Do you mind staying there by yourself? You know you can stay with Mom.”

“I’ll be fine here. I know where the shotgun is,” she said, and laughed.

“But do you know how to use it?” he asked in a serious tone.

“You mean waving it around won’t be enough?” she said.

“That’s another thing we’ll do this summer. You need to know how to use a gun,” he said, before wishing her a good night and hanging up.

After turning out the lights and plodding upstairs, Annie washed her face and put on her pajamas. Under the comfort of a frayed quilt, she dropped into a sound sleep.