This series is a non-sequential addendum to the "Sharing My Wife Amanda" storyline.
**********
It was a sad day when Amanda's mother Jacquelyn finally passed away. She had battled valiantly, but in the end my mother-in-law succumbed to metastatic cancer.
Jacquelyn's death was not unexpected, but that didn't lessen the blow for her friends and family. A life was taken too soon from this world, and our only comfort was that she died peacefully in her sleep, without pain or suffering, and surrounded by those who loved her.
Amanda wasn't just the most beautiful, the most intelligent, and the most kind-hearted person I knew, and would ever know; she also possessed an inner strength that was like a rock against endlessly crashing waves. My wife grieved over the loss of her mother, but steeled her resolve to move on. It wasn't due to callousness or lack of caring, but the world didn't stop for anyone, and Amanda came to terms with that cold, hard fact very quickly.
Amanda's father Franklin didn't take Jacquelyn's death nearly as well.
My father-in-law slipped into a pit of despair that no one- not even Amanda, his only child whom he cherished as much as his late wife- could pull him out of. After all, Franklin had just lost his spouse of over 30 years. In the weeks that followed Jacquelyn's death, he fell deeper and deeper in a melancholia that terrified those who cared about him.
Especially Amanda.
One random morning, my wife and I were seated at the breakfast with our 5 year-old son James when she suddenly turned to me. I knew that something in particular had been gnawing at her for the past week, and she finally appeared ready to talk about it.
"What's on your mind, Mandy?"
"We have to convince my father to move in with us."
Immediately after my mother-in-law's funeral, we had invited Amanda's father to stay with us. He was nearly inconsolable as he continued to process his grief, and my wife wanted to keep an eye on him, nor did she want him to be alone. But Franklin repeatedly refused, gruffly stating things like "I'm fine" and "you kids need your privacy."
But when Franklin's depression seemed to be worsening almost 3 months after Jacquelyn's death, Amanda would no longer take 'no' for an answer. The circle of life had reversed their roles: now my wife fell compelled to take care of her father.
"It'll be fine," she desperately tried to convince her father one evening after dinner at our house. "You can come and go as you please, and we can easily convert the basement into an apartment and make it your own personal space."
"Honey, it's not
my
personal space that I'm worried about. I may no longer be a spring chicken, but I still remember what it was like to be young and in love. Weren't the two of you talking about having more kids just the other day?" Franklin's expression softened. "I appreciate what you're trying to do for me. But trust me, when Little Jimmy goes to sleep and you want to start working on baby number 2, the last thing you'll need is for your old man to be here in the house with you."
"That's not true-" I began.
"Oh god, daddy!" Amanda interjected. "Are you serious? Do you really think we're concerned about that right now?"
Franklin's expression began to break and his voice started to crack as he held back tears. "I know you mean well, and you say this now, but 2 months from now... or even 2 weeks from now... when the arrangement gets old..."
James, who had been playing with his toys in the next room, suddenly came streaking in like a missile. He made a beeline for his grandfather and attached himself to the man's leg. "Grampa Frankie! Come live with us! Come live with us!"
Was our 5 year-old son actually eavesdropping?!?!
Franklin, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion, looked at his only grandchild as tears began to flow. Then he regarded us, unable to speak but more significantly, unable to ask for help even though he clearly needed it.
"Come live with us." Amanda repeated our son's words, barely unable to keep herself from crying.
Tears welled up in my own eyes, but I remained silent. Amanda and Franklin both knew that they had my unconditional love and support, but this was something they needed to work out on their own.
Franklin attempted to maintain a strong front, but was failing. "Are you sure?" His voice was barely above a whisper.
"Yes, daddy!" my wife cried.
"Dad, of course," I assured him wholeheartedly.
Franklin looked at us, then down at James, who was regarding him with an innocent and equally hopeful expression, then sighed and finally nodded. "Ok, then. If you're sure." He hesitated. "Ever since Jacquelyn... you guys are the only reason I have to live anymore."
I stepped back and smiled warmly as father and daughter hugged each other fiercely, crying tears of both joy and sadness.
James, still too young and innocent to truly comprehend the crueler realities of life, pumped his fists in the air and whooped, "Yay!"
**********
Two days after my father-in-law moved in, we heard James crying in his bedroom at around 3 o'clock in the morning. I groaned, but Amanda was already throwing off the blankets.
