A Stranger Makes A Surprising Speech Part 5

 Grandma Lu was thrilled to see so many people gathering on the parking lot of Marleewood. Marleewood had been closed for quite some time because of the pandemic. As she looked around there were so many people she recognized that had been meeting there and the children! "Oh my goodness they have grown. They are no longer babies anymore; that's for sure." She felt a bit of sadness as she marveled at the children that at one time had sat by her knees as she told them countless stories. Some of the stories were made up ones and some were true. The children didn't care. They just felt comfortable and safe within these old walls. She grinned as she saw girls and boys actually talking to each other as friends. The boys were not pulling pigtails or giving them bugs to look at. She looked behind her and saw her old friend walking away from the side door. "Hmm, wonder what Nancy was doing in the Quiet Room?" She was about to walk over to her to ask her old friend if everything was alright when she was surprised to see a lady
that she hadn't seen in many years. She was from her hometown, but now lived on the west coast. "Oh my goodness. This is like old home week. I wonder if there was a golf tournament this week. That's her passion for sure. Oh look at that dog! So cute."

She started to wave and yell to stop so that they could visit when she saw that Nancy and Ann were having a serious conversation. "Well, I wonder what that's all about. I think I will just get myself over there to see what's wrong. I can't have unhappy people on this beautiful day."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw familiar faces. "Oh my goodness, look who's here! Charlie and her grandma. What a wonderful day. She turned to greet them and visit, but soon she heard a clinking noise. Someone was going to make a speech. Who is that? She looked familiar, but couldn't quite place her. "Oh my. She's a long ways from home. I know who that is. She is Chata's human. What in the world is she doing here I wonder. There's that precious Chata. I'm so surprised to see them here. But why is she making a speech? She doesn't know anyone here and she hasn't seen me in years."

"Hello, everyone. I heard about Marleewood opening it's doors once again. I am so happy for my Great Aunt Lu. She loves Marleewood and the folks in this little town. However, I am here to take her back to Texas where she belongs. The Dude Ranch that she owns needs her there to stop the environmentally dangerous activity that's going on at the silver mine. So everyone eat up all this scrumptious food, but your old friend needs to come with me as soon as she can get packed up."

The talking and squealing of happy youngsters and visiting of neighbors had completely stopped. What did that woman mean? Grandma Lu didn't own a silver mine let alone a ranch in Texas. She had lived here for years. Surely someone knew the truth about this. That someone was not Grandma B. She was just leaving the kitchen when she heard that Grandma Lu her dear friend was actually an owner of the Dude Ranch in Texas that she had been writing about for almost two years? No; surely not. She would have told her about it. Wouldn't she?"