Come Get Me Read online

  “No, no idea but whatever it is it must be really important. She told me not to forget at least five times before she left. She even tried to have me write it down so I wouldn’t forget but I told her that was going a bit too far. I mean, it’s our date after all right?”

  He didn’t know what Gran wanted but according to Jill it was important. They might as well go find out what this was all about. He’d been looking forward to spending a night alone with Jill but talking to Grandma wouldn’t take too long. Then the two of them would have the rest of the night together.

  “You’re right it is our date but it won’t hurt to stop off and see Grandma for a few minutes,” he said, “after that hopefully we can go do something else. There wasn’t much to do around here when I left but I’m sure we can find something.”

  “Oh, I’m sure we’ll find some way to pass the time,” Jill said with an impish smile. Spending part of their first with her grandmother obviously wasn’t what either of them had planned but it seemed to make her happy so he didn’t mind doing it. After that though is when the real date would start. He knew what he wanted to do but wondered if it was along the same lines as what she had planned.

  He honestly didn’t mind taking a little time to visit with Grandma. He hadn’t seen her in so long he’d been hoping he would get a chance to visit her while he was home. Now that chance had presented itself and he was glad did. If it hadn’t been for this date he might not have found the time to see her and knew he would’ve regretted it. She might not be around the next time he finally made it home. His own grandparents died when he was young, so Grandma had sorta become a surrogate grandparent. She didn’t seem to mind too much. Why should she, it wasn’t like he took much of her time. A kind smile whenever he came in and letting him read whatever comics were on the racks wasn’t too hard. Actually now that he thought about it she’d probably welcomed it since she’d never been able to see her own grandchild.

  When he was younger Grandma used to put up with the kids from all over town being in her shop and making messes but she’d always handled it without a problem. Whenever his little group of hooligans showed their faces she’d be waiting with a smile no matter how dirty or loud they were. There was a lot of other stuff but one thing that stuck out, and he was always grateful for, was that she’d never acted like a typical adult. Other adults seemed to want the old standby of children being seen and not heard but she was the exact opposite. She wanted them to talk to her. She always seemed to have time for them not matter how trivial the topic might be. Whenever she talked to you she did it in a way that made that child feel important. She always spoke to them like they were just little people and not kids. Whether it was how much stuff they’d gotten for Christmas or if it was how many frogs they’d caught down by the creek. It was all important to her. If visiting her was all she asked from him then he figured it was the least he could do to pay her back, just a little, for all she’d done for him. Besides maybe it would be fun.

  As they began walking Jill explained that she lived with her Grandma and that it wasn’t very far away so they could just walk there if he didn’t mind. She seemed a little nervous talking to him at first but soon warmed up as the conversation started flowing. Surprisingly she thought almost all of his jokes were funny and agreed with him that there was definitely something strange about Tommy’s death. Almost as soon as that subject came up Jim steered the conversation to something else. It was the first of what he hoped might be more dates and he didn’t want to ruin it by talking about his dead friend. Jim missed Tommy, but he was sure he’d understand.

  They slowly strolled down the street towards the edge of town talking and laughing like old friends. Jim was actually surprised how well they were getting along. He usually did abysmally when it came to talking to the other sex. He was mostly glad he hadn’t put his foot in his mouth.

  A lot of the houses belonged to one of the two main developments the town boasted but there were a few that had been built off by themselves. These were set closer to the edge of the town, almost in the woods. They stood like lonely sentinels guarding the inhabitants from unseen horrors that might at any minute swoop down and devour them. At least that was how Jim always thought of them. Many of the old places were left over from the original families that had settled here and eventually helped the town grow into what it was today. The developments were added later on after others families who wanted to get away from the big cities began moving to the area.

  Sadly the town council in its infinite wisdom did nothing to keep the lonely, old guardians intact. For the most part they were run down, barely standing shacks. Some actually had fallen into nothing more than heaps of old rotten wood waiting for a well placed lightening strike to finally end their misery. They’d been built well all those years ago but since they were no longer occupied by anything other than an animal or two they’d fallen to disrepair. There were no families moving to the town anymore that wanted the problems that went along with owning one of the old places. Jim briefly entertained the idea of buying one and fixing it up back to the state it had once been but then his reality reared its ugly head. There was no reason for him to do something like that. He had no life here. He had his mom sure, but that was about it plus he hadn’t been back in years. The idea died before it’d really taken any shape. Glancing at Jill, he thought maybe there would be another reason for him to stay soon.

  A small smile spread across his face as they turned down a road he recognized. He knew it almost as well as the one leading to his house. It went to the only school in town. The one he went to when he lived here. Jim didn’t know if it was still in use but since the road wasn’t overgrown with weeds and trees he assumed it was. Not that he’d seen many kids around since his arrival. Parents were probably keeping them close to home after what had happened to Tommy.

