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“Especially hard on his body. After he retired, he went back to school to be retrained – in food preparation of all things. Him, sixty-two-years-old, and nineteen others in their late teens and early twenties, who all adored him. He then worked as a breakfast cook at a restaurant in town. Finally, the long hours of standing got to be too much, and my grandma put her foot down, made him quit.”
Kayla, entranced by the story, kicked in, “He must be a very special person.”
“You’d love him. But wait, there’s more. Next, he went to two stained glass classes and picked up the basics. After a lot of reading and a bit of trial and error, he spread his work everywhere. Back home, I have lamps, vases, jewelry boxes, window ornaments and the most breathtaking Christmas village you’ll ever see.”
Blake piped up, “Stained glass. Now that I never saw coming! So, he’s creative too.”
“Strangely creative, who knows what he could have been if he hadn’t lost his own dad at thirteen and been forced to work. Back in those days, it’s what one did. He had a mom and three siblings to help take care of. That’s when he taught himself about engines, and it gave him a way to make a living with only a fourth grade education.”
“No wonder he made the most of his retirement. He finally had a chance to do something he loved,” Blake surmised.
“True. He told me he couldn’t afford to do it in the style he’d have preferred. For instance, he did a bit of carpentry before the stained glass but he didn’t have the right tools and a large enough shop. But he managed to renovate their house and build some tables and a china cabinet for Grandma, which he still has today.”
“Wow, it hasn’t been easy for him. Makes me realize I’m not the only kid who has obstacles,” Kayla shook her head.
“I think a lot of our oldies had far more to handle than some of us realized. He finally had to stop both his hobbies, and it wasn’t because he lost the sight from his one eye, but because they’d moved to the lodge and there was no room for him to set up shop. At first, he missed it terribly, until I finally stumbled on audio books as a way for him to fill those hours. After Grandma passed last year, he needed something he could focus on and between his activities at the lodge, listening to his favorite suspense authors and all the visitors he gets, life isn’t too bad for him. At least he’s happy, as you can tell by his quirky sense of what’s funny.”
Looking back, it still shocked Charli at how much she’d shared about her grandfather and their personal business that evening. It wasn’t a normal way for her to behave, but then it wasn’t normal for her to be completely separated from him for such a long time either.
Lordy, how she missed spending time with him. All through her last undercover stint, what kept her going was constantly revisiting her plans for them to be together on a vacation.
If only he was here now, enjoying this house and pool with her like they’d planned. She glanced around at the gleaming white walls, the blue and yellow ceramics inside the pool area and the plush royal blue furnishings. She suffered a long breath full of sorrowful disappointment.
If only…
Restless now, she remembered that today she didn’t have chauffer detail. Seems that Kayla had made a new friend almost upon starting her first class, and the two girls would be stopping at the mall after school, a teenage girl’s favorite pastime. Then they planned to come home by bus, followed, of course, by an undercover cop that Blake assigned to tail them as soon as he’d heard their plans.
Last night before bed, Kayla had opened the conversation yet again. “Are you sure you don’t mind Angie coming for supper and a sleepover, Charli?” Kayla stood at the bathroom sink, washing a bright turquoise blouse, one of her new ones.
“Why would I mind? I’m glad you made a friend. And why are you washing that in the sink instead of the washer?”
Kayla shyly admitted, “It’s so bright; I was worried the color would run and look, it did.”
Joking, Charli pretended to reach outside the door and wrestle with a phantom. “Gotcha, you bastard! Get back here.”
Brows arched in confusion, Kayla questioned, “What are you doing?”
“I caught that sucker running, put up one hell of a fight.”
Laughing hard, Kayla’s howls finally turning to snickers, she snorted, “You’re nuts!”
Charli winked and watched the girl in the mirror over the sink. Most of the shadows around her beautiful, dark Chinese eyes had thankfully faded. But then a worried look reappeared.
“What?”
“You’re sure it’s okay for me to be out in public?”
“Of course, why are you fussing?” For a few seconds, Charli felt the same anxiety, but shook it off.
“I got the feeling you hesitated when you said I was allowed to go.”
“Sure, because I haven’t met your friend, Angie, yet. As for the other, it’s been weeks now and no sign of Long John Silver, so I’m breathing a bit easier.”
Laughing at Charli’s nickname for a man as dangerous as her stalker, Kayla wouldn’t stop gnawing at the proverbial bone between her teeth. “You’re sure? We could head straight here, instead.”
“If it’ll make you feel less nervous, and to be on the safe side, Blake promised to have one of his people shadow you at the mall. If they’re good at their job, you won’t even know they’re around. So, you go and have some fun, make sure you take the money I gave you and spend it. Time you felt like a normal kid. Soon enough, when they catch that slime ball, we’ll be back into that whole mess again. I’d like to think this time here in witness protection with me wasn’t all turmoil and worry.”
Kayla turned to Charli and the look on her face gave Charli warning.The kid needs another hug… again!Her charge had become fond of cuddles, so much so that Charli had to suffer them frequently. It was as if Kayla had been starved of affection for so long that she intended to make up for that lack all at once.
