In between thrusts with the spade, Levi reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow. The process of digging the new flower beds on each side of the cabin’s porch was slow. Levi began to regret his insistence that Grandma Daley extend the blossoms around to the front of the cabin. When the spade didn’t hit rock, the soil was hard, baked clay with as much give as a solid block of pottery.

As Levi leaned on the spade and stared down at yet more stones he needed to yank out of the ground, Grandma Daley appeared at the door with an icy glass of lemonade in hand. She said, “It’s a warm one today, and it’s near the end of July, so I think this could be the hottest day of the season. Are you doing okay? Would you like some lemonade.”

“I’d love some lemonade.” Levi took the glass from her hand and struggled to control his instinct to chug it down. Too much too fast was a sure route to a painful belly ache.

She shook her head. “You don’t need to do this. Walter complained about the ground here when we were building the cabin. He said that he should consider bolting the corners into the stones instead of trying to create a foundation. I’ve never heard so much cursing in my life.”

Levi laughed. She had a good point, but he knew the joy he would see on her face the next summer. It would all be worth the effort after she got to plant a flower garden that was twice as large. He asked, “Did Grandpa dig the other flower garden? How did that take shape?”

“Once the house was going up, he didn’t have to do that. There was enough extra space on that side that they already dug when laying the foundation. We added some topsoil, and it was ready to plant.”

Levi said, “We could build a barbecue pit with the stones I’m pulling out of here.”

“Don’t tempt me., but I think I’m already making you work hard enough.” Grandma carefully sat on the rocking chair placed in one corner of the porch. “It’s not so bad in the shade. You will have to stop soon, Levi, and rest. It will probably be cooler tomorrow. We don’t have to get it all done in just one day.”

Levi stared down into the small excavated pit. He felt like he’d worked for almost two hours nonstop, and the new garden wasn’t even a full foot deep. “Tomorrow I want to go to Iron Crossing and get some topsoil. You have those two paintings you want me to deliver, and I’ll take them with me.”

“Oh, yes, I almost forgot. Some days I wish that I could see the gallery in New York. It’s hard to explain the sensation. It’s a lovely experience to see your babies lined up on a crisp, clean wall. Then the people in expensive clothes speaking million dollar words pass by with an ‘ooh’ and an ‘aah.’”

Levi leaned on the spade again and looked up. “Grandma, we could take a trip. I’ve never seen New York City. I’ll take care of all of the logistics, and you can see how much everybody loves your paintings. I’m sure the gallery owner would be thrilled to meet you.”

For a moment, she seemed to grab hold of the idea, but then he saw her interest fade as the light in her eyes dimmed. “No, I need to stay here. This is where I belong. When Walter and I came here, we meant to leave all the rest of the world and its commotion behind. This is my home. This is where I belong.”

Bending over and reaching his fingertips under the edge of a flat stone, Levi tugged forcefully trying to pull it out of the ground. “These are stubborn. I worry that I might find a huge one, and when I yank on it, that will be like pulling a rug out from under the cabin.”

Grandma laughed. “Hopefully you can do it like a magician without breaking a dish.”

“Grandma, did your grandmother have a flower garden?”

Levi tapped into a pleasant memory. Grandma Daley rocked with more deliberation and gazed out toward the forest. “We’ve always had flower gardens. I remember them when I was a little girl.”

“They were bigger than this?”

“Grandma had a huge vegetable garden ringed with marigolds to keep the pests away. There was also a small meadow just for cutting blooms. I spent two weeks each summer with my grandparents.”

The stories about growing up weren’t new. Levi believed that he’d heard almost all there was to tell, but he loved the sound of Grandma Daley’s voice when she talked about the distant past. He didn’t think there was anything more successful at brightening her mood. Levi heard the lilt of a little girl’s laughter around the edges of the words. He stood up to lean on the spade and listen to her stories again.

“I loved the names. She had bachelor buttons, pinks, snapdragons, and busy Lizzie. Then, in the fall, I was always excited to see the naked ladies. They danced in a row next to the back of the house.”

