A year ago I had lost my mother to cancer. Merry-fucking-Christmas to me. She was all I had in the world and she’d been taken from me. But, it had taken six years for it to happen. Her illness began when I was in high school. Mom kept getting sick and lost a lot of weight. Then they’d found the lumps. Thankfully, mom had gotten the receptionist job before I started middle school so she had insurance. In the end, the insurance hadn’t been enough. The doctors hadn’t been enough. Six long years of pain and she was gone and I was left with the few belongings scattered around this crummy ass apartment.
I sighed and dropped my head to the table.
The opening chords to the chorus of “Another One Bites the Dust” by Queen brought my head up from the table. The song had been put on my phone by my mom. She thought it was funny and it had gotten funnier to her the closer she got to the end. I never thought it was funny but couldn’t bring myself to change it.
‘Always smile, sweet pea. Never let anyone steal your shine.’ Mom’s final words to me before she’d fallen into the coma echoed in my mind as the song ended. The call had been sent to voicemail.
“Another One Bites the Dust…” The song began again.
I snatched up my cell phone and stared at the screen. A number I didn’t recognize was displayed… or…
“Hello,” I replied softly after swiping my finger over the screen.
“Clara?” A voice I’d only heard for the first time just under a year ago echoed from the device in my hand. “Are you there?”
“Yes, this is Clara,” I replied out of habit.
“Good. Hello, sweetheart.” My mom’s mother chuckled over the phone. “I never seem to be able to reach you.”
“I’m sorry… I work a lot of hours,” I deflected.
“You shouldn’t work so hard. Someone your age should have some fun. There’s plenty of time to work in your life.” My grandmother’s voice was kind as she lectured.
“Someone has to pay the bills around here,” I replied coldly as frustration filled me.
“I didn’t mean…” My grandmother sighed. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I worry about you all the way out there in Sin City by yourself.”
“Mrs. Wood, Vegas—”
“Grandma or Ms. Amelia if you’d prefer. Mrs. Wood still makes me think of my mother-in-law and that woman was scary.” Amelia Wood laughed for several minutes.
“Ms. Amelia, I’m sorry. But… Why are you calling?”
A sigh echoed over the phone as the older woman sobered. “I want you to come out to Ohio for Christmas.”
“It’s very kind of you to invite me but I have work—”
“Clara Wood! You’ve been making excuses for months. Until a year ago I didn’t know what had happened to my own daughter and now I have a granddaughter. One who I haven’t gotten to know. That wasn’t my choice. Your mother made that choice when she ran away from home.”
“She wanted to follow her dream,” I snapped.
“Yes, and look how that turned out.” My grandmother’s voice changed and it sounded like the older woman was fighting back a sob. “I’m sorry. I just miss her. I’ve missed her for thirty years and now I’ll miss her until the good Lord allows us to be reunited.”
“Look, I understand but…”
“Please, Clara? Just come out for a few days. I have a present for you but you have to come here to get it,” my grandmother rambled off quickly.
A gift? What type of gift would my grandmother not be able to ship? I wondered. Would it be something which could help my current situation?
“I really can’t miss work…” Letting my voice fade I waited for my grandmother to take the bait — I needed to know whether this gift was worth driving across the United States.
My insides squirmed at the shadiness of my thoughts. But when you’re down on your luck… you did what you had to do.
“I promise it will be worth your time,” Amelia Wood insisted.
It was as if she knew how shitty my life was. Or, maybe she was just desperate enough to bribe me to get me to visit her. Mom hadn’t shared a lot about her parents. In fact, she’d made it seem like they’d died. I couldn’t help but feel like there was a reason. Maybe...
“I might be able to get a few days off” — I waited a few moments and then finished — “I’ll have to check with work.”
“This gift is worth the trip. Life-changing even,” my mom’s mother’s voice sounded odd as she stated the last. “Just try to come.”
“I’ll let you know, Ms. Amelia. That’s all I can promise right now.” Drumming my fingers on the table I nibbled my lower lip as I began to think about everything.
“Alright, that’s all I can ask, sweetheart.” Someone yelled in the background. “Just a minute, Franny.” Mrs. Wood yelled back at the person before her voice lowered and she spoke to me again, “Your mama was all I had in this world after I lost your grandpa. Please try to come.”
“I will let you know.” I couldn’t bring herself to commit one way or another.
The gift could be some family heirloom which only had value to my grandmother for all I knew but, then again, stuff like that was often worth money. Maybe enough money for me to start over on the east coast.
If the altercation with Ronnie taught me anything, it was that big cities had a lot of sharks who liked to eat the small fish. I didn’t want to continue being a small fish.
Besides, my mom had often talked about her childhood Christmas’. I’d
