Chapter One
Reno, Nevada May 1975
The bus pulls into the Reno terminal and I hold the dirty duffel bag in my lap.
People stand on the sidewalk and all the faces are just faces with eyes that
don't look for me.
Inside my chest is a heavy alone feeling. Maybe no one will be here for me. I
get off the bus and look around and my eyes stop on Grandpa Ed, Daddy's daddy.
"There she is," Grandpa yells.
I squeeze my fingers around the bag strap and walk until we are face to face, me
small, him tall. Grandpa has his hands fisted on his hips like he has something
to say but he just looks at me and shakes his head.
"Well, give your old Grandpa a hug," he says, kneeling down, arms wide.
I drop my bag and hug around his neck, the smell of coffee mixed with
peppermint. He's just like I remember — round cheeks, wide nose, white hair,
and bushy white eyebrows. Grandpa laughs deep and warm against my face and stops
hugging first.
"My goodness," he says, hands on the top of my shoulders, holding me back,
"you're a young lady now."
My throat hurts, a lumpy kind of hurt and I smile and nod since I don't know
what else to do. ... read full excerpt from Still Waters ebook
