All the trouble began when my grandfather died and my grandmother - my father's mother - came to live with us. My grandma was a short woman, with white hair, long white hair. She had amber colored eyes, and the most perfect teeth you will ever see. She was a tall, skinny woman, she used to be a ballerina. Even in her old age, she was beautiful.
It’s important to tell you that my grandfather beat her, he beat her up till the day he died, but my grandma, well, she loved him in spite of it I guess because she never left him. At his funeral though, she didn’t cry, not one tear rolled off my grandma’s face. Nobody in my family cried actually, not even my dad.
She had to move in with us, after all those years of abuse, my grandma was in poor health, mentally and physically. She randomly would start crying, and her hands were always shaking. She had a terrible memory, and in my heart, I knew she didn’t have much time left on this earth. I loved my grandma very much, and knowing this made my heart ache.
About a week after she moved in, a small package was delivered to our house, for Mrs. Lucy Richards, that was my grandma and she was out shopping with my mom. I was 15 then and I wanted to open it, but although I knew my grandma loved and adored me, something about her scared me, so I didn’t. When she got home, I gave it to her. “Thank you Marta my love” she said, and kissed my cheek. “Come to my room later and I will show you what is in this box, but you have to promise me, not to tell your parents.” I was so excited that my grandma wanted to confide in me, she wanted to tell me a secret, so of course, I promised.
I snuck to her room after my parents had tucked me in to bed for the night, my grandma was waiting for me, sitting on her bed smiling, but at the same time, she looked like she had been crying. “What is the secret?” I asked her, looking back, that was rude, but I was only fifteen years old, and I was and I suppose I still am, a bit nosey. “You know Marta, I was in love once.” She looked down at her hands, and then at the wall, I could tell she was thinking about maybe not telling me her secret, so I pushed her, “With who? Grandpa right?” She smiled weakly at me. She opened her package, it was a box, full of letters. I went through them, they were all from my grandma to a man named Nathan. I looked up at her, “Who is Nathan?” “He was, and is a wonderful man Marta, we were in love once, he loved me Marta!” She started crying and shouting, “He loved me! He loved me!” I held her and she cried on me. “Let me tell you about him Marta.”
“Nathan was the love of my life, I met him, right after I had your mother. He was a door-to-door salesman. He came by one day while your grandfather was at work. I couldn’t buy anything at the time, and truthfully, I don’t even remember what he was selling, but I told him to come back again the next week, and he did. He came back every week. We became very fond of each other, we fell in love. We both knew it wasn’t right, and I was afraid if people saw him coming to our house every week, your grandpa would find out, so he started sneaking over at night and leaving me a letter under the welcome mat on the porch. In the last letter I got from him, he asked me to take your mother, and run away with him. I didn’t have the courage. He asked me to meet him at the park, in the middle of the night and we would run away together. I never showed up, he left me the address of the place he was going to in Phoenix Arizona, just in case I ever changed my mind. I wrote him a letter everyday, and just recently, I sent them all to him, but my mind is gone Marta, I just addressed them to Nathan Fox, Somewhere in Phoenix Arizona, and they all were returned to me, in the same box I sent them in.
My grandma at one point in he life, had a secret lover. This blew away my mind. “Marta, I need your help honey.” “With?” “I need you to help me run away Marta, I need to see him, and apologize.” “Where are you going to go?” I asked her. Somewhere in Phoenix Marta, somewhere in Phoenix.” “We can discuss the details tomorrow my dear, go get some rest for now.”
I left her room that night not knowing what to do. I did everything I could the next week or so to not be home, and to ignore my grandma. I know that sounds evil, but I really was upset about this whole situation. I came home from school on a Tuesday, it was raining, she was sitting by the window crying. She looked at me for about a second before she started shouting, “Marta, you promised to help me run away!” I was shocked, she’d never yelled at me. “Did you forget Marta?” “I never promised Grandma.” “I’ll kill myself if you don’t Marta, I swear to the Holy Family, that I will kill myself if you don’t help me.” I knew she was serious. “Ok.” That was all I could say. “So you’ll help me?” I nodded in agreement.
I planned everything. My parents were going to be out of town the following weekend. That gave me the perfect opportunity. I spent the rest of that week spending what little money I had on a bus ticket, granola bars, a new robe, and some slippers, all things I thought my grandma would need. She was so happy that week, she practically danced around the house. My mom, bless her heart thought my grandma was finally happy and that she was getting used to living with us.
When my parents went out of town, they took my dad’s nice car, and left my mom’s mini-van. I only had a permit, and my grandma had never learned how to drive, but it was dark, and the bus station wasn’t even a little bit close to my house. My grandma put on her best clothes, and did her make-up, and she was glowing. She was stunning. “Marta dear, don’t be scared, I’m sure you are an excellent driver, and don’t worry about your dad either, he’ll be ok without me Marta, and you can just tell him I ran off when you were sleeping.” I drove her to the bus station, I sat with her while she waited. “Marta, I really do love him you know? I want to, no, I need to do this Marta.” I knew she did, but I didn’t want her to leave me. I couldn’t help it, I started crying. She wouldn’t be a part of my life anymore.
The bus rolled up, and the strongest, and most beautiful woman I have ever known got on that bus. She looked back at me, with tears in her eyes. “I love you Marta, you can always come look for me you know.” I hugged her once more, we both cried.
I called my parents in the morning and told them I couldn’t find her, they rushed home and called the police, and to this day they don’t know the truth. About a year after she had left, I got a letter, it read,
Dear Marta,
I never found Nathan, well actually, I did find Nathan, but he’s dead Marta. I’ve made friends though, and the sun feels good on my bones. I don’t plan on leaving this place. I feel closer to Nathan here. He never married Marta, that’s what I’ve heard anyways, I met some people here who were his friends. He loved me Marta. He loved me. I’m happy here, I’m doing things I never got to do. Please don’t write me back Marta, just let me contact you as I please. I love you.
Love,
Grandma
I laughed, and cried, the return address she used was, Somewhere in Phoenix.
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