Daniel frowned.
Before he could ask anything else, Vanessa appeared beside him.
“Your mom just decided she’d be more comfortable with a cover-up.”
I looked at her.
That wasn’t what had happened.
Daniel glanced between us.
“Mom?”
“It’s fine.”
I walked inside before my face betrayed me.
In the guest bathroom, I stared at myself in the mirror.
Vanessa was right about one thing.
I had wrinkles.
They were on my arms, around my knees, across my stomach, and at the corners of my eyes.
What exactly was I supposed to do about that?
Was I supposed to stop swimming or wearing shorts?
Was I supposed to disappear gradually until nobody had to be reminded that women grew old?
I hated that her words had gotten to me.
I’d raised Daniel, worked for decades, buried my husband, helped with grandchildren, and rebuilt a life that had changed more times than I could count.
Yet one cruel sentence had reduced me to hiding in a bathroom.
A knock came at the door.
“Grandma?”
I opened it.
Emily stood there, dripping water onto the floor.
“Why aren’t you swimming?”
“I’ll come out soon.”
“Did Mom make you sad?”
My stomach tightened.
“Why would you ask that?”
“I heard her.”
Of course she had.
Children always heard the things adults hoped they’d missed.
I crouched slightly.
“Your mom and I had a disagreement.”
“About your swimsuit?”
“Something like that.”
Emily frowned.
“I like it.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s prettier than your old flower one.”
I laughed.
“That old flower one lasted 12 years.”
“It looked 12 years old.”
That earned another laugh.
Then Emily became serious.
“Are you too old to swim?”
“No.”
“Then why did Mom say you should cover up?”
I didn’t have an answer that wouldn’t put a child between her mother and grandmother.
“Sometimes adults say things without thinking about how they’ll sound.”
Emily considered that.
“Mom does that a lot.”
“Emily.”
“What? Dad says it, too.”
I bit back a smile.
“Go outside. I’ll be there in a minute.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
After she left, I took off the towel.
I almost walked outside without it.
Almost.
Then I tied it around myself again.
Vanessa had planted something in my mind that I couldn’t shake.
When I returned to the patio, Daniel was carrying food to the table.
Vanessa was arranging drinks.
She smiled when she saw the towel.
“Better.”
I stopped.
