If At First

Part 5 - Chapter 4

4

I was greeted the following Monday by my father with a message that my grandmother, Rose, had been trying to get a hold of me and that I needed to call her as soon as possible. He informed me of this while passing through the door on his way to the car. A brilliantly calculated maneuver devised to avoid any of my questions or requests for assistance in developing an excuse not to call her back.

Contact from my grandmother was by no means a good sign. She was never a fan of my father when I was a child and since mom passed away, even less so.

By default, my brothers and I were rarely regarded by my mother's family as more than proof of an unfortunate decision. We had a few cousins, products of my uncle James who was far better at pleasing his parents than my mother, and were consequently far more preferred. So by the time I got around to returning her call on Tuesday evening, my grandmother was more than a little irritated with my delay.

"What took so long." she demanded in a way only a grandmother can.

"I'm very sorry, I was out of town with some girlfriends, and I've been tied up with this wedding,-" I started to explain, but then realized she didn't care. "Anyway, I'm really sorry. How are you? It's been a long time."

"Yes," she replied, impatient. "I know. That's why I called. I spoke with your father, and he told me you were back at the house. I think it's terrible for a young woman of your quality to be wasted in a town like that. It was bad for your mother and it's bad for you." She was irritable as ever, and I was about to object to her accusations as soon as she took a breath, but that never seemed to happen. "I won't have it. I propose that you come here. Stay with me for the summer."

I choked on the bite of banana I'd just taken. My grandmother only ever contacted us on an occasional birthday or major holiday. We had barely been to her house in Townsend above three or four times since I was born, and never after mom died. Why she would be so interested in me now, was entirely a mystery.

"Oh." I caught my breath again, "Um, thank you anyway, but like I said, I'm in a wedding in a few days, and there's a lot to do here -"

"Yes, I know all about the wedding." She cut me off.

"How-?"

"You are coming after the wedding. You will stay here through the summer, and when we find a suitable arrangement for your final year and employment thereafter, you will go where that takes you." She finished, exasperated, and never having received an answer from me.

"Well, would it be okay if I thought about it for a day or so? I'm still not sure exactly what I-"

"You don't know what you want." She interrupted again, "I'm old. I know better. And I have the connections to put you in the right places. You've been screwing around long enough, and it's time someone stepped in. I will send you your itinerary and the funds to get here."

If she actually expected me to do anything of the sort, she'd need to. The costs entailed in Danni's wedding had taken a serious toll on my savings account. But my grandmother was so ill-tempered I couldn't imagine having to spend more than two hours in her presence, let alone months. Was this some kind of punishment? And for what?

"Nana,..." I began, but the line was dead. Did she just hang up on me? Did I lose the signal? I checked the phone. She hung up. As much as I wanted to deal immediately with this and ensure my peaceful employment plans did not include her "arrangements", I was already late to meet Danni, so it was going to have to wait.

We were on our way to Vermont, where the wedding was being held at an enormous, picturesque vineyard owned by David's grandparents. I don't actually think they used the vineyard for anything other than to throw parties. Massive ones.