A Shiver of Wonder by Daniel Kelley Read Free Book Online Page B

failed to keep the anger out of his voice.
“Physician, heal thyself!”
    Grandpa Wilcott stood straight up, then. And
as David wondered if he was really going to take a swing at his
grandson, he also had to stifle an urge to cry. Not for himself,
but for the toll that time and living took on a human being.
Grandpa’s muscles were rippling, but they were a poor remnant of
what he’d been so proud years before. Even the flash of fire in his
eyes waned quickly, the energy needed to sustain his indignation
not being in abundance anymore.
    He had sunk down again. Whump, creak, snap.
“Go,” he intoned.
    David stood. He felt enervated, despite
having begun the morning with an optimistic vigor.
    “I know you’ll be here next Saturday, no
matter what I say.” But Grandpa wouldn’t meet his eyes. “Just… go.
I’ll see you then. I’ll try not to be such a… turd.”
    David nodded. “I love you, Grandpa,” he
uttered quietly. “I really do.”
    And then he turned, stepped out into the
hallway, and pulled the door mostly closed behind him.

Chapter Ten
    David had made it most of the way to The
Restful Nook’s main entrance before he reversed course and climbed
the stairs to the second floor. Two right turns and a left later,
he found himself in front of Abby Lowell’s room. Her door was
decorated with art projects: a Valentine made of pressed flower
petals, a pastel rendering of the Easter bunny peering under a
bird’s nest for colored eggs, a Cinco de Mayo sombrero created from
shredded magazine pages.
    He knocked.
    “Come on in!” sang out.
    And even before he entered her room, David
was smiling again, feeling better about himself and the world at
large. “Can I bother you for a few minutes, Abby?” he asked.
    “But of course, David!” Abby was up and
moving toward him, already beaming. Her hands reached forward to
clasp his. “I just love it when you drop by. Was Henry his usual
charming self this morning?”
    He grimaced. “You could say that.”
    She shook her head. “I never understand
that, how old age turns some of us into glowering old lumps of
coal. He was always such a sweet talker, and so energetic. Anyhow!”
She clapped her hands. “Come on, sit down. Tell an old lady what’s
going on in your life.”
    David sat as Abby slipped her oxygen cannula
into her nose again, and deftly turned her compressor back on. Her
room was similar to Grandpa Wilcott’s: warm furnishings and
pictures everywhere. But it appeared as if there had been an
explosion of color in Abby’s room. The walls were aglow in bright
yellows, radiant reds, and glistening greens. Picture frames
twinkled with hand-painted designs, and her desk was a work of art
in itself, all moons and stars and brilliant creatures that seemed
ready to leap out of the woodwork to experience life
themselves.
    She smiled again. “Might as well start
talking, David. I actually do have all day, unfortunately,
but it won’t do you any good to keep whatever’s bothering you
bottled up.”
    “I talked with Jess last night,” he began.
“She called me.”
    “Really!” She leaned forward. “How is
she?”
    “Good. I think. It was the first time we’ve
talked.”
    “Ever?” Abby’s lips twisted as she sat back
once more. “I hadn’t realized that.”
    “I don’t think she’s come back to Shady
Grove since I moved here,” said David. “And other than a couple
quick trips out of town I’ve had to make for business, I haven’t
left.”
    She nodded. “That makes sense, then. You’ll
meet her someday. She can be a trip!”
    David laughed. Abby spoke the lingo of
several different generations, all fluently.
    “So what did you talk about?” she asked.
“Must’ve been strange for you, no? Your girlfriend’s bestie, who
knows all of her dirty laundry and childhood secrets… did you find
yourself trying not to dive into all that?”
    David felt himself blushing. “Well… that was
kind of why she called. I suppose I wanted to dive