Splinters: Part One

Part One | 15

Isabeau grasped my hand and pulled me towards a glass screened white door that made a loud sound when it closed. Inside, there was only carpet which was a big contrast to our house. Our house just had wood except for in the living room and our bedrooms. The walls were white and there was an old TV that looked just like the one at St. Anne's in the corner of the room. Homey couches sat along the walls and pictures of the family hung from shelves and side tables.

Without much time given to admire the house, Beau took me towards the kitchen where I heard a million different voices, two of which I didn't find familiar. It wasn't much different from the rest of the small house. The walls were white with chickens painted on them. Decorations that resembled different types of food hung around, too.

"Is this Brayden?"

I turned, facing the voice of a woman I'd never seen before. She had short, white hair that curled at the tips. She wore a striped light blue and white shirt with khaki shorts. It was easy to say that this woman had to be Greg's mother. The man next to her was literally Greg in the future. I was seeing Greg as a sixty year old man with my own eyes.

The woman came towards me and hugged me.

"Hi, Brayden! We've heard so many great things about you!"

I was a little taller than her which was a bit weird. The hug was a little weird, too.

"My name is Daryl, but I'm Grandma to you, okay?"

I nodded shyly. "Okay."

"I'm Robin, but I prefer Grandpa."

I smiled nervously and nodded.

"He's so much taller than what you guys played him out to be, son," Robin told Greg.

"He's very handsome, too!" Daryl exclaimed.

Greg came towards me and slung an arm around my shoulder, glancing down at me. "He's a great son. I'm glad to finally have one."

"It's about time you guys have a son!" Daryl flung her arms above her head as if I was a baby and Melissa was pregnant. "For Pete's sakes, you guys have got enough girls!"

"Grandma," Odera whined. "Don't you love us?" She wrapped her arms around her grandmother's waist and hugged her from behind. Daryl patted her on the head.

"Oh, you know I do!"

"What are we having for dinner, Grandpa?" Ursa asked, going towards him.

"Come with me," he ordered.

He and Ursanne left the kitchen through some more screen doors that lead to the back. Everyone followed.

In the backyard, there was literally only a cemented back porch and then a deck with a boat. The water was so blue in front of me that it literally looked like it was paint. It was beautiful. I wanted to live here.

"We're having hamburgers," he said, going towards the grill and lifting the cover. "Oh! I guess we better flip 'em, yeah?"

He took the spatula and handed it to his granddaughter. Ursanne flipped the patties and gave him a high five.

I felt like I was in a movie. I blocked out everything everyone was saying and just enjoyed the view. My entire family was out on this deck. Not a single frown was on a face. Everyone was happy. Everyone was included. The water was gorgeous. The sky was beautiful. The weather felt nice, which was weird since it's November.

Everything was perfect it almost seemed unreal.

Later on, the hamburgers were done and everyone was eating. We all sat around a glass table with an umbrella stemming from the middle. Ursanne spoke about school. Odera talked about her friends. Isabeau talked about her great math grades. Edaline spoke about her lip reading and ASL progress, and lastly, Net spoke about how she heard Malificent would be out in May and wanted to go see it. Daryl didn't hesitate in promising her that she'd be the first to take her.