The Winner's Game(38)

I’m about to toss the stupid thing back in its hole and bury it, when something rattles inside the tin. Though I don’t expect to find more than a rock or a shell, I blow off the remaining grains of sand, open the lid…and gasp.





              Chapter 14





Emily




THE GIRLS ARE upstairs entertaining themselves. Cade is playing techno-pirate on the beach with Grandpa’s thingamajig. That leaves Dell and me, alone, finishing up the work in Grandma’s room.

Which means it’s awfully quiet in here.

We share lots of awkward glances, and occasionally he asks me where to put something, but that’s about it. Why is it like this? Lately it feels impossible to just have a simple conversation without him reading something into every little thing I say. I’m sure he feels the same about me. It used to be so easy to talk to him, but now it’s easier just to go about our business with as few words as possible, because the more we say, the more our words are scrutinized, and the more likely it is that we end up feeling hurt.

Sometimes silence between spouses is a blessing. Sometimes it’s a curse. And sometimes it’s interrupted by the bloodcurdling scream of a child…

“Mom! Dad! Hurry!”

Dell and I look at each other for a split second, then race for the bedroom door. Cade never calls for help unless he’s hurt, and even then not always.

“Everybody! Come quick!”

“What’s going on?” I ask, panicking, as I turn the corner to the living room. “Are you OK?”

Dell is right beside me. Bree comes bounding down the stairs, with Ann trailing closely.

Cade ignores my question. “Ha! Bree, you owe me fifty bucks!”

“Shut. Up. There’s no way you found something out there.”

“Oh yeah? Check it out!” In his palm is an old Altoids can.

“That’s not treasure,” she says. “It’s junk.”

“Hey, one man’s junk…” remarks Dell.

“No, for real! Open it up!” Cade hands it to me to do the honors. Skeptically, I lift open the rusty lid. The first thing I see is a ring. Not a real ring but a plastic one, like you’d get from a bubblegum machine. On top of the ring, affixed with some sort of hot-melt or glue, is a blue candy heart with the inscription MISS YOU.

Beneath the ring, folded in fourths, is a piece of paper, which I gently remove. I read the first few lines silently, and then gasp as a chill courses through me. “Oh my gosh…”

“What does it say?” asks Ann.

It’s rude, I know, but I instinctively shush her—and everyone else—so I can read without interruption. Mesmerized by the handwritten words, I continue on. By the time I reach the end, there are warm tears streaming down my face. When I look up, the whole family is staring at me, but the only face I can focus on right now is Cade’s. “You found this on the beach? Where?”

“Right out back, just past the lawn. It was buried like a foot and a half down.”

“But it’s still not a treasure,” says Bree adamantly. “Right?”

I glance at her, then at Cade, and then I fold it up and return it to the can. “That’s not for me to say,” I tell her, choking slightly on the words. “But I bet Grandma Grace might be able to tell us.”

“But what does it say?” asks Dell.

I smile at him as best I can. “Come with me to see Grandma. I’ll tell you there.”

He seems instantly put off. “Why don’t you just tell me now?”

“Because it wouldn’t be right if Grandma were the last of us to know what this says.”

He turns to Cade. “Will you tell me? You read it, right?”

Cade shrugs. “The handwriting is cursive; I only got little bits.”

“Just come with me, Dell. Everyone can come. It’ll be worth it, I promise.”





As we’re driving to the nursing home, I keep checking my watch. Visiting hours are almost over. My bigger fear, though, is not that they won’t let us in to see her but that Grandma won’t recognize us. What if she’s in the middle of one of her spells and we’re just a motley bunch of strangers to her?

Not now, God. Please, not tonight. Let her be her, just long enough to hear this…

It looks like she’s asleep when we enter her room, but her eyes flutter open at the sound of our whispers. “There you are,” she says while taking a large breath through the tube in her nose. “My fam’ly.” Her voice is soft and slow, but the words deliberate, which means she’s still having a good day.

“We’re back again, Grandma,” I tell her. “Two visits in one day. Aren’t you the lucky one?” As soon as we’ve given hugs all around, I take a seat at the edge of her bed and hold up the Altoids can. “Have you ever seen this before?”