Page 143 of It's Always Been You
“Whatareyoudoinghere?” I ask Grandma as I set my bags down in the entryway. Dad and Francine flank me for a hug as Grandma stands back, grinning at our reunion. Her hair looks freshly permed and styled. She looks amazing, like she’s headed out for a night on the town. Or a hot date.
Grandma frowns slightly at my question. “What—you think just because I live at Sunny Days now, I can’t be out and about, visiting my family?”
I roll my eyes. So defensive. Can’t fault her for it when I share the same quality. “That’s not what I meant, Grandma. You’re just busy, that’s all.”
Not only has she resumed hosting her Bible study on Wednesday evenings, but she’s also started attending a weekend aerobics class to keep fit. Oh, and a Thursday night book club. She’s also organized a knitting club, where she and a couple of other ladies knit baby clothes to donate to the church. She joked with me on the phone just last week that she didn’t know what she used to do with her time when she was living alone. But Sunday evenings are her favorite; apparently, she, Bert, and a couple of other couples go to Culver’s together for dinner and some ice cream.
Grandma, Francine, and I head to the kitchen to catch up while Dad takes my luggage upstairs. “Are you all dressed up for Bert?” I tease, wrapping an arm around Grandma’s shoulder as we enter the kitchen. Francine heads to the coffee maker.
“Soon I won’t have to,” Grandma says, shooting Francine a cryptic smile. Francine winks. “Now that I’ve got him in the bag.”
We take our seats. “What do you mean?”
She lifts up her hand. There, on her ring finger, is one of the fattest diamond rings I’ve ever seen.
I pop out of my seat like a jack-in-the-box. “No way!”
Grandma laughs. “Way. He proposed on Valentine’s Day.”
“I’m so happy for you,” I squeal, rounding the table to give her a gentle hug. She laughs and pats my arm.
“You don’t have to handle me like I’m made of glass, you know,” she comments as I pull away.
I take my seat again. “Sorry.”
Her smile fades as she glances down at her finger. She twists the ring around and around. “Don’t be. I’m the one who should be sorry, Evie.”
“Huh?”
When Francine quietly exits the room, I sit a little taller. Grandma sighs.
“Grandma?”
She fixes me with a soft, sad smile. “You and I are a lot alike, aren’t we?”
I shrug. “I only inherited the best qualities from you.”
She laughs. “Well, even the best of qualities can be taken to unhealthy extremes if we’re not careful.”
“Grandma? What’s this about?”
She sighs. “Evie, I should have never asked you to move in with me.”
Hurt, I sit back. “What?”
“It wasn’t right,” she says, studying her baby pink nails. “Forcing you to take care of me like that when you had plans to travel and see the world.”
I laugh, but inside, I’m heartbroken that she thinks I didn’tenjoyliving together. Some of my happiest memories are from the last few years. “Grandma, I wouldn’t change a thing about what happened. Well, except maybe the fact that you fell in the first place. But we can’t change the past.”
“No. We can’t. But I’ve been thinking about this a lot. You have a special gift, Evie—one that enables you to care deeply for the people you love. But it was wrong of me to allow you to shoulder that burden. I should have been more willing to accept help. Maybe I wouldn’t be where I am today if I had.” She gestures to her hip, indicating the pain that still comes and goes at random.Though she has fully recovered from her fall, the hardware in her bones and nerve damage still give her trouble from time to time. “I wish I had trusted Jesus sooner. Been obedient sooner. It would have cost me and you a lot less.”
“Like I said, Grandma. We can’t change the past, and we don’t know what would have happened if we’d done things differently. Besides, you were just telling me about how your friend Betsy got baptized after coming to your Bible study. Would Betsy have ever come to know Jesus if things hadn’t happened the way they did?”
She shrugs softly. “Probably.”
Reaching out, I take her hand in mine. “My point is, only God can see the bigger picture. Only God can move mountains and change hearts. We just need to trust that He knows what He’s doing and be grateful for any role we get to play in His plans.”
Grandma beams at me, her dark eyes radiant and admiring. “My, haven’t you come a long way in your faith, Genevieve. It wasn’t that long ago that I was schoolingyouin all things Jesus. I’m not too sure I like being the pupil.” She pretends to grimace.
