questioned—I nodded yes. “That means he was twenty-one years older than me.”
“ Wow, Grandma he was almost an old man. I mean—sorry.” I felt terrible as soon as the words slipped out.
“ Oh, it’s okay. He looked like a young man. One day you’ll understand forty something isn’t old at all.”
“ Hmmm, well, actually, I like older boys, too. They’re more mature, right?” I asked holding her gaze.
“ Yes...they can be, I suppose.” She paused then added, “Your grandpa was the love of my life—still is and always will be. I miss him so much. I wish he could’ve met you; he sure would’ve loved the dickens out of you. What a shame, he would’ve made a wonderful grandfather.”
“ You think?” I’m not sure why I questioned her.
“ Oh yes, of course. He would’ve gotten a kick out of you.”
“ Cool,” I said with a giggle.
“ The two of you would have gotten on so well together. You’re mother had the best times with him you know. He was such a great father. They would play checkers for hours and chase our little puppy around the yard—what a sight they were.”
“ Wait, Mommy had a puppy?
“ She did.”
“ What happened to it, she never told me she had a puppy?”
“ I’ll tell you someday but not today. Okay?”
I shrugged. “Okay.” A quiet moment passed between us. The puppy topic shifted the mood. I wondered why? “So Grandma, you really miss Grandpa, huh?” Even though she had told me she missed him already, I didn’t know what else to say.
“Every day. He was the best husband a woman could wish for, and the smartest doctor around. Do you know he used to tell me that one-day people would be walking around with telephones in their pockets? If only he could see it now.” Her eyes glazed over, filling with tears. She wiped them away quickly.
“ I’m sure he misses you too, Grandma.” I placed my hand over hers.
My grandfather died long before I was born when my mother was eleven years old. I had never even seen a picture of him. Everything my grandparents owned had been lost in a fire. They weren’t able to salvage even one single photo of their lives together. It seemed so unfair to me. Shortly after the fire he’d passed away from smoke inhalation.
Grandmother decided that day to tell me the details of how my grandfather died. First off, an old flame of his started the fire out of shear meanness and jealousy. I’d say a little madness too. The woman was never convicted of the crime because back then forensic proof didn’t exist, so she never paid for the tragedy she caused. Grandmother said karma would one day catch up with the woman.
My grandfather’s actions were none other than brave during the fire. He risked his life for theirs and, what I didn’t know was he’d gone back into the house to save my mother’s new puppy. Now I knew why my mother never wanted me to have a dog. She probably felt it was her fault that her father had died. The long exposure he’d suffered from the thick smoke, searching for her puppy, had damaged his lungs beyond repair. It all made sense to me now why my mother never wanted to talk about his death.
Their house ended up burning down almost to the ground. After my grandfather’s death, months later, my grandmother had their home restored exactly as it was before the fire; still so much was missing, mainly my grandfather. All their personal belongings went up in smoke. There wasn’t anything left of him to remind my grandmother that he was ever there...all she had of him were the pretty pictures in her head and their daughter.
“ I don’t know why God took him from me.” Seeing my grandma with tears in her sparkling blue eyes caused my heart to constrict.
“ Someday I want to marry a man just like Grandpa Stephen,” I confidently announced. My grandma’s eyes were distant, and filled with such remorse. I wanted her to remember happy times so I asked without thinking, “So, the only man you’ve ever
MR. PINK-WHISTLE INTERFERES