A Granddaughter’s Story

Marcella runs around the house making sure the house was clean for her husband when he gets home from work. She just finished baking a fresh batch of muffins which made the whole house fill with the delicious aroma. She would need to pick the kids up from school soon, and she knows how much they like coming home to homemade chocolate chip muffins.

Marcella was just about to walk out the door when Rosie, her sister comes waltzing in the house. Rosie throws her coat down on the chair and pops off her shoes without saying anything. Marcella hates Rosie, especially when she barges into her house like she owns the place.

“Rosie what are you doing here? You need to leave now! I’m going to be late to pick up the children because of you!”

Rosie sits down calmly and says nothing, which infuriates Marcella even more.

“Don’t just sit there. Get up and leave me alone. I don’t have time for this!” Marcella yells.

“You don’t need to pick anyone up. Let's just sit back down,” Rosie says in a soothing voice.

“What do you mean, I don’t need to pick anyone up? The children are in school. How will they get home without me?”

Rosie says while setting plates at the table, “There is no one to pick up. Let's come back to the table and have something to eat.”

It was getting to be around 4:30 in the evening and in the month of January, it was almost fully dark outside.

Marcella says, with growing frustration, “Jim is going to be home soon and if I haven’t picked up the children yet he is going to be livid!”

Rosie’s face drops, and with complete regret, tells Marcella, “Jim’s not coming home. I’m so sorry.”

“Rosie, what do you mean he is not coming home? Is he working late tonight?”

“Jim isn’t working late. You know this. He’s not coming home. Try and remember.”

At this point, Marcella is completely fed up with Rosie. She is just lying as she always does, trying to make people feel worse so she can feel better about her life. Marcella wants Rosie out of her house, and she wants her out now!

“Rosie get out. I need to take care of my family, a family that you don’t have.”

“Grandma, please let’s just sit down and have dinner. You’ll feel better after you have something to eat.”

“Grandma? Rosie, who are you talking to? You’re my sister, not my granddaughter.”

“No, Grandma, I’m not Rosie. It’s Megan, your granddaughter.”

Marcella sits down, baffled by what she is hearing. She can’t be a grandmother. She’s only 35, she has three young children, and all three are entirely too young to have a child of their own. No, she is not a grandmother; Marcella thinks to herself, how could she be? With curly red hair, not a gray to be found, only a few wrinkles caused by laughter, no, she is definitely not a grandmother.

It has only been 15 years since she moved away from Ireland to New York with her annoying little sister, Rosie. This is just another way for Rosie to get under her skin and try and confuse Marcella.

“Rosie, I had enough. Get out of my house stop trying to confuse me with your silly little stories.”

“Grandma, please let's calm down and go look in the mirror. You just need to calm down and try to remember.”

They both walk slowly over to the bathroom mirror and that’s when Marcella sees herself, for what seems like the first time. She looks into the mirror and sees a little old lady with white hair, wrinkled skin, and bifocal glasses. Then she looks to the person next to her and sees a very concerned 23-year-old girl holding the hand of her grandmother, and in that moment Marcella remembers the past 54 years that earlier in the day didn’t exist to her.

She remembers her children growing up, getting married, and having children of their own. She remembers the day her husband Jim retired from the New York Fire Department and how proud she was of him. She remembers the day he was diagnosed with lung cancer, and then six months later being at his funeral. She remembers moving in with her son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren, and slowly growing older in their home in New Jersey. Megan, a relieved granddaughter for the time being, helps her 89-year-old grandmother into bed, hoping that when she wakes up tomorrow, she won't have to remind her grandma of who she is yet again.