Dad winked at me.
"Just because I'm an old man doesn't mean you can talk down to me. I haven't lost my mind yet. If you do it again, I'll be on a plane back to California. I didn't come all this way for abuse."
"I'm sorry daddy." Mother hung her head.
Grandfather stood and hugged her. "It's okay Precious. Don't let it happen again."
"I won't," she whispered.
"Good. Good," He stroked her hair. "Now what's for diner?"
After dinner I invited Shannie over. "I have to finish my homework," she said. Grandfather was finishing the dishes when she knocked. "You'll have to excuse me," Mother waddled out of the room.
"Hi James," Shannie sang as I opened the kitchen door.
"Someone wants to meet you." I motioned to the sink where Grandfather was drying dishes. "Shannie, this is my Grandfather." He turned around. "Wow! You're more beautiful than James said. It's a pleasure to meet you." he said extending his hand.
Shannie blushed. "Nice to meet you Mr. Alison," she said. I was surprised Shannie remembered his name; I mentioned it once. Grandfather told her she could call him Stan.
"It's a pleasure to meet my grandson's girlfriend."
"Girlfriend?" Shannie questioned with a surprised smile. "James! What have you been telling people?"
I blushed. "How many times do I have to tell you she's not my girlfriend."
"James. James. James," he shook his head. "Look at her. Tell me that you wouldn't want her to be your girlfriend."
My face blazed.
"Tell me you wouldn't want her for a girlfriend," Grandfather goaded.
Sweat poured down my forehead. My temples throbbed, my lips quivered and my knees were weak. I never hated anyone in my life, not Rex Byrne or Ed Nugent, not even the Dallas Cowboys, like I hated Grandfather at that moment! Humiliated, I ran out of the kitchen and stomped up the stairs; the house rattling with every step.
"JESUS CHRIST!" my mother screamed from her bedroom. "Take it easy! You're going to break my water."
I slammed my bedroom door and buried my head in a pillow. After a few agonizing moments, I decided to save face. I crept down the stairs. Shannie's voice drifting upward. "My father was in the 101st," It was the first time I ever heard her mention her father. I sat on the landing and listened. "He was killed in Vietnam. I don't think he ever knew he had a daughter."