Nana's House

Alyssa called, I see, as I look at the screen on my cellphone. She must have called and I didn't hear the phone ring with the overhead music playing in the grocery store. As I stand in the checkout line, behind a lady loading her six packs of Pepsi, Pop Tarts and boxed macaroni and cheese onto the moving belt, I tried to remember the last time I had heard from Alyssa. Christmas, I think, yes, I had heard from Alyssa only during holidays. Thinking maybe it was urgent, I held the phone to my ear while I listened to the message.

"Hey, Nana, it's Alyssa. Will you call me back when you get this? My roommate just left town and I have to move by the end of the month. Can I stay with you until I get a new apartment lined up? It won't be for long, I promise."

The lady in front of me pulled her cart forward to pay, so I stuck my phone back into my bag, and emptied my cart onto the belt.

As I drove home, with my groceries, I thought about Alyssa's message. I know she called me instead of her mother, as she and her mother were on the "outs." This had happened the last tme Alyssa had to move home, a year and a half ago. Alyssa's mother, my daughter, Caroline, or Linni to us, asked Alyssa to "live like an adult" while living in her home. Linni said that her days of cleaning up after kids were over. If Alyssa was going to live with her, she couldn't come crawling home after two a.m., banging the door, slamming the fridge and leaving dirty dishes and clothes, all over the house. Linni said that she wasn't going to clean up after a 25 year old woman, who should be helping out, and not making a bigger mess. Alyssa bristled and griped about the "nagging" from Linni.

The last straw was the day that Linni found Alyssa's boyfriend du jour, peeing naked in her bathroom with the door open. He was too drunk to be embarrassed and too stupid to apologize. Alyssa was out of the house the same day.

As I carried two of the bags into my kitchen, and put the chicken, cheese, fruit and vegetables, into the refrigerator, I tried to figure out what to tell Alyssa, before I called her back.

I heard a diesel truck engine, close by, and looked out of the side kitchen window to see a contractor's truck pull into and park in my driveway. Carl, my grandson, knocked at the back door, and I opened the door smiling.

"Hi Nana," Carl said, as he stepped into my kitchen. I moved closer to him and kissed him on the cheek.

"Well, good to see you," I said, "this is a nice surprise! Why are you here, today?"

"We're building an addition over on Grant Street, but the lumber truck is late, " explained Carl. "They let us go early, as we're going to have a long day, tomorrow. I thought I'd stop in and say hi."

"Terrific", I said. "Would you like something to drink? I just got home from the store and was unpacking my groceries."

"Got a beer?," asked Carl, with a laugh, because he knew I didn't have any.

"Ha!," I laughed, "I have coffee, orange juice or Diet Coke, if you'd like any of those."

"Coffee would be great," Carl said.

I filled the hot pot with water and added ground coffee to the french press. After the water came to a boil, and I poured it over the grounds. I walked over to the fridge and cupboard for milk and cups. I added milk to both of the cups, and filled each with coffee. I brought the cups over to the little kitchen table, where Carl was already sitting, and set them down. Before I had a chair pulled out and seated myself, Carl reached for a cup, and pulled it in front of himself.

"What's new?," I asked, touching his arm. "It's so good to see you," I said, smiling.

"Works been crazy busy," said Carl. "But I'm making a lot of money with the overtime. We're two guys down and we've got jobs to finish, so they pay me to get the jobs finished on time, so we can get to the next project."

I was looking at Carl's dirty work shirt, with "Carl" stitched on it, and his scuffed work boots, and the sawdust on his sleeves.

"That's good," I said. "Are you saving some money?"

Carl smiled and said proudly, "I just ordered a new pick up truck! It's got everything--a luxury truck with all the extras. It's a beautiful Kelly green! Wait until you see it! When I get it I'll come by and take you for a ride in it."

"That's terrific!", I said. "What does you wife think about the new truck?"

"Humpf!," Carl blew, "she's pissed about it. She wanted to put a down payment on a house. She said she's sick of living in an apartment. I told her, bullshit! I'm not wasting my time working on a house-mowing the lawn, shoveling the sidewalk, and the repairs. I'd rather have some fun on my time off, I'm not working on a house. I do that all day now. But, at least I get paid for it!" He paused, and then continued, as I said nothing, "We both work, and if she wants a house she can buy it herself."

"Well, good luck with your new truck," I said, knowing better than to comment about Carl's feud with his wife.

"Oh," I said. "I forgot that I still have two bags of groceries in my car." Carl just looked at me. "I'll be right back," I said, standing, and exiting through the back door and down the kitchen steps.

Carl and I chatted a bit more, as I carried in and put away the rest of my groceries. Then Carl stood and say, "See ya, Nana, I should go."

"Love you, " I called to him, as I closed the door behind him.

I warmed up my coffee and took it, and my phone to the living room. I set the coffee on the coaster on the table next to my recliner. I put the footrest up, as I turned the TV news on. I was wakened by my cell phone ringing, about an hour later and picked it up.

"Well, hello," I said brightly, as I knew from the caller ID, that it was my daughter, Brianna, on the phone. "I'm three for three today."

"How's that?," asked Brianna.

"Well I've heard from all three of my grandchildren, today," I stated.

"Hopefully that's a good thing," Brianna, said, chuckling.

"It's always good to hear from family," I said, "what's up?"

"Well," said Brianna, " I wanted to see if we could move our Sunday dinner from 5:00 to 6:00. Claire has a Girl Scout trip, and they'll be back by 4:00, but I want to make sure we have a little wiggle room, just in case."

"Of course," I said. "Do you still want me to bring a fruit salad? Do you need me to bring anything else?"

"Yes," said Brianna, "the fruit salad would be great. We've got the rest of it covered. We're just doing hamburgers on the grill. Dan's loving the new grill."

"I can't wait to see it,", I said. "What does Dan like to cook, on it?"

"Ha!", Brianna laughed, "Dan's been cooking up a storm on that grill. His favorite thing to cook, now, is salmon. He's got to do the whole cedar plank thing, and I have to admit it, he does it well."

"Do the kids like it?," I asked.

"They love it," said Brianna. "Plus eating on the deck is so nice this time of year-no matter what we're eating."

"Yes," I agree. "How's the remodel going?"

"Good, great!," exclaimed, Brianna. "They just took out the old brick fireplace, and we're using the bricks as a landscaping border in the lawn. The bricks are a pain to clean, but I'm planning to make a small flower and herb garden near the kitchen. I'm going to plant some oregano, mint, basil and thyme. It'll be close to the patio, so it'll be easy to use them, next year."

"That'll be fun," I said. "That border will last for years, and some of those spices are perennial. Cilantro and dill are annuals, but I have volunteers that come up every year from the seeds that get left behind. How's Jason doing in baseball, this year?," I asked.

"OK," said Brianna. "He said that he wants to try soccer, next year, instead. That'll be good for him , it's a lot of running, she said with a laugh. We're just planning on doing the city league for now, so we won't have to drive all over for games. Oh, that reminds me, Nana, I've got to go. I have to pick up Ariel. Dan has to go to the builders supply store to pick up some mortar. I have to stop at the grocery store, also, and will pick up some of those rolls you like. Do you need anything else while I'm there?"

"No, I'm good," I replied, "I just finished my shopping. Thanks for asking. Bye, love you, see you Sunday at six."

As I finished my coffee, I realized that I had to call my financial planner. It was time to schedule my annual appointment. Then I should call Alyssa back. Maybe.