Eyebrows Part Two

 The following is part of an original short story I wrote reflecting on memories of my late grandmother:

My Grandma always knew how to keep me in check. If I misbehaved around her, she yelled, “Keep that up and I’ll clobber you with my cane!” She wasn’t lying. And she was strong. After about for lessons, I never pissed her off again.

            My Uncle worked at a pizzeria, so he always brought back leftover pizza, which they stored in to fridge and were reheated. So, one fateful day, after eating a few slices, I heard a noise. I turned to My Grandma, who looked at me and said “What?” It took me until it happened to me too that we were having a bad reaction to the pizza. After all, we were both having gas problems. It was not a pleasant day, filled with “What?”

            People always said my Grandma never smiled. I beg to differ. Upon giving her her requested kisses, she gave me a little smile. We also had out dinner table joke. I would make a comment about her age. She turned towards me and gave me a glowering look. I would reach out my arm and she would slap me on the wrist, and wow could that woman hit. Then she gave me a little smile. Everyone says that they have a different relationship with people then they give anyone else. So this means I was near and dear to her heart.

            My Grandma hated games. Her ideas of games included dropping people into the sewers in “Manhole,” and if she saved people from falling, she got upset. And “Frogger.” That poor, poor frog. And the parachuters would plummet to their doom. She had a very different idea of games. Then there was a miraculous day. I was subscribed to a Video Game Magazine, which had a tear-out board game of an upcoming game. To my surprise, she got out scissors and a dice block and we actually played it. I had hardly ever seen her play a board game, let alone this style, but she actually wanted to play. We played a few times, and somehow she always won (and I did not let her win). Each time she gave me a smug look, so I knew she was having fun. This was very unusual for my Grandma to do, which made me feel loved and appreciated.

            She was also notoriously good at falling asleep. She would find a show, turn in on, put the remote down, and five minutes later, be asleep. And what I always found amusing was how she always knew when the remote was about to be taken. She’d just wake up, snatch the remote and say, “I’m watching that!” and look highly offended.

            Some weekends I stayed with her at my Aunt and Uncle’s apartment of weekends where my mom was busy and also just for me to have fun. Granted my Grandma had a strange idea of fun, and while I never really admitted this too much, but I did have fun with my Grandma. Since there were only two bedrooms, my aunt and uncle had one, and my cousin shared hers with my Grandma, and since my cousin was at college, I shared the room with my Grandma. It actually looking back is pretty funny. She had a lamp by her bed which she read for reading. The funniest this was she would fall asleep reading, her book would fall on her face, and twenty minutes later wake up and pick up her book exactly where she left off. I also read my books and eventually we both fell asleep, sometimes with our books on our faced.

            I always loved the noise she made while sleeping. She would breathe in relatively quietly, but when she exhaled, be made the noise, “Puh.” I’ve never heard that noise before or since.

            On the mornings, she would wake up, go to the kitchen, make tea, and have a bowl of cereal. Her favorite was Raison Bran, and she’d wait for me to wake up, and we’d both have tea and cereal.