“Man, it sounds kind of silly,” Krista said.

“Thanks,” Charley said.

“You’ve been with him twenty-two years, you have a kid together... When he asked you to get married did you by any chance say, ‘What’s the rush?’”

“It wasn’t that I was offended by his proposal. It was the way he did it. I said I felt like my life was over and he said, ‘We might as well get married, then.’ Don’t you see—it was my crisis and he made it about him.”

“He probably stupidly thought knowing he wanted to make an even bigger commitment might make you feel better.”

“Yeah, maybe he did.”

“What an idiot,” Krista said.

“You understand?”

“No, I don’t understand!” she said loudly. “Look, I don’t know anything about relationships, especially boy-girl relationships, but you probably should have tabled the conversation for a while. Instead of saying no, you probably should have asked for a little time to get over the current crisis before thinking about a wedding. I mean, it’s not likely you’d say no, is it? After this many years?”

“As a matter of fact, I wrote him a letter. A real written letter and not a text or an email, and I said I’d do whatever he wanted. If he still wanted me.”

“Wow. I bet that just melted him.”

“Krista!”

“Seriously? You said, ‘Okay, whatever you want.’ Did you add, ‘Even though it’ll kill me,’ just like your mother did with my mother about going to the lake? Really, your side of the family has some serious sticks up your asses. My side is nuts but your side? Do you have to have everything your way?” She shook her head. “You wouldn’t do well in prison. You know why I love you, Charley? You’re one of the most generous, loving people I know. You’re commitment driven as long as you feel in control. But you’re a tad inflexible.”

“He hasn’t called me. He would have gotten the letter a few days ago and he hasn’t called.” She looked at her phone again. “Or anything.”

“Well, thanks, you just helped me think through a kind of heavy issue of my own. Jake has asked me to consider staying at Lake Waseka after you all have closed up the house and gone. He offered to help me find something small and close to rent. He doesn’t exactly have his own place—he stays at the lodge. He gets his room and meals on the company so there’s no point in him wasting his money on rent. He’s saving to build a house here, but when is the mystery. Anyway, I said I thought it was too soon to make any kind of commitment—we’ve only known each other about two and a half months. But now I think maybe we should try that. He promised to help me with my transportation issues so I can make appointments, run errands and, on cold, snowy days, have a ride to work. I think, yes, I should see if what I believe about him is true—that he’s a very fine man. He treats people very well. I have that red flag thing down. I’m not missing anything. And what’s the worst thing that can happen? I can ask him for a ride to the bus and go to my mother’s.” She rolled her eyes upward. “Oh, please, God, don’t let Hope be living with our mother! That would make this whole idea a miserable failure.”

Charley just watched her with her mouth hanging open. “Krista, do you love him?”

“Probably,” she said. “I haven’t had a lot of practice with that, you know.” She became wistful. “He’s so kind to people. Sometimes they don’t even know it. One of the waitresses has two special-needs kids at home. She and her husband have to work opposite shifts so one of them is always home and Jake keeps an eye on her because sometimes she’s real tired. You know, if she has a hard night with the kids. He tries to make it look like he’s just a good manager but it’s more than that. He’s kind. You can’t get away with that in prison. If you’re soft, you’re history. I don’t think I ever was, you know—soft. But boy, did I get hard in prison. Being around Jake—it gives me back some of that. You can be soft around Jake and be safe.”

“That’s so lovely,” Charley said.

“I usually try to stay out of people’s business but I think you should try to find a way to patch things up with your Michael.”

“Yes,” she said. “But I did ask him to forgive me. In that letter that he should have gotten by now.”

“Maybe he hasn’t even checked the mail, Charley.”

She shook her head. “He’s obsessive about the mail.”

“You’re going to have to do something. Maybe you should go home. At least call him.”

“I’m a little afraid to,” she said. “What if he’s over me? We were both pretty angry.”

“Huh. I thought you were fearless.”

“Me? I’m afraid of a lot of things.”

