“Secret? Let’s not talk about secrets. You kept your pregnancy a secret until after you married your deadbeat husband. You swore to me that it was out of love, but it wasn’t. You threatened him, saying I would break his legs if he didn’t. I’m sure that’s why he drinks so much.”
My grandpa unloaded his truth, and I couldn’t fault him. He needed to say those things. My mom hadn’t been a model daughter, but as fate would have it, I was a blessing in disguise.
“Grandpa, please take it easy.”
I walked over to him, gave him a hug, and gave him a big, fat kiss on his right cheek.
“Thank you, baby. I know you love me as much as I love you.”
He gave my mom a side-eye.
My mom wasn’t having it. She got up from her seat.
“Enough of this lovey-dovey bullshit. Let’s talk about solutions.”
“See, the claws come out,” my grandpa said.
He finished his beer and asked for another.
“No, Grandpa. One is enough. As a matter of fact, you shouldn’t be drinking at all,” I said.
He looked at me with resentful eyes. My mom looked at me and made gestures with her hands for me to hurry up.
“Fine. I drank one for now, but I’ll take one for the road.”
“The hell you will. Those beers are for my husband. He’s going to be pissed if you take his last beer,” my mom said.
Grandpa looked at me and shrugged.
“She’s right, you know. No more drinking for you. I need you to live a long life,” I replied. “You need to take care of your health.”
“Double-teaming is not allowed.”
My grandpa let out a hearty laugh. He laughed so hard he almost fell off his chair. I was able to steady the chair, and he regained his composure.
“Alright, alright. This is what I’m going to do for your mom.”
There was a pause. He thought about the amount of money that would help my parents but not break the bank.
“I’ll be giving her $500.00 a month. I think that’ll be enough to help with the bills.”
“Make it $600, and we have a deal,” my mom said.
She looked more interested in the money than in trying to help me with my dream. But that was my mom. Life had dealt her a bad hand. She felt that life was about luck. I, on the other hand, believed I could make my own luck, and I took a chance on myself since I was young and beautiful.
My grandpa got up from his seat and took out his wallet from his back pocket. He opened it. He took out six $100 bills and gave them to my mom.
My mom looked happy. She hugged him and gave him a kiss on the left cheek.
“Thank you, Daddy. You know I love you, right?”
“Yes. I know. But I’ve noticed you love me more when I give you money.”
He laughed.
“And who says money can’t buy love?”
We all laughed. It was a very fun moment, and I learned a very valuable lesson from my grandpa that day.
