Being Mommy

“Have a seat, Cecilia,” Grandpa said. “I’ll get you some chocolate milk.” If there was one thing Cecilia could always count on from Grandpa, it was chocolate milk! She took a seat on the soft green couch and placed her purse gently beside her.

 Ty popped out of her purse and flew up to her shoulder, landing softly. “We never did get those crackers,” said Ty. “I’ll be right back!”

 With that, he flew off to the kitchen, leaving her alone in the living room. Cecilia was very anxious to find out what was going on, but she figured it was probably best to be patient and not rush Grandpa. It seemed like every time she tried to make Grandpa speed things up, he just slowed down even more.

 After a few minutes, Grandpa returned with Ty bobbing up and down in the air around him. Grandpa had a cup of chocolate milk, and a handful of crackers with him. He handed the cup to Cecilia carefully, and set the crackers on the coffee table as he was sitting down into his favorite plush red chair. It was a little dark in the room, but Grandpa had a nice fire going in the fireplace, and it was very warm.

She drank a few sips of her milk, and set the cup on the coffee table next to the crackers. Ty had already landed on the table and was happily munching on the crackers. Watching Ty eat the crackers reminded her of a squirrel eating peanuts at the park. She giggled, and Ty looked up at her with that cute confused grin, but he didn’t stop eating.

“I guess I should start from the beginning,” Grandpa finally said. Cecilia was relieved to hear Grandpa start his story, but she couldn’t control her curiosity anymore.

“How do you know Ty? Have you ever been to Ancilon? How did I get there? How did Ty get here?” she started spouting out questions as fast as she could think of them.

“Whoa, there! Hold on a second!” Grandpa grinned at Cecilia’s excitement. “All in good time, sweetie!”

Cecilia took a deep breath, and tried to calm down. She would have to make sure to be quiet and listen to everything Grandpa had to say, because she didn’t want to miss a single detail.

“I met your Grandma way back when we were just kids ourselves,” he started. “We used to play together almost every day, and eventually we fell in love. We had lots of adventures together, got to visit many many wonderful places, and made so many wonderful friends that it’s hard to remember them all!” His smile was very big now, remembering all the fun he had with Grandma.

“The funny thing is, we didn’t live near each other as kids.”

Now Cecilia was getting confused. Grandpa chuckled a little, and continued.

“We met in Rettel. I was there, in one of the lands, having an adventure of my own, when I happened upon a beautiful young girl playing by a lake. It was your Grandma, but back then she wasn’t called Grandma, she was called Mary. When she saw me, she smiled a smile that just took my breath away, and I knew at that moment that we would be great friends.

“We did indeed become great friends over the next few years. We made plans to meet at certain places on certain days, and we always seemed to find tons of fun adventures! Once, I made her a Valentine’s Day gift in Ancilon. It was a jewelry box, made from the lovely tall grasses in the meadows there. I wove the grasses together to form sheets, and some of the dragon-flies that I knew stitched it up into a box for me. She was so happy when she saw that little box that she gave me a big kiss on the cheek! It was the first time she ever kissed me, you know. That’s when I knew I loved her.”

Grandpa’s eyes looked like he was remembering something wonderful, and he sat there quietly for a minute, looking off into space.

After a minute, he looked back at Cecilia and smiled, his eyes twinkling. “She was an amazing woman Cecilia. I wish you had been able to know her.”

He took a deep breath, and realizing that Cecilia was still waiting to hear more, continued.

“Another time, we were in Danseen, another land in Rettel, which has a great river flowing out to the sea. We were trying to fish, and caught a huge fish there, only to find out that it could talk and loved to tell jokes! After we let him back into the river, we came to visit him all the time, and he became a good friend of ours. His name is Kin, and he is not only a really funny fish, he is also very wise. If you ever need help trying to figure out a problem, go see him.”

Ty had finished the crackers and had fallen asleep on the coffee table. Cecilia picked up her chocolate milk again, and took another drink. Grandpa continued.

