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Andy

Shocker.

My Grandmother had always lived on the bay, for as long as I'd known her. I'd never personally been to her house, but she was so proud of all she'd accomplished while doing home improvement projects on it, she'd always bring a new album of photos everytime she visited. Apparently, the place began as a shanty shed half a mile from the water's edge, which had begun as an old crab shack, later remodeled into a cheap home, which she purchased in her mid 40's and has been working on ever since, well over 35 years.

Warm air blew through the rolled down windows of the car while we drove down the freeway. I smiled into the wind, anxiety swirling in my stomach, combined with excitement to see my grandmother.

“Ash, just a heads-up... Evelyn won’t look the way you remember.”

My Mother’s words didn’t sink in right away, and I couldn’t imagine how she could change so much in the six months since I’d seen her.

The storefronts and skyscrapers degraded into managable little apartment buildings, thinning until there were only a few houses on the outskirts every couple yards. It dwindled until there was nothing, and we drove for fifteen more minutes, my parents recollecting her last visit to us in November, and my Mother reciting stories of her childhood growing up in California.

I rested my elbow on the edge of the windowsill, looking out thoughtfully. Andy did the same.

You know that sense of Deja-Vu you get when you know you’ve done or seen something before? I felt it wash over me in a wave as we neared the beautiful home. Neither of my parents spoke, neither looked at it in recognition, but I just knew in my heart it was the one. We pulled into the driveway, the sound of dry gravel crunching under the tires until we rolled to a stop a few yards from the front porch, a small, beautiful trail of stepping stones with handprints, and trailing soapwart seperating us.

The air was still and quiet, aside from the chirping of some birds. I took notice of my parents’ stance. Their hands intwined on the center console, giving each other a gentle, reassuring squeeze, similar to the one I did with Andy. It concerned me, their nodding and silent ‘it’ll be okay’ gestures, were making me giddy to get out and investigate.

I climbed out, setting foot for the first time ever on my Grandmother’s property. Turning slowly, I took in everything, years and years of hard work finally paying off. A small pond of koi lingered in the right side of the large lawn, shaded by a cherry blossom tree, fully in bloom, sending wafts of an unbelievably sweet smell through the air.

Small garden statues to casually situated around the yard, making it appear very warm and welcoming, saddening me briefly that I’d never gotten to visit as a kid. Running around, playing in the pond? That would have been heaven.

Turning back, I quickly became confused as the situation unfolded. Someone stood on the front porch, but it was not my Grandmother. In fact, they were not familiar at all. It was a man, maybe in his late twenties, wearing what looked like white nurses’ scrubs. He had an ID tag clipped to his shirt pocket, and his arms crossed, a tight, uncomfortable smile on his face as my parents approached the front porch.

“Uh...” Andy hesitated a step behind me, confusion creasing his forehead. “You know this guy?”

I shook my head, looking back at the man.

“Er, hi...” My Dad began, stopping a few feet short of the stone pathway, looking up at the man in confusion.

“Hello. I’m Michael Travis, Evelyn Hastings guardian. Can I help you?”

“Whoa, guardian?” My mom shook her head, trying to catch up, “What do you mean guardian? When did this happen?”

“Two weeks ago. May I ask your relation to Mrs. Hastings?”

“I’m her daughter.” Mom narrowed her eyes a bit, taking a step closer, sizing the man up warily. “Where is my Mother?”

“Your mother is in good care, mrs?...”

“Hunter.” She replied flatly, unconvinced by his nonchalant tone. “Sandy Hunter.”

“Mrs. Hunter, I can assure you-”

“I don’t want assurance.” She muttered, stalking up the last of the stone steps, shrugging past Michael into my Grandmother’s house. “I just want to see my mother.”

“Er, Mrs. Hunter!” He stuttered, stuck in the haze of shock as he hurried in after her, “Mrs. Hunter, you shouldn’t-”

“Call me Sandy, why don’t you?” She called back sharply from the depths of the house, a pang of annoyance in her voice.

I was quick on my feet and bolted in, seconds after my Dad. I felt dazed, trying to catch up with what was happening. Trying to read things, and understand why my Grandmother had a guardian, and why she wasn’t the same... It was just a cold, wasn’t it?

I walked around blind corner, hearing my mother’s faint muttering.

“- I have every right...”

