he’d never know. But she did, and her readers loved her.

“Ma, you didn’t answer my question. Should I drive down to Oak Grove tonight?”

Ma was all that was tranquil as she answered. “There’s nothing you can do while he’s still in the hospital. Since the doctor operated today—”

“Operated! He’s in the hospital? Why didn’t I know about this?”

“Shush! You’re getting tense again. I can hear it in your voice.”

Her shush was the same one she’d used on him as a child. Mildred would smooth back his hair from his forehead with a cool hand and shush him after one of his bad dreams. Hearing the word, he oddly felt that hand on his brow as if she’d reached out through the phone.

“Okay, I’m calm. Just tell me why Pa had surgery and when he’ll be out of the hospital.”

Mildred explained about the broken hip. “We’ll be home day after tomorrow. Nance is with us, but I could use your help when I get Pa home.”

Nance was the Granger’s only biological child. She was almost ten years older than him and had been more of a second mother than a sister. It reassured him to know that level-headed Nancy was on hand to make decisions for Ma and Pa. Ma was creative and loving, but decision making wasn’t her strength. Not as scatterbrained as she was.

He thought for a moment, planning his leave of absence from the paper factory here in Racine. He was the production manager and couldn’t easily leave. Family had to come first, though.

“How long do you think I should plan to stay, Ma?”

The phone made a crackling sound, breaking up her answer. He must have driven past something that disrupted the cell signal. He’d been on his way home from work when Ma called.

“Did you say two weeks? And it sounded like you said, ‘Luau?’”

The call suddenly dropped. JT realized he must have been so concerned about Pa that he didn’t hear the warning beeps. His battery was dead. He knew that charging cord wasn’t working right. It didn’t charge last night.

Of all days for the battery to die!

Pulling the car into a driveway, he checked for oncoming vehicles and then turned around. With no charging cord, he couldn’t call human resources or his supervisor, so he’d go back into work and speak with HR and Mr. Winkle. JT had caught a glimpse of the man, still in his office, when he left earlier.

Maybe JT could catch his supervisor before left he for the day. And after that, JT would need to head for the Sprint store to buy a new cord. Thoughts ran through his head, and suddenly he realized he was holding his breath again.

Nothing would be right until he saw Pa and knew the man would recover. No matter how hard it would be to take time off, JT would head to Oak Grove tomorrow.

If only Pa and Ma hadn’t acted on impulse and moved away from Racine. Who relocated to southern Wisconsin in their retirement? People were supposed to move to Florida or Arizona when they got old, not Oak Grove or other small towns like it.

Three hours later, JT finally drove his black Ford Explorer up the cement driveway and into his attached garage. By the last light of the summer sun, he saw a package sitting on his front porch, against the door. Funny, but he didn’t remember ordering anything from Amazon.

He put the package out of his mind and considered what he still needed to do this night. Right about now, a shower and bed fit the bill. He groaned as he thought of the packing he had to do first.

It had been a long day before the call from Ma. The added hours spent arranging for his leave felt like bricks on his shoulders. Tightness gripped him, and JT stopped to release his breath. Honestly, the stress would kill him if he didn’t learn to manage it better.

Climbing out of the car, he ran a tired had through his dark brown waves. Touching his hair brought up another errand JT would need to take care of tomorrow—a haircut. Haircut, bank, Sprint Store.

When he’d left work for a second time, the Sprint Store was already closed for the evening. He’d get the cord tomorrow and go without a phone that night. At the thought of Ma not being able to reach him if Pa took a turn for the worse, familiar stress gripped his chest.

“My hands are warm.” He voiced the mantra out loud as he shook his hands.

Odd, but the phrase never failed to calm him. Last year, he’d read about the trick in a magazine. Thank goodness, since it helped so much.

Heading through the door from the garage into the house, JT flicked on the light and moved to the front door. He didn’t want to leave the package sitting outside. Thieves might realize the house was empty while he was away.

It was a small Amazon box, but not sealed with the official Amazon tape. Someone had reused the box, obviously. To send him what?

A quick glance at the return address showed it was sent from Oak Grove. The sender’s name had been smudged badly, and he couldn’t make it out. It did start with an M. That much he could see, so maybe Ma had sent it. After all, her first name was Mildred.

Pulling the jackknife from his front right pocket, he sliced through the packing tape. Inside, layers of tissue paper hid the contents. He pulled the tissue aside and found something small wrapped in more tissue paper. At the bottom, he saw an envelope addressed with his name.

The small, wrapped item drew him first. Ignoring the envelope, JT removed the white tissue paper to find a small, perfectly formed ornament.

A blonde hula dancer. Blonde?

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