"You're going to have to watch over your grandmother and that's all there is to it!" my mother near shouted. Then, more softly, "Look, your father and I will be out of town for just one night. You'll have plenty of time to hang out with your friends the rest of the week."
A long sigh, then, "Alright, but you'd better tell her not to give me any crap. Seems like all she wants to do anymore is bitch and moan about every little thing."
"I'll talk to her," Mom promised as she gave me a light peck on the cheek. "You're such a good boy, Jeremy. Thanks for taking one for the team. Here." She handed me a fifty-dollar bill. "Take her out to eat. Maybe that'll help things some." With that she disappeared upstairs, and twenty minutes later she, Dad, and Granny made their way to the front door. Mom and Dad hugged Granny first, then me, as they said their good-byes.
"You two be safe," Granny called out sweetly as they loaded their luggage into the car, and continued to stand at the door and wave until they drove off. She closed the door, turned her eyes upon me, and a scowl came across her face as she said, "Get your punk ass in that kitchen and make me some dinner."
"What did you say to me, you cantankerous, old bitch?"
"You heard me, you little fuck," Granny said as she took a step closer to me. "Peddle your ass into that kitchen and cook me something to eat!"
"Ooooooo!" I said as I took three steps back. My lips were pursed, and my teeth were clinched. I was about to go off on her big-time, but I tried to diffuse the situation by saying, "Look, Granny; Mom gave us fifty bucks to go out and eat on. Why don't you go put something nice on and I'll take you wherever you want to go."
"Why don't you kiss my ass?" she said as she began to walk off. She stopped, turned, and said, "Order a pizza. I'll be fine with that," then continued the trek upstairs to her room.
I looked at her with hate in my eyes and contempt in my heart as I wondered what could have made her the monster she is today. I called the local pizza joint and ordered two extra pepperoni with extra cheese—there was no way she could balk at that as it was her favorite—and as I hung up the phone it dawned on me that she was never this way when Grampa was alive. "She's acting out because she misses him," I said to myself, and suddenly the past two years of her increasingly unruly behavior made sense. I decided I would try to talk to her about it over dinner, but first ...
I thought it would be a nice idea to use Mom's fine China and lead crystal goblets. Maybe seeing this finery would bring a little joy to Granny's heart. The pizza arrived, and I called upstairs to let her know dinner was ready.
She came down in a flannel nightgown and stopped as she entered the kitchen and noticed the setting. "What's the meaning of this?"
"I just thought you might enjoy—"
She pushed right past me, opened a box of pizza, took a bite, then immediately spit it onto the floor. "Tastes like shit." She spat on the floor again, wiped her sleeve across her mouth, then said with derision, "Make me some bacon and eggs and bring it to my room. Oh, and clean that mess up, ya sorry cuss."
I was dumbfounded; truly, truly dumbfounded. The longer I looked at the mess on the floor the angrier I got. I marched upstairs to Granny's room and literally kicked the door off its hinges. It startled her a bit, but to no great extent. I took three steps into the room and pointed at her as I said, "You wanna know what's wrong with you?"
"What?" she asked with a sarcastic chuckle.
I glowered at her as I said, "Nothing a good cornholing wouldn't fix!"
"Oh, really?" she asked with a laugh. "And who's supposed to administer this great cornholing to me? You? Don't make me laugh. Just look at you. You're twenty years old, still live at home ... Why, I bet you're still a virgin."