“As we got older, and we had more things to do at our own homes, we didn’t get to meet there as much, but we always kept in touch and made it there at least once or twice a month to sit and talk to each other. When I asked her to marry me, we had still never met outside of Rettel. I was very nervous. I thought she might be worried that things wouldn’t be the same in our normal world. Everything in Rettel always seems to be good and happy, did you notice that?”

“Yes, I did. The weather was always nice, and the smells were yummy, and I wasn’t even scared!” Cecilia explained.

“Right! Exactly why I was worried. But as soon as she realized what I was going to ask her, your Grandma got an enormous smile on her face and gave me such a big hug she knocked me over onto the ground! It was the happiest day of my life, up to that point.

“So we got married and lived right here in this house for the rest of our marriage. We still visited Rettel together once in awhile, but we had a lot to do here at home, and when your mom was born we were even busier that ever!

“We had a wonderful time while your mom was growing up. We were blessed to have each other and a great family to shower with love every day. That’s what made it so hard when your Grandma got sick.”

Cecilia had heard only a little bit about how her Grandma died. She listened intently.

“When we found out she was sick, we knew that it was a sickness that would eventually make her die. She was really weak, and needed lots of care from both me and your mom. For a few years, we didn’t have time to visit Rettel anymore. We did get to go there one last time together before she died. It made her very happy, the happiest I had seen her in a long time. Many of her friends came that day and we had a wonderful party that you wouldn’t believe!

“Soon after that, though, your Grandma died. I missed her so much that I started spending a lot of time in Rettel again, because it took away some of the sadness I had from missing her. And THAT is about the time I met Ty!” with that last sentence, Grandpa slammed his hand down on an empty spot on the coffee table, waking Ty up in an instant, and causing him to fly straight up into the air about three feet!

Grandpa started laughing a big hearty laugh. Ty looked confused for a moment, then looked at Grandpa sternly. He flew over to Cecilia and said “He’s always doing things like that!” She knew exactly what Ty was talking about, and it was one of the things about her Grandpa that she loved the most. Even if he was a little slow-moving sometimes, you had to watch out, or he would get you when you weren’t expecting it!

Ty landed on Cecilia’s shoulder. “I doubt he’ll do anything to me if I’m sitting here!” he said, looking directly at Grandpa. “Right, Milton?”

“Oh, relax!” Grandpa said.

Ty jumped up a little. “That’s what I was trying to do!” He calmed back down and leaned into Cecilia’s neck a little. She was really starting to like the feel of the little dragon-fly sitting there.

“Hey guys!” Cecilia interrupted the little argument before it got started. “Can we keep going with the story?”

Grandpa stopped laughing and straightened up. “Of course, my dear,” he said.

“Ty and I became friends. I told him many stories about your Grandma. He probably knows almost as much about her as I do. We have been to many parties in Ancilon, dancing – and flying – around to fun music in the village courtyard. We’ve had treasure hunts in the forest, and I even helped them build a few houses there once!

“But then something else happened, and I stopped visiting Ancilon again. Can you guess what that something was, Cecilia?” Grandpa had a little smile.

Cecilia couldn’t think of what would have ever stopped him from visiting such a wonderful place and such a nice friend like Ty. She shook her head quickly.

“Why, YOU happened, my little one! Once you were born, I was in love again! I was happy again! I became too busy playing with you to go back. Until now.”

She heard the words he had just said, but it took her a minute to realize what he meant.

“Grandpa, you mean you are going to go back there with me???” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

“I would be honored,” he reached across the coffee table and took Cecilia’s hands in to his own. “Would you like me to show you around Rettel?”

Cecilia was overjoyed! She would not have to figure this out herself! She would go with Grandpa, and visit the places Grandpa visited, and meet the friends Grandpa had met. She was so happy she forgot about the little dragon-fly on her shoulder, and jumped up out of her seat. Ty flew up into the air, doing a little cartwheel in the air in front of her.

She giggled. “Sorry, Ty” she apologized. Then something else came to her mind.

