A Special Kind Of Family. Eileen Berger

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      Jana and Barb talked about Sylvan Falls, comparing the school and community here with their own—but said little about families and friends they’d left to come here.

      Rob’s pager beeped as they were eating dessert, and Vanessa was sorry to hear him say, “Yes, I’ll be there as quickly as possible.”

      Vanessa walked out to the porch with Rob and thanked him again for bringing dinner. “My pleasure, Van.” His hand reached for hers and gave it a firm squeeze. “It’s been a long time since we ate a meal together.”

      She nodded—and felt almost bereft when he released her hand.

      “I must hurry home and change into something less casual than jeans and sweatshirt. I’m expected to look professional when I go to the hospital for someone. You remember Nate Bowman, don’t you?”

      “Of course. He was an especially good friend of Grandad’s, one of his buddies.” Being reminded of her grandfather still gave her that clutching pain in her stomach. Another fireman dead! He was one of those who tried to rescue Grandad, and now he’s gone, too. I hope Gram doesn’t know, for that would make her feel even worse.

      The girls were already putting away leftovers and loading the dishwasher when Vanessa walked back into the house after bidding Rob goodnight. In spite of the conversation and activities with the girls, she felt more alone with him gone.

      But she wouldn’t dwell on her own feelings; Gram had asked her to check the homework of the younger girls and make sure the older ones studied for their General Equivalency Diploma exams.

      None of the three who were old enough to graduate from high school had done so. Ricki would have last June, near the head of her class, had she not run off with her “one true love,” who was in the army and stationed in the Midwest. He had not married her, as he’d said he was going to—and now denied paternity.

      Kate dropped out of school after her junior year, going to work at a fast-food place, “…to make money, have a car, and stuff like that.” AnnaMae admitted to having been in a state of rebellion; education was so overwhelmingly important to her parents that no matter what grades she got or what she achieved, nothing was “good enough.” She’d eventually stopped studying or doing assignments and deliberately got poor marks.

      Vanessa related especially to that; she had not stopped studying—and even graduated second in her class, but she’d rebelled in other ways. Looking back, she was ashamed of deliberately hanging around people her age and older who were known for drinking, wild driving and other questionable activities, including marijuana use.

      It was a phase that had not lasted long, thank goodness; she had not fit in there, but remained on the sidelines, something of a nonjudging bystander, not actively participating in much of what was going on, but being associated with them in people’s minds. But I did get Mother’s attention, and succeeded in upsetting her as much as she upset me….

      Gram had stressed how essential it was for the girls to study hard and get their GEDs, so Vanessa struggled to remember algebraic fundamentals forgotten since high school—and began to realize what her grandmother was involved with every day!

      While checking homework for the younger two, she reminded them all that Gram’s rules, which they’d agreed to when coming here, were still in effect, including being in bed early on week nights. They hurried into pajamas and came back downstairs in time to watch TV for thirty minutes.

      As it turned out, she did permit them some leeway, since they were upset to learn that Gram’s fracture was so severe, and she would be undergoing surgery the next day.

      The older three usually had an extra hour before they were required to be in their rooms. She’d expected to go upstairs soon after them, and when the phone rang, she dreaded to pick it up. Hearing Rob’s voice she sank back into the recliner with relief—or something more?

      “I hope this isn’t too late to be calling, Van?”

      She laughed. “Not too late since it’s you.” But then, realizing how that might sound, she sat up straighter, explaining, “I was afraid it was the hospital—that something might be wrong there. Or perhaps it would be a problem at work.”

      “Nope. Just me.” His voice was reassuring. “I wondered if you might have any more news, so I called to check before turning in for the night.”

      They spoke of various other things, too, especially Nate Bowman’s wife and two daughters, who were holding up quite well, perhaps partly because he’d been in the nursing home so long before his death.

      She was pleased when Rob admitted, “Actually, my main reason for calling was to thank you again for inviting me to stay for dinner. I enjoyed being with you.”

      Is he just being polite? “We appreciated your company as much as the food you brought.” She had deliberately used we instead of I.

      “It brought back a lot of memories….”

      Yes, it did!

      Chapter Two

      Vanessa expected the morning’s routine to be similar to the day before, but shortly after she got downstairs, Mrs. Redding came across the yard, offering to stay until Aunt Phyl arrived. “…In case you want to go around to visit your grandmother on the way to work,” she told Vanessa.

      She blinked back unexpected tears at Gin’s generosity. “I’d been wishing I could see her before her surgery. And may I ask another favor? I know Gram’s accident was already on the prayer chain, but could you start it again, saying that surgery is scheduled for ten o’clock and asking for prayers?”

      “Rob put it on already.” Her hand was pressing firmly against Vanessa’s waist. “So you get going.”

      It was a perfect autumn day, every direction she looked revealing countless shades of red, yellow, orange, even wine, elegantly set off by evergreens. This was her favorite season, and she recalled Gram saying last Sunday at a family get-together, “Each year I think God can’t make it any more beautiful, but He outdid Himself this October!”

      The hills and mountains made Vanessa glad to be living here in north-central Pennsylvania. Gram kept thanking God for all this, but if He was really as all-powerful and all-knowing as she thought, wouldn’t He already know how much people enjoyed it?

      Once she arrived at the hospital, it didn’t take Vanessa long to find Gram’s room. She sat on the edge of Gram’s hospital bed, holding her hand. “It’s okay, Gram, to admit you’re a little nervous about surgery.”

      The older woman grinned at her. “All right, I am having some nervousness, and I’m aware that I’ll hurt a lot when I come to. However, I’ve lived with constant pain since my fall, and that won’t go away by itself. Once the surgery and the hurting are over—and the therapy—I expect to eventually get around fine.”

      Vanessa leaned over and kissed Gram’s cheek, and didn’t realize until Gram’s arms came around her and the soft voice said, “Thank you, dear,” that this was the first in a long time that she’d been the one to initiate such a loving embrace with her grandmother.

      Why am I like this? Am I afraid to show love because Mother used to push me away when I wanted to hug or kiss her, saying she hated getting all rumpled? Almost with reluctance, СКАЧАТЬ