(no subject)
It was sunday morning and they were out on the lake. Just her and her grandfather. This was their time together when they could just talk and not have people interrupting...especially not his girlfriend. Every year Dominique and her dad put her grandfather's boat in his communitie's lake, and every year they took it out in the fall. Twice a year they got this time together. They never had it when her grandmother was still alive, but she was the black sheep of the grandkids for the longest time. And then her grandmother got ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. They got closer then, her grandmother, grandfather with Dominique's parents and her. That's how it always seems to work. Now she just had him and her mother's mom.
One year grandpa had called her son..."lemme tell ya somethin son." She didn't bother correcting him. Every year, twice a year, she heard the same stories.
"That house, your grandma and I were looking at that house but she was afraid that you grandkids were going to fall into the lake."
"Well we fooled her. It was Uncle Chuck who fell in the lake out of the boat grandpa."
"He never did take this boat out again, did he?"
"Nope."
Every trip out the same dialogue:
"You have to come out and take the boat out sometime. You didn't last year."
"Grandpa I didn't have time last year."
Mockingly, "I didn't have time last year. Well, if you have a boyfriend, you two can take it out. But you have to drive because he won't know how to steer it."
At least he didn't ask if she was married on this trip to see him. Last time they took the boat out, a question of giving him great-grandchildren came up. She laughed and told him to talk to his grandson, who was already married.
Her dad yelled out to them to go straight to the dock before they had taken off.
"Go around the whole lake. I'll just tell him it was your idea."
"He's going to know you're lying."
She was the captain and helmsman of the little boat. To them it was more than a boat. For her it was an attempt to get some memories of conversations with at least one grandfather. She never remembered any conversations with her other grandfather. There was only two that stuck out in her mind:
"Grandpa, I can swallow cottage cheese whole!"
"You keep doing that and you're going to choke."
She was about five at the time of that one. Another one was also from when she was really young. They always went camping in the summer. She threatened to pull out one of his hairs because they were all grey and two more would spring up in its place. He told her to go ahead because then he could get a full head of hair again. He was in love with his hair. No one could touch it but her, and even then he'd throw her in the pool so he could fix it.
They never even talked when he was dying. He had asked for her earlier that day, but couldn't talk when she got to him that night. As she was "driving" the boat, she thought of that and tears came to her eyes. She only told her grandfather twice that he had already told her a particular story because she didn't want to hear about him getting stuck on a log in the boat with a "lady friend." There were a few new ones that trip, but most were the same.
"Do you know which cove to turn into?"
"Ya grandpa it's that one." She points one out.
"You have a good memory."
"Grandpa, I've been doing this twice a year for the past three or four years."
"Oh, right."
As they pull into the dock, his dock, her dad yells out at them.
"How did I know you guys weren't going to come straight over?"
"I told her to listen to you, but she wouldn't."
"Bullshit dad. Come on. Put down the damn motor! I got it, you're not even supposed to carry a gallon of milk."
The three of them walk up to the truck and place everything in the bed. Dominique climbs in with the equipment since there was no room for her in the cab.
One year grandpa had called her son..."lemme tell ya somethin son." She didn't bother correcting him. Every year, twice a year, she heard the same stories.
"That house, your grandma and I were looking at that house but she was afraid that you grandkids were going to fall into the lake."
"Well we fooled her. It was Uncle Chuck who fell in the lake out of the boat grandpa."
"He never did take this boat out again, did he?"
"Nope."
Every trip out the same dialogue:
"You have to come out and take the boat out sometime. You didn't last year."
"Grandpa I didn't have time last year."
Mockingly, "I didn't have time last year. Well, if you have a boyfriend, you two can take it out. But you have to drive because he won't know how to steer it."
At least he didn't ask if she was married on this trip to see him. Last time they took the boat out, a question of giving him great-grandchildren came up. She laughed and told him to talk to his grandson, who was already married.
Her dad yelled out to them to go straight to the dock before they had taken off.
"Go around the whole lake. I'll just tell him it was your idea."
"He's going to know you're lying."
She was the captain and helmsman of the little boat. To them it was more than a boat. For her it was an attempt to get some memories of conversations with at least one grandfather. She never remembered any conversations with her other grandfather. There was only two that stuck out in her mind:
"Grandpa, I can swallow cottage cheese whole!"
"You keep doing that and you're going to choke."
She was about five at the time of that one. Another one was also from when she was really young. They always went camping in the summer. She threatened to pull out one of his hairs because they were all grey and two more would spring up in its place. He told her to go ahead because then he could get a full head of hair again. He was in love with his hair. No one could touch it but her, and even then he'd throw her in the pool so he could fix it.
They never even talked when he was dying. He had asked for her earlier that day, but couldn't talk when she got to him that night. As she was "driving" the boat, she thought of that and tears came to her eyes. She only told her grandfather twice that he had already told her a particular story because she didn't want to hear about him getting stuck on a log in the boat with a "lady friend." There were a few new ones that trip, but most were the same.
"Do you know which cove to turn into?"
"Ya grandpa it's that one." She points one out.
"You have a good memory."
"Grandpa, I've been doing this twice a year for the past three or four years."
"Oh, right."
As they pull into the dock, his dock, her dad yells out at them.
"How did I know you guys weren't going to come straight over?"
"I told her to listen to you, but she wouldn't."
"Bullshit dad. Come on. Put down the damn motor! I got it, you're not even supposed to carry a gallon of milk."
The three of them walk up to the truck and place everything in the bed. Dominique climbs in with the equipment since there was no room for her in the cab.