AllFreeNovel
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All of a sudden, right after yet another clip of Grandma leaving the building, Charlotte pauses the video. “Did you notice?” she says.
“No. What?”
“That time, for the first time, Althea didn’t beg Lloyd to come out with her before launching into her silly dance. From this point on, she never beckons and begs her to come with her again. I think, either from the passage of time, or maybe due to some conversation they might have had, she now accepts his limitations. He’s not going to leave his place.Ever.And she’s decided to accept him for who he is. Isn’t that lovely?”
“She never beckons to him again?”
“Not that he captures on video, anyway.”
“That’s interesting.”
“Isn’t it? I’d bet anything they had some sort of heart to heart, and she decided to meet him where he was.”
I twist my mouth. “It would make sense for her to go and talk to him, given that he was her next-door neighbor. When she first moved in, I remember coming over and she was busy baking banana bread to give out to all her new neighbors.”
“Well, there you go. I bet they had a nice conversation in-person, one Lloyd didn’t record becausewhywould he do that? And maybe that’s when Althea got a peek at Lloyd’s place andeasily surmised he probably had some mental health struggles. You said she was the kind of person who always wanted to help people and animals in need, right?”
“Very much so. It was a core value for her.”
“Well, there you go. She plainly made it her mission to help her next-door neighbor in need.”
“That makes a lot of sense, actually. But how do we get from all these comings and goings to the peephole? For my own mental health, I need to fast-forward to that part now, Charlotte.”
“We’ll watch the third cassette soon, I promise. But there’s one thing you need to see on this second cassette first.” She presses play in normal speed, and we watch Grandma doing her usual silly dancing and waving and kiss-blowing several times. But then, suddenly, Grandma is standing in a whole new place—one we’ve never seen in any of the other video clips: the hallway right outside Lloyd’s condo. The same exact spot I stood a moment ago, while knocking on Charlotte’s front door.And she’s got Lucky in her arms.
“Is it recording?” Grandma asks.
“Yep. Go ahead.”
“Hello world!” Grandma says brightly in a silly voice—the one she always used when giving voice to her beloved dog. She waves Lucky’s sole front paw at the camera. “My name is Lucky Martin, and I’ve finally found my forever home with a weird old lady who won’t stop talking and singing to me about I-don’t-know-what.” Lloyd chuckles, at the same time Charlotte and I do the same. “I hope I don’t bark a lot, once I get comfortable in my new home, or else my new neighbor, Mr. Graham Cracker, might get mad at me!”
“Never. Never, Lucky. Bark away. Be happy, little buddy.”
Grandma drops her voice. “At the shelter, they said he never made a peep. Literally. They also said he’s scared to death ofmen, but he seems to be doing okay with you.” She scratches Lucky’s head. “Do you like my friend, Graham Cracker, honey? Isn’t he nice?” She smiles at the camera. “Thank you for recording this happy day for posterity. As far as I’m concerned, today is Lucky’s birthday.”
“Happy birthday, Lucky,” Lloyd’s voice behind the camera says.
“I think I’ll make a birthday cake to celebrate,” Grandma says excitedly. “A bacon one for Lucky, and a chocolate one for us. I’ll bring you a slice later.”
“Thank you.”
“You bet. Or you can come over to eat it. When it’s done, I’ll knock on the wall. Knock back twice for ‘I’ll come over’ and once for ‘bring the cake to me.’”
“I’m sorry, Althea. But I can’t—”
He lowers the camera, so we’re suddenly looking at Lloyd’s shoes, while the audio continues.
“Oh, I know that, love,” Grandma says. “I was just being playful. Giving it a shot. But don’t feel any pressure. I’m happy to bring the cake to you.”
The camera shuffles and the video clip ends. And the next several clips are of Grandma coming and going again, except in this new batch, Lucky’s almost always following at her heels. Also, there are a few guest appearances in the clips in this batch, as well. In one, Mom walks alongside Grandma and Lucky, and Grandma turns to look up and wave and dance in a slightly different spot than usual. Apparently, she felt the need to wait for Mom to be looking away. In another clip,I’mthe one walking with Grandma. But there’s no Lucky in tow.
“If there’s no Lucky, then I must have been taking her to a doctor’s appointment or the grocery store,” I say. “Everywhere else, she brought Lucky.” As she did with my mother in thatprior clip, Grandma waits for me to be opening the car door for her before turning around to wave and dance for Lloyd.
Three clips later, I’m with Grandma again. This time, we’re walkingintothe building, and she’s hanging on my arm, chattering away, while Lucky hops along behind us. And this time, when Grandma gets to her usual spot below Graham’s window, she stops and points energetically toward the street behind us, causing me to turn and look. While I do that, Grandma looks straight into Lloyd’s camera above, waves, and does a ridiculously enthusiastic shimmy that prompts Lloyd to crack up behind his camera.
“What the fuck, Grandma?” I say, laughing. “I hadnoidea.”
“Clearly, that was by design.”
