Saturday, January 06, 2007
CHAPTER 1 (the first section)
Kurt reached to turn off the alarm. His lack of familiarity with it was obvious as he struggled to find the right button to shut it off. He put his head back down on the pillow and, barely awake, asked himself what day it was. He figured out that it must be Saturday. He started to think about what his typical Saturday routine consisted of when, a bit more awake now, he realized that he wasn't at home. This wasn't his house, his room, or his bed. His wife, Susan, wasn't there next to him.
He looked again at the clock radio, its huge red numbers glowing brightly in a room which was just beginning to have some light come in the window. 6:38 it said. He realized then that he was at his grandparents' house. He had arrived, unannounced, late the evening before. He wasn't quite sure why he was there. Certainly he remembered telling Susan early Friday afternoon that he just needed to get away and decompress for a couple of days. He remembered inviting her along but she had commitments to keep that weekend and couldn't possibly leave. Houses to show and a contract to get signed. He understood that and just left in his car, completely unaware that nearly seven hours and 350 miles later he would arrive at a house he had not visited since junior high, staying with people who he often heard stories about but had not actually seen in at least 15 years.
His grandparents were getting "up there" in age. He was pretty sure that he'd heard from his mom that both of them had celebrated their 90th birthdays sometime during the past year or so. They answered the door toghether and, surprisingly, they recognized him immediately. He didn't realize it but they followed his life pretty closely, receiving regular updates and even photos from their daughter.
They looked much as he remembered. They had both always had a very "easy" look to them. They were always neat and well kept but they never put on airs or acted like they had to work hard to be the people they were. A bit thinner now than when he remembered them, their hair had gone from silver to white and his grandfather had a bit less of it than he remembered. As he got up out of bed, he glanced in the mirror and realized that he, too, had a bit less hair than the last time he'd seen his grandparents.
When he arrived the evening before, he didn't give much explanation as to why he was there. It really wasn't planned that he would end up at their house so he sort of fabricated a story that he was thinking of them and wanted to stop by and see them ... see if their was anything he could do to help them with. It was fast approaching early autumn and he thought that maybe they needed help with yard work or other things around the house. That's what he told them at least.
They had immediately opened up one of the empty bedrooms for him, his grandmother making sure that it had fresh linens, empty hangers in the closet, a pitcher of water along with some grapes and saltines, and even a flower in a small vase. Kurt imagined she must have run out and snipped it from her garden after he'd arrived, the last rose of summer.
When he sat the alarm clock for 6:30, he imagined that he'd easily be up before them the next day. He wanted to pay back their hospitality by trying to get to the kitchen before them and have breakfast ready for them when they got up. It was already 6:49 at this point when he rolled out of bed. Realizing that boxers may not be appropriate dress for breakfast with his grandparents, he pulled on his jeans from the night before as well as a t-shirt he had hurriedly packed in his gym bag.
As he came down the stairs, he realized that he had not gotten up before his grandparents. He could already hear them in the kitchen and smell coffee brewing.
to be continued
He looked again at the clock radio, its huge red numbers glowing brightly in a room which was just beginning to have some light come in the window. 6:38 it said. He realized then that he was at his grandparents' house. He had arrived, unannounced, late the evening before. He wasn't quite sure why he was there. Certainly he remembered telling Susan early Friday afternoon that he just needed to get away and decompress for a couple of days. He remembered inviting her along but she had commitments to keep that weekend and couldn't possibly leave. Houses to show and a contract to get signed. He understood that and just left in his car, completely unaware that nearly seven hours and 350 miles later he would arrive at a house he had not visited since junior high, staying with people who he often heard stories about but had not actually seen in at least 15 years.
His grandparents were getting "up there" in age. He was pretty sure that he'd heard from his mom that both of them had celebrated their 90th birthdays sometime during the past year or so. They answered the door toghether and, surprisingly, they recognized him immediately. He didn't realize it but they followed his life pretty closely, receiving regular updates and even photos from their daughter.
They looked much as he remembered. They had both always had a very "easy" look to them. They were always neat and well kept but they never put on airs or acted like they had to work hard to be the people they were. A bit thinner now than when he remembered them, their hair had gone from silver to white and his grandfather had a bit less of it than he remembered. As he got up out of bed, he glanced in the mirror and realized that he, too, had a bit less hair than the last time he'd seen his grandparents.
When he arrived the evening before, he didn't give much explanation as to why he was there. It really wasn't planned that he would end up at their house so he sort of fabricated a story that he was thinking of them and wanted to stop by and see them ... see if their was anything he could do to help them with. It was fast approaching early autumn and he thought that maybe they needed help with yard work or other things around the house. That's what he told them at least.
They had immediately opened up one of the empty bedrooms for him, his grandmother making sure that it had fresh linens, empty hangers in the closet, a pitcher of water along with some grapes and saltines, and even a flower in a small vase. Kurt imagined she must have run out and snipped it from her garden after he'd arrived, the last rose of summer.
When he sat the alarm clock for 6:30, he imagined that he'd easily be up before them the next day. He wanted to pay back their hospitality by trying to get to the kitchen before them and have breakfast ready for them when they got up. It was already 6:49 at this point when he rolled out of bed. Realizing that boxers may not be appropriate dress for breakfast with his grandparents, he pulled on his jeans from the night before as well as a t-shirt he had hurriedly packed in his gym bag.
As he came down the stairs, he realized that he had not gotten up before his grandparents. He could already hear them in the kitchen and smell coffee brewing.
to be continued
Name:
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home