A tear slid down her cheek as my grandmother took a breath and stared at her wedding picture on the mantel.
“He did finally explain things to me and we were married the next day by the justice of the peace. He wanted me to have his benefits if he died in the war you see. Then he went off to boot camp and the war and didn’t return for three long years. We had a proper wedding a month after his return and had your mom eight months later.” A blush colored my grandmother’s cheeks as she lifted her mug of cocoa and took a deep drink.
“Oh… wow,” I chuckled as the dates sunk in.
“Yep. You see… those in the Wood family… they love deeply and never quite how you expect it. I had forty-seven wonderful years with your grandfather before he passed. I am grateful for each and every one of them. But, it would have been easy to have told him no. I mean, my pride had been hurt when he never asked me out.”
“Mom didn’t know my father,” I blurted. “At least that’s what she told me. But… who knows, I mean, she had me thinking you and Mr. Wood were dead.”
“Sweetheart, couldn’t you at least call him your grandpa? I mean, he’s not here to earn the title, but he loved your mother and always regretted chasing her away.”
“Alright,” I nodded. She was right, the man was my grandfather and through the stories and pictures Ms. Amelia had shared with me, I knew my mother had been loved. Mom was the one who chose to leave and never return.
“She could have always come home,” my grandmother whispered.
“I believe you, grandma.” Her eyes snapped up to mine and as tears slipped more freely from them.
“Thank you, Clara. Thank you.” Grandma pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly to her chest.
After we all cried — even Franny shed some tears — we went into the dining room and ate way too much food before starting a fire and sitting down to exchange gifts. I hadn’t had any money to buy my grandma or Franny anything but a few days earlier I had dug through my car and found something I thought they would enjoy. I’d used Grandma’s wrapping paper and placed them under her tree.
Now, as I waited for the two older women to pull out the brightly wrapped packages all three of us had stowed there, my mind wandered. I was filled with confusion. My chest hurt at the thought of leaving but what did I have in Holiday City?
“I hate to eat and run…” My words sounded hollow as I looked into the fire. “But money is tight and I really need to get settled in my new place and find a job as soon as possible.”
I calculated the change in my cup holder and the cash I still had tucked into my purse — nineteen dollars and eighty-two cents — the cash probably wouldn’t even be enough to buy the gas it would take me to get all the way to Florida.
“Clara?” When I turned to look at my grandmother, she continued. “Do you really need to go to Florida? I mean… you could stay here.”
“Where would I live?”
“Here of course!”
“I guess there are all of those hotels… they’d have to have some sort of job I could get, right?”
“There is also the gift I promised you if you came to visit,” my grandma reached into the branches of the Christmas tree and pulled out a large red foil envelope.
“Was this?” I asked after accepting it.
“Open it,” Franny ordered.
“Yes,” Grandma agreed. “Opening it is the only way to find out.”
My fingers trembled as I carefully unstuck the flap and flipped it open to look inside of the envelope. A heavy piece of parchment type paper was inside and I pulled it out and unfolded it. It was covered in fancy script and large embossed seals.
“What is this?” My voice quivered as I looked at the top line of the document. “Property Deed…” Silently I read the address and saw my name printed on a line at the bottom. “Grandma?”
“You’re a Wood, Clara, and the farm is yours.” Grandma smiled at me and waited for my response.
“I can’t accept this!” I snapped out in shock.
“This farm has been in the Wood family — your grandfather’s family — for over a hundred years. You’re the only Wood left, so it’s yours.” Grandma stated firmly. “Clara, I want you to have it.”
“But this is your home!”
“And, now it’s yours. I hope you’ll allow me to live here with you,” she blushed brightly and looked around the room. “I’ll accept whatever changes you want to make in order for you to feel at home.”
“I already feel at home,” I whispered as my throat tightened with emotion.
“I love you, Clara, and I want us to have all of the time we have left to get to know each other. To be a family. It’s been a while since either of us has had that.”
“I’d like that as well,” I replied and lunged for the older woman. I pulled her into a tight hug and for the first time since my mother’s death, I felt… not alone.
Then, thoughts of Eli filled my head. No, that was a lie. I had felt less alone from the moment I’d watched a pizza man toss pizzas while singing Christmas carols. Even less alone when I opened my pizza to find it smiling up at me. The moments since then had only solidified what I had known in that first glimpse — I loved him and he was
