Can’t. Breathe.
I bugged my eyes out at my dad from across Grans’ shoulder as she enveloped me in a suffocating embrace.
For a woman of 83, she was pretty strong.
“You’ve grown so much!” She squealed, then finally let me go. She held me out at arm’s length and exhaled slowly. “And you’re the spitting image of your mother back when she was eighteen. Oh, I can’t wait to pull out the photo albums and show you!”
Her eyes were getting teary and I was getting just a little bit uncomfortable.
“Hey, don’t I get some lovin’?” Pops interceded, seeing my discomfort and stepping in to give me a hug.
“I missed you guys so much,” I said, breathing in the familiar scent of cedar and hay that characterized my grandfather. He was always out on the barn, fixing things that didn’t need to be fixed, or just seeing to the animals.
Back in the day, he was the town’s most well-known vet. He had an office in the business sector of Fort Worth, and sometimes he would take me down there and let me pet the sick puppies. But after the early signs of arthritis started to show, he retired and stayed at home to tend to the barn.
Grans, on the other hand, owned a bakery. She started up that business only a few years after my mother was born and it’s still up and running today. Of course, eventually she had to hire a manager to help her with the store, but she still continued to help supervise from home.
“So, why don’t you get settled in and freshen up, then we can sit down for a little lunch, okay?” Grans chirruped, unable to hide her joy at having us here.
That made me feel a little bit guilty because aside from the exchange of Christmas and birthday cards over the years, I haven’t really made an effort to get in touch with them.
My dad and I lugged our stuff upstairs and stopped in the middle of the hallway, between two closed doors. The one to the left was my mom’s old room and to the right, was my Aunt Caroline’s.
Back when we used to visit, my mom and dad usually stayed in my mom’s room, and I would have Aunt Caroline’s. This time though, my dad opened the door to the left and placed my bags down by the dresser.
“I think it’s your turn to stay here this time,” he said with a soft smile before carrying his own things to the other room.
I stepped inside slowly and looked around.
It was the same floral print wallpaper and the same lilac curtains that framed the windows. The dresser was empty save for a small lamp and a framed family picture of my mom, Aunt Caroline, Grans, and Pops from their vacation to Japan when she was a little girl. The big oak cabinet across the bed housed only a few dresses and shirts that my mom used to wear. All the rest of her stuff had been given away. Remnants of her life, dispersed and forgotten.
I shook off my thoughts and unpacked quickly. I placed my clothes in the cabinet, my laptop and a Nicholas Sparks book that Riley had gotten me as a reminder of our first date, on the dresser, and my toiletries in the bathroom down the hall. I put my hair up in a messy ponytail, washed my face, then headed on downstairs.
“Wow,” I breathed out as I eyed the banquet that was laid out before me. The dining table was set with a big bowl of fried chicken, a huge heaping of mashed potatoes, a large tray of lasagna, and a jug of iced tea. “Expecting anyone else, Grans?” I joked.
“The pie’s in the oven,” Pops added with a wink.
Just then, my dad walked in and stopped short after entering the room.
