Kelly had her very immature ex on her mind when she pulled up in her mother's car to her grandmother's house. She didn't welcome the memory of Marcus one bit, but she knew all too well why he'd bubbled up in her memory.
It was to be Kelly's first Christmas alone in a few years, since she'd finally come to her senses and dumped Marcus a few months before. Lonely as she was as she parked Mom's car outside the stately suburban mansion she had so loved visiting as a little girl, she was also thanking her lucky stars there'd be no need to tell Marcus why she was spending the holiday with Grandma. She knew exactly what he would say about it.
She'd heard him play that Adam Sandler CD a hundred times or more during his card games with his pals, all of them reciting their favorite lines and laughing like a bunch of hyenas as if they'd never heard them before. There were a dozen or more lines that made Kelly's skin crawl, but one and one only had been on her mind from the moment Mom had asked her to spend the holiday at Grandma's.
She could just hear Marcus repeating it with drunken gusto, too. "One time I saw my grandmother in the shower. Her bush starts above her belly button!"
Kelly had, of course, never seen her grandmother in the shower. But since she was here to help Grandma through her recuperation from hip-replacement surgery, it seemed more than likely she would now be suffering through that indignity soon enough. As she collected her suitcase from the trunk, she reminded herself it would be a lot more uncomfortable for Grandma than for her.
That didn't help a great deal. But Kelly was grateful that Grandma was still here to visit, after all. Grandpa was two years gone, and with Grandma turned 81 over the summer, the surgery had been risky. If the caretaking was no fun, she owed Grandma that much -- and it certainly beat the alternative. As Kelly walked up the driveway, she welcomed much happier memories of childhood Christmases, running up the walk to hug Grandma and Grandpa, the dazzling lights and decorations all over the house, Grandpa's electric train running around the tree, cocoa by the fireplace, unwrapping one present each for her and her cousins before they were off to bed in what had once been her mother's bedroom. Those nights had lasted forever, but Kelly still missed that sense of joyful anticipation, which she hadn't experienced in years.
Kelly opened the door to find at least someone had put up the Christmas tree, right in the same corner where she had always known it to go. There were only a few presents under it this time and no train and no lights anywhere but the tree, but Kelly welcomed the holiday cheer it offered all the same. The bookcase with Grandma's vast library of Western movies sat majestically as ever beside it, reassuring Kelly that she was alive and nearly well.
She was still gazing at the tree and unzipping her coat when there came a voice from the dining room. "Kelly, is it?"
It took Kelly a moment to recognize the woman asking if it was her, too. "Megan? Hi!"
"Oh, it is you!" Megan, Kelly's oldest cousin, welcomed her with a hug. "Merry Christmas! I'm sorry you drew the short straw, hon."
"Short straw?" Kelly asked. "I'm happy to be here!"
"If you say so." Megan had always been brilliant at playing the disapproving eldest cousin, and Kelly's few memories of her were not the best. "So how's college?"
"Done," Kelly said. "I just finished the first semester of my master's degree. Compared to that, taking care of Grandma should be a picnic."
"Famous last words," Megan said. "God, I can remember when you were in diapers. You're what, 23 now?"
"Next month," Kelly confirmed. "So how's she been?"
"A little cranky, I'm afraid." Megan sat down on what had always been Grandpa's couch and slipped her shoes on. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm glad I can go back to listening to my husband and kids whine."
Kelly couldn't help but suspect Grandma felt that way too. But she said nothing as she hung her coat on the rack just inside the front door. "Guess I'll go say hello to her, then," she said.
"Don't," Megan said. "She's asleep, and I'd advise you to keep it that way as long as possible. She stood up, and Kelly noticed she had her own suitcase set by the door -- obviously she couldn't wait to get lost.
"If you say so, Megan," Kelly said. "Anything else?"
"Everything's on a list in the kitchen," Megan said, collecting her coat from the rack. "Oh, and I think one of the packages under the tree is for you."
"That reminds me," Kelly said, "I'd better put my present to Grandma there before she wakes up."
"You bought her a present?" Megan said. "Don't you think coming here to wait on her is enough of a present?"
"Not even close." Kelly was glad she'd found the gift quickly, so she could turn her back on Megan to set it under the tree.
"You must have very different memories of this place than I do," Megan said.
"What are you talking about?" Kelly couldn't hide her irritation any longer. She looked at the couch and said, "Oh my God, did Grandpa ever..."
"Oh, of course not!" Megan snapped. "He was a gentleman. It was Grandma I had a problem with. And frankly, now I'm thinking if anyone in this house was a pervert, it was her. Good luck, Kelly." She saw herself out without another word.
Kelly heaved a sigh of relief and brought her suitcase upstairs. She didn't know whether Megan had slept in Mom's room or Uncle Jerry's or Aunt Frannie's. If it had been Mom's room, in any event, Kelly had to admit she'd done a good job of cleaning up after herself. The room was spotless, still adorned with the ancient Zenith television set in the corner that probably didn't work anymore, but which Kelly loved because she recalled pictures of her mother watching it. The pictures of Grandma and Grandpa and all three of their kids were splashed all across the room as usual (covering the scotch tape spots from her mother's John Travolta posters, as Kelly never missed a chance to recall), and the bed was made with the same blue and white quilt she remembered from all those long-ago Christmases. Kelly set her suitcase down and kicked her sneakers off, and allowed herself a few minutes lying on her back and drinking in all the ambiance before she got back to business.
After changing into dry jeans and socks, Kelly walked carefully down the stairs -- her very earliest memory was of falling down them when she was two or three -- and padded out to the kitchen. There was the list, as promised, written out in what looked like her mother's handwriting. She perused the list quickly -- not fun, but nothing unexpected, and at least she wouldn't have to help Grandma to the bathroom. Kelly chuckled as she realized she'd been thinking that an awful lot ever since Mom had called to ask her to help out.
Kelly made a sandwich for lunch, and was glad to find a bottle of milk in the refrigerator. She had a nasty memory of Grandma criticizing her for drinking too much soda, and was looking forward to never touching the stuff this time around. There was a sixpack of Coke in the refrigerator, and Kelly proudly left it right where it was.
She had just enough time to eat and wash her dishes before the first call came from the bedroom. "Kelly, is that you?"
Kelly hastily dried her hands on the towel and went to what she still thought of as Grandma and Grandpa's bedroom, under the stairs and off the dining room, where she had rarely ever ventured as a little girl. "Hi, Grandma. Megan's gone."
"Can't say I'm sorry to hear that!" Grandma sounded remarkably chipper, and when Kelly got to the bedroom door she saw she looked it too. Seated up in her bed in a pastel blue nightgown, she looked just as vivacious as Kelly had ever seen her. "I know you're not supposed to say it about a granddaughter, Kelly, but your cousin is a brat. Now come give your granny a hug!"
"Glad to!" Kelly went to the left side of the bed, to avoid jarring Grandma's right hip, and leaned over and hugged her. "And I noticed about Megan. I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. I'm glad you're here, dear. How's grad school?"
"I'm still catching my breath." Kelly sat down on the vacant side of the bed and took Grandma's hand in hers. "But I got two A's and two B's. And earned every point!"
