Precious Things || Jensoo

Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

He's pale. He doesn't look right.

"Grandfather, are you okay?" I'm so worried.

"Calm yourself, Jisoo, calm yourself," he replies, but I can see he's distracted.

"I got the message at school, I was concerned. I..."

"Steady, Jisoo, we have things to discuss and this is no time for an emotional outburst. Please put your things away."

He's still pale as he turns away from me, and I'm still worried as I retrieve my school satchel and take it upstairs. I tidy myself from the run home and then walk downstairs. My grandfather is sitting at the kitchen table and I see that he's made us both a cup of tea.

As Alice would say: curiouser and curiouser.

I sit down politely and take a sip of my tea. It's strong, which is the way I like it. No milk, but that's okay. No sugar either. It's how I've learnt to take my tea. I wait for my grandfather to talk, and by moments he does.

"Jack is very ill."

Aaah, Jack.

My grandfather is not my only living relative, he's just the only living relative I have constant contact with. My father's parents are people I never see. I have this vague feeling that they're lovely people but that my mother disapproved of them. My grandfather certainly does, and although they send me a present at both Christmas and birthdays, I haven't seen them since I was four.

The only other relative that I know of is my great-uncle Jack. My grandfather's younger brother lives a good five hours away and until I was ten, we saw him twice a year for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Over the years he has become progressively worse with his dementia and now he barely recognizes my grandfather, let alone me. The last time I saw him, he called me Elsa.

Elsa was my grandmother.

Nonetheless, aside from me, he is my grandfather's only living relative, and in a certain way they're close. Both of them fought in the war as very young men. They're only a year apart, and my grandfather signed up as a seventeen-year-old in 1943. My great-uncle signed up a year later.

I know they both saw a lot of tragedy in the war, and neither of them will talk about it. Jack once mentioned his brother's medals for bravery, but my grandfather shushed him, and he won't discuss it with me.

In a way I think the differences between Jack and my grandfather stem very much from how they dealt with their experiences so young. Where my grandfather saw great solace in order and calm, Jack decided that life was for the living.

And perhaps that's why they ended up as such different men. My grandfather is eighty-two and, despite this, is as healthy as a horse and very spritely. My great-uncle is eighty-one and has multiple health problems. I know he spent his youth drinking and traveling, and I know that my grandfather was anything but approving.

Still, they're close. In a way I can't describe. Which explains why my grandfather is looking so pale.

"I'm so sorry, Grandfather. Is it serious?" I already know the answer to the question, but it must be asked.

"It appears he's had a stroke."

Even I go pale at this. And I do something I wouldn't normally do: I reach out and place my hand over his.

My grandfather and I don't often touch. We are not affectionate people, and definitely not physically so. But this feels like a time for a tender moment. I'm not great at emotion, having stifled it up inside for so long.

I feel like of late I've been letting it out, almost at a trickle.

He removes his hand from mine but doesn't flinch away. He just pats the top of my hand absent-mindedly and then cups his tea cup.

"I feel I should go down there to be with him."

Uncle Jack, as I tend to call him, lives about five hours away in a retirement home. My grandfather then informs me that he's been moved to a Veterans' hospital. I know that a lot of my great-uncle's dementia comes from a head wound he suffered during the Korean War, a war my grandfather didn't see.

I think my grandfather feels a little guilty about that.

"I can stay here, Sir," I assure him. "Or if you require me to miss school..."

"Oh, heavens no, Jisoo, not in Junior year." He takes another sip of his tea. "I don't think I shall need to be away for longer than three days. I don't wish to abandon you during the school year."

"Grandfather, if Uncle Jack needs you!"

"No, Jisoo. I have responsibilities. I cannot abandon them and Jack would very much understand that."

I suspect that Jack would actually have thought that my grandfather was a stubborn old bastard who couldn't be moved with a crowbar but that it was pretty darn typical behaviour. Not surprisingly I tended to agree with my Uncle Jack a lot before he got so demented that he'd ask me for a slice of my famous shortbread before shouting for his gun.

I can't bake. And we took his guns away.

"Grandfather..."

"I shall be traveling down there on Friday morning. The train will suffice nicely."

I nod. "Shall I be accompanying you?" I'm expecting a yes. It's almost a given. He's not going to leave me here alone.

And then, because I haven't had enough surprises for today, he shakes his head. "No, there is no reason to interrupt your studies. It would be far more sensible for you to keep to your routine."

He's leaving me here alone??

Oh. My. God.

I could... I could sleep past seven... I could... I could make something I like for dinner. Oh the possibilities.

"And to that end I have arranged some care and accommodation for you."

I still.

Oh crap.

I can see it now. I'm going to be sent to stay with one of the church congregation. Probably Mrs Barnsley, who smells like mothballs and thinks liver is a delicious treat. I shall sleep in a room with a bedspread like a doily and several layers of dust on it. Some of that dust will have archeological finds in it.

Oh great.

"Your friend Jennie's mother, the doctor, was more than happy to have you stay for the weekend. They do not seem to mind the imposition, and I understand you get on well with the young lady, having completed this project and suchlike."

Oh. My. God.

I can't breathe.

So I make a choking sound. Not that my grandfather notices.

"Of course, I expect you to be on your best behaviour and continue your study while staying there. I shall return on Sunday night whence I will retrieve you from the Kim household."

I still can't breathe.

"I understand that we'll have to suspend your violin practice for the weekend but unfortunately in such circumstances we have to make do with the best we can."

Still not breathing.

"I hope you understand?"

I manage to get some words out. "Yes, Grandfather."

That seems to placate him.

And I sit there with my head spinning so fast the world can't keep up.

Oh. My. God.

* *©clomle44* *