“Then why do you act so damn tough?” Krista shook her head. “You girls on the outside, you can sure get yourselves worked up over meaningless bullshit. This thing with your man? I’m sure it hit you wrong, but if you look at the whole thing, it’s not even a thing. You hurt each other’s feelings. That’s all.” She jutted her chin toward the bedroom where Meg was sleeping. “Now that’s a thing.”

They were both respectfully quiet for a moment.

“You don’t have to rent anything, Krista,” Charley said. “You can use this house as long as you want. You can walk across the lake when it freezes. Just wait till the ice fishermen put up their fishing shacks to be sure. When you see the trucks drive on the ice, you’ll know it’s safe.”

“I don’t want to abuse my welcome. I want to try to pay my way.”

“On a waitress’s salary? That’s going to be tough. But this house was paid for decades ago. And with someone here watching over it, we can visit it in winter if we want to. We can make sure the heater is serviced before it gets too cold.”

“I’ll have to ask the board of directors,” Krista said. “Louise and Josephine.”

* * *

Three days later, on Krista’s day off, the three women were barely finished with breakfast when someone tooted a horn. Krista went to the porch.

“Oh, you’re not going to believe this,” she yelled into the house, bringing the other two out.

Jo and Lou were helping someone out of the car. They had brought Grandma Berkey to the lake. She was focused on the ground in front of her, watching her steps carefully, though Jo and Lou each held an arm. Krista’s first thought was that she was so tiny. She must be no more than a hundred pounds. She was only a little hunched. Her hair was an interesting shade of pink and quite thin.

“Surprise,” Jo said when they got to the porch steps. “Careful, Mother,” she coached.

“Grandma!” Charley said. “Have you been kidnapped?”

“’Bout time someone got me out of that hellhole.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll only be staying a few hours,” Jo said. “We thought you might enjoy asking Grandma about the good old days.”

“They weren’t all that good,” Grandma said. “You got any coffee? I hadn’t hardly had my coffee when they snatched me.”

Krista held the screen door open while Lou and Jo shepherded her into the house. Grandma paused and patted Krista’s cheek. “So they let you out, did they?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“And I guess they taught you some manners in there. Well, they kept you way too long. A tragedy.” She came up to Krista’s chin. “You look none the worse for it.”

“Thank you. I guess.”

“So this old place didn’t fall down while we were away?” She shook her daughters off her arms and took little shuffling steps to the chair in the living room. She looked around. “Looks just like it did.”

“Do you want cream and sugar, Grandma?” Charley asked.

“Yes, please,” she said.

“Add a little water to her coffee so it’s not too strong. And not too much sugar,” Lou said.

“I like it strong!” the old lady barked. “I’m Swedish—we like it strong! And don’t spare the sugar! We used to give you girls coffee in your milk when you were toddlers. That’s what the Swedes do!”

“Her hearing seems fine,” Krista said.

“Damn right, it is. Everything is fine. I don’t know why I’m locked up in that snake pit.”

“Mother, it’s the best facility in Saint Paul. There’s a waiting list!”

“I don’t care! I hate it. I miss my house. My parents bought me that house!”

Krista went and sat close, sensing her best chance at information at hand. “You must have loved the house,” she said.

“I loved it once the judge was gone,” she said. “It was a good place to raise my daughters. A good house. My parents bought me that house.”

“As a wedding gift?” Krista asked.

“That’s right.”

“And the lake house?” she asked.

“The judge,” she snorted. “Once he got his hands on some of my money, he did as he pleased. With caution,” she added with a cackle. “He was not a good judge, you know. He was a mean judge, that’s what. My father wasn’t unhappy about that, if you want to know the truth, because even though my father was in Chicago and the judge in Saint Paul, my father knew his price, the old bastard.”

“Your father?” Krista asked. “Your father was an old bastard?”

“No, my father was a businessman! The judge was for sale!”

There was an “Ohhh” from the gallery.

“He couldn’t get his hands on all my family money so he found a way. But he had to be very careful because if I had to call my father, there would be a firm talking-to. The kind that leave marks! And this cabin? I hated this cabin.”