A Simple Life: Chapter 57 (Patreon)

Author's Note: I'm not sure I've ever mentioned this before but I always do a few extra runs through a chapter after I post it and, unfortunately, I almost always catch a few typos that made it through. I sometimes tweak things a bit here and there too.  I'm not sure how many of you are reading these via the emails but reading it off of the Patreon site itself will have the fewest errors.

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Careful to give the reef along the west side of the cove’s awkward opening a wide berth I steer Bella into the glassy waters of the quiet cove, pleased to see no other boats within it.  Tonight it was all ours.  With high craggy walls on three sides and a steep forested slope up the other Moshe Cove was as cut off from the rest of the world as you could get.  The only artificial thing that marred the natural scenery was the ugly cell phone tower that had been erected upon a distant hill to service the southern portion of the island about a decade ago.  I had hated that thing when it first went up, complaining that it spoiled what was otherwise a perfect view.  But tonight…tonight that tower was beautiful.  It was a tread connecting us to the real world, and her.  Winona asked that I call her and I had every intention of doing so the moment I could.  I angle the ship for wind then take her to the far end of the cove where it would be the most sheltered and where it had the the most unobstructed angle to the tower.  About a hundred yards out from my target I cut the engines and let the big girl’s momentum carry us to a gradual stop.

“Ready to drop anchor?”  I call down.

“Looks good.  Say the word skipper.”

“Drop anchor.”

I hear the clickety-clack of chain for a few seconds.  “Alright, we’re good.  Take her easy Buttercup.”  I reverse engine very lightly, creeping back to get us some play, then things are set and I reverse again until Grandpa was sure the anchor had bit.  “We’re good.”

Anchor lights on and the engines off I climb down to find the deli section banquet I’d brought with me all prepared and laid out for us right there on deck.  Grandpa was just pouring the wine and as he sets down the bottle I notice an old photo album on the table with a black cat on the cover.

“You found the p-pictures.”  I say as I settle into my chair.

He gives it a pat as he takes his place across from me.  “The Halloween album.  But let’s eat first, I’m starvin.”

“Me too!”

Under two strings of lights swaying to the cool, gentle breeze off the water Grandpa and I eat, drink, talk, and watch the picturesque scenery gradually go dark around us.  At least two more times I tell Grandpa a more fulsome, though PG rated, version of Winona’s night together and each time I am left aglow thinking about her.  I just couldn’t talk about her enough, both because it was my favorite subject right now and because that my words kept falling short of conveying just how incredible she actually was.  Despite my limitations of vocabulary Grandpa seemed to understand exactly what I was talking about.

When I am done gushing over my date night it was Grandpa’s turn to tell a few stories.  He surprises me by breaking out a couple that I had never head before, ones that were a bit more mature and intimate than the usual Grandma stories.  I hang on his every word as he tells me the tale of his and one true love’s second date.  To anybody else it might have sounded like a cliche account of a lovely girl, a disapproving father, a dinner and dancing out on the town, and bit of making out in the car.  But it was the way he told it that touched me so deeply.  The look in his eyes, the fawning descriptions, the laughter at the silliest little details, and the soft sighs followed by a few seconds silence, I now understood EXACTLY the emotions he was expressing.  And as I listen I fall a little bit in love with Anna myself.  My Grandma sounded like one amazing woman.  If Winona was the number one lady to ever exist Anna was definitely the runner up.

As the wine and the words flow I feel the deep, indestructible bond between us grow even more.  And I now feel the anguish of what he lost like I never had.  Seeing him I wanted to be him.  I wanted to be his age with all of these happy memories of a lifetime with my soulmate.  But unlike him I wanted for my soulmate to be there beside me.  To find a connection like that and lose it…I can’t even imagine what that would do to a man.

The story of the second date concludes with another uncomfortable interaction between my Grandpa and Anna’s dad to which I laugh and say.  “He sounds terrible!”

Grandpa chuckles.  “He was a father.  Sometimes it’s their job to be terrible.”  He takes a draw from his smoke and blows a cloud into the air.  As we both watch it drift away he says in a soft and solemn tone.  “I never really understood him until I had a daughter of my own.  And then I got it.”

“You didn’t approve of Dad?”

“No.”  He says bluntly.  “No I did not.  But, she wouldn’t listen.  In matters of the heart…they never do.”  He swallows and stifles a cough.  “But I’m glad she didn’t.  They gave me you.”

Reaching across I squeeze his hand he squeezes my hand back.

“I, um, I-I hope it turns out better for Lauren and J-Jack.”

