2173 Clayfield Avenue was the address of Cape Lynette Assisted Living. There were three local suburbs called Glenwood in the city of Nymu. None of which had a Clayfield Drive. She found two cities in all of Taranaki named Cape Lynette, only one of which was on a coast. She made a list of every location she thought might be where Michaela lived, fully intending to visit all of them, but when she arrived at the assisted living center, asking after Michaela Madigan, she was introduced to an elderly woman.
Her skin was dark, darker than most anyone Anna had ever met. Her hair was springy and faded but Anna had no doubt it’d once been auburn. Her eyes were clouded but a familiar warm brown. The woman sat in a wheel chair in the commons area, smiling gently amid a babble of conversation.
“Do you know her?” The woman wore a set of scrubs and a name tag: Ives.
Anna nodded and thought of a quick lie. “She’s my great aunt. I haven’t seen her since I was little. I don’t know if she’ll remember me.”
“That’s all right, dear. Visitors are welcome for the next few hours. Ms. Madigan likes to be read to, if you want.” She gestured at a small bookshelf. Anna smiled and nodded and the woman went away.
“Michaela? Is that really you?”
The woman looked up and blinked at her and for a moment, Anna thought she’d get a reply, but the old woman’s eyes unfocused and she looked away. Anna tried very hard not to be bitter about it. She was about to leave when an old book caught her eye and she changed her mind.
A Wrinkle in Time
She pulled it from the shelf and began to read aloud. At first she was certain this woman, Michaela Madigan, couldn’t hear her, wasn’t aware of her surroundings, but after a while she noticed the woman smiling and nodding along to Anna’s rhythm. She found she enjoyed reading aloud. When visiting hours were over, she stood to leave.
“Good night, Michaela.”
The woman reached out and touched her hand. “Will you come back, Anna?”
Anna gasped and could not help her tears. “Michaela?”
The woman nodded.
“Of course I’ll come back.”
“I would like that very much.” And though her voice was thin, Anna recognized it.
Anna made a habit of visiting Cape Lynette Assisted Living once a week. Sometimes twice. She would read aloud to Michaela and sometimes others as well. The nurses got to know her by name and no one questioned whether or not Michaela really was her great aunt. A month and a half later, there was a large snowstorm and Anna wasn’t certain she’d be able to make her weekly visit, but, assuring Violet the buses were safe and she would wear Arthur’s old wool hat with the thick brim and she had her phone, Anna made her way through the blizzard to the bus stop. And the bus made it to Cape Lynette. And Anna made it inside.
She was stamping the snow from her boots and rubbing her hands for warmth when an unexpected voice accosted her.
“Annie Lawrence. Haven’t seen you in a bit.”
She frowned before she saw him. Robert Graham. She’d barely seen him since the incident at the museum. She’d nearly forgotten he existed. He sat on a couch in the entryway.
“What are you doing here?” She didn’t bother to hide the disgust in her tone.
He didn’t seem to notice. “My great, great grandpa or something is here. My dad wanted me to meet him. They’re pretty sure he’s going to die soon, so…” He grinned and when Anna didn’t grin back, he cleared his throat. “But old people smell funky. You know?”
Anna’s frown deepened. “Kind of you to show up” She went to the counter to sign in and was surprised when Robert joined her, leaning against the counter.
“I see you let your hair grow out. I like it.”
Anna paused in writing her name and looked sideways at him. “I could not care less what you think of my hair.”
He held up his hands defensively. “Jeeze. Just trying to pay you a compliment.”
Anna finished writing her name and was about to go to the commons when he put a hand on her arm. “Hang on. I want to say something.” Anna shrugged out of his grip and turned to face him. He seemed startled at her direct gaze but cleared his throat and plunged on. “I just wanted to, you know, apologize I guess. For last spring. I know it was us who made you leave school early. And it’s just, you know, I always thought you were kind of cute. That’s why I picked on you. Ya know?”
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Anna shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“I mean, it’s how boys show they’re interested.”
“No. It’s not.”
He grinned like she’d made a joke. “So, I was thinking. Maybe we should go out sometime.”
“What?”
“Yeah. To a movie or something. A date.”
Anna couldn’t help herself. She laughed at him. “A date?”
Robert blushed and looked side to side as though hoping no one had seen his embarrassment. “Um. Yeah?”
“With you? One of the most hateful boys I’ve ever met?”
“Hey, that’s rude. You could at least be civil about it.”
“You made me miserable. I don’t owe you civility. I am not now, nor will I ever be interested in going on a date with you.”
Robert scoffed and crossed his arm. “Fine then. It’s your own fault for being so damn weird.”
Anna shook her head. “Even if I’m quiet or weird or standoffish, that does not excuse your behavior. Don’t ever speak to me again.”
