Granny's Diary

Picnic. Part 9

Jason had a way to rip on my heart, he always came out with the strangest ideas, I suppose it made sense to him. Grandpa and I took him and Kayla for a picnic one day and he had a lot of fun. The park had pens with several different kinds of farm animals and he adored them.

 There were also some tamed reindeer roaming around and he had fun chasing them. Grandpa played a ball game with him and he couldn't get enough of that either, so he must have enjoyed every second. He helped himself with the cool drinks and sandwiches and when we arrived home, he stated: "Grandma, you and Grandpa can go home, but please leave your picnic basket here so that Mom and Dad can take us again for a picnic. Well, I couldn't argue that, could I?

I have met James's sister Grandma, it was kind of awkward though.  He welcomed me at the door and led me to their living room.  He told me to make myself at home while he fetches us something to drink and maybe some snacks.  I was just about sitting down on the sofa when a tiny girl wheeled herself into the room in a wheelchair.  She is the size of the average ten-year-olds and was wearing a pair of custom-designed boots for obviously deformed feet.

There was an awkward silence in the room as we stared each other down, then I decided that I have to do something.  I stepped forward and offered her my hand: "I'm Beth," I gave her a nervous smile.  She took my hand and looked me in the eyes, her face beamed and changed into the most welcoming smile I've ever seen.

"You must be a friend of James, I'm sorry, I'm Inola, his sister.  I hope you do not think that I'm rude, I didn't expect anybody here."

" Same here, forgive me if I seemed rude," I said as James entered the room with a tray of refreshments.  I couldn't help to notice that there were already three glasses with juice on the tray.

He smiled as he said: "I see you two have already met, I'm glad, now we can tell Inola a bit more about you Beth."

She listened carefully while James explained the reason for my visit, I saw she fiddled nervously with her wheelchair. "Inola," I said, "You don't need to be nervous, I'm only a student and I am learning by teaching you, do you think we can help each other?"

"When can we start?" She asked with that radiant smile on her face.

"What about now, do you think you can show me your books and what you are able to do, then I can prepare properly for our first lesson.  When James?" I asked, making eye contact with James.

"What about next Saturday evening, because of her disabilities Inola attends a special school and stays there during the week.  I hope that will be fine with you."

"I'll have to work around that one at the restaurant, but I will let you know, I'm looking forward to it." I smiled at Inola encouragingly. "Are you going to show me your stuff?"

I was surprised at the difficulty she had, spelling the words. I promised her that we will work on it.

At the dinner table, James's parents were delighted to hear that I'm going to give Inola private lessons and even her mood was lighter, she seemed to be excited.  "Would you mind if we can make it from one to three on Saturday afternoons, in that way it wouldn't interfere with my job at the restaurant," I asked James.

Everybody agreed, so Grandma, your picnic idea might come in handy.