Page 49 of Here With Me

I step over to clasp the hand of our old first-grade teacher. “When’s the last time you saw me?”

She pulls me closer, and I give her a hug. Her vacant eyes dance. “You still sound like you used to.”

“How’s that?”

; “Confident, mature. You were always old for your age.”

Her words make me think of my dad, and a twist of sadness grips my stomach. It’s the second time in two days I’ve been reminded of him.

“He’s handsomer.” Miss Jessica chimes in. “He looks like a Marine now.”

“Oh, I love that. What’s your opinion on older women?”

I glance at Mindy, and she’s smiling, shaking her head. “Okay, you two cougars.” She goes behind Mrs. Irene’s wheelchair. “Don’t scare off the help.”

I scoot in beside her, taking the handles of the chair. “Let me do this.”

Mindy catches Miss Jessica’s arm, and I follow them, pushing Mrs. Irene to the big, open activity room where a small group of old men and women are sitting together, talking animatedly.

Two ladies are sitting on opposite sides of the room glaring at each other, and Miss Jessica leans into my side.

“Jimmy Hebert dipped his pecker in a few too many ink wells, if you know what I mean. Got busted.” She nods, giving me a knowing wink, and my eyebrows shoot up. “If you ask me, they need to monitor his access to the Viagra.”

Again, I look to Mindy, but she just waves, going to where Ramona Brown stands in the center of the room. I remember her as the nurse who accompanies Miss Jessica to our house sometimes.

“Good morning, everyone,” Mindy starts, and they all quiet down. “Mr. Grady is coming by to discuss the pageant. We still need to decide on the categories we want to include. Options are talent, interview, swimsuit, and evening gown. We can leave off the swimsuit—”

“Boo!” Mr. Hebert jumps up beside me, waving his hand. “We want a swimsuit competition.”

Murmurs break out across the group, mixed with soft laughter and a few grumbles.

Mindy quickly continues. “That’s why we’re here now—to have a secret ballot vote. Ramona’s going to help me.” Ramona quickly moves through the group, passing out slips of paper. “Write your choices. We’ll count them up and decide.”

“Sawyer LaGrange?” Mr. Hebert turns to me. “Good to see you, son. Thank you for your service.”

“Thank you for yours, sir.” I shake his hand, and he holds mine tight.

“That was a long time ago.” He looks towards the front again. “I’m sure you agree with me. If we’re going to have a pageant, we should do it right. Swimsuits!”

“Sawyer, my goodness.” Ms. Debbie Turner wobbles up to give me a hug. “I haven’t seen you since you were a teenager.”

Another old lady slowly approaches, and a line starts to form. It’s sweet, if a little awkward. All the ladies are frail as tissue paper, and I try to hug them without squeezing them too hard. I’m on the verge of being mobbed when Mindy appears and pulls my arm.

“Sawyer’s helping me with the items in storage. Y’all go vote.”

Ramona hands them sheets of paper, and we slip away from the slow-moving crowd.

“You need to get out more,” Mindy teases.

“I didn’t know some of those people were still alive.” Glancing back, I wave to the ones watching us go. “Swimsuit competition?”

“I can’t even imagine.” Mindy stops in front of a metal door and fiddles with her keys. “The families would have a fit.”

She finally gets the door open, and we step into a dim, dusty storage closet. It’s dark and smells faintly of mildew. Mindy pulls the string for a bare lightbulb, and my stomach feels uneasy. I try to dismiss it. It’s only a storage room with boxes stacked to the ceiling.

“The ones marked luau are the ones we’re after.” She goes down a corridor, and my temples start to throb. “If you’ll just carry them to the activity room, we can start sorting through them. I’d better head back and check on Ramona.”