  Trying to distract himself from morbid thoughts he pointed out different birds and trees he saw to Jill. He’d spent so much time in the forest as a kid he couldn’t help but learn what certain things were. Jill asked how he knew so much which eventually led to stories about all the mischief he’d gotten into as child growing up here. It amazed her that one kid could get in so much trouble. She had thought the town dull and boring but he seemed to open her eyes to how much there actually was to do there. At least if you were a kid.

  They soon found themselves at the end of a dirt road that branched off from the main one that in turn led to a small house set slightly back near the wood line. Jill walked confidently down the road and Jim followed to what was apparently Grandma’s house. Following closely behind Jill he had to stifle a laugh at the thought. When Jill looked questioningly over her shoulder he had to explain that he couldn’t help but think of the old Christmas carol. He whistled a few note and by the time they were half way down the path they were both laughing so hard their faces were red and Jim’s eyes were watering. He didn’t know what was so funny about the whole thing and he didn’t really care. He just liked hearing Jill’s laughter.

  “I used to think the same thing,” she said after catching her breath and opening the door of the porch. As they’d walked up and before the unexpected bout of singing he’d seen the house and found it to be what he would expect a lady like grandma to live in. Thinking back over the years to the days when he’d rode the bus this way he remembered passing the dwelling many times but not thinking about who had lived there. They’d passed by the little house everyday on the way to and from school, but he’d never really noticed it before. He knew it was there but he never really looked at it.

  The house was a typical one story that had obviously been built a long time ago but for all its age it still looked ok. Just like he imagined Grandma would when he finally saw her again. Grandma had most likely lived most, if not all, of her life there and taken care of the place through the years. There was evidence of a few minor modifications here and there that had been made, the most prominent of which was the porch they were now entering. It was in much better
shape than the rest of the house. He wasn’t sure but it stood to reason that it must have been added after the original house was built. The small enclosure ran the length of most of the front of the house almost reaching all the way around to the side. Big screened in windows gave an unobstructed view of the road and surrounding forest. The wood it was constructed of was stained dark so that it would match the house as close as it possible but the constant exposure to weather gave it away. The wood paneling on the house itself was just a slight bit lighter than the porch. The hinges of the door only squealed a little as it slammed shut behind them. If nothing else somebody took care of the door. Jim could imagine Grandma sitting on one of its three chairs watching the kids pass by in the morning on their way to school with a big smile on her face.

  He felt like a bit of an intruder walking into the house but the feeling quickly disappeared when he beheld the homey environment he’d entered. If there was any other place in the world that made someone feel as welcome he couldn’t think of it. The inside just seemed to take your hand and whisper in your ear that you were considered family and to stay as long as you wanted. Everywhere he looked were pictures of people he knew. Not that he knew Grandma’s family but then again looking at the pictures he did. The faces looking back at him were filled with smiles and laughter. They were picture of all of his childhood friends. Here he saw the little girl that used to live down the street from him eating an ice cream cone, there he saw the bully that used to pick on all the smaller kids reading a comic book then he came to a picture that just about took his breath away. Stepping closer he saw faces he knew as well as his own. A picture of Rob, Tommy, Pete and himself was nestled between two of other kids he vaguely recognized. He actually remembered when it was taken. The four of them were sitting outside Grandma’s store with their arms around each other making weird faces at the camera. Grandma had come outside one day while they were there and snapped it for what she said was her family photo album. When they all protested saying they weren’t in her family she just smiled and told them they may not be flesh and blood but they were still her boys.

  Jim was pulled from his revelry by a touch on his shoulder. Blinking a tear from his eye he didn’t know was there he found Jill looking at him with an understanding smile on her face. All his life, Grandma’s natural surroundings seemed to have been behind the counter at the store. He’d never thought of her any other way. Seeing this other side of her and how much all the kids actually had meant to her opened his eyes to just how special of a woman she actually was. All the kids coming and going from her store messing things up had never been a bother to her because they were the family she never had.

  Knowing this made seeing her just that much more special to Jim. Taking a last look at old friends he saw something else that was surprising. Grandma was quite the collector of penguins. All the shelves that didn’t hold a picture had penguins of some sort on them. He never even knew there were that many different things with the funny looking creature on it. It brought a smile to his face almost as much as the voice he heard coming from another part of the house.

  Any feelings about not being welcome that might still have lingered were quickly dispelled when Grandma’s voice broke the silence that Jim hadn’t realized existed. He didn’t catch all of it but heard something about her being in the kitchen and what was taking them so long to get there. After walking down a dim hallway with even more pictures on the wall the arrived at a door. Jill stepped aside with a smile so Jim could be the first one to enter. For some reason he found that he was nervous, but before it got the better of him he pushed open the door and entered.

