Something Had to Give Read Free Page A

living in a house exactly like theirs when I got older. Grandma planted tulips and roses leading up to the home and even maintained a garden of fresh veggies. The grass was the greenest I had ever seen and Grandpa made it well known that no one was to walk on it. Their garage was nothing like ours. Grandpa’s model cars were neatly aligned on shelves and Grandma’s gardening tools were all together in a corner. There was no clutter like ours had at home. Grandpa would sit on the swing with his coffee and newspaper every morning that the weather allowed. Often I would lie on the hammock and watch him. It was a well-known rule to not interrupt Grandpa during his morning coffee, but I found great amusement watching his reactions to the stories he read. It was only after he had finished reading the sports section that I could sit beside him on the swing without him getting annoyed at how much I was swinging. Grandpa would talk for hours about baseball, guns, and cars. He talked about all three so passionately that even Shanna would sit and listen. Grandpa was retired military and always expected order around him. Everything about his personality and demeanor screamed military. There was a certain way his clothes had to be ironed, he expected each meal at a certain time like clockwork, clothes and towels had to be folded a certain way, and the house had to be maintained at all times. It was nothing like how it was at home. If Shanna and I made a mess, we had to immediately clean it up. There was no waiting on Grandma to do it later. He had a quick temper if things were not up to his standards and though there were plenty of times that he made me cry or feel inadequate, I loved my Grandpa and loved spending time with him.
    The inside of the home was kept so immaculate that it was hard to believe that Mommy and Aunt Michelle were raised there. We weren’t allowed to walk on the carpet with our shoes nor were we allowed to ever drink anything while on the carpet. The living room was just for show since no one ever sat in there and unlike our home, there wasn’t even a television in there. Instead, the television was in the den where Grandpa had his bar, gun cabinet, and of course, more model cars. There were four bedrooms: the master bedroom, Mommy’s old room, Aunt Michelle’s old room, and the guest room. I always slept in Mommy’s old room when we visited. The room was different, of course, from when she was my age, but I always felt like me staying in that room made me closer to her. It was a closeness that I didn’t ever expect to feel with her in real life. Shanna would never agree to stay in Aunt Michelle’s old room, instead opting to sleep in the guest room. We were not allowed in Grandpa and Grandma’s room. From the doorway, it looked beautiful. My first time visiting, I ignorantly asked where they slept because the bed was so perfectly made. I was convinced that no one ever touched it. The house was beautiful. It had even been featured on a magazine once. The picture of them showed Grandma with a grin from ear to ear. You could see how proud she was of this feature. Grandpa on the other hand couldn’t even force a smile. Instead his face showed sheer irritation. Daddy had joked that his scowl was likely due to the fact that the picture was taken standing on his perfectly cut front yard.
    My Grandma worked diligently to keep the house to Grandpa’s standards. Just like Mommy, she had never worked outside the home. The time and effort she put into keeping the house up definitely qualified as a full-time job. Grandma always looked tired. I would imagine that the work she did on a daily basis took a large toll on her. Yet, whenever I asked her to sit and read with me or to attend my tea parties, she would without hesitation. She was a people pleaser and much like Mommy, she strived to always keep the peace. There were days I would stay right on Grandma’s heels as she cooked. She prepared meals so effortlessly.