Grandma B And Grandma Lu Meet At Marleewood

 Grandma Lu was out in her kitchen cleaning. She was towards the end of her fall housecleaning spree. Once she got started her husband fled to parts unknown and people including friends left her be. She wasn't always a happy cleaner. She would find dirt where there shouldn't be any and fuss to herself about having to 'have a talk with that man.' She had cleaned the pantry, the living room and bathroom. She had mopped the floors and washed all the curtains. She was getting tired, but the stove did need polishing. Her new stove looked so pretty when it was all shined up. "Mercy, it's November and only about three weeks until Thanksgiving, then Christmas will soon be upon us. The saying time flies seems to be true the older I get. There that is the finishing touch." She smiled as she adjusted the towel that her friend B had made on another friend's sewing machine. It was so pretty. I love homemade gifts. It had her name and Bonnie's name and Joann's name embroidered on it. She never used this towel. It was just for show. She had made her two of them. One was perfect for the camper. It matched everything in it's kitchen. It was the finishing touch to a clean kitchen. But as she looked at it she thought of the tough year it had been for all three of them. There had been loss of loved ones due to age and the dreaded virus, there had been other diseases taking their toll on all three of them. Anywhere from surgery to eye problems and much worse. I once told B we were the three decades. She said, "Oh my gosh you are right."

"I miss my dear friend. We haven't been out for lunch forever. I think the rest of my cleaning can wait. I'm going to call B and see if she will  meet me at Marleewood. That old building is a lonely place anymore. The children are all in school or Pre-K like Marlee and a lot of the little ones are in daycare because the parents are back to work. I don't know, should we close it up? Oh I hate the thought of it. Well, let's see if she answers the phone."

"Aw great! You're home. Hey you want to go over to Marleewood and spruce it up a bit? I'm in the cleaning mood. Fran's gone because I'm driving him crazy with the Fall cleaning, and I could use a visit. No that's fine. My writing is on hold for this week. I've had kind of a writer's block. Plus I had to get my cleaning done. Oh good, yes you can finish your lunch. I'll see you in a bit."

When Grandma Lu pulled into the parking lot at Marleewood, she almost got tears in her eyes. It looked so dreary. The flowers had all faded and many were wilted or gone because of the cold weather. The leaves from the trees had fallen and there were all kinds of small branches and twigs on the ground because of the recent fall storms. "I'll see if my husband can't come over and clean up this yard before the snow falls." She walked in the back kitchen and there was her friend with fresh coffee and some leftover cookies from Halloween. "Hey, Girl. Oh how I have missed you. Yes, I'd love a cup and of course, a cookie." She grinned because most everyone knew she had a big old sweet tooth that was her undoing with her dratted scale.

B looked at her friend and said, "I'd like to talk to you too. We have had such busy lives lately, but you have kept up with your writing. I don't see how you do it with your job and everything." Before Grandma Lu could answer, B said, "To tell you the truth I thought you only wrote children's stories. Why did you decide to write a grownup mystery? By the way I think that K.R. is a jerk and should stay in jail."

Oh Grandma Lu laughed, "Oh so this is why you came over to visit. You want me to keep K.R. in jail. Funny woman. Plus you are a good one to talk. You work all the time, plus take care of the girls when you can."

"Oh, it's good to see you, but I am curious why you changed your writing style. Are you done writing children's stories? Grandma Lu said, "No, of course not. But I've had this feeling I could write a grownup story for a long time and decided to try it. I'm getting up there and thought I'd better do it while I still could.  Some people want to learn to do handwork or speak a foreign language. I have hard enough problems with the English language. You know I have had some vision problems, so I'm in the process of getting that fixed. Hopefully, the doctor has prescribed the right meds so that I can continue to see the computer screen. When you get to my age, our parts start breaking down." she laughed. "Hopefully mine won't be on backorder if I need some. It seems like just the other day I rarely took an aspirin for a headache, now the drawers and vanity have numerous tubes, boxes, pads and bottles that all have my name on them. Mercy!"

"Well, in that case, I have some questions for you, said B. Where did the old miner go? And why is Allie so hard on Josh and why don't people listen to Josh? All he wants to do is help Allie and no one will listen or let him talk! I think at least the sheriff should listen. Then there's Laura. She's a friend to the miner and the sheriff. That puts her in a rather awkward position, doesn't it? What are you going to do about that? How about Lill? You have my friend Sabrena playing that part. I feel sorry for her. See, K.R. has touched a lot of lives with his mean ways."

"Well, Grandma Lu chuckled,  "Meta sent me a message the other day. She still has hopes that Allie will find the stash that the packrats have under the floor. Then Darrell says the same thing you do. He wants K.R. to rot in jail. But did everyone forget that the old miner is K.R.'s father? They haven't spoken or seen each other in years, but as we age we sometimes look back and get a softer heart. Forget and forgive? No?" Grandma Lu grinned and thought, "She isn't going to believe what that old miner is up to in the next story. And I'm not about to tell her."

Grandma B said, "What? What are you thinking? I know you are up to something. Your eyes are sparkling and I can see a tiny twitch at the corner of your mouth that means you are about to laugh. I have known you for a few years you know.  Okay, I can tell you aren't going to tell me. Now how in the world did you even get the idea of a Dude Ranch mystery?"

Grandma Lu said, "Well, one day I saw a picture of Fran's brother and sister-in-law spending their anniversary on a Dude Ranch. I thought that it would be a cool place for a mystery. It just kind of fell into place. "

"Now I'm not telling you anything else, girl. Shall we get this place cleaned up or what? I think we should make some plans and invite folks over for the holidays. What do you think?" But in her mind she could hear the roaring of engines of the cute little VW Bugs and the cheering of the crowd for the old miner.  "Should I have him win the race or what shall I do with that old rebel? Oh wait! I know what I'll do. Oh, I should probably get home. I need to write this down before I forget it." And with that she grabbed her hat and coat and was out the door.

Grandma B soon  found that she had been  talking to herself when her friend wasn't answering her. When she heard the back door slam and looked out the window she saw Grandma Lu going out the driveway headed for home. "There she goes. I knew she had something up her sleeve. Thanks a lot girl. Now I have to clean this place by myself. Nope. I have an idea too. Two can play this game. She picked up her phone and said, "Hey, Darrell. Grandma Lu is being a little too feisty. She was just here at Marleewood to help me clean. All I said was that I thought K.R. should stay in jail. She got a grin on her face and went home. Now this is what I want you to do... Could you call Meta? I'll call Laura. Yes, it's ganging up on her, but it's all in good fun. There's nothing she likes better than a good joke and she will love it once her feathers get unruffled.! Okay! Great. Thanks, guy. Talk to you later. No she won't get mad. She will love it. But one thing I will say, she might get even when we least expect it. Okay. Bye."