"Okay, Dad," she said. "Thanks. I won't waste it on junk, I promise."
"Graceful, Graceful, please wait up."
Grace turned around to see her father lumbering toward her, his hands full of bags. "Oh, I'm sorry, Dad," she said, walking back to meet him.
"I think it's time for another trip to the car," he said, setting the bags down and collapsing onto a bench. "That Miss Carey wasn't kidding. Where do you get the energy?"
"I don't know," Grace said. "Shopping is fun." She looked down at her new watch. "Hey, Dad, it's been an hour. Can we go back to the photo place?"
"But...but that's at the other end of the mail," he protested, looking back at the seemingly endless aisle of stores. "Pumpkin, can't we stop on the way back?"
Grace reached down and took a handful of bags. "You said we had to drop these off at the car anyway."
Richard reached into his pocket and pulled out several bills. "I'll make you a deal. You take those out to the car and get the photos. I'll wait here and regret every cheeseburger I've ever had."
"Okay," Grace said, taking the money, then giving her father a hug. "I'll be back in a few minutes." Gathering up the bags, she began walking briskly to the photo booth. The pictures are supposed to be ready. They said one hour and it's been one hour and five minutes. They'd better be ready. Reaching the kiosk, Grace excitedly pulled out her stub and handed it to the clerk. "Are they ready yet?"
"I'll check," the pimply-faced boy said, pulling open a drawer full of photo envelopes. "Here they are," he said. "Just finished these a few minutes ago."
"Great," Grace said, taking the envelope and handing him a twenty-dollar bill. There was no way she could wait to look at the pictures. Shuffling quickly through them she found the ones she had taken of Carey. "This is the one," she said.
"Pardon, miss?"
Grace held up a picture of her and Carey standing together, her arm wrapped around Carey's waist. "I'd like this one enlarged to eight by ten."
"Oh, sure. We can do that for you." He reached over and took the envelope from her, checking the negatives until he found the right one. "Enlargements take longer than an hour, though. You'll have to pick it up tomorrow."
"Okay, I'll be back tomorrow."
"Okay, here we are," he said, signaling to turn into the motel parking lot. "Graceful...I'm sorry, Grace. This isn't the best motel in town but it's better than the one that rents by the hour."
"This is nice," Grace said, looking at the brightly colored sign and well-lit parking lot. "They're all over the country, aren't they?"
"Ayup," he said, pulling in and shutting off the engine. "I want to talk to you about the room or rooms." He tapped the steering wheel with his fingertips. "Do you want your own room or would it be all right to get one with two beds?"
"Isn't it cheaper to get one room?" she asked.
"Ayup." He nodded. "But I want you to be comfortable, Grace." Reaching out, he gave her hand a squeeze. "I'm not very good at this, I'm afraid." He returned his hand to the steering wheel and gripped tightly. "I look at you and I still see that little girl with the blonde ponytails." Grace watched his knuckles turn white from the exertion. "I'm worried you think all men are like that bastard," he said.
Grace leaned her head against his oversized upper arm. "I know not all men are like him," she said, brushing her cheek against the flannel shirt. "I thought we were gonna stay up and watch TV and I could show
you everything I bought."
"You mean everything I bought," he said. "Are you still hungry? I can order a pizza."
Grace sat up and smiled. "With mushrooms?"
"If you like," he said. "So, one room or two?"
"One," she said. "I figured that's what we were gonna do anyway."
"If you change your mind, you tell me," he said, letting go of the steering wheel and flexing his fingers. "I want you to be comfortable."
"Dad?" she said, stopping him from opening the door. "I don't think of you like I think of him." She looked out the windshield. "I know you wouldn't do that to me."
"Never," he said firmly. "And if I ever get my hands on that son of a bitch, I'll feed his ass through a wood chipper after I break every bone in his worthless body."
Grace smiled, feeling warmed by her father's words. "Grizzly bear," she said, remembering the name she called him when she was a little girl. "Always protecting me. Remember when I was in first grade and that big boy hit me? You went and scared the hell out of his father and they both came over to apologize."
Richard chuckled. "I don't think that little man in glasses knew what to say when I showed up in his dooryard screaming about his boy hurting my little girl."
"Greg something or other," Grace said. "He never came near me again until I got to high school."
"He bothered you again in high school?" he asked.
Grace shook her head and laughed. "He didn't hit me again," she said. "He hit on me. Wanted to take me out."
Her father laughed. "That be how it goes sometime," he said. "And now your grizzly bear is hungry. Come on, we'll rent a movie on pay per view and you can show me everything."
Richard Waters carried his daughter's suitcase into the room that was to be hers for the foreseeable future. It had taken some looking, but they had managed to find a room to rent in the home of a widowed woman who had decided to rent out her spare bedroom to supplement her income. It was far less expensive than an apartment, and it included meals. Besides, he felt better knowing that Grace was not alone. They had both liked Estelle Somers right off, and now that Grace was eighteen and could legally live on her own, it was time for him to return home.
"Don't you worry about a thing, Mr. Waters, she'll be fine."
"I know," he said, turning to Grace and opening his arms for a good-bye hug.
"You call me if you need anything, pumpkin."
"I will," Grace said. He kissed the top of her head, then turned to leave. She watched him walk down the hall with mixed emotions. It was hard to watch him go, yet at the same time exciting. She was finally on her own and it felt good. She picked up her suitcase and carried it to the bed. She unzipped the large case and began to organize her room, as her stomach reacted to the wonderful smells that were coming from the kitchen.
Carey smiled and put on her reading glasses when she spotted the yellow envelope in the stack of mail. Using her letter opener, she slit the envelope and opened the letter.
Dear Carey,
It seems like ages since I've talked to you and it's only been two weeks. I'm having a great time here. I can't believe all the homework and studying I have to do. I owe Instructor Gage a million bucks for teaching me how to study and take notes. Would you believe girls who graduated from high school are coming up and asking to borrow my notes?
Thought you'd want to know that I got A's on both of my tests and I'm sure I passed my English paper too. The computer classes are the most interesting and Mr. Reilly said I have an aptitude for it.
I don't miss Sapling Hill, but I miss you. Mrs. Somers is nice but it's not the same. The laptop is working great and I really love the encyclopedia. Of course, here I have my own room instead of a couch, but I'd take your couch over a room of my own any day.
I promised myself I wouldn't write you long, boring letters. I'm always thinking of you and hope we can see each other soon.
Love, Grace
Carey was rereading the letter when Instructor Gage stopped by. "Come on in," she said to the knock.
"You have a mentoring session now?"
"No," Carey said, setting the letter down. "Amazingly enough, I'm free."