My Juliet

Chapter 1

The car turns easily down the familiar dirt road. Kayla leans against the head rest as her mother expertly navigates the curves. She knows the type and size of each tree they pass, even with her bright blue eyes shut. A moment later, the two pull into the driveway.

Despite the occasion, Kayla can't help but smile. The house is a modest Texan home built long before she was born. Its blue exterior is accented by a wrap around porch where the heat could be escaped in the summertime. The house is vintagely beautiful and Kayla wouldn't have it any other way.

The unusual Texas forest was home to many games made up by Kayla and her young cousins.

They say each person has 3 places. Home, work, and one more where you spend the majority of your time when your not at the other two places. The home of her maternal gradparents is that place for Kayla.

She takes in a deep breath and relishes in the smells she knows so well. The smell of grass and fresh air, so different from the smells of downtown Dallas. Yet, they are the smells of her childhood. Her innocence rolled into one indescribable sent.

She feels a pang in her heart as her eyes land on the flowerbeds lining the brick pathway. Save a few stubborn pansies, the soil is full of weeds, the grass growing over from the lawn. She stares begrudgingly at the wilting flowers. They mock her childhood and bring her back to reality.

As if sensing this, her mother places a protective arm around Kayla's shoulder and leads her down the walkway.

Suddenly the screen door opens with as much flourish as a screen door can be opened with.

"Kayla! Amanda! How are my two favorite girls?" Pap greets then customarily and easily envelopes the two in a bear hug. He kisses each of them on the head and steps back to face his daughter and granddaughter. Kayla smiles at how little he's changed in her whole life. His beard is as full and white as ever. That combined with a noticable fondness for his wife's chocolate peanutbutter balls makes him the spitting image of Santa Claus.

Kayla takes his large hand into her own and he leads the small chain of his kin to the front door. Amanda stops just short of the entryway.

"How is she, Dad? Really."

His bright eyes loose their sparkle for a moment before returning to normal again.

"She's awake now. Come and see."

This answer satisfies Amanda who reluctantly follows him to the hallway as Kayla trails behind them, each expecting their own version of "come and see."

The hallway is short, yet most rooms in the house brach off it. To the right is the den. Accross from that, the bathroom. A little further and the guest room is located. Next to it is a slightly larger master bedroom. The walls of the hallway are literally covered from top to bottom with pictures. Amanda's school pictures, Kayla's baby photos, and row after row of candid family photos have all been stratigically scattered over the years in various mismatched frames. Although she's walked down this hall a hundred times, Kayla knows she's never looked at all of them, there are so many. At the end of the walkway sits a picture Kayla knows better than any other. Largest and most beautiful of all the frames is home to a stunning black and white of her Mamaw and Pap. In their glory days, the two were the the best looking couple she had ever seen. She marvels yet again at the beauty of the wedding photo before her grandfather steps in front of it to open the bedroom door.

As soon as it opens a crack, the stale air hits her. The smell of her grandparent's home had always been a security blanket. A familiarity that she could come back to. She often held onto that constant in her life and feels a sinking feeling as the door opens wider. While the base is the same familiar smell, it is now coated with an unfamiliar and dominating cover. It's like the taste of a pill on your tounge before you swallow it. Kayla tries not to make any visible acknowledgement and instead plunges further into the room. The small room had been transformed into a makeshift hospital. The bedside table is covered with various medicine bottles with other medical supplies scattered around.

Her grandmother sits up in bed, her thin face towards the tv.

"Amber, look who's here," Pap announces.

She turns with effort and her lovely blue eyes light up at the sight of Amanda and Kayla. Her stylish gray bob has been replaced by a dark blue scarf that covers her head. She reaches for the remote and her veins bulge as she pushes the off button, Rachel Ray's inappropriately cheery face disappearing instantly.

"Hello," she greets as warm and cheery as if she is still Suzy-Home-Maker just taking a warm apple pie out of the oven.

"Hi, Mom," Amanda crouches next to the bed and takes her mother's thin hand. Pap pulls a chair out from under the wooden desk so Amanda can sit.

"Let's leave your mother and Mamaw alone for a while. I have a fresh pitcher of lemonade in the fridge waiting for us."

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Kayla can tell right away. She keeps her face in a grateful smile as not to give away her disappointing discovery. Her suspicions are confirmed with the first sip. Definitely powder.

She stares longingly out the sliding glass doors. Out in the large backyard, the lemon tree is in full bloom. For the first time, she has to fight the overwhelming desire to cry.

"A little sour?" Pap asks, a playful smile dancing above his snow white beard.

Kayla shakes her head. "It's perfect," she lies.

"So how are you, Pap?"

He laughs an affectionate laugh. "So grown up," He marvels. "How old are you now? 16?" He shakes his head making it clear he knows the answer but is simply amazed by it.

Kayla nodds anyway, answering his rhetorical question.

"And so beautiful. You have your grandmother's eyes," he tells her as always.

Kayla smiles. If she had a nickel for everytime he'd told her this she would be a millionare. "And your smile," she says reaching up to touch his dimple.

"This is true." He leans over and places his finger on her own dimple, making her smile and causing the dimple to deepen. They break away from each other simultaneously. "I'm getting by," he says in response to her origional question.

Except that your wife is dying, she silently adds, her smile fading.

"How are YOU doing, Sugar?" He counters, not noticing the loss of light from his grandaughter's eyes.

"Fine," she replies automatically. Except that my grandmother is dying, she thinks again but doesn't say.

Her thoughts are interrupted by the careful closing of the bedroom door. Amanda's sneaker clad feet pad gently down the hall before she appears in the kitchen.

"Lemonade?" Pap offers, holding up his own glass and pointing to it. Amanda shakes her head.

She knows it's powder, Kayla thinks. She wishes she could laugh at her grandfather's inability to squeeze a fresh lemon.

"Kayla why don't you go visit your Mamaw for a bit?" Amanda suggests, taking the vacant seat on the other side of Pap.

Kayla rises and flashes a smile at the two before turning out of the kitchen and down the hall. She runs her hands across all the picture frames by spreading her arms out to both sides. She keeps her head down, watching her feet step on the oak wood floors. She takes a moment to admire herr favorite photograph hanging next to the door. She traces the timeless elegance of her grandmother's wedding dress, her grandfather's marine's uniform. She smiles at their smiles, so clearly in love. She can see the brightness in Mamaw's blue eyes despite the black and white picture. She touches the deep dimple in Pap's smile, now hidden behind his full beard and she reaches for her own identical dimple. Kayla sighs and drops her smile her dimple fadeing with it. She drops her hand and knocks on the door. Upon hearing a sweet and muffled "come in," she opens the door. As her grandmother's figure becomes visible, Kayla reminds herself to see Mamaw for what she once was rather than the harsh reality she now is.

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Hey I hope y'all liked the first chapter! There is more to come soon. I would really appreciate it if yall would comment on it too. Thanks a billion and happy reading! <3 xoxo