I was prepared to hop in and ask if maybe we could have some come Sunday and others come Monday because I didn’t want to be too much of a bother. But the sight of all those eager heads bouncing up and down literally shut my mouth. They were all willing to sacrifice their time in order to help me. The good news sank in.
Wardell barked more orders. “Come dressed to work. Tennis shoes, hair pulled back, ready to put in some work. Take all your pain pills before you get here. Stretch. Eat a good breakfast, but not too much. It’s hard to work over a bulging stomach.”
Valeria gave him an “Amen.”
Christine rubbed her husband’s arm and whispered, “Okay, honey. That’s enough. This isn’t boot camp.”
“Yes, it is!” Liz countered. “Because it could have been any one of us. Except you.” She pointed at Gabriella. “Anybody could see one of us having a senior moment—locked out of our car, slip and fall at a park—and overreact. Start questioning our minds, our ability. Threaten our freedom. We gotta take the wheel!” She thrust a fist in the air.
“Take the wheel!” Gabriella, her lone soldier, yelled while pretending to hold a car’s steering wheel.
Richard took a moment, glancing around the room as if drawing inspiration from the faces in front of him. “We can do better than that,” he muttered. He straightened up, arms crossed, thinking hard for a second. Then his face lit up as an idea sparked.
“How about this,” he started, his voice steady. “We’re not just helping Joyce. We’re helping all of us, right? So how about something that captures that—keeping our independence and watching out for each other.” He paused for effect, then added, “How about, ‘Stand strong, help along!’”
He thrust his fist into the air, and this time there was a different energy behind it.
“Stand strong, help along!” he repeated, louder.
The room seemed to wake up, and one by one, people began nodding, catching on to the spirit of it.
“Stand strong, help along!” Gabriella chimed in enthusiastically, raising her fist.
Sonia, looking a bit more convinced, followed suit. “Stand strong, help along!”
The others echoed it, and soon the room was filled with voices, stronger now, carrying the chant: “Stand strong, help along!”
Gabriella, ever the firecracker, couldn’t just chant. She starteddancing, moving her arms in a little shimmy that got everyone’s attention. “Stand strong, help along!” she sang, hips swaying. Just dancing away like she hadn’t thrown me for a loop with that cooking-contest announcement.
Why didn’t she tell me?This wasn’t the time for questions, though.
Not to be outdone, Eileen, usually so composed, grinned wide and jumped in with a jig of her own, bouncing from side to side. The sight of her doing an impromptu Irish dance had everyone in stitches. Laughter filled the room as we all gave in to the goofiness of the moment.
Sonia, with a wink, threw her hands up and spun around while Liz started clapping in rhythm. Even Wardell, who had been the grumpiest of the bunch, cracked a smile and joined in with a playful fist pump to the beat. “Stand strong, help along!”
It was contagious. Before long, everyone was moving, swaying, and chanting. Richard added a little twirl to his step, then threw his arm around my shoulder. “Stand strong, help along!” he called out, his voice full of laughter.
I gave in, laughing and raising my fist with the rest of them. My Robin Creek family. In this moment, with the chant echoing around me and the joy in everyone’s faces, the house didn’t feel like a burden. It felt like a project we’d all taken on together—proof that I wasn’t alone.
Gabriella twirled into Richard, nearly knocking over a chair, which sent the room into fits of giggles again. Wardell shook his head, but the smile was unmistakable now.
“All right, all right!” Wardell hollered over the noise, half serious, half amused. “We gotta save some of that energy for fixin’ this place up!”
The room erupted in cheers, but the chant had done its work. We were ready to face the task ahead—together, with laughter and plenty of support.
My friends grabbed their bags and began walking toward the door. Conserving our energy was probably a good idea, given Warden Wardell.
Just as I was getting ready to say goodbye to everyone, my phone buzzed in my pocket. It was Elijah.
“Thanks, everyone. I’ll see you all Saturday. I have to take this call.” I waved and stepped away from the group, leaving the lockup to Gabriella. “Hey, EJ. How are you?”
“I’m okay, Grandma,” Elijah said, his voice quieter than usual. “Sounds like a bunch of people are with you. Who’s there?”
“Oh, just Gabriella and the ladies from the library and some other people who are going to help with the final repairs around the house.”
“How’s Miss Gabriella?”
“Oh, she’s fine. She’s just seeing our guests to the door.”
