As elegant as the Sistine Chapel, holding secrets and stories of times passed, she is my grandmother.
She is a woman who loves being a girl. While my mother lacks an inkling for beauty products, it was my grandmother who showed me her nail polish collections and eyebrow tweezers while I sat on the counter. Her grace and spirit for life transcends gatherings with such charm that everyone feels instantly comfortable.
She is slowing down now, so she stays at home while we visit the aquarium. As we load ourselves into the caravan she waves and shouts, “Say hello to the fishies for me!” My grandpa stands proudly by her side and watches as we pull around the curve of their Californian street and out of sight.
Years pass, and she calls his name, asking for help from the upstairs bathroom and he simply turns to my father and says, “I just live for her” before he methodically climbs to the second story of the house. My father comes home that night and hugs my mother a little tighter, feeling new wisdom passed down to him.
And more years pass, and she visits Iowa for my wedding and she tells me she can’t wait to meet my fiancé–and I think, “for the first time, again,” as I look into my grandfather’s eyes that are lined with sadness and empathy for her. This scene repeats itself two nights later at my wedding.
And, now, she falls at home. My grandpa doesn’t have enough strength in his weathered, 84-year-old body to lift her again today. She tells him to just leave her there, on the floor. He has no choice but to follow her instruction.
He sits beside her in the hospital bed–the bed she’s been in for a few days longer than needed because the doctors want to give my grandpa some rest–and my grandpa’s eyes burn as he says to no one in particular, “It’s been 61 years, now, just me and Jo. I married my dream.”
***
Jacqueline Kubik Severidt is a Midwestern-born, Richmond-based writer and poet. She is excited about her creative writing debut with Xenith. When she’s not writing or reading, she enjoys running, rock-climbing and traveling. Being on the other side of the country, she misses her grandparents in California very much.
