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Clara and I arrive at Northern Lights Retirement Center, and I hold her hand on the way in.
LeeAnn, the coordinator of these events, stands when we walk in. “You guys have a full house today.”
“You took all phones away?” I ask. The last thing I need on the internet is a recording of me reading a sexy excerpt from a romance book in a retirement home.
“Yes. I told them they’ll get them back when you guys are done. But you know they can be…”
“Sneaky? I know.” I sigh and glance at Clara.
I’ve been speaking my displeasure about this, but I can’t complain too much because when Clara got home, she showed me how happy she was that I was home in Sunrise Bay by falling to her knees. And of course, being the gentleman I am, I returned the gesture in kind. She thinks she fooled me, but I know it was to make me happy. And it worked.
“Come on, I’ll introduce you guys.”
We walk into the library at the retirement center and LeeAnn wasn’t joking. There are walkers, wheelchairs, and every chair that’s been brought in is filled. My grandma and her groupies are in the front row. There’s a table set off to the side with some refreshments and food and I can’t help but notice a platter of cookies that look similar to the ones from the bakery in Lake Starlight I love that arrived at my condo unexpectedly. Figures.
“Quiet down, everyone, please, our guests have arrived,” LeeAnn says.
The three of us make our way to the front. Grandma is beaming at me as if I made her night, and Clara’s right. Who am I to deny them this? She’s done more than she had to for me by locking me in Terra and Mare with Clara and forcing us to take the first step toward reconciliation. If not for that, maybe we wouldn’t be here.
“This is Xavier Greene, Ethel’s grandson, and his girlfriend, Clara Harrison, the town librarian in Sunrise Bay. Ethel, Dori, and Midge have picked out some excerpts from some books that they’ll be reading to you.”
A hand in the back shoots up.
“Yes, Dottie?”
“I heard they’re romance books?”
“Only one or two,” LeeAnn says. “We have some others about World War Two and cooking. We can’t take up all their time, so we picked about five books.”
“I understand that, LeeAnn, but there is a romance book in there, right?” Dottie sounds a little annoyed.
I grab Clara’s hand. She smiles at me, and that nonverbal communication we used to have so fluidly is there again.
“Yes. Now let’s all quiet down and let them get started.”
There are two chairs at a table that’s stacked with more than five books. I look at Grandma and she only grins, as if she’s not the reason there are more than five sitting there.
“Please go ahead. I think I’m going to stick around for this one just in case.” LeeAnn goes to the back and leans against a table.
Clara waves. “Hi, everyone! We’re thrilled to be here. Reading is a really important activity to keep the mind sharp and—”
“Let’s get to the reading,” a man calls.
Clara glances back at me.
“Ronnie!” LeeAnn scolds.
“Okay… maybe we’ll just dig in.” Clara sits down and I sit next to her.
She picks up the first book, which is about two women writing letters to one another during the war. It seems to be mostly about the friendship they grew even though they were in different stages of their lives.
Once Clara’s done, I read from a book about Italian food and the heritage of the ingredients. We breeze through, and it’s an hour before we’re done with all of the books but the romance one. It sits on the table like a scorpion, ready to strike, and neither of us wants to pick it up.
“You two do it together,” Dori says, waving her finger back and forth between us.
“Um…” Clara looks at me.