Anna went into the commons and found Michaela sitting by herself in the corner staring out the window at the blizzard. Anna approached quietly. Michaela didn’t like sudden movements or noises. She stood by her for a while so Michaela get use to Anna’s presence, so Anna would have a moment to settle her breath. Seeing Robert, having him ask her out, had rattled her. It’d been unexpected and irritating and she didn’t want any of that coming out in Michaela’s presence. Fortunately, just being near Michaela made breathing easier.
Eventually, Anna sad, “Would you like for me to read to you today?”
Without looking at her or saying anything, the old woman nodded
Anna selected A Wrinkle in Time, one of Michaela’s favorites.
• • •
A week later, Anna showed up as usual and Nurse Ives gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m so sorry, Anna. Ms. Madigan passed away last night.”
Anna bit her lip and nodded. She’d known it could happen, she just hadn’t expected to. “Is there…” Her lip trembled. “Is there going to be a funeral?”
“Services are planned by the family. In fact, I think your cousin is in charge.”
“Who?”
“Your cousin. The other girl who comes sometimes to read from that notebook. She’s Ms. Madigan’s great granddaughter, so you two must be cousins.”
“Oh. Right.” Anna nodded numbly.
“She’s back there in Ms. Madigan’s room if you want to say hello.”
“I’ll… No.” Anna didn’t know who this other person was but they surely wouldn’t recognize Anna and she didn’t want to answer awkward questions or explain about the fog. “No thank you.”
Nurse Ives nodded.
Anna turned to leave, wiping the tears from her cheeks, trying not to feel too strongly. She’d lost Michaela three times now and she wasn’t certain if she dove into the grief again whether she could come out the other side. The snow from the blizzard a week prior was pushed into banks and drifts and piles. She hurried down the street for a block or two or more before she found a bench where she could sit, hide her face in her knees, and try so very hard not to think.
• • •
Michaela hurried down the street after the girl Nurse Ives had pointed out to her. Her backpack pounded against her back, her heart against her chest. It was not lost on her that her backpack was filled with Grandma Lulu’s notebook, the one in which she’d concocted her story of a foggy Glenwood with feuding witches and devious machinations and a lost little boy. It was the same story Michaela had dreamed of. Except her dreams had one notable addition: Vivianna Lawrence.
Her grandmother didn’t speak much anymore, but in the last weeks, she’d spoken of a girl name Anna who came and read to her. A girl with beautiful auburn hair and a wonderful smile and the smoothest voice. A girl Michaela dreamed of last summer.
There had always been rumors about Grandma Lulu. Yaga hated her. Said Grandma Lulu was a witch, and worse. Said she entered people’s dreams and stole their memories. Michaela had never believed that of course. Grandma Lulu was the kindest adult in her world. But she did begin to wonder if the dreams had been real. If her adventures on the other side of the fog, of the girl she’d fallen in love with, were real.
When she’d asked Grandma Lulu, the dear old woman had only said, “I’m so glad you two have found each other.”
Now, today, only hours after Grandma Lulu’s passing, Nurse Ives told her there really was a girl named Anna who came to read to her grandmother, and that she’d just left.
Grandma Lulu had never finished her story. There was no knowing who won the fight, who got elected. Whether Oscar was okay. Whether Ivan and Tahoe got together, whether King Richard got what was coming to him. The last pages were half filled with notes, most of which had been crossed out. It looked like Grandma Lulu had considered everything from Ivan and Tahoe getting married and becoming co-rulers of the region, to Oscar running away with the walking cottage, to Sabina and Yulana making up and kicking out Bridgeford, to setting the whole valley on fire.
Grandma Lulu had given her the notebooks with a small smile just over a month before. Michaela was certain Grandma Lulu wanted Michaela to finish the story, but Michaela wasn’t much of a writer. It had made her think of Anna, who so often wrote in her notebook when there was a moment to be spared.
Up ahead, Michaela spied a girl sitting on a bench, clad in a long, dark brown overcoat, furry white and blue gloves, and a faded brimmed hat. She had her knees to her chest and her face was hidden.
“Um. Excuse me? Are you…”
Vivianna looked up at her, red-eyed and miserable. Her eyes widened. Her jaw dropped. “But you… She… You died.”
“Michaela Luciel is my Grandma Lulu.” Michaela shook her head, feeling loose and faint and just a touch excited. Vivianna was gone, a ghost of a dream banished by the light of reality. And yet, here she sat.
“But that address…”
“I tried to tell you.” Her voice caught and she cleared her throat. “The house is new and so is the address. Our mail keeps getting sent to the wrong place. I… I never…”
Vivianna stood and she was very close to Michaela. Michaela could smell mint tea on her breath, could see the faintest of freckles scattered across her cheeks, could feel the warmth of her even through the space between. Michaela’s heart thudded so hard she feared it would shake her apart. She wanted to grab hold of Vivianna and never let her got but feared if she touched the girl she’d fade away. Again.
“You said… on the train…”
Vivianna took a deep breath. Michaela waited, fingertips trembling.
Vivianna nodded and continued, “You said you would like it if I… I was wondering… If maybe I could ask you… May I kiss you, Michaela Madigan?”
“Yes, please.”