Second Chances

thirty-seven

a l e x

"Hi, Uncle Marco," I greeted him right as he opened the front door to his house. "Papa told you I was coming, right? This is Luke, by the way."

Luke waved a shy hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you."

"Of course, the pleasure's all mine. Please, come in," he moved out of the way and let me in, Luke following right behind me. "Papa's in his room. You know where it is. If you need anything, I'll be in the garden. Sandra's in the kitchen just finishing up with the dishes."

"Thanks. We'll be with Papa," I watched him walk out to the garden in the back before leading Luke to my grandfather's room.

It was the first time they were going to meet, but I wasn't nervous. I had a feeling Papa would like him.

"Papa," I squealed right as I saw him, running over to him and hugging him tightly. "I brought you your cookies. Uncle Marco didn't suspect a thing."

There was a wide grin on his face as his hands shot out to receive the cookies. "I've been waiting for this all week."

As I opened my purse to take the little bag of cookies, he looked behind me. "Who's this, Allie?"

I motioned for Luke to come closer. He was still standing in the doorway, just awkwardly watching us. He obliged.

"Papa, this is Luke. He's my boyfriend. Luke, this is my grandfather."

"It's nice to meet you, son. I hope you're taking good care of my little Allie," Papa smiled and invited Luke to sit on the chair beside him.

"You don't have to worry. I make sure she's always happy," Luke's smile was genuine, and I knew from the look in my grandpa's eyes that he was already starting to like Luke.

"That's good to hear," Papa sighed contentedly. He reached his hand into the bag of cookies I brought him and broke off a piece, throwing it into his mouth. "Ah, I've missed cookies."

While my grandpa enjoyed his cookies, I was able to convince him to tell us some stories of when he was younger, like what he was like in high school, the times he almost peed his pants because he thought there was a ghost and my personal favorites, stories of him with my grandma.

"Allie, will you get me some water, please?" Papa requested. I agreed instantly and got up, leaving Luke in the room with him as he retold more stories.

"Aunt Sandra, where can I get water for Papa?" I asked as I walked past the living room.

She was watching the TV intently, eyes glued to the screen. "There's cups I left by the sink to dry. Just wipe one up with the towel there. Water in the fridge."

"Okay, thanks."

I went to get the water and returned to my grandfather's room to give it to him. Before I went in though, I heard him talking to Luke about something that wasn't one of his stories, so I stood by the door and peeked in, listening to the conversation.

"You love her, son?"

"With everything I have," Luke replied without hesitation. That made me smile.

"Don't leave her, okay? So when I'm gone, someone can still make her happy and laugh and tell her stories," my grandfather ordered. "You'll do that for me?"

I saw Luke nod. "Promise. But I won't have to do that anytime soon for sure. You're still strong. I think you'll live forever."

My grandfather let out a laugh. "I'm not a child, Luke. I know I don't have very long. One day, my wife's gonna miss me and make me come up and stay in heaven with her already."