Lane Assignments

Chapter Ten

CPOV

Once the fasten seatbelts sign is off, I recline my seat and force myself down from the adrenaline-fueled high that's kept me moving for the past three hours.

"It's bad, but he's still with us. He's asking for you..." My mother's words keep rolling through my head over and over. My grandpa Theo was a constant through my childhood and adolescence. With his quiet and gentle nature, he was one of the first people that I learned to trust after my adoption. He would take me into his expansive orchard and quietly explain about pollination and the various varieties of apples. He was never forceful, and just let me follow in his shadow. When I finally found my voice, he was ready to listen.

In a family of doctors, lawyers, and powerful businessmen, he encouraged me to follow my own dreams. At the height of his career, Grandpa Theo led a multi-million dollar agricultural company. But by the time I knew him, he had stepped back. He made time for more important things... feeding the world's hungry, apple orchards, and grandchildren.

The two hour flight felt more like twelve, cut off from communication as I was. When we were on the ground and I was finally able to text my mother, she confirmed there was no change. He was simply resting quietly... and waiting. He was waiting for me.

=/=/=/=

I hadn't seen the rest of my family in almost a year, but they were simply shapes around the periphery of the room as I walked directly to the impossibly frail and gray figure in the bed. His skin felt like crepe paper as I took his thin hand in mine and held it to my face.

"You need a shave, boy. And you stink." His speech was soft, and somewhat slurred, but his spirit was plainly and fully intact.

"I couldn't be bothered... All I could think of was getting to you, old man."

His mouth twitched at my irreverent jab, one side raising while the other remained slack.

"My lawyer... all the details..." He said almost dismissively, his voice fading in and out, as if that part wasn't important. "But two things... need to know. Already told the others..." I knew he would have had a special talk with each of them, especially my mother and my brother and sister. His wife, my grandmother, passed away from a sudden heart attack five years ago. "Two things... with the money. Something for fun. And something for the future."

Something for fun. And something for the future...

"Grandpa... I don't," I don't want to hear last instructions from him. And something fun? There's nothing fun about this at all.

"... take yourself too seriously..."

I smirk at his assessment. He's always said that to me, since I was a little boy with sad gray eyes. A little boy who had seen too much.

"I hear you Grandpa. And I love you."

And with a satisfied nod, he closed his eyes and slipped into unconsciousness.

=/=/=/=

Two months later... February 2016

I was so grateful to be able to spend time in Colorado with my family over the holidays. We had a very quiet Thanksgiving at my parents' condo in Denver, and I holed up there for a few weeks. After all, I was technically homeless...

As Christmas approached, we all went down to the family vacation home in Aspen, and spent the week all together. We cut down a huge spruce tree, decorating it with popcorn and cranberry strands and all of our family heirloom ornaments. Elliot and Mia and I reverted to our pre-teen selves, squabbling over board games and trays of cut-out cookies.