The kite made a ruckus as the wind lifted it higher.
“I made it from the funny pages!” Vi said. “It’s a homemade newspaper kite!”
“And the tail is made from your sewing scraps!” Lolly said.
The tail danced by their heads, flipping and twirling. People began to stop and point as the duo ran by, clapping their encouragement. The two ran alongside the dunes, the grass dancing, before a gust of wind lifted the kite toward the clouds, and Lolly had to shield her eyes to see how high it had gone.
“Here!” Vi said, handing Lolly the guide, two popsicle sticks stuck through a ball of twine.
“I can’t,” Lolly panicked. “I don’t know how.”
“Yes, you can. You can do anything you want! Have fun!”
Lolly dropped her hands to her sides, refusing to take the kite.
Vi fell to her knees onto the sand, still gripping the kite. “Lolly, look at me.”
Lolly turned her face toward her mother. Tears were streaming down her sweet little face.
“You’re going to die! I’m going to be all alone! I will never have fun again!” Lolly wailed.
Vi looked her daughter directly in the eyes. “You’re right, Lolly. I am going to die. But you will never be alone. You will have your father…”
“I won’t have you!”
“Yes, you will. I will always be right here…” Vi nodded at her daughter’s wrist, as her charms jangled in the summer breeze. “And I will always be up there looking over you like the mama bear forever looks over her cubs.”
Vi looked into the sky, beyond the kite.
“I want you to take this kite and watch how it soars. That’s how my soul will be. Now I want your spirit to sail free, like this kite, Lolly. Now, run, my dear. Run into the wind, and let your spirit fly!”
Lolly took hold of the kite, and the two took off running, faster, faster, until the world was a blur. When Vi could no longer keep up, she let go of Lolly’s hand.
Watching her daughter run and giggle, Vi’s spirit and soul soared, just like the kite.
Thirteen
Arden and Lauren sat in silence for a long time, unable to speak.
“I’m so sorry,” Arden said softly. “I can’t imagine. And I never knew the legend of the Manitou Islands. It’s haunting.”
“I’ve always thought of it more as a tribute. A mother’s greatest fear is that her children will die before her,” Lolly said, watching Lake Michigan roll in and out. “But my mom helped make me the person I am, even though I was so very young when I lost her.”
Lolly stopped and looked at Arden and Lauren. “I can’t say I taught you to have fun and that shakes me to my core.”
“Mom, I know who I am,” Arden said. “I have fun. I’ve just been so busy lately. Please don’t ever think you let us down.”
Lolly adjusted her wig, tucking a few tendrils into her late mother’s scarf. “Then show me how to have some fun.”
“What?” asked Arden
“Show me how to have fun,” Lolly repeated.
“What do you mean?” Arden asked, her voice a bit nervous. “You know how to have fun.”
Lolly scrunched up her face, thinking, before she smiled as big as the Grinch. “Run headfirst into Lake Michigan.”
“What? Really? Are you serious? The sand is too hot. The water is too cold. I’m wearing an old swimsuit. My hair will get wet. I’m too old to be silly.”
Lolly continued. “Arden, you can’t schedule fun, and you can’t put it off for the future. At some point, you just have to say to heck with everything and dive in headfirst.”
Arden looked at her mother, stood, and slowly emerged from the shadow of the umbrella.
“Attagirl!” Lolly urged. “Go, Arden go!”
Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow!Ow! Arden thought, dancing to keep her feet off the sand.
“The sand is scorching, Mother!”
“That’s what the water is for … Go!” Lolly waved toward the lake.
Arden ran to the edge of the water, her bobbed, dark hair as rigid as her body. She began to edge into the cold water like a zombie, body and arms stiff.
Oh!Oh!Oh!Oh!Oh! Arden repeated to herself, feeling the cold water hit her skin.
“The water is freezing, Mother!”
“We should rename you ‘Ow!Ow!Ow!Oh!Oh!Oh!’—sort of like Dances with Wolves,” Lolly shouted to her daughter, laughing. “It looks like you’re being robbed! There is no etiquette to getting into the water! Miss Manners isn’t here to judge you!”
Lolly grunted as she got to her feet. “Good gracious, Lauren. Let’s show her how it’s done!”
Lolly yanked off her wig, and she could see her granddaughter’s surprised look.
“What? You expected perfection?” Lolly said, touching her curly, thinning, grey-white hair. “I know I look like a yard sale Barbie. Why do you think I wear a wig? But I’m not ashamed. It’s just who I am. But I can’t get my mom’s scarf wet, and nobody cares what you look like at the beach anyway! Everyone looks bad wet … except for James Bond. Now, are you ready to show her how it’s done?”