"When exactly will you be here?" she asked. After Dana answered, Shelby counted the days. It left a little over a week to make her plans and set her strategy in motion. Now was not the best time to argue with her mother.
"Fine. I hear you," Shelby said, ending the conversation before it went any further. She put down the phone and looked at Alice. "I'm not going. Please don’t let her take me, Grandma.”
"If that’s what you want, I’m here for you all the way,” Alice said. “And I have some ideas. We'll work together on this. You're not alone. You've got me and Theo. You've got Eleanor, who knows the local laws backward and forward. And Joann, who worked at the high school. You've got Logan. Perhaps his dad will even help you with the legal issues.”
Shelby threw her arms around her grandmother. “You’re the best.”
Her emotions were all over the place, with fear threatening any peace of mind. “Do you think there is a force great enough to stop Dana when she’s determined?”
“Absolutely,” Alice said. “We are just as determined. I think we both could use a nap to clear our heads before we put our plans in place.”
Exhaustion swept over her. Tears were threatening, and she didn't want her grandmother to see her cry. She wiped her eyes. “I’m sure I can get some sleep now. You have a good nap too.”
She went to her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Dana’s words echoed through her brain. She was so used to giving in and not fighting back. The minute her head hit the pillow, she burst into tears. It felt like things were falling apart brick by brick, like the earthquake they'd been in once when they’d lived briefly in Southern California. Everything had shaken, fallen, and broken, and it seemed like it would never stop. As usual, her mother was the central force. The fault line running through Shelby’s life. She had to stop thinking like this. This was her old self, the lost and doomed self, and that was no longer her. She was liked and respected here. Loved. And no one was going to take that away from her. Not even her mother.
Chapter 31
Theo discussed the types of cameras available, including using their cell phone if they had one, with the veterans attending his session today at LCV. Eight brave souls had signed up for his afternoon workshop, and he was surprised how easily he’d slipped back into a teaching role. Alice, in a pretty summer dress, sat at the back of the room offering moral support. The small classroom offered privacy, several old tables that could be pushed together, and back wall windows emitting natural light.
Theo went around the table asking students what type of camera they would be using. Some of the older folks like him, nearing three quarters of a century in age, went for the easy-to-use old standby cameras. One of the women in the class, who was probably closer to Trevor’s age, preferred her phone. Before closing, the group discussed where they would go for their first shoot and decided on an easy access part of the lake where the white pelicans tended to gather.
After the last student left, Theo packed up his cameras and notes and joined Alice, who was waiting for him near the door. He had convinced her to sign up to offer a special Saturday afternoon skills class on cookie baking.
“You are an exceptionally good instructor,” Alice said. “And so patient.”
“Thanks,” Theo said. “As a master cookie baker, you will be too.”
Alice shook her head. “I’m not so sure. I don’t even follow a recipe most of the time.”
“Just think of it this way,” he said. “Who wouldn’t be excited to spend an afternoon mixing dough and eating warm-from-the-oven chocolate chip cookies?”
“When you put it that way, how can I go wrong?”
After filling out a form to offer a baking workshop at the front desk, Alice put on her straw sun hat before they left. When they stepped outside, Alice’s mood seemed to drop. Theo saw worry in her eyes, and her smile had turned to a frown.
“I have something I’d like to discuss with you,” she said.
Theo’s heart plunged.
Alice took his hand and squeezed it. “It’s about Shelby.”
“Oh…I see,” Theo said. “I could use some refreshments after that long class. How about I take us to Redd’s and you can tell me all about it?”