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August 24th, 1990 — Portsmouth, NH 12:23 PM, EST
A good two months after receiving her grandmother's letter, Shelby had finally gotten some vacation time off from her busy schedule at NASA. The time happened to coincide with Shelby's 21st birthday, but instead of partying back in Florida with Maggie and Adam, the latter of whom she'd become semi-romantically involved with again, she'd decided to spend the time with her grandmother. So, she'd packed a bag and headed north, aiming to celebrate her birthday with her gran in New Hampshire.
Her grandmother's Alzheimer's was developing rapidly, and Shelby could hardly believe that the woman she sat across from was her grandmother. She forgot simple things, such as what brand of dish soap she used, having used the same brand for 50 years.
It was hard to see the woman in such a deteriorating state, but it only convinced Shelby further that she had chosen to spend her week off with her gran. After all, there was no saying how much time the older woman had left.
To celebrate the 21st year of Shelby's life, the redhead had suggested the two have a picnic in a park near home, a small, public one that overlooked the Piscataqua River. It had been a favorite place of Shelby's in her youth; her grandmother had often taken her there to swing on the swing set. Picnics along the river had been a common activity of the two before their falling out.
Shelby's grandmother didn't drive anymore, so Shelby had driven the two to the park in her gran's old Cadillac. She then grabbed the picnic basket they had packed and lead her grandmother to a shaded picnic table that overlooked the river, and the small beach adorning the side.
"When was the last time we were even here?" Gran asked, to which Shelby shrugged.
"I couldn't have been much older than 10." The redhead replied.
It had to have been not soon after Shelby's father had been arrested that Shelby and her grandmother had started going to the park. At six years old, Shelby was incredibly intelligent, but even as a child she couldn't understand why her father had done the things that had gotten him carted off to prison for most of Shelby's life. Even at 21 years of age, Shelby still didn't expect to see her father a free man again for at least a decade.
"You know, your grandfather proposed to me in this park." Gran said nonchalantly as she took a seat at the table.
Shelby's eyes went up in surprise. Her grandfather had passed before she was born, and Gran had hardly mentioned the man. With Shelby's mother dying shortly after her birth, there was little she knew about the man, besides his name, and the fact that her red hair and come from his mother, Shelby's great grandmother.
"No, I didn't know that, Gran." Shelby replied as she got out the sandwiches she had made. "You never really talked about him."
The older woman smiled to herself as she took the sandwich from her granddaughter. "He was such a good man, Shelby. I hope you find one like that."
