Fall into the Break

Chapter Four

One week had passed since Celeste found Orchard Haven, the assisted living center a few towns over. Chase didn’t think they’d have any openings. To his dismay, they did.

Chase closed the photo album. He placed it in a box with other memorabilia and duck taped the top. Gran was only allowed to bring a few boxes of personal items with her to her new home, and she insisted on Chase being the one to help her go through everything. Celeste tried to make the case that she was the best person for the job, but their grandmother was stubborn. It would be Chase, or it would be no one.

He brought the box to the living room and placed it next to a small box full of books. Chase walked back into his grandmother’s room.

She stood in front of her antique armoire and rummaged through her clothes, plucking them out in a seemingly random pattern.
               
“What else do you want to take?” Chase asked as he surveyed the dim room.
               
“My sanity,” Gran replied with a cackle.

Her frame was small and bent. She wore a pretty blue cardigan with ornate costume pearls that hung low. They softly clattered against each other as she continued to search through her clothing.

She’d been at that drawer for an hour now, Chase noted. She delicately moved through the pile of fabric as if looking for something she’d lost.

She hadn’t said much that day so far. Chase hadn’t either. Their conversations had been kept to a minimum, and only about her possessions. He couldn’t imagine living a lifetime in a house full of memories only to be able to leave with a few.
               
“Only the best dressed make the press,” she said to him as if he were small again and she had to pass on her most important bits of advice. She slowly and methodically folded her small selection of clothes and set them in an empty box.

Finally, after several more garments were placed in the box, she closed the drawer. It stuck a bit, but the woman’s pride was as strong as her arms were weak, and Chase didn’t dare help her.
               
“That should do it for now," Gran said. She patted her legs. “Why don’t we have some lunch?”

She shuffled past Chase. She moved out of the room and into the kitchen. “I could use a tuna sandwich. How about you?”
               
Chase got up and followed her. The clothes she wore hung off her bones like heavy curtains, but still she moved forward, seemingly unfazed by their encumbrance. Did she really need to leave? Chase sat at the dining room table and watched as she shuffled around, making her last meal in that kitchen. A happier memory surfaced.

***
 

The air was hot and dry.
               
Celeste bounded up to him, knees bruised, face smiling, a little frog cupped in her small hands. He stared at its beady, disinterested eyes – he watched as its whole body expanded with each rapid breath.
               
They crawled underneath the trampoline his grandparents had gifted them on their joint birthday that year. You only turn ten once, his grandfather had said with a smile.

Under its shade, they laid on their bellies. The grass tickled their bare legs and stained their shorts with every wiggle they made. They took turns touching the frog’s head until they heard their names being called from the house. Celeste opened her palm fully and they both waited for the little guy to jump off and continue his life elsewhere.

Gran called out once more. The frog leapt into the grass and hopped away.
               
Gran was waiting just inside the kitchen when they thudded in. She held out a plate full of little white chunks sliced into bite sized pieces. Chase looked up at her curiously.
               
“Now,” she began. Her voice was excited. “I want you both to try one of these and tell me what you think.”
               
“What are they?” Celeste asked. Her nose scrunched up and she poked one.
               
“No questions." Gran picked up a small chunk. "Here.” She popped it into Celeste’s mouth. Chase quickly chose a medium sized one and chomped down.

A juicy burst of mild sweetness and slight spice hit his tongue. He looked up at Gran again. She picked up a chunk and ate it with a smile on her weathered face. Her hair was freshly dyed a soft yellow-blonde, like the fuzz on a baby chick.
               
“What are they?” Chase asked. She went in for seconds, and he suddenly realized that she liked them. That made him want to like them too.
               
“What do you think they are?” Gran asked playfully.
               
Celeste piped up. “Spicy apples?”
               
Gran laughed. It was a soft trickle.

“They are Walla Walla sweet onions,” Gran said like a school teacher. She grabbed another. Chase looked at Celeste with wide eyes. She looked back.
               
“Okay you two,” Gran said as she placed the plate of onions on the counter. “Go wash. Lunch is nearly done.”

***

Chase finished packing the last box when Celeste walked through the door. Andrew followed close on her heels.
               
“All ready?” She spoke to Gran. Her eyes flicked over to Chase. He looked away.
               
“All this fuss,” Gran started saying. She stopped when she noticed Andrew. “Who invited the peanut gallery?”
               
Chase chuckled and helped her into her coat.
               
Celeste ignored the dig at her fiancé. “Gram, Chase will bring you the rest of your boxes when he gets off work tonight.” She said this slowly, as if speaking slower would lessen the sting of being uprooted. She moved closer to their grandmother and placed a hand on her arm to steady her for their trip to the car.
               
“I can handle a few steps, Celly.”
               
Celeste looked over to Andrew for help, but Chase interjected. “Let us at least help you off the porch. You can walk to the car.”
               
“I’ve been walking to cars my whole life,” Gran said indignantly. “I’m aware of my abilities.”
               
Andrew cracked a smile. Celeste grinned. Chase furrowed his brow and shoved his hands in his pockets.

He watched the three of them leave the house. He walked to the doorway and looked on as they journeyed down the three steps that separated him from the rest of the world.

The wind had picked up, and it caused Gran's hair to flutter like an injured butterfly. She was carefully placed in the front seat as if she were royalty. And to Chase, she was.

His chest thumped harder as the car door shut. He now could only see the vague outline of his best friend through the tinted window. The car rolled down the driveway and then disappeared behind a row of dark green trees. Chase pulled his cellphone out of his pocket and called Trish.
               
“I’m headed in now. They just left.” His voice split. If he said one more thing it would break.
               
“Alright. See ya in a few.”
               
Chase tried to say good-bye, but nothing came out. His throat was tight. He nodded his head and closed his mouth.
               
“See ya in a few, Chase.” Trish said again. She understood. Chase hung up and headed out. 

~Thank you for sticking with me! I hope you've enjoyed the story so far.~