Me and Charley

4. The Fourth of July

The distant sound of firecrackers woke me as Independence Day dawned. My alarm clock announced it was 6:50 in the morning. There would be a lot to do, so I took a quick shower, got into underwear and put my glasses on. I dug out my blue t-shirt with the big flag on it. That and a fresh pair of shorts got me dressed for the day. As I passed the phone in the front hall it rang. I picked it up and said, "Hello?"

"Hello, Trey, this is your Grandpa. May I speak to your mother?"

"Grandpa, how are you?"

"I'm all right, Trey. May I speak to your mother?"

"I think she's in the shower, Grandpa. Can I have her call you when she gets done?"

"All right, but don't you go anywhere until I've talked to her."

"I won't, Grandpa. I wish I was with you."

"We'll see plenty of each other in the next couple of days, Trey. Now don't forget to have your mother call me."

"Sure, Grandpa. I love you."

"I love you too, boy. Good-bye for now."

 "Good-bye, Grandpa" 

Just then Mom called from upstairs, "Who was on the phone?"

"It was Grandpa. He wants you to call him as soon as you can."

"Oh, dear. How did he sound?"

"He sounded good, Mom, just like always."

"Thank you, Trey. I'll call him right back."

There was a light tapping on the back door. I opened it and there was Charley. I said, "You're up early."

"Yeah. Here's your paper." He fished it out of the small backpack he wore, that looked like Army surplus. "In the basket on my bike there's a plate of biscuits my mom just made. I couldn't figure a way to carry them without messing them up."

"Oh, wow, Charley, your mom musta got up pretty early, fixing us biscuits and all."

"Well, we're having some too."

"I'll go get them." I retrieved them and said, "Come on in." As we entered the kitchen Mom came through the other door and exclaimed, "Why good morning, Charley. You're certainly up early."

I said, "His mom made biscuits for us. He brought our paper down too."

Mom asked, "Charley, have you had your breakfast?"

"I haven't."

"Let me call your mother and see if she'll let you stay and enjoy these with us. There's plenty to go around."

"All right."

Mom went to the phone, spoke briefly and returned saying, "Your mother says you can stay but don't get underfoot. Not that you ever do."

"I'll try not to."

"I'll fix us some sausage and eggs, and I have some gravy in the fridge that we can heat up for the biscuits."

I brought plates, mugs, and utensils to set the table. I asked, "Mom, what did Grandpa want?"

"He wants to take you to Lachaine to get you a good suit and shoes for the funeral. He wanted to do it today and I reminded him it's the Fourth of July and everything's closed. You'll go tomorrow."

I had never worn a suit or dress shoes in my life, and I squirmed inside at the thought. "Do I really hafta wear a suit, Mom?" I asked.

"You do, especially if your grandfather wants you to. You'll be going to weddings and such soon enough, son. It's probably way past time you had one."