“You are my only grandkid.”
“Then dementia must be setting in really fast, old lady, because I have no idea what you’re talking about. I’m the very picture of obedience,” Maddy said, her expression as innocent as ever.
“Yes, mom,” Ellie weighed in. “She really is. I only have to tell her three times to do something specific and she does it.” She had no right to look this amused while being so rude.
Her nonna joined them and her blank stare spoke volumes.
“I see nothing has changed. That’s good to know.”
“And you’re pretty much the same, I see too.”
“My changing days are over, dear. If anything, I’m entitled to my old, bitter ways.”
Maddy frowned. “Except you’re not that old and certainly not bitter.”
“But I could be if I wanted to and that’s all that matters,” her nonna said, pinching her side with a stealth uncharacteristic of her age. Maddy yelped, dancing a few steps away, instantly ticklish.
“Wow, I did not miss you at all, nonna,” Maddy threw at her grandma, her soft smile betraying her true feelings.
Her grandma chuckled. “And I’m sure your sentiments will remain the same when I kick your butt in backgammon and checkers later,” she said cheekily.
“Ha! As if!” Maddy scowled. “It’s time for the student to become the master.”
“We’ll just have to see about that,” her not-so-beloved-anymore nonna said simply.
***
That afternoon, Maddy was lounging on her bed leafing through a comic book she had read more times than she could remember, when her phone chirped with a message.
Nate: So how did it go?
Maddy couldn’t help the slow smile she felt stretching her lips. She’d told him about her grandma’s visit and how excited and anxious she’d been about it.
Maddy: All was good.
Maddy: Had to re-hydrate after all the crying I did though.
A brief pause, and then,
Nate: That’s...great?
Maddy: Considering the circumstances.
Maddy: It’s just that I keep wondering, how can something make you so blissfully happy and devastated at the same time?
Maddy: Ok, bumming-out time is over.
Maddy: New subject. Τhink of all the coffee candy I’ll send your way.
Maddy: You won’t be able to sleep a wink for a week.
Nate: I can feel the tremors setting in already.
Nate: If you’re sure you’re okay, Mads.
Maddy: I am
Maddy: Thank you