“Ty, do you really want to go right back home, or do you want to visit the other lands of Rettel with me and Grandpa?” Cecilia knew the answer she wanted to hear, and looked at him with a big smile on her face.

“Sounds like fun! I’ve never been away from home before, I guess it’s about time.” he said happily.

Grandpa interrupted the discussion. “How did you get here anyway, Ty?” he asked.

“I fell asleep with Cecilia, and we both woke up here.” Ty explained.

Grandpa sat and thought for a minute. “Well, maybe I can make that a little easier next time,” he said.

Before Cecilia had a chance to ask what he meant, Grandpa opened a cabinet door in the coffee table, and reached his hand inside. His hand came back out holding a small shoe box. He opened the box, and set it down on the coffee table to Cecilia and Ty to inspect.

“Weren’t you wondering how I got to Rettel, honey?” he asked.

In the box were another pair of magic shoes! She knew what they were as soon as she saw them, because they looked almost the same as hers, only bigger. That made another question enter her mind.

“Grandpa,” she asked, “how did those shoes fit you when you were a little boy? And how did my shoes fit Grandma when she was all grown up?”

“Why because they are magic, silly!” he said, tapping her nose with his finger. She laughed.

“That makes sense,” she said. “Now how are your shoes going to help Ty?”

Grandpa pulled a little piece of stitching from the edge of one of his shoes. “Ty, come over here for a minute,” he said.

Ty flew over to the coffee table and landed near the shoe box, looking inside at the shoes. “Yes, I remember those!” he said with a smile.

Grandpa took the little strap of leather he had pulled from his shoe and tied it gently around Ty’s belly, making a little belt. Ty smiled up at Grandpa, then flew up to Cecilia so she could inspect the belt.

“Looks good!” Cecilia said with a smile. Ty flew back over to her shoulder and sat down.

Grandpa looked at his watch. “It’s getting late, sweetheart, why don’t you get on home and we will talk about this again tomorrow?”

Cecilia didn’t want to go home just yet, but she knew her mother would be upset if she missed dinner. “One last question, Grandpa. Does Mom know about Rettel?”

Grandpa answered quickly, “No, she doesn’t, and don’t tell her. Your mom is wonderful, but she likes things a certain way, and dreamlands aren’t her thing.” Cecilia thought she understood what he was saying. She loved her mom a lot, but if she wanted to be really silly, her Grandpa was always the one to go along with her games.

“Now run along back home, and come see me tomorrow morning after breakfast. And don’t forget to bring your new shoes!” he said with a twinkle in his eye. “Ty can stay here for the night, so you don’t have to worry about your mom finding him.”

Cecilia was a little sad to say goodbye to both Ty and Grandpa, but she knew tomorrow would be one of the most interesting days of her life. She gave Grandpa a hug and kiss goodbye, and Ty nuzzled her neck a little, and then flew over to Grandpa’s shoulder and sat down.

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When she got back home, dinner was cooking in the kitchen, and the whole house smelled wonderful. Cecilia was so happy, she couldn’t help but to smile and hug everyone when she walked inside, even the dog. The dog gave her a funny look, so she hugged him again.

“Grandpa called,” Mom said. “He said you two had some plans for tomorrow. He wants you over at his house by 10:00 am sharp.” Mom loved schedules, and she hated for anyone to be late. “He said you won’t be back until dinner time, so make sure you eat a good lunch with him, okay?”

“Okay,” Cecilia said. Eating a good lunch was also big on Mom’s list, just like eating a good breakfast and eating a good dinner. Mom always told her that was the reason she didn’t get sick, because people who eat healthy, stay healthy. Cecilia believed it. She couldn’t remember the last time she had been sick.

“Dinner’s ready!” Mom called to Dad, who came running to the table. Everything smelled wonderful. Mom always made the best dinners.

Cecilia ate everything on her plate, put her dishes on the kitchen counter for her mom, and then went into the living room to watch some television with her Dad. But she couldn’t concentrate on the TV shows. She just kept thinking about everything that had happened today.

She couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen tomorrow!