Page 19 of Meet Me in the Vines
I hesitate to pick up, bracing myself for the voice on the other line.
“Hey, Pop. Look, I’m really sorry I haven’t called. I’ve been so busy here and—” I stop when I hear stifled sobs on the other end. The uneasy feeling in my stomach grows, and I hope that whatever comes out of his mouth next will extinguish it.
I stay quiet until he speaks.
“Audrey, I’m sorry to let you know that Gran passed away early this morning. She died peacefully in her sleep, hon, and she loved you very much.”
My hands lose feeling, and my phone drops to the floor, my knees following quickly behind. I grasp at my chest with a hand, feeling nauseous, like my insides are about to fall out. Pop’s muffled voice calls out to me, the sound trudging through mud. I bury my face in my hands and sob.
Gran is dead. And I wasn’t there.
Guilt and bile rises from the depths of my stomach, and I heave into the trash can under my desk. I wipe my mouth with my sleeve and grab the phone off the floor, shakily pressing it into my ear.
“Audrey, honey? Are you there?”
I take a deep breath, my legs crossed beneath me on the floor.
“Yeah, I’m here, Pop.” Quiet sobs take over me, shaking my shoulders up and down.
“Audrey, sweetheart, you listen to me now,” my grandfather croons gently. “Don’t put this on yourself. It was her time to go. She knows how much you loved her. She lived a full life with no regrets. It’s okay, honey.”
I can hear the heartbreak in my grandfather’s voice. She was the love of his life. They had been together since they were eighteen years old. Sixty years of love. And here he is, comforting me when it should be the other way around.
“Pop, I need to come home.” The reality of returning to an Oakwood Valley without Gran hits me with another wave of sickness.
Take a deep breath, count backward from five.
“I’ll book a flight right away.” My voice cracks, unable to shake the sudden grief that sinks into my body.
“I would love that.” Pop pauses to collect himself. “Just…come home, kid.” His voice breaks, shattering my heart into a million tiny shards all over my office floor.
“Of course, Pop. I’ll look at flights now and text you when I book.”
Is it truly home without Gran? How can I think about setting foot in Oakwood Valley when a huge piece of my heart is gone? But that’s my fault. I never came back to see her. I dug myself a hole so deep that it took her dying for me to find the strength to climb out.
“Sounds good, honey,” his voice falters. “And Audrey…I’m so sorry.”
I shake my head. “No, Pop, I’m sorry. Talk to you soon. I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.”
I stay seated on the floor for minutes after the line goes dead, held down by the weight of the news. I didn’t think this day could get any worse. One phone call quickly proved otherwise.
Kellan strides into the room and finds me on the floor. I look up at him, mascara streaking down my cheeks.
“What happened?” he asks dryly.
I scoff in my head. No, “are you alright?”No hugs. No tenderness.
“My grandmother passed away this morning. I just got the call,” I say in a curt, emotionless tone.
“Oh, well, I’m sorry to hear that. I’m wrapping up, and then we can head home,” he says, plowing right ahead. “I was thinking we could pick up dinner from that new Thai place on St. Mark’s Place?”
I shake my head and push myself up to stand.
“I’m booking a flight to go home for a few days. I need to be with my grandfather.” We speak as if we’re in a business meeting.
His eyes remain fixed on his phone, typing up something that I’m sure can wait, showing zero empathy. This is supposed to be the man who loves me. Gran just died, and here he stands, emotionless—assuming I’m just void as he is.