"It's ok, Mandy," I told her groggily. "I'll go."
"Don't worry about it, babe. You need to be up for work before me. Besides, I'm already wide awake." Amanda suddenly cocked her head. It was only then that I noticed that our son had stopped crying, but she rose from the bed, anyway. "Let me go check on him."
My wife quickly rushed out of our bedroom and toward James, hoping to get to him before he started crying again and woke up her father. But when she entered his room, Franklin was already there, lying next to his grandson and comforting the boy.
"Mommy, I had a bad dream that the bad guys beat all the superheroes," James told her between sobs.
She was glad that the darkness his her smile. "It's ok, baby. Mommy's here now. Here, let me hold you."
Amanda approached with outstretched arms, but our son buried his face into Franklin's chest, much to the man's surprise, and shook his head emphatically. "No. I want Grampa."
My wife was, at once, delighted and hurt. "But, baby, mommy always-"
"No! I want Grampa!" The little boy looked up at Franklin. "Grampa Frankie, will you stay with me? At least until I fell asleep again?"
Franklin couldn't help but beam proudly. "Sure, Little Jimmy. Grampa Frankie will stay here with you for as long as you want." He looked up at his daughter and smiled warmly. "Go back to sleep, Amanda. I got this."
While my wife was still smarting from the fact our son essentially chose his grandfather over her, it warmed her heart to see them together like this.
"Thanks, daddy. I love you. I love you, James."
"We love you, too, mom," Franklin told her. He looked back at James as Amanda turned to leave the room. "And you, young fella, need to close your eyes and go back to sleep. Grampa will keep all the bad guys away."
A moment later, Amanda climbed back into bed and snuggled against me.
"Everything ok?"
Even half-asleep, I could hear the happiness in her voice. "Everything is just fine."
**********
The days that followed quickly developed into a smooth routine. Franklin, without being asked, became something akin to a chef, housekeeper, nanny, and security for us. He often woke up before us on weekdays to prepare breakfast, and did drop-off and pick-up for James at his kindergarten. My father-in-law would then watch over him until Amanda and I returned home, and dinner was usually ready by the time we arrived, too.
Amanda and I didn't want Franklin to think that all of this was our expectation. Far from it! In fact, we initially tried to discourage his help around the house. But Amanda's father was retired and more recently widowed. We realized that sometimes having a family who loved him dearly wasn't enough, and that he needed a sense of purpose. So my wife and I pulled back and allowed Franklin to make himself feel useful, which, indeed, he was.
And watching James develop a close bond with his grandfather was perhaps the greatest boon of all.
On this particular day, Franklin had picked up James from kindergarten and decided to take him to the local park, which was in walking distance from our home. Our son ran around like the proverbial "chicken with its head cut off", but Franklin managed to keep up with him.
They were playing in the sand when an ice cream truck slowly drove by, chiming its music through large speakers and attracting the attention of the nearby children.
"Oooh, ice cream! Grampa Frankie, can I get some? Please? Can I get some? Please, please, please?"
There was no way that Franklin was
not
going to spoil his only grandchild. "Ok, little guy. Just don't tell your mom when she gets home!"
Walking hand in hand, the two headed for the ice cream truck, which was now parked at the curb. A relatively long line had already gathered, and Franklin waited patiently with his grandson, who was not nearly as patient as him.
It was hard for Franklin not to notice the woman standing directly behind them. She appeared young- perhaps the same age as his daughter, in her early 30's- and stood at his eye level. While big-boned, she wasn't large by any stretch of the imagination, but solidly built in a very healthy-looking sort of way. Her long, dirty blonde hair was hastily pulled into a ponytail through a white baseball cap, and her eyes were a magnificent green that sparkled.
More than anything, Franklin tried hard not to ogle her body: the blonde wore a form-fitting tank top and yoga pants that accentuated every curve of her voluptuous body. Even from of the corner of his eye, her ample cleavage and shapely ass both appeared magnificent. And he silently applauded the woman for not wearing any makeup since she possessed an incredible natural beauty.
This young blonde was a stunner, the kind of girl that old men like him could only dream about.
My lord, those yoga pants...
Jacquelyn's face suddenly appeared in his mind, and Franklin felt a stab of guilt. He hadn't so much as looked at another woman since his wife passed away, and felt as though he was being unfaithful for noticing the blonde.
His emotional wounds were still that fresh.
