RedGage

This is the Second part of a Three part story.  If you have not read the First Part, click here .

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Four miserable hours later, Katie's Dad was honking the horn up the long driveway that led to Grandma Rose's house.  Grandma Rose quickly came out onto the front porch when she heard the commotion.  Katie unbuckled herself as the car came to a halt, opened the door and ran to give her Grandma a hug.  Her Grandma Rose held her close and once again, the tears were streaming down Katie's face. 

"Whoa there," Grandma Rose said in a hushed tone, "what's all this about?"

"Oh Grandma Rose," Katie sniffled out, "this was supposed to be the best summer ever. And-and I-I-I don't..." she couldn't quite get the words out.

Grandma Rose just smiled, "You know Katie, it might not be the summer you thought you were going to have, but I promise to do my best, okay?"

Katie clearly didn't understand.   Her Dad continued to unload the car and put things away in Grandma Rose's house.  Grandma Rose took the boys inside to her family room that was filled with all sorts of toys Katie hadn't seen before.   Grandma Rose only had two bedrooms in her small lake home, and explained to Katie that the boys would sleep in one room and she and Katie would be sharing the other bedroom.   She showed Katie to her room and told her where to unpack her things.  Grandma Rose had fixed up the room in Blues, Greens, and tans which was quite inviting and she even had a TV in the bedroom.

Her Dad only stayed a little while, before he left. It was at this point that Katie felt the loneliest she had felt in a long time. Oh she loved her Grandma Rose, but still this was not what she wanted.  Why did her mother have to be sick anyway? And she couldn’t stop thinking of all the fun she’d be missing out on with her friends back home.  Life sure didn’t seem fair, Katie thought.

 Begrudging her circumstances, Katie was reluctant to come when her  Grandma Rose called her into the kitchen to help with the dishes.  “Dishes?” She thought. “Just Great.” She knew one thing, Grandma Rose didn’t own a dishwasher and that meant she’d have to scrape and clean those dishes herself.  So much for Grandma Rose doing her best!

The dishes weren’t the only chores she would have to do. Grandma Rose sat Katie down and explained that she expected her to help out around her place.  Grandma Rose had to take care of the boys, who were much younger and needed a lot more attention.  Each morning, Katie was to be up by 7am and make her bed and be dressed.  Grandma Rose would take two weeks to teach her how to make breakfast for everyone and then Grandma Rose said she expected Katie to make it from then on. After breakfast, she was expected to clean up and sweep and mop the kitchen floor.  Grandma Rose explained that she would be busy getting the boys their baths and getting them ready for the day, so it was up to Katie to get it done.

Katie also had outdoor chores.  She was to help with the garden, by weeding it each day and as the summer went on and the veggies became ripe, she’d need to bring in what was ready to be picked. And since Grandma Rose owned an old fashioned push-mower, she expected that Katie would help with mowing the yard and raking it as it needed to be done.  Katie was a bit beside herself.  Chores were something her parents hadn’t really entrusted her with, and she was most certain that these weren’t something any of her friends would have to do. She felt angry that back home Jenna was probably sleeping in and watching television and making plans with other friends and Katie had turned into an instant Cinderella.

It took at least two weeks before Katie settled into her routine and started to forget all about her summer not being the best summer ever.  Grandma Rose had Katie and her brothers busier than Katie could remember being in a long time. 

Besides her chores in the morning and gardening after lunch, Grandma Rose made sure Katie had fun too with swimming in the lake in the late afternoon, fishing right after dinner, or they'd row the boat out to the middle of the lake to watch the sun go down.  Grandma Rose would put up a small campfire for the kids on the weekends, and they would roast marshmallows and make smores.  Grandma Rose would play the Harmonica and the kids would clap and dance by the fireside.  Grandma Rose never tired of having Katie and her brothers around.  Katie couldn’t really pinpoint the day or the hour...but she had a change of heart about the spending the summer thing with Grandma Rose. As busy as she was, it turned out that Katie’s summer was far from being boring.

What Katie enjoyed the most about her summer was having late night talks with Grandma Rose after the boys went to bed.  Grandma Rose talked to her about the Bible and about life and about becoming a woman.  She also told Katie all about Papa George that died and what a wonderful and proud Papa he would be and about how much she missed him.  She showed Katie pictures from years past of a much younger Grandma Rose and of her Daddy as a small boy.  She taught Katie a little bit of French and Italian.  She taught Katie how to bake and how to cook and how to sew.  Katie found herself looking forward to each new day.  Grandma Rose kept finding ways to keep everything entertaining.  Katie was rarely bored, and the best part was that Grandma Rose knew how to be a really good friend.  She listened and paid attention and helped Katie to understand, that which she did not.

The summer had flown by and August came in with a heat wave, which was so relentless that not even a dip in the lake could cool a person off.  Katie knew that as the month drew toward the end, it would soon be time to return home and start school again.  She asked Grandma Rose several times about staying with her through the school year.  Each time Grandma Rose reminded her of her parents and her friends back home.  Katie didn't want to leave now that she liked it here and she didn't want to leave Grandma Rose.  She would keep doing her chores and she'd do more if it would help her stay, but like the seasons, things have a way of changing.  And for Katie that meant having to leave Grandma Rose and her summer home.

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Stay tuned for Part 3--The Conclusion.

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