A Simple Life: Chapter 120 (Patreon)

Hand in hand Briar and I walk out the other side of the quad into the older half of the campus toward the tucked away little green space sandwiched between the two old cut stone dorms and the original gothic style chapel where grandpa usually set up to play his keyboard.  The closer we got the more I could make out the music echoing around the buildings.  It wasn’t just Grandpa today as I could also hear a guitar, a tambourine, and some clapping as well.  It sounded like he’d found himself a whole darn party.

“Waaait a second.”  As we make the turn at the chapel Briar picks up on our destination.  “Avery.  Is Mike your grandpa!?”

“You know him?”

“Everybody knows Mike!”  She laughs.  “He’s an institution around here.”

I giggle.  “Yeah. That’s h-him.”

We come around the building to see in the shade of a sprawling weeping willow tree my grandpa seated behind keyboard, his face aglow as his fingers dance across the keys to produce such a sweet sound.  To his left is a tall, lanky black woman whom I had seen play her acoustic guitar with him before.  From what I knew she was a resident of one of the dorms and something of a star for the college volleyball team.  To his right is a young man I’d never seen before in pajama bottoms, slippers, and an open robe that was even more scruffy looking than Grandpa.  While Grandpa and the guitarist were clearly the talent of the trio he made up for it by playing the hell out of his battered old tambourine as the group belted out a rousing rendition of ABBA’s Waterloo.  Around the tree dancing and clapping and singing along were over a dozen twenty-somethings having the time of their lives.  Grandpa was cookin today!

As Briar and I meld into the gathering I start to sing along.  As usual my singing is not loud enough to call attention to myself but spirited enough to make me feel a part it.  A moment later Briar joins me.  Unlike my soft voice her high, nasally notes cuts right through the din.  Nobody notices her off notes however as the good feelings just keep on grooving.

Pulling Briar behind me I make my way through the dancers.  When Grandpa sees me his eyes brighten.  He shoots me a smile and wink and carries on without missing a note.  We get around to come at the tree from behind where I slip in behind Grandpa to take a seat as I had done so many times in the past.  Briar kneels beside me bouncing along to the music as we sing along to the cheesy old disco earworm.  We continued to hold hands despite being seated.  As awkward as it had been to initiate now it felt awkward to stop and neither of us wanted to be the first one to do it.  Plus, it just felt really nice to hold a friends hand.

The song finishes up to hoots and applause.  It ended up being the clapping that gave Briar and I the excuse to stop holding hands.  We both laugh at how ridiculous we were being.  Grandpa uses the pause to light a fresh smoke and take a few puffs then after a bit of back and forth between he and guitarist, who I overhear is named Zuri, they start in on an swinging version of Havana.  The dancers shift to match their motions to the smooth salsa beat as Zuri sings the sultry notes.  She had a such great voice.  Briar sits cross-legged then pulls the remainder of her lunch from her backpack and starts to eat.

“I’ve got an apple if you want it.”  She offers, quietly so as not to harsh the melody.

“I’m g-good.”  I say.

As I watched the the people dance in that sensuous Latin way I wished Winona were here with me.  I giggle to myself as I picture us out there, the worst dancers of the lot, but man it would have been great.  Winona would have been in the lead of course and I would have been her sexy senorita.  Being apart sucked.  Things kept happening that reminded me of her or made me wish she was here to experience it with me.  We’d only been apart a few hours and I knew I would see her tonight, yet I longed to be with her or for her to be here with me.  Fun as this all was I could keenly feel the missing half of my soul.  If this is how Grandpa felt about Grandma…  I couldn’t even imagine.

A grumbling tummy breaks me from my pining.  Shifting a bit forward I sneak in behind Grandpa and pull out his lunch kit from behind his folding stool.  He always brought a bit extra, especially if he knew I might show up, so I was not out of line as I open it and look for a little something to nibble on.  I pull a granola bar from the pack then slip it right back to where it had been.

