Cold Weather, Play Warmer

Chapter 10

I thought about reaching out to Lori and Leni, but Lori's outright unpredictable; I needed Bobby's help. And Leni was gonna be a handful, so I decided to wait until Spring Break, when Leni would've already dragged Lori home to see me.

And so, the next day, I asked my parents if we could go visit Gran-Gran's place. At first, they were hesitant, but they obliged when Lisa and Lucy backed me up. We worked out a plan to reach Lynn, then Luan, and finally Luna, since they were at three separate places. First target: the retirement home, where no doubt Lynn spent most of her time.

-9AM-

We all went in with visitors passes to see if any of the people we were looking for were home at all. We didn't have any luck until we got to the shuffleboards.

"Gran-Gran!" Lily called out. I immediately hid.

Gran-Gran recognized that voice right away, and she called Pop-Pop out with her to greet us. But then she saw me hiding under a table. Eyesight is one of the few things that does not go away with age; anyone that says otherwise is a LIAR!

"Lincoln?..." she gasped.

I had to come out of hiding, as in, a spot where Lynn could see me, "Uh...hi, Gran-Gran...sorry I couldn't come to your wedding..." Pretty sure everyone on the court saw me, no noise whatsoever.

All eyes were on my family. Whispers were polluting the air, no doubt about me and my issues. But we had to face the music. I was prepared for a massive onslaught of horrible comments and death threats.

Nothing but a hug. "I'm just glad you're still alive."

"Huh?! Gran-Gran?!"

"Albert told me everything...we were all scared out of our lives...He never believed those stories, but...Lynn, Lynn, and Rita..."

I hugged her back, "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry, Gran-Gran..." I just kept repeating that phrase over and over for who knows how long. I didn't see anything else that happened, just that I got a lot of shoulders on my hands, and a lot of old folks asking me what really happened.

After about an hour, I got the chance to meet with Pop and Gran, and...well, they gave me the full scoop on Lynn.

Ever since Mom and Dad severed her sports ties, Lynn's been staying here with Gran-Gran. Not once did she come back home, or even think about it. All she's done are chores around the retirement home. In all the times she's talked with the people here, she never once mentioned anything even remotely about our family.

They showed me to Gran-Gran's place and just said to take all the time I needed, and they were right outside. They opened the door for me, and I crept my way inside.

It was lights out, save for an open fridge door. I found Lynn rummaging through the food for some orange juice. I waited until she finished drinking, "...Hey, Lynn..."

She froze. I thought she didn't believe what she heard, so I called to her again, "Lynn, it's me..."

"Lincoln...you're..."

"Yeah...how are you?"

"I'm...holding up...You?"

"Could be worse..."

We just sat at the table staring at each other for a long time. Then I asked, "Whay have you been up to lately?..."

"Stuff..."

"Any sports, or...any-"

"No. Just lazing around here..."

"Lynn...we're all worried about you. We just wanted to-"