“Things got out of hand in a hurry...” Andy said as he followed me through the maze of unfamiliar halls. I paused, looking both ways at an intersection of cream colored hallways, listening for a familiar voice, before sharply turning right, following to to the door left half open at the end.

Pushing it open, I froze up in surprise. Michael stood a few feet back from a bed, and the whole bedroom seemed to be some sort of cozy sunroom.

There was a lot of tension, Michael anxiously waiting for us to get out, muttering under his breath now was not the time. I peered around him to get a good look at the unfamiliar withered woman in the bed.

“Huh?...”

The woman, frail as a blade of grass, gingerly looked my way, her eyes, still the same bright blue, widened and a soft smile spread across her face.

“Asheen, my dear, come here, come here.” She gestured as urgently as she could. I hesitated, completely baffled. She looked nowhere near how she had only six months ago... She looked ready to fall over in a stroke.

My palms were sweaty, and my heart was racing. Everyone was looking at me expectantly. My parents looked very edgy, reading my expression, trying to judge if I would run out screaming, to hide myself away in a tree, or if I could step up and deal with this substantial change.

I swallowed hard, trying to breathe, trying to concentrate. It was too much to comprehend at once. My Grandmother’s patient smile waited, still soft, sweet and kind.

I jumped a little at a soft, cold touch. Frozen fingers curled into mine, and another reassuring squeeze followed. I looked a litte to my right, and Andy nodded once, nudging me forward a bit.

I slowly unfroze, and twitched back to life as things began to make sense again. I pulled one foot forward, and hesitantly approached my Grandmother’s bedside.

“Grandma.” I spoke, but it came out in a breathless whisper. I gratefully sat down in the wooden rocking chair Michael pushed forward, the man looking like he’d burst at the seams with all the anxiety and tension.

Her smile brightened, still dimmed and hidden behind the layers of falling skin, wrinkles cascading down her face, cheekbones very prominent.

“Just some trouble, is all.” She reassured quietly with another smile. She reached for my hands, and I accepted them in relief, surprised to find her grip strong and steady, opposed to her appearance.

She looked aged by ten years, a saddened glimmer to her eyes as she read my face. “Ah, I’m so sorry, dear. I’m a mess.” She chuckled softly. “But I don’t feel that way. Just a little ill.”

“A little is an understatment...” Michael muttered.

“Would you mind your own business for a moment?” My Mother snapped at him, glaring. Clearly fed up with the man already.

“How are you enjoying California so far?” She wondered, oblivious to the tension between my parents and her care taker. “Quite the change from Utah, isn’t it?”

I nodded, looking down at her hands, frail and wrinkled, it was hard to grasp how much she’d changed. It felt like an episode of Scooby-Doo, you were just waiting for her to pull off the mask and laugh, saying she was only joking. But she never did.

“I hear a career change brought you all out this way. Although, your visit, a bit unexpected, I’m happy to see you all, all the same.” She patted my hands reassuringly.

Andy hovered over my shoulder, and I could hear him sigh. “I’m sorry, Ash. This must be so hard...”

I closed my eyes for a moment to get my bearings, before opening them and giving my Grandmother a warm smile. “I’m so glad to see you.” She smiled back, just as bright as I remembered.

“How are you feeling, Mom?” My mom asked her, concerned. Reaching out to touch her shoulder comfortingly.

“I’m feeling like it’s time to get out of this damn bed.” She sighed with a weak laugh, gesturing towards Michael. “Michael, dear, help me up, please?”

“I don’t-”

“I’m giving you a fair chunk of my retirement money and you’re not giving me my final wishes?”

He floundered, put in a position where he had no reply. “That’s what I thought. Now help me, please?”

He did so, grudgingly, too. He guided her up into a more comfortable looking sitting position.

“What’s the agenda for the day?”

“We were thinking lunch.” My Mother replied, and I could see out of the corner of my eye, Michael’s face scrunching up at the idea. “Alone, of course.” She narrowed her eyes at him a little, and he stared back in surprise, looking as though we’d expected him to tag along, so he could whine and bitch about how reluctant he was to go.

“Ah, that’d be nice.” She sighed, smiling fondly. “I could stand to get out. Michael, dear, get me some fresh clothes please?”

