She squinted. “What’s going to pass me by?”
Grandma Cecilia gently touched the end of her nose. “Life.” She turned and slowly made her way over to some folded chairs and eased into one of the seats.
Elana snorted. “You act like I’m not doing anything with my life. I have a job, you know. A job that could fire me while I’m away on this trip with you.”
Grandma Cecilia looked up at her. “Elana, are you happy with your job?”
Elana plopped down in the chair and sighed heavily. “What does happiness have to do with work?”
Her grandmother cocked her head. “It has everything to do with it. When you are in a miserable job, if affects your whole health.” She looked out into the arena. “A bad job is like a toxic marriage.”
Elana looked at her grandmother under her lashes. “Are you talking about your marriage? Do you think your marriage to Grandfather was toxic? Is that why you found someone online?”
Her grandmother looked at her and smiled. “Yes. That’s exactly why I am talking to someone online. The only thing wrong with your statement is you said I found him.” A slow smile grew on her lips. “It’s quite the opposite, dear. He found me on Facebook.”
Elana’s heart dropped. “That’s exactly what I was afraid of.”
Grandma Cecilia barked out a laugh. “What’s wrong with a man finding the woman he loves?”
Elana shoved her hands into her jacket pocket. “You don’t even know this man. Maybe Father is right. This man is after your money.”
Her grandmother turned and studied her. Elana expected to see hurt in her eyes, but instead she saw resolve.
Grandma Cecilia narrowed her eyes. “I never loved your grandfather. And he knew it.”
Elana blinked, shocked at this revelation. “Then why in the world would you marry him?”
The older woman snorted. “It was expected of me. You see, my parents were poor. Dirt poor. And I had the one thing they could barter for wealth. My looks.” She eyed Elana. “It may not look like it now, but I was quite the beauty in my day.”
Elana smiled. “You’ve always been pretty, Grandma Cecilia.”
That brought a smile out of the older woman. “In my prime, I was stunning.” She looked back at the star-filled sky. “And boy, did I know it.” She smirked.
Elana grinned. “Did you have a lot of admirers?”
Her grandmother lifted her chin. “Of course. But there was only man for me. Ronald Beckwith.” Her eyes lit up as she spoke.
Elana had never seen her grandmother look like a giddy schoolgirl. “Tell me about him.”
Grandma Cecilia sighed and leaned back in her chair. “He was tall and broad, much like those cowboys over there.” She pointed to a large cowboy riding a horse in the arena. He spotted them staring at him. He grinned and tipped his hat.
Elana slapped her grandmother’s hand. “Stop pointing.”
The older woman giggled. “You need to stop being so scared of having a man look at you, Elana. You need to live a little.”
Elana felt her face heat, and she turned away.
“I met Ronald when I was a senior in high school. He’d just moved there. His parents were killed in a car accident, and he was sent to live with his grandparents.” She smiled as she recalled the memory. “The first day he walked into the school, we locked eyes. It was electric. I knew then there would never be another man for me.” A sadness etched into her face. “But then my parents found out about us and demanded we break it off. They said Ronald was poor and would never amount to anything. But I held my ground. I defied them. Until one Sunday afternoon…”
Elana studied her. “What happened?”
Her grandmother swallowed hard, and she studied the ground. “My father came in the house with an envelope. He handed it to me and said he was right about Ronald. He said that Ronald was untrustworthy, and he was cheating on me. I pulled out the picture to see Ronald hugging another woman. The picture had been taken at a restaurant in Charleston. I was devastated.”
Grandma Cecilia looked at her. “When he came over for our date that night, I broke it off with him. He wanted to know why, but I told him I had my pride. As he was leaving, my father told him that no daughter of his would marry someone who would never amount to anything.”
Elana gasped. “That’s pretty cruel.”
Grandma Cecilia nodded. “I never saw him again after that. The rumor was his grandparents let him move to his uncle’s in Montana.”
