it a time
or two. He wouldn’t if he knows what’s best for him. Now your coming was a
little short notice, but I hope you like what I fixed up for you, darlin’.”
I followed her through the open
living room and kitchen that still had the same furniture, for the most part, with
a few added things here and there. The winding staircase led to an open hallway
that overlooked the downstairs and three rooms that were normally set up as
guest rooms and a sewing room.
“Here we are. This used to be your
fathers room, you know?” she called out over her shoulder before I followed her
into the room. She had transformed it since the last time I had been there.
The walls were painted in a pale
pink with wide vertical white stripes placed around the bottom half. A full-size
bed was pushed into one corner and a fluffy comforter that matched the pink
paint covered it, along with a homemade quilt I recognized as one my Grams had
made for me when I was a baby. A small antique looking desk was against the
other wall and an overstuffed white chair that I recognized, sat underneath the
wide window that overlooked the lake.
I immediately went and sat down in
the chair that had brought back so many memories. It used to sit in the living
room, and it was my favorite spot to sit when I stayed here. My grandpa would
bring me breakfast almost every morning while I sat there watching cartoons,
and Grams and I would snuggle up when I was younger and watch her afternoon
soaps.
“You really shouldn’t have gone to
all of this trouble, but I love it Grams. It’s perfect. Thanks for putting all
of this together on such short notice. It was kind of a surprise to me too. Dad
didn’t even call to tell me what was going on.”
“He didn’t?” Her brows bunched
together in surprise, and she placed a hand on her hip. “Well, I think I’ll
need to be giving that son of mine a call. You know I’m not making any excuses,
but he is pretty busy with his job. He should always make time for his daughter
though, and I think that’s one of his biggest regrets.”
I knew that much at least. His job
was pretty demanding, and he traveled a lot. Shortly after my mom handed him
divorce papers, he was giving a promotion at the restaurant company that he
worked for and now traveled all over the US helping new franchises get started
up. It was kind of ironic that my mom had left him right before that happened.
She had always wanted a better life and as soon as she decided to drop my dad,
he was able to provide one.
“No worries, Grams. I’m sure we’ll
catch up eventually.” I crossed my fingers hoping that was the truth, but I
wasn’t holding my breath.
“Okay, Della. Well, I’ll let you
get all settled in and then if you would like, you can come down and help me
fix some supper.” I answered with a nod, and she quietly shut the door. I
dropped down to the floor to start unloading one of my bags that I figured I
would need for the week. I still hadn’t warmed up to the whole idea of living
in the dorms. I hated to say it, but my mom was right when she said I was
pampered.
It was hard to believe that my life
was all packed away in five suitcases, granted it was all pretty much clothes,
so I guess it did end up being a lot. I’m not sure if my style would really fit
in down here. Fashion was pretty much everything back home. The tag on a shirt
pretty much guaranteed you a spot in society.
I slid tank tops and dresses onto
empty hangers in the small closet that was in the connected bathroom. There was
only room for about half of my stuff, so I had no clue what I was going to do
about that dilemma. I was sure the dorms would be even worse. I texted my mom
before I headed down stairs, figuring she would at least want to know I got
here safely.
“Hey Grams, what can I do to help?”
I entered the kitchen, inhaling deeply the scents wafting through the air. I
couldn’t remember the last time I had a home cooked meal, my mom certainly
never