Grandma

Alice got her favorite blocks from the shelves in her closet and dumped them on the pink shag carpet of her bedroom floor. The blocks had beautiful painted pictures of wild horses once you put all the blocks together correctly.

She put the first block down. “I hate you,” she thought. She put a matching block next to it. “I really hate you,” she thought. She put a third block next to the first two. The picture so far showed rolling green hills, but no horses. “I really, really hate you,” she thought. The fourth block started the second row.

“I’m going to hell,” she thought. “I’m the only person alive that hates their grandmother.” She put a second block in the second row. The scene now had a chestnut mare’s head. “I hate you and I’m going to hell for it.”

“Alice, lunch time!” her mother called. She carefully walked out into the hallway and walked along the wall to avoid the squeaky floorboards. Just before her grandmother’s room, she paused, held her breath and darted past the threshold. As she flashed by, she noticed that her grandmother was not there. She released her breath in relief and rounded the corner into the kitchen, shouting “Mom-“ but swallowed the rest of her sentence when she saw her grandmother already sitting at the kitchen table. She turned abruptly, but wasn’t fast enough. Her grandmother’s arm shot out and latched onto her wrist. Grandma’s hand was like a bird’s claw, but her grasp was unbreakable. She pulled Alice toward her and hugged her until it felt like her ribs cracked. Alice leaned back, trying to avoid the kiss that was coming. She failed. Grandma planted a wet one on her cheek and tickled Alice with her whiskers. The smell of moth balls was overwhelming. Alice squirmed. Grandma finally released her. Alice ran to her chair and started wolfing down her spaghettios. Her older brother, Ricky, sauntered in and walked past Grandma and plopped down in his seat and started in on his spaghettios.

Mom cleaned up the mess from making lunch and grandma ate her liverwurst sandwich.

“Kathy, turn on the TV,” Grandma said.

“Not while the children are eating.”

“It’s just lunch. I’m sure Alice would like to watch cartoons. Turn it on now.”

“No.”

“Cartoons aren’t on now,” Ricky said.

“I’m done,” Alice said drinking down the rest of her spaghettios from the bowl and jumping up and running to her room.

“Don’t you tell me no,” she could hear Grandma say even with her bedroom door closed.

“They are my children, and I will take care of them according to my rules.” Alice heard Ricky run for the front door and the slam as he made it outside.

“You’re a bitch,” Grandma screamed. “You don’t have an ounce of motherly love in you! You’re cold and rigid and only care about rules!”

She heard the back door open and her mother walk out onto the patio.

Grandma still sat in the kitchen. Crash! Alice and her mother ran to the kitchen. There was Grandma, on her back on the floor with her sandwich being eaten by the dog and her milk splattered across almost the entire kitchen. Again.

Mom helped her up. “See what you’ve done?” Grandma said. “You don’t care about me at all. You left a helpless old woman alone. I’m sure I broke something. I think you should take me to the hospital.” Instead, Mom helped Grandma walk to her room and turned on Grandma’s portable TV. The Price is Right was just starting.

Alice started wiping up the milk. “I hate you,” she thought. “I wish you were dead. And I’m going to hell because of you. Hating your grandmother must be the worst sin of all. There’s no way I can tell a priest about this! I’ll never be forgiven for my sin! I hate you! I really, really hate you!”

#secrect#hate#love