  Grandma was seated at a small table and looked almost like he remembered her looking when she was behind the store counter. He couldn’t help but smile as a smile brighter than his own spread across her face.

  “Jimmy,” she squealed doing a good impersonation of a fifteen year old, “finally found time to come back and visit an old woman huh?”

  Walking to where she sat he saw that she looked just as he remembered her. Maybe a few more wrinkles here and there but other than that she was still the same old Grandma from his memories. When Jim was little she’d always seemed much bigger than him, like most adults, but now looking at her as she stood to greet him she seemed much smaller. Of course he’d also gotten a lot bigger over the years.

  Reaching her and not knowing what to do he took a minute to look at her. From this new perspective things were quite different. Now instead of her being taller than him he found that she was actually about the same height as his mother. Her hair had always been sorta grayish but now seemed almost white. Looking at her he could see just a hint of where Jill had gotten some of her looks from. The resemblance was strongest in the eyes and nose but he saw it peeking out in a few other places too. A lot of people said that he himself looked a lot like his grandmother but he couldn’t see it. How could a guy look like a girl was the thing he always wondered and never understood.

  Jim smiled as he stood wondering what the proper protocol was when you saw an adult you knew as a kid. He wasn’t left to wonder for long though. Grandma unexpectedly reached out and embraced him in a rib cracking bear hug. She might’ve been old but she was surprisingly strong.

  “I’ve known you too long to be shaking your hand or any other stupid thing like that young man,” she said releasing him after a few seconds and taking a step back to look at him. “Heck, I’ve know you since you were just knee high to a grasshopper. Not that way anymore though is it? Anyway, don’t be treatin’ me like some little old lady you have to treat like she’s made out of eggshells. No coddling or anything like that when you come to see me. Hell, you’re the one that’s all skin and bones not me.” She looked at him for a few seconds to make sure he knew she was joking then continued. “Then again looks, as they say, can be deceiving. I remember you were always a good little boy and now that I see you, I’m guessing you’ve probably grown up to be quite a nice young man. At least I hope you have considering how my granddaughter’s been looking at you.” Jim quickly glanced at Jill only to find her red faced and trying to find a closet to go hide in. Grandma didn’t seem to notice. “You look good,” she said. “You sure are a welcome sight for these old eyes.”

  Jim was only a little uncomfortable with the welcome he’d received. They’d always been friendly but she seemed to have actually genuinely missed him. He was deeply touched to think that someone other than his mother cared about him that much and felt a little bad for not having made the effort to come see her before now. It was a lucky thing she was still alive. He hoped she would be around for a lot longer. He would definitely have to come back home more often than he had. Maybe his mother wasn’t the only thing he’d left behind after all.

  “Hi, Grandma,” he said with a silly grin. “How have you been?”

  “How do you think I’ve been?” she snapped back. “I’ve been getting older and more worn out as the days go by. I’m thinking one of these days pretty soon it might be time for me to take a rest. One of those long ones if you know what I mean.” She said this last part as if she were trying to elicit a response of some sort. Just as she’d probably planned Jill quickly chimed in.

  “Don’t talk like that Grandma. The only kind of rest you’re going to be taking is when you go to sleep later on tonight. You know I really don’t like it when you talk that way.”

  Grandma gave her a sullen look but as she turned back to him he saw a smile quickly spread over her face and just as quickly disappear. She’d gotten what she wanted and been scolded for it but now it was time to move on. Speaking to Jim, she asked all the normal things like how he’d been and what he’d been doing all these years. She asked almost as if he’d been avoiding her or something. He couldn’t help but laugh and began telling her about his life and how it had gone since leaving town. When he got to the part about how he wasn’t married she quickly asked Jill if she’d heard him. Jill, to her credit didn’t turn as red as she had the first time. De
ciding not to embarrass her anymore than she was he acted like he hadn’t noticed anything and went back to talking to Grandma although with a smile a little bigger than he’d had before.

  They talked about the town and who had come and gone since he’d left. Most of the people she mentioned were only vague memories as far as he was concerned but he listened and actually found himself interested in what had become of everyone. Grandma seemed to enjoy talking so he let her do it.

  The conversation eventually reached the topic Jim knew was coming but short of leaving couldn’t there was no way to stop it. Tommy’s death, or murder as he was now thinking of it, brought a halt to what had previously been an enjoyable evening. He didn’t have the heart to tell Grandma he didn’t want to talk about it. He just hoped she wouldn’t take too long.

  After a few minutes of silence Grandma realized he wasn’t going to be too talkative about it so began quizzing him on what he’d found out so far from the people around town. Not knowing where to start he just told her everything with the exception of things Rob had said. She agreed with him when he told her he thought it was strange the way everyone had been told what happened was an accident. After he was done she didn’t seem to be satisfied. She told him she knew the official story but wanted to know what he’d found out unofficially.