Page 51 of Her Hidden Smile

What was I doing yelling at an old woman?

“Calm down, Renzo. You getting angry isn’t helping Millie.”

“Where is she?” I asked again. This time, I was under control. “What’s wrong?”

She didn’t answer me. She was listening to whatever Millie was saying. I so wanted to grab the phone out of her hand. Then she turned to me.

“She’s in her orchard. She said she overdid, but she was in pain. I could tell.”

“Well, call 9-1-1.”

“Millie! Millie! Talk to me!”

I was done. “I’m going over there.” I didn’t wait for Little Grandma to say anything more. “I’ll pay for my meal tonight,” I promised as I walked out the door. I practically ran down the sidewalk to where my truck was parked and got in. My truck was heading east out of town in less than five minutes, and I was at Millie’s place in another ten. I skidded to a stop in front of her barn, dirt flying. Even when I had been on the hillside, I couldn’t see any sign of Millie, but with the trees heavy with fruit, I wouldn’t.

I fished my phone out of my back pocket and called Millie’s number. It rang five times, then went to voicemail. That meant she and Little Grandma probably weren’t connected anymore, otherwise it would have gone straight to voicemail.

“Shit.”

After I hung up without leaving a message, I called Down Home. “Down Home, we don’t⁠—”

“It’s Renzo. Why are you answering your phone? Weren’t you on the phone with Millie?” I demanded to know.

“Yes, but it was silent for over ten minutes, so I hung up.”

I wanted to roar at her. She should have kept the line open.

“Shouldn’t I have?” she asked tentatively. It was the first time I had ever heard Little Grandma’s voice quaver.

“No. Don’t worry about it.” I stalked over to the orchard.

“Are you there yet?”

“I’m here. It won’t take long for me to find her,” I lied. “I’ve got to go.”

“You better be calling me as soon as you find her. You hear?”

“I hear.”

“Find her fast,” she said softly.

“I will, ma’am.”

I hung up. I needed to be searching. The trees were planted eleven across, going east to west and twenty to twenty-five deep going north to south. It only made sense to search north to south. I started at a jog toward the peach trees that were closest to her house. They were heavy with peaches, and if it weren’t for how Irv kept the grass cut around the rows, I wouldn’t be able to see through to the next row.

“Millie!” I shouted her name over and over again as I carefully looked and slowly jogged until I reached the south end of the peach orchard. As soon as I got out from under the shade of the trees, the bright sun hit my face and I had trouble even seeing the farm’s pond off in the distance. That was the source of water for the orchard and the lavender that Millie was starting to grow.

I didn’t see any sign of her, so I started up the next row, just to be sure I hadn’t missed her. She was a tiny little thing.

“Millie,” I shouted. “Call out. I’m here to help.”

I stopped to listen, but still nothing.

It took me over an hour to go through the orchard.

Nothing.

“Fuck!”