To Giselle, Love Grandpa

She awoke to the sun peeking through the opening in her living room curtains. The rays were so warm and bright. Squinting to see, she slowly arose from her supine position on the couch. Pushing the wisps of hair from her face, she began to remember the events of the night before. Was it all a dream, or did she really see her deceased grandfather? Sitting straight up now, she placed her elbows on her knees, beginning to think she was going mad. How could she really believe that her grandfather, who died 13 years ago, had sat with her on the same couch that she had just awoken on? Reaching for the glass of water on the coffee table caused her to jump. The smell of his cologne, the wrinkles on his face, the sound of his voice that she missed so much. How could she imagine that? It was all too real to be a dream. But the little black book he had handed her…where could it have gone?

Struggling to move, she stood upright. “I have to find that book” she whispered to herself while surveying the room. She remembered the feel of the leather in her hands, but where had she put it after quickly leafing through the worn pages? “The only way to know if I am crazy or not is to find that book,” she thought as she headed for the desk across the room. Everything of importance seemed to find its way there. The only logical place she would have stored the book is in the desk.

A few weeks’ worth of mail and paperwork covered the surface. A quick glance and she could clearly see that the book was not visible. Reaching for the handle of a drawer, she gently wrapped her hand around and pulled it open. There, on top of the pens, pencils and sticky notes was the book. She nearly fainted as she reached in to grab the book. The feel of the leather caused her heart to skip a beat. “How could it be true?” she questioned herself as she turned, book in hand, and headed back to her resting spot on the couch.

To Giselle, Love Grandpa was all it said on the cover. Giselle? That is me. But….how? She was always grandpa’s favorite. Being the oldest grandchild, Giselle was often tasked with more responsibilities than her younger siblings, but not when grandpa was around. Grandpa was always fighting for more freedom to roam for Giselle. She was only eight when he had passed away suddenly after experiencing a heart attack in the middle of the night. She had been devastated. “I just saw him yesterday” raced through her head, over and over. How could someone be here one minute and gone the next? Mortality had never been discussed so she never questioned that grandpa would be here forever until that day. Here, 13 years later, she sat confused on the couch of her apartment.

Snapping back to reality, she looked down at the notebook, rubbing her fingertip across the leather. I must know what was so important about this book that grandpa would come back just to give it to me. Lifting the cover and exposing the title page, Giselle noticed that the date was that of her birth. Grandpa had begun this book the day she was born. He had always told her that her birth was one of the best days of his life. Now she believed him. Page after page, Giselle read memories of herself and grandpa on their grand adventures. Her first time fishing, hunting, swimming in the big pond behind the house, her first trip to the emergency room. Her childhood was unfolding before her eyes. Grandpa had recorded everything.

Finally nearing the end of the book, Giselle noticed something different. It looked like a code of some sort. Letters and shapes seemed to form sentences, but how would she decipher it? Everything that was left of grandpa after his untimely death was still stored in the basement of her childhood home. She had to find out what this code said.

A shower and coffee brought Giselle to her senses enough to drive to her childhood home. Pulling into the driveway, Giselle could feel herself getting nervous. What would she find in all those boxes? Getting to the basement would include explaining why to her mother. How would she convince momma how she had gotten this book and why she needed to go through grandpa’s things? The only way was to tell her mother the truth and hope for the best.

Walking through the front door, you would think momma had not seen her in years. Moving as quickly as her legs would carry her, momma wrapped her arms around Giselle’s, squeezing her as tightly as she could. “I’ve been waiting for you” momma said with a smile and a nod. “Waiting for me?” Giselle questioned. “Of course”, said momma “I have some news for you”.

Giselle followed her momma into the kitchen to the breakfast nook, where all reunions and family discussions took place. Clearing a spot on the cluttered bench, Giselle took a seat. “Momma”, she asked inquisitively, “what’s the news”? Momma seemed to ignore her question as she readied a pot of coffee and sat a plate of fresh cinnamon rolls on the table. Momma only made fresh cinnamon rolls on important days. Something was up, but momma was not ready to talk.

After what seemed like forever, the smell of coffee danced through the kitchen. Opening a drawer known to hold everything but kitchen utensils, momma exposed an envelope. Without hesitation, she placed it in front of Giselle on the table. Looking down at the envelope made Giselle’s heart skip a beat. To Giselle, Love Grandpa was all it said. Shaking, Giselle looked at her mother who had finally settled down enough to take her seat at the table.

“Giselle, I saw daddy last night”.

“Momma, what are you talking about”?

“My dad, your grandpa, came to me last night. After talking and reminiscing, he handed me this envelope before saying goodbye”.

“But momma, I saw grandpa last night as well. I thought it was just a dream until I realized that he had left me this book” Giselle said as she reached into her bag, bringing out the little black book. “That’s why I am here”.

Momma reached for the book in bewilderment. How could they both see grandpa last night? Was this some sort of trick?

As Momma began to thumb through the pages of the book, Giselle looked down again at the envelope. What would she find if she opened it? Reaching across the table, Giselle retrieved the letter opener and inserted the tip under the seal of the envelope. Slowly and with great precision Giselle slid the letter opener across the length of the envelope, exposing a folded piece of paper.

“I love you, sweet Giselle. I have left you something. I was always fond of you and wanted to make sure that you were ok once I was gone” was all the first page said.

The second page was oddly familiar. The same letters and shapes she had seen in the book. But this code was different. This page contained the way to decipher the code. Giselle quickly grabbed the book from her mother’s hands, apologizing hastily as she opened the back cover to reveal the letters and shapes. Giselle found a pen lying on the table and began to scribble letters on the page. A few quick moments and the message was clear. “Grab a shovel and grab a pail, walk to the barn when there is no hail. Walk three steps past the old oak tree. Use the shovel, and a surprise you shall see”.

Momma was already gathering the pail and heading for the barn before Giselle had time to react. Stumbling to open the door, Giselle sped through the yard to catch up with momma.

Grabbing a shovel from the doorway on the barn, they headed for the old oak tree. After digging for what seemed like forever, the shovel seemed to encounter something. Dropping to her knees, Giselle began to uncover the object with her hands. It was a metal box of some sort. There was no lock, only a latch that had rusted shut. Struggling and pulling at the latch was proving to be unsuccessful. She cradled the box beneath her arm, pulled herself back to her feet, and turned back toward the barn. Momma kept in step with her as they headed inside. Grandpa was always tinkering with things in the barn and had plenty of tools left out there. She would use those to reveal the contents of the box.

The rusted latch was no match for the WD-40 and a screwdriver. Taking a deep breath, Giselle slowly opened the lid, revealing a plethora of money! Grandpa had left her with $20,000 and a simple note that said To Giselle, Love Grandpa. Giselle’s eyes filled with tears and she began to weep. Grandpa was always there for her in life, and now he proved that he still had her back in death.