“Lucy? Is that you?” I heard her voice but couldn’t see her at first, then I saw her head pop up from the flower bed that she had been working on.
“Hi Gran, didn’t see you there!” I smiled as I walked up to her.
“Come here sweetie, let me take a look at you!” She pulled her gardening gloves off and extended her arms out wide as she approached, a massive smile on her face.
My Grandmother was literally the same height as I was, however she was more petite than me. She still looked great for her age though, her body had good proportions from her round bottom, perky boobs and still had a youthful face. She had shoulder length wavy brown hair that was greying at the roots, big brown eyes, button nose and a perfectly proportioned mouth. Her smile displayed a full set of pearly white teeth that were all of her own, after all she had been a dental surgeon but had retired a couple of years back. She was a real people person and got on well with pretty much everyone she knew. Her name is Jenny and she is 66 years old.
“Oh Gran, it has been so long!” I put my arms around and kissed her on both cheeks. We hugged for a while, the dampness of her sweat covered skin and the smell of her body mixed with a faint floral perfume took over my senses and her embrace made me feel all warm inside.
“Are you ok dear?” she said quizzically with a wide grin on her face.
“Yes, I am fine!” I replied. I gave her a kiss on the forehead and tightened my hold on her.
“Lucy, I am all sweaty and covered in dirt!” She tried to pull herself away but her attempt was futile. “Lucy!” she laughed playfully at me.
“I am just so glad to see you, I really couldn’t care to be honest!”
There were a range of emotions coursing through my body, from elation to an overwhelming urge to cry my eyes out. It wasn’t as though I had no human company but I didn’t realise exactly how much I missed family members and how hard the imposed lockdowns had taken effect. I wasn’t alone however, people up and down the country were experiencing the same as I was and in some cases had lost loved ones and been unable to come together as families in times of need and support.
“Oh my dear girl, you are crying?!” She took my head in her hands and kissed me on the lips briefly, then pulled me in for another hug. “Come, let’s go inside and I will put the kettle on.”
I simply smiled at her and followed her into the house, paying more attention than I perhaps should have been on her shapely bottom as she walked. It was always nice stepping into my grandparents house, familiar smells like pot pourri, roast dinners, tea and baking lingered in the air. It was also nice and cool inside as well. I took a seat at the kitchen table and continued to watch her as she busied herself at the kitchen sink, how effortlessly she glided around gathering what she needed without looking. Within minutes, she had set down a tray with a tea set and a plate of homemade biscuits. I went for the tea pot and then felt the resistance of her hand on top of mine, her skin delicately soft and warm at the touch.
“Let it steep dear!” She smiled at me and patted the back of my hand.
“Sorry!” Her hand squeezed mine and returned her smile.
We spoke for the next hour or so about life in general, my work and life in the village that I lived in. I explained how I was fairly content with my life at the moment, despite being single and all that. I had made a big fuss about Mr Whiskers and how he was the only man in my life, we both laughed at that. We spoke about my parents, mainly my mother though because she always liked to be the centre of any situation, especially where she could be seen to shine brighter than anyone else. It was a really annoying trait and I noticed a look of disapproval on her face, which led me to ask about it.
“Are you okay? That seemed to annoy you!” I enquired.
“Just like your grandfather, he is just the same! Your mother is definitely her fathers daughter, both of them have narcissistic tendencies!” She tutted and looked into my eyes, I could now see pain in them.
“Oh Gran, I didn’t mean to upset you!” I took her hand in mine and lightly squeezed it.
“Oh it is not your fault dear, It is just getting more difficult to live with him!”
Now I really felt awkward and ashamed of myself all of a sudden, but then I did not know that she would react this way. Seeing the tears well up in her eyes as her hand went to her mouth as she turned her head to the side. Did I let it go or did I question her more about it? I felt like the latter choice was the better solution because I know she wouldn’t expose her emotions like this easily. She was a proud woman and always had a smile on her face but as we are all human beings, there is always another side of the story.
“Gran, you don’t have to but if you want to talk about it!” I paused and took her hand in both of mine. “I am a good listener!”
“Thank you dear, I..” The sound of the front door opening stopped her in her tracks and she pulled her hand away from my grasp and stood up. “Your Grandfather is home, he won’t appreciate me in this state.”
She straightened her clothing and quickly left the kitchen and went to the toilet in the utility room, reappearing moments later with a fake smile on her face and her eyes were a little red from her tears but I could see that she had splashed her face with cold water to mask the appearance of her crying. Moments later my grandfather stepped into the kitchen, he looked at her and then at me. There was little or no expression on his face, he wasn’t even happy to see me which took me back a bit at first but I just let it wash over me.
“Hello Grandad, how are you?” I spoke first to diffuse the atmosphere that I could feel building.
“Lucy.” He simply said my name and nodded. He turned to my Gran. “I will have supper in my study.” He turned and left the kitchen and I could hear his footsteps recede.
“What was that all about?” I half whispered at her.
“Please dear, leave it be!” She was already preparing some pots on the stove and taking a box of Bisto granules from the cupboard. “I shouldn’t be talking to you about it.”
“Ok, I won’t press you but like I said, you have my ear!” I placed my hands on her shoulders and kissed the back of her head, she was shaking and her shoulders had relaxed at my touch. I sensed that she wanted to talk but knew she wouldn’t with my grandfather in the house. “Can I do anything to help?”
“Could you take the ham out of the fridge please and set it down on the other side of the sink.”
I did as she asked, she also asked me to do a few other things like getting my grandfather’s tray ready. I would never have imagined that this was what their relationship was like, they always used to be rather amiable and happy together. How my grandfather reacted with me also took me by surprise, I had never known him to be so cold like that before. Even though he was not one to show public displays of affection, he had always been interested in making conversation with me, especially because I worked for Oxford University and he felt that held prestige.
Supper was ready, I watched my gran plating up my grandfather’s dinner and arranging his tray. She finished by opening a bottle of ale and placed it on the tray, doing a final check and then taking it through to his study. During the time that she was gone, I made myself busy by dishing up a plate for both myself and my gran. I could make out the conversation they were having, he had asked how long I intended to stay, told her to smarten up her behaviour and made some remark about being given cold ham. The latter being one of his favourites, it sounded to me like he was going out of his way to be horrible to her and that upset me a lot. She returned to the kitchen and saw what I had done and then took a seat next to me.
“Thank you for dishing up!” She sniffled, wiped her nose on a napkin and began eating.
“No problem!” Instinctively, I placed my hand on her thigh and squeezed it gently. “The ham looks nice!” She made a mean ham, rubbed with dark muscovado sugar, studded with cloves and pineapple rings. She used the cooking juices in the gravy which was to die for, typically it was her Christmas eve tradition.
“Darling, please don’t tell your mother about what you have seen today, she will only take his side and I cannot handle it from her as well!” She looked at me and then down at my hand that was still on her thigh.
“I won’t!” Seeing her look down at my hand, I quickly pulled it away as though I had been caught stealing from the biscuit jar. “Sorry, forgot it was still there!” I grinned.
“Don’t worry dear, it was a nice feeling.” Her smile was genuine this time as our eyes met again.
Again, we made light conversation as we ate our dinner together. She made a gesture to say that we were being too loud, my grandfather was listening to the radio and had turned the volume up higher. She suppressed a giggle and tried to become serious again but giggled again. After we finished, I helped her to tidy up the kitchen and then went to use the toilet as she headed to collect my grandfather’s tray. Upon her return, she informed me that we were going out for a walk together, it was still nice outside and I could sense that she was desperate to get out of the house.
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