[Complete] Ariel and the Bandits

23 - All You Need is Love, a Drink, and Empanadas

Just as much of a night owl my grandmother is, she's also an early bird. Mornings with her are usually magical.

Once I showed her how to use YouTube, she would take the time to learn new songs on the violin. It was good for retaining memory and motor skills. It also helped her keep her mind off of my abuelo's death.

This morning, she plays song she's been learning recently: "All You Need is Love" by The Beatles.

And when you have a song like that playing for you by your eighty-year-old abuela, it's hard to be mad at the noise so early in the morning.

"Buenos días," mi abuela says.

I rub the sleep out of my eyes. As I open my eyes back up, I see my grandmother has on her favorite floor-length floral dress with her hair pinned up with a hair clip.

I, on the other hand, am wearing an old shirt and pjs I left here and will probably end up wearing exactly what I wore yesterday.

"Buenos días," I repeat. "Do you want me to go out to get breakfast or do you want me to make something?"

"No," she says. She sets her violin in its case and walks to the kitchen. "I was just waiting for you to get up to eat. I already made breakfast."

I smile. "Oh? So you just decided your violin would be my alarm this morning?"

"I saw you turn off your phone anoche," she says. "There wasn't going to be another alarm."

She grabs the plates out of the upper cabinets as I grab milk and orange juice out of the fridge. I set them down on the table. I peer over my abuela as she uncovers the pan.

"Huevos a la mexicana," she says. "I also made banana pancakes and I have aguacate for pan tostado."

"I feel loved and spoiled," I say.

"You should. You need todo el amor." She hands me a plate with a little bit of everything. "And a drink, but don't worry. I have a bottle of patrón in the alcohol cabinet for later."

Jokingly, I say: "Well if you have any sparkling wine, we can start our drinking now."

I take a seat. I spread avocado onto some toast and take a bite. When I stand to heat up some tortillas for my eggs, I notice my abuela isn't in the kitchen.

When she comes back into the room, she's holding a bottle of sparkling wine and smiling like she's an underage teenager.

I laugh. "Aren't you going to tell me not to tell my mom?"

Abuela waves me off. "No, you're old enough now. Besides, when has that ever stopped us?"

"Mimosas are a great morning surprise abuelita." I pull her champagne glasses out and pour us each a drink. "I've also got a surprise for you."

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After breakfast, my abuela and I drive down to LA. I make a stop at the LA Farmers Market on Third and Fairfax. It's one of her favorite places to walk around and try all the different kinds of food. It was her favorite thing to do with mi abuelo, so I made sure to take her every now and then when I moved in with her.

She and I loved going across the street and heading into the three-story Barnes and Noble at The Grove, grabbing a book, and finding a seat by the floor to ceiling windows.

For today, I want to try some of the food at the market and then catch a movie.

"I hear you can spot a lot of famous people here," I tell her.