Sixteenth Summer

Things Changed

    The "sleep over" with grandma was like the best thing in the world. We ate an obscene amount of junk food and we got to watch like a million movies. Okay, maybe not a million, but you get the picture. It was like having the dream sleep over with your best friends, but with the sarcastic, but humorous commentary throughout the movies. I don't know why grandma didn't consider a job as a movie critique since she is so good at doing that.

    The dinner with Ash was amazing. My grandma and Ash played a round of cards and then they were just reminiscing about the past. I had laughed so hard one time that I almost chocked on a piece of chicken. Thankfully, I lived, but it's not something I would like to go through again.

    That evening in general was amazing. I spent it with two of my most important people, and I had good food and a good time. My parents came back while grandma and I were in the middle of our last movie. They caught my grandma swearing for like the first time, and their faces were priceless. As much as seeing my grandma swear was funny, I don't really condone swearing, so yeah.

    As I was making myself breakfast the following morning, I saw a sticky note on the refrigerator door. I finished making the waffles and the pancakes before reading the note:

Hey,

I'm going to be in the garage if you need me.

Ash

    I smiled. Trust Ash to always look after everybody.

    I heard a door being opened and turned around to see my grandma coming in the kitchen.

    "Well, would you look at that," she said. "You must be in a good mood."

    She chuckled and went over to the table to set it up. I followed behind her with the food and helped he set the table up. We got out the tableware that would only be used during Christmas and Thanksgiving, and then we got the table cloth that had an elegant look to it with its lace and stitching.

    I felt like suddenly there was a change in grandma's attitude. For one thing, she would never use the fancy tableware unless it was a very big occasion, which was something my grandpa would always laugh about. Another, grandma would always tell me to never touch the silverware because it would stain, however now she took it out.

    Things changed when grandpa died, but I never thought that grandma would be the first to try to let go of the past. Nobody would have gone on because he was the biggest part of our lives.

    She noticed my staring and smiled softly at me. Her face held all the tragedies that anyone could hold, but, at the same time, she looked peaceful. She looked as if she had managed to do everything she had wanted, and I couldn't help but wonder why she held that look.

    One day, maybe I'll figure it out.

    The morning came and went. I was out all day in the garden with my grandma, helping her out with clearing out all the stray weed that was poking out from between her flowers. We also cut some flowers out to put aside for some bouquets that grandma wants to make for grandpa.

    By the time the afternoon came around, I was beat. Normally, things like gardening and house cleaning don't exhaust me, but maybe it was the weight of void in my heart that brought me down most of the times now. This summer, everything has changed and I don't know what to do.

    Grandpa always had said that I was good at improvising, but now I am not so sure. Things weren't what they were, and people back then are not the same as now. Well, there's nothing that I could do about it anyway.

    On my way to the garage, I found myself thinking about these things and I couldn't help but feel a bit down about it. Okay, Alex, don't go all emo on yourself, I thought, amusingly.

    I must have laughed out loud because the next thing I heard was, "What's so funny?"

    My thoughts halted and my heart skipped a beat. I slowly turned to find Ash staring at me with a small smile on his face. My face started to burn and I looked the other way.

    Ash just chuckled and turned back to what he was working on. I made my way over to where he was and leaned on his shoulder, watching as he worked on repairing the truck. His face of concentration and the way he would poke out his tongue was adorable, for a lack of a better word. It's is still the same he did when he was younger and trying to solve something on his own.

    I guess some things still stayed the same after all.

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I'm so sorry guys! See what I tell you about not being able to keep up with my promises of updating? I feel really bad :( Hope you like it because I feel iffy about this chapter. I feel as if it is more of a filler chapter because I have like the biggest writer's block right now.

Until next time!