BREATHE FOR ME

Chapter 4: Little Genevieve

By the time that we reach Gran's house in Phoenix, it is eight o'clock in the morning and I have drawn a total of four pictures. The first being the incomplete version of the Red River, the second being the yellow flowers that lined the sidewalk in New Mexico, the third being a long-horned cow, and the final sketch being Mom fast asleep across the backseats looking like a very vulnerable child. After the fifteen hour journey, my drawing hand aches and my face is covered in red lines, imprinted by my oxygen mask. Our belongings beat us to Gran's, big surprise, but by the time that we get there, George and the delivery men had already unloaded all of our things from the large truck and carried it up into the upstairs apartment, which now belongs to us.

Gran's house, which has been passed down generation to generation, consists of two very large apartments. The floor level apartment, which Gran and George now live in, has a floor plan of two large bedrooms, a brand new kitchen, a small lounge area, a large bathroom, a utility room and a pool around the back. They renovated this apartment a few years ago, shortly after they got married because they felt that they were getting too old to walk up and down the newer apartment's stairs. The upstairs apartment, which has been empty ever since, is still the larger of the two. With three large bedrooms, a kitchen, one large bathroom, one small bathroom, the main lounge, a small conservatory lounge, a utility room and a small library, the upstairs apartment is more like a house on top of Gran's apartment. When we told Gran that we were planning on moving to Arizona, she insisted that we move in above them so that we could all be together.

"My beautiful Genevieve and Maddison, look at the pair of you! My goodness, look at how skinny you both are!" Getting out of the car, I see Gran making her way quickly down the garden path towards us. Her long grey hair is bunched up into some kind of stylish twist and her long green dress is covered by a floral apron, splattered with flour and cocoa powder. "I will definitely have to sort that out. No grandchild of mine shall be going hungry whilst I walk this Earth. George get down here and look at these girls! My days, look how grown up you both are."

I look over at Maddie, who is now walking around to my side of the car. Her eyes are smiling but her mouth remains neutral. I drag my machine out of the car and throw it over my shoulder, placing the mask limply around my neck. At the sight of my Gran's contagious wrinkled grin, my mouth breaks into one that matches. Her dark eyes seem to sparkle in the Arizona sun at the sight of us. Mom also gets out of the backseats and stands behind us, ushering the two of us forwards towards our very energetic Gran.

"Hello Momma. I'll have you know that I feed these girls as much as I can."  Mom chirps from behind us. Gran finally reaches us and throws her tiny arms around the three of us, dropping all of her weight onto us. Her small frame seems to crush us into each other but I don't care, I'm too busy squeezing her right back.

"My days, it is so lovely to see my girls again. It's been too long." Gran says as she buries her face into Mom's hair and squeezes us all. She smells like cocoa, vanilla and cinnamon; a strong indication that she's been baking all morning. Letting go of us all, she shouts for George again, grabs hold of Maddie's hand and practically drags her in towards her apartment across the lawn. Looking up at our apartment above, I try to cover up my laugh but fail miserably. Maddie turns her head to look at me and raises an eyebrow. I stop laughing but continue to smile.

Our apartment is definitely something beautiful. The outside is layered with some kind of yellow brick. Numerous hanging baskets, full of different species of cacti, shrubs and pale flowers, hang from each windowsill. There are huge grey windows that emphasize the impossible size of the apartment. Each window is floor to ceiling height, partially covered with different types of ivy and cacti falling artistically from the hanging baskets. Large white blinds are visible from inside. There is a small balcony on the front porch, covered in more plants and a small water feature, where the grand yellow brick staircase leads up to. The grey slate roof, matching the windows, seems miles away from where I am stood in the front garden.