I watched him go to her wardrobe to pick out her outfit, reading into his behavior that he was reluctant and even a bit stuck up. I looked away, back to my Grandmother. Even with her rather dreary appearance, she was in high spirits, still strong dispite the gloomy aura of weakness that seemed to settle over her like a mist.

“How have you been, my dear Asheen?”

“I’ve been fine, Grandma.” I almost whispered, swallowing, clearing my throat, racking my brain for something more positive to share. “I’ve just been thinking about college things and such.”

“Oh, and what do you have in mind?” Her blue eyes sparkled excitedly.

I looked down at her hands drawn in mine thoughtfully. “For now, I’m thinking about music. I enjoy it a great deal.”

A proud smile engraved itself into her withered face, and her eyes sparkled with pride. “Ah, Ash, that would be amazing.” She smiled enthusiatically. “You’ve always been very passionate about music. Would you do production, as well?”

I chuckled nervously and gave her hands a soft squeeze, “I haven’t thought that far ahead yet, but I hope to get into all of it.”

“Well, I love you and will support you no matter the decision.” She gave me another genuine, prided smile, before looking past me. “Are we ready?”

“Er, yeah...”

I glanced back at Michael, standing awkwardly a few feet back, fiddling with the fabric in his hands.

“We’ll give you a moment.” My Mother spoke, up excusing us from the room. I squeezed her hand one last time, committing it to memory before rising from the stool and stepping out into the hall with Andy and my parents.

We headed to the family room, which was easily as beautiful as the rest of the home and property. It seemed like almost every wall in the house was sheer glass, always overlooking some beautiful ornament in her yard, rather it be a fountain, sitting area, pond or some fantastic flowering tree, it was clear my Grandmother had an eye for detail and creating visually pleasing scenes which appealed like eye candy.

It was easy for my to forget Andy wasn’t a real person when it came down to my parents. I had opened my mouth, about to speak his name, only to clamp my trap shut to prevent another weird scene. He stood in front of another window, viewing the sight of another blooming cherry blossom tree on the other side of the glass, looming just below the birchwood deck bordering the exterior of the house.

I could hear my parents whispering their conversation, and I heard their voices lower further when they mentioned me. I pretended not to hear, reaching absently to touch and play with the vibrant purple potted orchid by the window.

“- I don’t think she was expecting that... Maybe we should have prepared her better.”

“Everything will be fine.”
My Dad reassured her, there was a small pause, when I assumed they probably hugged it out briefly before my Grandmother came in. Hobbling, crouched over an aluminum walker, with Michael guiding her down the halls, she was full of spirit and strength, more than I could see when she was tucked away in that bed. But there was still the undeniable look of exhaustion in her face, in the purplish bags under her eyes and the countless creases in her skin, branching off one another like an Aspen tree root system. Still, she found the strength to smile at us once she entered the room, and I smiled back uncontrollably.

“Well, I’m ready. Michael, I should be fine for today. Thank you so much, dear. Here.” She pulled a small, neatly rolled bit of money from her clutch purse, patting his hand, she whisked him off. While he looked relieved for the extra cash, he seemed hesitant to leave just yet.

“Do you have an adequate transportation for her?” Michael questioned my father. He cleared his throat, “I’m sure she’ll still fit in the backseat.” He replied with a hint of sarcasm to his tone, garnished with a tight smile to play it off. Michael narrowed his eyes a bit, but said nothing else.

“I’ll be back this evening to check in. Have a nice afternoon, Evelyn.” He said goodbye as he left.

“You, too. Thank you.” She then looked at us with a great amount of excitement in her expression. “You cannot imagine how excited I am to get out of here for the day.”

Notes

I'm on a roll again! Hopefully with daily updates, since I have quite a bit of material prepared.
Shoutouts!

- blackveilkitty
- anathema
- Andley-Coma

Comments

I just want to say, I am here to support you no matter what you do <3

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/12/20

Oh gosh, I'm getting weird vibes towards this "sketchy" part of town.

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
5/8/19

I am absolutely in love with this book!

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/30/19

Poor Ashley. Poor Andy. Poor Asheen. Wow, what a story! :)

Merelan Merelan
4/29/19

I am conspiring so many theories about this book my head hurts... lol... anyway, great chapter as usual! Can't wait to read what happens next

Mezzy18 Mezzy18
4/25/19