grasped her finger, holding on tight. Mitch let her hold him once, but Mom took him back after a few minutes.
Once, she snuck into the master bedroom to watch him sleeping in his crib. She touched his hand and watched him start, his fingers opening wide, then closing on her thumb. Leaning down, she kissed his forehead. He even smelled good.
Granny and Papa came at the end of August. Mom didn’t hand Christopher over to Granny, not even for a minute. She did let Papa hold him once. When Mom placed Christopher in his arms, Dawn watched his face soften.
Mom smiled. “I need to step out for a few minutes. Are you going to be okay alone with him?” He nodded, gaze fixed on his grandson.
Tears ran down his face as he cupped Christopher’s head and leaned down to kiss him. “You look just like Charlie…”
Granny and Papa came up for Thanksgiving and stayed four days. Mom didn’t relax until they left. Mitch invited them back for Christmas. Mom invited Oma, too, but she said Aunt Cloe had already insisted she come to Hollywood. Dawn overheard Mom talking to Mitch in the kitchen. “Something’s wrong, but she won’t say what.”
Over Christmas Eve dinner, Papa announced he’d put in for retirement. He figured it was about time. He didn’t want to have another heart attack. Besides, the law was now working against police officers. Arrest a criminal and the courts would let him loose.
“We’ve been thinking about moving,” Granny said.
“Moving?” Dawn gaped. “But you love Paxtown!”
“Well, of course we do, but we love our family more. We only get to see you a couple of times a year.”
That wasn’t true. They came to visit for every holiday, and Dawn spent time with them every time she had a school break.
Mom set her knife and fork down. “What about Oma?”
“We invited her to come with us.” Granny sawed at a tender slice of turkey like it was shoe leather. “She said no.”
Papa put his hand on Granny’s wrist. “I told you not to bring it up, Hildie.” He faced Mom. “We haven’t made a final decision yet. We wanted to ask if it would be all right with you if we moved closer.”
Dawn couldn’t bear the look on Granny’s face. “That’d be great, Mom! Wouldn’t it?”
Mitch spoke. “It’d be great to have you two closer. You’re the last set of parents I have.”
“Thanks, Mitch,” Papa said. Granny relaxed a little. Papa glanced at her, his face softening. Then he looked at Mom. “We’ve missed you more than you know, Carolyn.”
Mom winced. Dawn jumped in again to break the tension. “You could live right next door!”
Papa laughed. “Sorry, honey. We can’t afford this neighborhood.”
Granny’s shoulders relaxed. “Healdsburg seems like a nice little town.”
Christopher started to fuss in his high chair. Mom got up quickly and released him, lifting him in her arms and holding him closer while Papa talked.
“I was thinking of something a little farther out. We don’t want to park ourselves on your front doorstep.”
Mitch poured more sparkling cider. “Stay with us while you’re looking. We have plenty of room.”
When Dawn came into the kitchen the next morning, she found her mother sitting at the table, rubbing her forehead while she talked on the telephone. “I’d feel better if you were coming, too.” When she saw Dawn, she got up and took the portable phone into the family room. “We have plenty of room. You could live with us. Mitch would… Why not? Why would she care?”
Dawn knew Mom was talking to Oma. Pouring herself a bowl of cereal, she lingered and listened.
“Just think about it, Oma. Please?” Mom pleaded.
Dawn knew her mother loved Oma, but she didn’t know why. Granny stayed away from her, so Dawn did too.
25
1980
Granny and Papa’s Paxtown property sold quickly. A moving company stored everything while they stayed in Alexander Valley and looked for another home. They stayed in the second suite at the other end of the house from Mom and Mitch. Dawn was in-between. Granny made afternoon and evening appointments with their Realtor. That way, Dawn could go with them to see houses. Granny wanted to live at the north end of Healdsburg. Papa wanted to look at Cloverdale. Granny said that was too far away. So were Windsor and Santa Rosa. Granny said maybe they’d find something on Dry Creek Road.
Finally Granny decided on a house in Healdsburg. She talked about the nice guest bedroom with private bath, the neat houses along the street, the small, easily maintained backyard. And it was so close to Dawn’s school. “You could have lunch with us!”
Papa looked at Dawn in the rearview mirror and didn’t say a word until they got back to Alexander Valley. “Go on in the house, Dawn. Granny and I are going to have a little talk before we come in.”
They sat in the car for almost an hour. When Granny came inside, she headed straight for the guest suite. Papa went into the family room and sank into an easy chair. Mitch raised his brows. “Is everything okay?”
“We’re going to take a long drive tomorrow, by ourselves, and see a little more of the area.” Mom came into the family room, Christopher in her arms. Papa looked at her with a sad smile. “Healdsburg is a nice little town, but I’d like to be forty-five minutes to an hour away. Somewhere on the coast, if we could afford it.”
Papa found just the house he wanted at the end of the Russian River in Jenner by the Sea. The house was tucked into a hillside, almost hidden by a row of overgrown, shaggy cypress trees. He said the place needed some work, but he claimed it would have a “million-dollar view” when the trees were topped and the deadwood cut out and hauled away. Granny argued vehemently against buying it, but Papa won in the end.