“Me too Buttercup.”  He sighs and shakes his head sadly.  “You just a be good uncle to that kid, okay Avery?  Promise me that?”

“I…I promise.”

“Take them out on Bella.  Be kind to them.  Let them know that they’re loved and that, in this family, they are never alone.”

The weight of his words hits me like a meteorite.  He was telling me this because he wouldn’t be around to do these things himself.

“Oh Grandpa!”

“Hey.”  He leans over and hugs me and kisses my cheek to comfort me.  “I know you’ll do me proud.”

“I-I’ll try.”  I sniffle, on the verge of tears.

“Hey.”  He takes up the book.  “I haven’t shown you the pictures yet.”

We move our chairs from the table to look out over the cove side by side.  Dark had fallen and out here, with no light around except the moon and those that we brought with us, the starry heavens are unveiled in all their glory.  Along the way Grandpa has a coughing fit, the worst I’d seen yet.  As he slumps down onto his chair and tries to contain it I hurry to his side and cover him with a blanket he had hanging near the hammock.  I didn’t know if he was cold or not but doing something was better than nothing.  When the fit finally recedes he pats my hand and thanks me.

“I’m okay.”  He says through a gravelly rasp.  “Come on.”  He motions to my chair.

I pull my chair right up tight beside his.  Over our thighs he opens the book and begins to flip through.

“OH!”  I gasp.  “Grandpa!  You’re so pretty!  Are those abs!?”

He laughs, running his fingers across the half-century old memory.  The first page showed photos of him and Grandma as Sonny and Cher.  Grandma was in cheesy bell-bottom suit and mustache and Grandpa in a very risque yet totally classy yellow skirt and top with the midriff showing.  From his head hung a long, straight black wig that was very reminiscent of Winona’s raven locks.  I had expected the costume to be crass and done for humor but the make up, the fashion, the whole look was much more dignified than that.  In the photo Grandpa was young, maybe just a bit older than I was now, tanned and slender.  In his face I could see the hopes and dreams of a young man shining through.  And, just like he said, Anna looked so darn cute in that mustache.

“Ohhh!  You guys are so COOL!”

“Ha!”  He is all smiles.  “Yeah.  We had our moments.”

Page by page he flips through the album, stopping to tell the odd anecdote from that particular Halloween.  The years flip by and before my eyes, beneath their cross dressing costumes, I see the faces of lovers whose love only grew deeper with time.  The Ike and Tina year was conspicuously absent but the rest were all there and all of them wonderful.  Along the way my Mom shows up, looking absolutely adorable in the little homemade outfits Grandma made her.  It was weird to think that bubbly little baby was the unhappy woman that I knew all my life.  Boy do we have a good laugh at the Dolly and Kenny year.  Grandma in a beard, Grandpa with a big ol’ pair o’ titties and a big blond wig, Mom as an ewok, they looked to be having such FUN!  And then the final year, Johnny and June.  The costumes were more muted than previous years, Grandma in a nice black suit without a tie and Grandpa in a very charming green sleeveless dress, but the fun and the love still shone through.  That exact same love I could see shining from Grandpa’s eyes now, the separation of years not dimming that inner glow one bit.

It is with a wistful sigh he closes the last page.  “After that I started running Bella here.  I was just so busy.”  His voice a whisper he says.  “You always think there’ll be another year.”

“That was awesome.”  I say.  “You guys looked so good and so…HAPPY!”

“We were.”  He smiles.  “Times were good and times were bad, but we were always happy.”

I sit back, smiling.  “Winona wants us to dress up too.  For a convention.  As Urbosa and Link from Legend of Zelda.”

“I don’t know that show.”

“We’ve already done a little d-dress up.  I dressed up as my character Althea while she r-roleplayed as her Lady Ara.  It was fun.”  I say.  “M-Maybe we could dress up for Halloween too.  Just like you and Grandma did.”

“Ha ha!  Look at you.  You are a chip off the old blockhead.”  He knocks his skull.  “My boy!”

“Yeah.”  I giggle.  My eyes drift up to the distant tower, now just a black silhouette against the star field beyond, and for long moment we fall silent.

“Call her.”  He says with a pat of my hand.

“Mmm?”

“Call Winona.”  He smiles.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“S-Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

“It’s okay Buttercup.  I understand.”  Hugging the blanket around him and tucking the album beneath his arm he gets to his feet.  “Mind looking after the mess?”

“I got it.”  I say with a wave toward the table.  “You sleep well Grandpa.”

“You too.”  Coming in behind me he grips my shoulder.  “I love you Avery.”

I look back and up at him.  “I love you too Grandpa.”

Chapter 58