Levi looked up to the porch. “Naked ladies? I don’t remember you talking about those. Surely, your grandpa didn’t have risqué friends.”

Grandma Daley laughed out loud. “No, naked ladies are a flower. The leaves came up in the spring, and then they died back. Late in the summer when we thought they would never show up again, they popped up all along the back foundation of the house. They were big pink flowers. Grandma always made a bouquet for the dinner table.”

“Do you ever miss those days, Grandma?”

“I don’t think so. My parents taught me always to look forward and never look back. They said the world always had something new to show you if you kept paying attention. I learned to look for what was different and exciting.”

Levi nodded. “I think that’s true. The world keeps showing me new things, and it’s starting to happen faster now. Look what’s happened with getting to know Brandon. I never had any idea something like that could happen. He’s so different from the guys I knew back in college. He’s real, and he’s sweet at the same time. He’s so incredibly handsome, too.” Levi blushed. He couldn’t believe that he was rambling on about his relationship to his grandmother. He always kept things like that private.

Grandma Daley didn’t say anything in response. Levi looked up to the porch. The rocking of the chair was slower, and her eyes were closed. He smiled. She’d decided to take her afternoon nap out in the open air.

Levi climbed the front steps of the porch. He thought that a blanket from the back of the sofa would make a good wrap. He knew that when she woke up, it was possible Grandma would feel a little disoriented. She could pull the blanket up for comfort.

As he reached out for the handle of the front door, Levi saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned toward the rocking chair and gasped. Grandma Daley slumped toward the side in an unnaturally contorted position.

Levi stepped up to her and reached for her shoulders. He shook gently, but there was no response. He placed a hand on her chest. He sighed with relief as he felt the slow pounding of her heart. After he shook her again, she moaned and said, “I’m not feeling so well.”

Helping Grandma Daley to her feet, Levi wasn’t sure what to do next. Her body was almost limp. He knew that if he let go, she would fall to the floor. Her eyelids fluttered, and she didn’t say anything else. The trip was slow. Every third or fourth step, Grandma Daley helped with her own movement, but she almost fainted in between.

Soon, she stopped assisting. As Levi helped her to bed inside the cabin, Grandma’s feet dragged across the hardwood floor. He heard the scrape of the heels of her shoes. Levi tried asking her questions, but she failed to speak any words in response. As he lay her down flat on her bed, Grandma Daley feebly raised her right hand into the air like she was waving him away.

Levi bit his lip when he noticed that the left corner of her mouth contorted unnaturally. He knew that it was a medical emergency, and they needed help. “Grandma, I don’t want to leave you here, but we need a doctor.” She feebly waved the hand one more time, but this time it only rose half as high as the time before.

When he left the room, Levi knew that if Grandma Daley understood what was going on, she would expect him to take the canoe all the way to Iron Crossing to get help. Instead, he plowed his way into the woods to get far enough away from the cabin for cell phone reception. He cursed his grandfather’s installation of the blocking system thirty times before he saw the reassuring lines denoting a successful connection showing up on the screen of the phone.

At the last moment, Levi debated whether to call 911 or call Brandon. He decided to try Brandon first. If there was no answer, 911 was the next option.

As soon as Brandon picked up on the other end, Levi screamed into the phone, “She’s having a stroke, Brandon! She’s having a stroke! We need help!”

Brandon asked a few brief questions and listened to the responses. His voice was calm and reassuring when he said, “Keep her comfortable. Have water available in case she needs it and can drink it, and keep her warm. Talk to her, Levi. Don’t let her fall asleep. I’ll have Gabe out there as quick as we can make the trip. I’m heading out the door right now.”

“Please hurry! I think she’s dying. She can’t die. Please don’t let her die!”

“I’m giving your phone number to Elle. If you need anything, she’ll know what to do. I need to be off the phone for a few minutes because I have to get Gabe out into the woods with the canoe. Once we’re on the lake, I’ll call. If I don’t get an answer, I’ll assume you’re with Grandma Daley. It’s going to be okay, Levi. Trust me. It’s going to be okay.”