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Gra hair ept up in a clip at the back of her head, the silver strands glistening in the sunlight that poured in from theabove the sink She wore pink lipstick, a casual creareen blouse, and low open-toe heels to finish off the outfit Pearls were in her ears, and thependant lay at her neck A classy choice that was totally Gram

She was beautiful

My gram had turned sixty last year and still carried that siance that set her apart from a lot of woh e, I didn’t see it But then I suppose beauty is more about your state of loomy, that’s what I sahen I looked in the mirror

“All right,” she said after a while and glanced at the clock above the stove “I have so by the house anyway, and I’ll need you to show him where the job is”

Great I thought of my bed and the nap I’d planned

“Who is it?”

I didn’t really care, but I could at least be polite and ask

“I’ve engaged the services of a local contractor for some repairs and maintenance around the plantation Today the fence around the family crypt and burial plot will be painted”

Graenerations and this place—Oak Run Plantation—had been in the fao, Gram’s father had turned the family home into a successful bed and breakfast/ to ood drunk who couldn’t find his own butt if he needed to

My grandmother even stayed on after her husband died, but instead of living in the big house, she e house And that’s where I’ this summer

Everyone—which would bethe hot Louisiana summer and laid-back atmosphere would somehow fix me They think that the city and the memories are too much, and I don’t have the heart to tell them that the memories will never leave That much I’ve learned

So location doesn’t really e, expressive, puppy-dog eyes She looks at me a lot when she thinks I won’t notice, and every tiest failure on the planet

I don’t kno to react to her anynore her? Do I tell her to get out of my face?

And my father, God, he’s the total opposite He acts as if everything is normal As if the last year and a half never happened—as if each one of us is whole—and that ry And kinda sad

Gra “I love you, Monroe”