I had managed to convince my parents to let me go with the guys to visit Nick's grandmother. I'm sure my recent math success played a big role in their approval. Maybe they thought that my new friends were a good influence, and they didn't have to worry about it, or maybe they wanted to reward me for my efforts. It didn't matter, I was in the backseat of Nick's car, between Micah and Noah, on our way there.
It took us four hours to get to our destination, no wonder Nick didn't visit his grandmother as often as he'd wanted to. Her house was modest but charming. The white walls were complimented by the pinkish flowers in vases on the windows and deck railing. Nick knocked at the door and then opened it with his spare keys. We followed him inside as he called for his grandmother.
A petite old woman came out of a door at the back of the house with a big smile on her face. She hugged Nick tenderly and didn't let go of him until a kitchen timer went off.
"Oh, the food is ready. What a great timing you had." She swiftly walked into what I assumed was the kitchen and came back as quickly. "I'm Anne," she said before hugging each one of us as Nick told her our names.
"Did you do something Annie? A new haircut perhaps? You look especially beautiful today," Tyler, who didn't need an introduction, said.
"Oh you foolish boy, there's no need to flatter me, I already baked it."
"Thank you, Annie," he said hugging her. "I missed your carrot's cake so much..."
"More than you missed me?!"
"Of course not! You know you're like the grandma I never had." He kissed her forehead as if kissing the head of a child.
Tyler then told us to follow him so he could show us the house while Nick and Anne catch up. We first went upstairs where he first pointed to us where Anne's bedroom was. Across her room was the spare room (a.k.a. Tyler's room), next to it was Nick's and then we came up to the last bedroom. It was simple but elegant.
"So, who's sleeping here, and who's sleeping on the couch?" Tyler asked.
"I'll take the couch," I promptly said. "Noah and Micah can share." My two best friends basically grew up together and didn't mind sharing a bed, so it made sense for them to keep the bedroom.
"Alright, let me take you to your chambers then," Tyler joked, and we went down the stairs to the living room where a navy-blue couch was paired with two pearl-colored accent chairs. I put my bag down and sat, waiting for the others to come.
We had lunch and used the occasion to embarrass Nick in front of his grandmother. I could see why he loved her so much, she was kind, funny, bright, and generous. She pestered Nick to take us to visit the town after lunch while she cleaned up. When we came back, we played some board games with her until dinner time, after which we all sat in the living room watching a movie.
The couch was pleasantly comfortable, but the morning sun rays that came through the windows made me wake up earlier than I'd like. I went to the kitchen and was greeted by an already dressed and fully awake Anne.
"Oh, dear take a sit, I'll make you breakfast."
"I can do it myself; I don't want to bother you."
"Nonsense! I'm happy to do it." She turned back to toast some bread and silence invaded the room. I hate silence so I tried to make small talk.
"You have a lovely house, I'm glad the fire didn't destroy it completely."
"Nick told you about that..." I mentally slapped myself. Has that been too forward? Maybe she didn't want us to know and I just made her uncomfortable. Worse! Maybe she'll be mad at Nick for oversharing, and he would be mad at me for opening my mouth, and he'll never trust me again!
She sat next to me and placed her hand over mine before speaking. "You know, I'm really happy that Nick has found such good friends. That boy is the sweetest, but he closed himself off since..." She stopped mid-sentence, shaking her head.
"Since his mother left him," I finished for her and she turned to me slightly surprised that her grandson would share that with someone else.
"Yes – my daughter. I feel so guilty for it." Her always bright face dissipated into sorrow. She let out a sigh. "I don't know what I did wrong. I gave that girl everything, I did everything I could to raise her well, with good values, and then she abandons her own child. She had all of my love how could she deny that to her own child? And at such young age too? How can someone do that? She had no excuse, she had money, a supportive husband, a lovely smart kid... She had everything and still, she thought it wasn't enough and broke that little boy's heart." She paused for a moment, looking into the void. Her eyes started watering and she shook her head again. "I am ashamed. I am ashamed of the woman I raised."
I pressed her hand with mine, trying to comfort her. "It's not your fault. She made the decision by herself. You did your part and she decided not to do hers. Nick loves you so much and he would never blame you for what she did. You're his rock, you're what neither of his parents was capable to be."
"Good morning," a voice surprised us. We both turned back to see Nick standing against the door frame. Had he heard us? If so, his bright smile was concealing it.
"Good morning my boy," Anne stood to kiss his cheek. "Sit down, I'm making breakfast.
We were soon after joined by the rest of the crew except Tyler. "He's Tyler still asleep? I swear that boy sleeps more than a sloth."
"I'll wake him up," I said and ran up the stairs to his room. Except it wasn't his room as the bed was empty, but I didn't walk out immediately. Instead, I let my curiosity guide me through the room. A shelf full of what looked like personal journals stood strong next to a small desk that someone had used recently to write something. The white papers laid next to a black-inked pen and, in the corner, was a small open-box filled with letters with no address to be sent to. I wanted to peep in, knowing the content of those letters so carefully hidden in the envelopes but I decided against it. I was already invading Nick's privacy and didn't want to be caught looking at something that seemed so personal. So I left the room and went to what I was sure now was Tyler's room to wake him up.
The rest of the day was calm, but I kept thinking about those letters from time to time, wondering why he wrote so many of them and who were they meant to. And then I thought of the pen and how painful it could be to write so much with such a shitty pen. And then the time to leave came and I felt somewhat sad for leaving Anne. She was also feeling low for having to say goodbye to Nick, but the idea of him taking her to the beach, fulfilling one of her dreams made my heart pleased.