Glorious

June 26th

     Part of helping my grandma this summer was doing the grocery shopping for her. One of the side effects from her pills made her sleepy and disoriented, and on those days she would nap and I would do whatever needs to be done.

     And today was one of those days.

     When I came over this morning, she was fine. Lively and talking about the hummingbirds she saw out her bedroom window early this morning. But after lunch she had settled into her rocking chair, a blanket thrown over her lap and was watching the shore come in and out. In and out, in and out.

     So, careful not to wake her, I kissed her cheek and slipped out to go to Pat's.

     Even though I hadn't stepped foot inside of Pat's for years, it was still exactly how I remembered it to be. The front door still chimed when I pulled it open, and the AC was blasting at full force, the pink and yellow ribbons tied to it looking like they would snap off at any second. The 'welcome' mat was faded from the sun, and covered in a mixture of popsicle stains and god-only-knows-what. The baskets were always sticky and smelled like sunscreen and ice cream no matter how many times they were wiped down. Everything was in exactly the same spot.

     Nothing had changed in all the years that I'd been away. Expect me.

     The orange juice and milk were at opposite ends of the cold aisle, and the butter was half-melted despite being tucked as far back in the cooler as it could be. Cereal was on the top shelf in the second aisle, and pasta and bread were side-by-side in the first aisle.

     I made sure to stock up on everything I knew Grandma loved the most. Hot dogs, buns, cashews, and frizzies. And of course, a few chocolate bars for when we watch the sunset, and I knew without a doubt that grandma would say she was crazing something sweet later and these would be perfect.

     All our favourites. All summer staples.

     "Don't tell me," Pat smiled, bagging up everything. "Your grandma said that you'd be up here this summer. But I just thought that that was too good to be true."

     Everyone in Lake Rossen knew Pat. It was impossible not to. He was the unofficial official uncle of the Lake that always gave out lollipops and smelled like cigarettes. And despite how scary he may look with his arms full of tattoos, he was one of the best people that I knew.

     One time when I was 11, there was a father-daughter three-legged-race, and he stepped up to be my dad for it. He refused to take no for an answer. We won the race, and the photo of us and the blue first-place ribbon is still framed up at the cabin.

     Pat even let me choose a handful of candy to take from the shop, for free of course, insisting that I needed to refuel after our win.

     "I'm surprised that you even remember me," I said honestly. "I don't think that I've stepped foot in here since I was 14 with dipped dyed hair and wearing that awful neon-orange one-piece."

     Now that was a phase that we did not talk about.

     "Every time that your grandma came in she would show me the latest picture of you and keep me up to date. I think that the last one I saw was you and your latest sash and crown walking across another stage. She could never stop bragging about you." Pat gave me a soft smile, turning the debit machine around for me and pushing the bags across the counter.

     "I didn't even know that she figured out to save those photos," I laughed. "I have to be much more careful with what I send her now."

     "Well no matter what your grandma shows me, I'll always be looking forward to seeing you around the Lake, Lilac."