Across the Railroad Tracks

Chapter 10

“They’re what?” Riley asked after I explained the situation to them. I sighed and Jane flicked his nose.

“They’re cutting down the tree dummy.” Jane said

“Hey no flicking me!” Riley yelled and they started flicking and messing with each other. I sighed and held my forehead. I walked out of the living room and into the garage. I found the duck tape and went inside. I then went into the kitchen and began looking for scissors. While I was looking I found two sets of handcuffs in a drawer that squeaked when I opened it. I could hear the other two fighting in the next room.

“Why…does my grandma have handcuffs…in the kitchen…in a drawer that looks like it hasn’t been opened in years. My grandma’s really weird.” I said and stood up. I went into the living room and saw that they were actually fighting and they were very close to the porcelain labrador on a small table.

“No no no watch out for the-!” The table then fell over and the porcelain dog crashed to the ground and shattered. I looked at it with a ‘I’m dead’ look and so did Riley and Jane. I felt my eye twitch and I took deep breaths. I held up the tape and handcuffs and smiled at them with wide eyes.

“Uhh…what’s with the crazy look?” Jane asked with a bit of fear in her tone. In five minutes I had them handcuffed to different parts of the living room with there mouth taped shut. I sighed and walked over to the pieces of the figurine.

“This was a gift from my grandpa. What am I gonna do when grandma gets here and she sees that it’s broken.” I said and I heard Riley yelp. I looked at him and saw that he had ripped the tape off then I heard Jane’s muffled giggle.

“Ow! Anyway why don’t we hide it till we can fix it? It looks like all the pieces are there.” He said and I looked back at the pieces. He was right. I went into the storage room and grabbed a container from one of the boxes containing extra kitchen supplies.

I picked up all the pieces and when I walked back into the living room I heard my grandma’s car pulling into the driveway. I rushed over to Jane, ripped the duck tape off, and ran to my room as I saw Jane’s eye twitch. She was holding in a scream before I ran and it made her look constipated. I closed my door, picked up my book and jumped onto my bed. I made it look like I was reading when my door opened. I looked up.

“Hey grandma how was your day?” I asked and she sighed.

“Ok why are you reading a book upside down and why are Riley and Jane handcuffed to different parts of the living room. Also is Jane ok she looked constipated.” She said and I looked at the front of the book. I face palmed and walked out into the living room.

“Where did you even find handcuffs?” My grandma asked as she took her jacket off.

“I found them while looking for scissors for duck tape.”

“And why did you need duck tape?” She asked as she turned around with her arms crossed.

“They were fighting. I was going to tape them to chairs but then I found the handcuffs. Why do you have handcuffs anyway?” My grandma sighed and went into the kitchen. She came back in with something in her hand.

“They were your grandfathers. He always had two spare sets of handcuffs along with an extra key.” She said as she started taking the cuffs off Jane and Riley.

“Why did he have two extra sets of handcuffs? It sounds kinky to me.” Jane said and I slapped her when she wasn’t looking.

“Lilly!” Jane yelled.

“He was a cop.” I said and acted like I did nothing.

“Grandma is everything ok you seem down?”

“Nothing it’s just…you’re grandpa’s birthday is today.” She said and I felt bad for her when I heard the sorrow in her voice.

“Lilly go change we’re leaving in a hour…Jane…Riley you may come if you want. But I would prefer it if it was just Lilly and I.” They nodded and I walked to my room as I heard the front door open and close.

*****

We placed the flowers on his grave and stood there in silence. That silence was then filled with the barely audible sound of my grandma’s sobs. She fell to her knees and cried into her hands. I lowered to my knees and put my arms around her.

“I miss him so much…” She said silently after a few minutes.

“I miss him too…but it’s a good thing they caught the guys that did it.” I said as I read the tombstone.

‘Sgt. Randall summers. Born: November 12th 1951-Died: October 15th 2012. A beloved friend and family member.’  The gravestone said. A tear slid down my face.

“At least those people are behind bars…” I said as tears started running down my face.

“He was a week away from retirement too…it’s just not fair…” She said as we stood up and walked away. We got to the car and drove off after a few minutes. It was a silent drive home. When we got home I rushed inside and threw up in the bathroom. After cleaning up I got dressed and went into the living room where my grandma was looking at photo albums.

“Lilly…I have something for you to see…” She said and I raised an eyebrow in confusion. How did she see me? She didn’t look up. I walked over and sat down next to her.

“You know that tree house that you go to…”

“Yeah?”

“Well have you ever wondered how it got there?”“Yes…”

“Well when I was pregnant with your mother your grandfather built it because he thought he was having a boy…but when your mother was born he started thinking of taking it down but your mother started using it.” I looked at the pictures. There it was…the tree house.

“There are a lot of memories there…and I’m thrilled that you use it…and I hope it stays there for a very long time…” I froze. I needed to tell her but with how sensitive she is today…well…she would’ve known eventually.

“Grandma…there’s something I need tot tell you.”