Catching me out of the corner of his eyes Grandpa looks down at me with a smile.  Peering up I smile back…though it quickly fades.  Grandpa’s attention was back on his music and his audience before he could see my concern but for a moment I just sit and stare.  He was sweating, a lot, even though it wasn’t that hot out.  His normally tanned ruddy face looked a pale gray.  And at the end of every intake and exhale of his heavy breath there came a low wheeze that I could only hear because I was so close to him here.  He tickled the ivories and worked the crowd as well as he ever did but knowing him like I knew him I could see that something was wrong.

Instead of returning I stay kneeling beside him, not even hearing the music anymore as my whole focus became him.  Noting my presence lingering he shoots me another wink to reassure me.  For the first time his reassurance only makes me worry more.

I stay glued to his side for the entirety of the song.  And a good thing too as just as the final notes are being played he is seized by another coughing fit.  I grab his water bottle and have it in his hand in a heartbeat.  I rub his back as he gratefully takes a few gulps of the water.  Out of the corner of my eye I could see the people looking at me, something that would have sent me fleeing normally, but this time there was nothing on Earth that could have made me budge.

“Ha ha!”  Grandpa toasts the crowd through a hoarse voice.  “I think that’s my last one of the day.  Stay groovy out there.”  There are some moans of disappointment but soon they are drowned out by a little smattering of applause.  As Zuri unslings her guitar the pair of them share a few words of appreciation.  The tambourine guy however had drifted off by himself to try keep the music going on his own, though the crowd was having none of it and was already dispersing.  “Hey Buttercup.”  He says at last.

“Hi G-Grandpa.”

“Whose your friend here?”  He turns in his stool to look back at Briar.  He was putting on a brave face but I could see by the fatigue in his motions that he had overdone it.

“This is B-Briar.”  I say.  “My new friend.  She’s in our FoF group.”

“Hey Mike!”  She waves from where she sits.

“Well hello Briar.”  He says with a jolly grin.  When she makes no attempt to approach he whispers.  “Is she shy or…?”

I nod to the ashtray with the burning ciggy.  “She’s allergic t-t-to smoke I th-think.”

“Ah.”  He takes a drag of the cancer stick then mashes it out.

Taking his hand I hold it.  It felt cold.  “H-How you d-doing?”

“Ah.”  He pats my cheek.  “I’m fine.  Just a bit tired.”  He rocks forward and hoists himself up to his feet.  “Come on Buttercup, I’ll buy you some…ohhhh…”  He wavers a moment and in an instant I am at his elbow for support.  “Whoo!”  He huffs.  “May have overdone it a bit there.”

I help him back down onto the stool.  “I’ll c-c-call an ambulance.”

“Do you need one?”  He quips.

“Grandpa!”

“Avery!”  He chuckles.  “I’m okay.”

“No, you’re n-n-not.  S-Something’s wrong.”

“I’m good.  Really.”  He pats my hand.  “Just give me a minute to…hahhh…catch my breath.”

“L-L-Let’s g-go to the hospital.  P-Please.”

“Avery.”  He says, more serious this time as he looks into my eyes.  “I’m fine.  I just overdid it today.”

I stare for a time.  “You sure?”

“Yeah.  I’m sure.”  He then adds in a low tone.  “There’s not much they can do anyway.”

“Oh G-Grandpa!”

“I’m okay.”  He gives my arm a squeeze.  “I’m okay Avery.”

“Okay.”  I whisper despite the worry filling my heart.

He hugs me and kisses my cheek.  “Sooo, Briar.”  He turns his attention to my friend.  “You’re part of this game too, huh?”

“Yeah.”  She glances back and forth between us, wondering if we were chatting or if she was helping me get him to a doctor.  When she picks up it was the former she relaxes and comes forward to start talking.  They could not be more different in many ways but, Grandpa being Grandpa, he charms her effortlessly and before long the pair are chatting like old friends.

I wish I could have enjoyed it as much as they were.

Chapter 121