Mirror // Van McCann

5. The Mysterious Girl

"Grandma Rose, it's time to wake up," I said softly, tapping on her shoulders. Normally I'd let grandma wake up on her own but I've been waiting for over an hour and it was almost time for me to go.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"10:20 AM," I responded. "I brought your favorite!" I took out the omelette and got it ready for her to eat. "But first, let's brush your teeth."

I waited for her to finish brushing her teeth before I started talking again. "Do you know who I am?" I asked. Grandma turned to look at me. She was concentrating so hard I was afraid she was going to have another stroke.

"No," she finally answered. I dug into my bag and pulled out a photo album. I opened it to the first picture.

"Do you see this picture? It's you carrying me the day I was born. You were so happy! Even though mom was in Portland and you were in New York, you flew out to see me. You instantly fell in love and decided to move to Portland to be closer to us." I paused and looked at grandma. She seemed to be following along. I flipped to the next picture. "Here's a picture of you with mom. Or should I say your daughter. Mom looked like crap because she just gave birth but look at her and look at you! You're both glowing and so happy!"

"That's my daughter Sarah!" grandma exclaimed. "That was the day she gave birth to her daughter Jess." My eyes widened with excitement.

"Grandma, that's me. I'm Jess!" I said excitedly. Grandma studied my face.

"Come closer, dear." I moved closer to her and she reached out, putting both hands on my cheeks. "It is you, Jess." My eyes filled with tears. She remembers me! "Why are you crying, Jess?"

"No reason, grandma. I'm just very happy right now."

.

.

It was 2 PM and I let myself into the Fuller's house. I walked into the kitchen and started washing the dishes that piled up from last night and this morning. I heard the front door open and close.

"I'm home," Ryan called out. He walked into the kitchen and put his lunch containers next to the sink.

"Do you have something to eat?" I asked.

"I'll eat this banana," he said, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. "I have a ton of homework today and a math test to study for on Friday. I'll be home today.
I'm not going anywhere." He carefully studied my face.

"Yeah, that's fine," I replied, continuing to wash the dishes. "Just let me know if you need help."

"Okay." Ryan grabbed his backpack and ran up the stairs.

Should I trust him today? He's being awfully polite and is actually listening to me today.

After studying for two hours, I had enough of thermodynamics. I decided now was a good time to check up on Ryan. I walked up the stairs forgetting to stomp. As I reached the top, I heard hushed talking. I paused to listen.

"So how's your new babysitter?" I froze. The voice was female and it didn't sound like Ryan's. Did Ryan invite a female friend over? Maybe it's Amber coming over to work on the penguin project?

"She's okay but I have to be careful around her." That was definitely Ryan's voice.

"Why's that?" I heard the female voice ask.

"I almost got caught yesterday," Ryan replied. "She went looking for me and I wasn't there."

"Oh," the girl replied. "I was wondering why you didn't come today so that's why I'm here."