"Melody! Where have you two been?" he asked. "Everyone's been worried sick."
"Never mind where we've been," Cary said. "How is she? Can she talk?"
"I'm afraid not," the doctor said. "She's fallen into a coma."
Cary's shoulders sank. Then he brightened with a thought.
"Do you know about Laura?" he asked the Judge.
"What? What about Laura?"
"He doesn't know, Cary," I said. "She did tell me that."
"What's he talking about, Melody?" the Judge asked.
We went to the hospital cafeteria to get something to eat and I told my grandfather the story. He listened with horror.
"I guess I really never knew her," he said. "To keep all that from me. She was a very determined, private woman who literally needed no one. I'm sorry," he said to Cary. "I'll find out what you want to know. I promise," he said. "You two go home and get some rest. Let me take care of this."
"Thank you, Grandpa," I said and he smiled.
I went home with Cary to help him with Aunt Sara and May, after which we went up to his attic hideaway and fell asleep in each other's arms.
At the moment it seemed to be the safest place in the whole world.
Epilogue
.
Grandma Olivia died two days later, having
never regained consciousness. Her doctor said it was a blessing because if she would have come out of the coma, she would have been far worse and Olivia Logan was not the sort of woman who could live under institutionalized care.
Cary didn't want to attend the funeral, but a strange thing happened to me. I suddenly saw things from Grandma Olivia's prospective. Why air our dirty laundry in public? Why embarrass the family?
"After all," I explained, "you still want to live and build a life here, Cary."
He listened and then shook his head with a smile.
"You were probably the right choice for Grandma Olivia's throne, Melody. I'll give the devil her credit there, but that's about all," he added firmly. "Okay, I'll put on the proper face. I see I'm going to need you to make sure I do the right things from now on," he kidded.
Kenneth and Holly had returned from their honeymoon and we had all spent a night together going over the recent events.
"She was a cold, hard woman, and so
intimidating, most men didn't challenge her, especially the men in her family," Kenneth remarked. "I remember how afraid I was of her when I was younger and used to visit with Haille, Chester and Jacob. When she told us something, we did it and did it fast. I never thought of her as happy though."
"She didn't want anyone else to be happy either," Cary muttered.
None of us spoke. It was better to let the thunder and lightning play itself out and look forward to brighter skies.
The funeral was as large as expected. We decided not to have Grandpa Samuel brought along. He didn't understand what was happening and we all agreed it would be just more confusing and
troublesome for him.
I don't know how I got through my final exams, but I did and my grades were as good as I had hoped. I stayed at Aunt Sara's and shut myself up in what had been Laura's room, spending almost two days writing and rewriting my valedictorian speech.
Since Grandma Olivia's hospitalization and death, I had moved in with Cary, Aunt Sara and May again. I hated the thought of being in that grand empty mansion, full of darkness, shadows and family secrets.