A Simple Life Ch. 24-26

Total lightweight that I am the moment the beer was offered we both knew I'd be spending the night which was just fine by us. The guest room, a room I knew all so well from a thousand weekend sleepovers and summer stays, was always made and ready for company. As I undress and brush my teeth I reflect on this monumental day. From the humiliation of my brother's visit at work to Winona surprising me later to Kayla's confusing advice to my joyous and liberating evening with a new friend followed by the agony of discovering Grandpa's condition and concluding in this cozy togetherness it had been a day like no other. For such an unprecedented day though, it ends as countless others had before.

Just like when I was little Grandpa tucks me in, kisses my head, and serenades me with a softly whispered version of My Little Buttercup. I gaze up at my hero, that familiar head and shoulders silhouetted by the hall light streaming through the door. In the shadow I could not see the wear of years on his face or see the extra white on his scruffy cheeks and chin. It could have been ten years ago, or even twenty, until a wheezing cough brings me back to the present. As he croons to the final "I loooove youuuu" my heart is breaking and overflowing at the same time.

He kisses my head again. "Good night my Buttercup."

"Good night Grandpa." I whisper.

He rises and walks to the door. There he pauses to look back at me...then steps through and closes the door. In the darkened room I close my eyes and let the gentle rock of the water lull me to sleep.

To be continued...