Blocked

The house was forlorn. Without her grandmother, it was an empty shell, damp, stale, loveless. Julie surveyed the fading flowery wallpaper of the living room and the shabby furniture. Her friend Rosa, following her gaze, shuddered at a picture of Jesus, rivulets of blood trickling down from the crown of thorns upon his head.

“That’s a bit gruesome, isn’t it?”

Julie laughed.

“That picture gave me nightmares when I was little. Gran finally covered it with a pillowcase…”

She broke off as her phone rang.

“Hi, hon. Mom asked me to pick up some things to take to Gran. Who? Rosa. Yes, Rosa. You’ve met her. From work. She’s going to help me. We must get Gran’s personal items out before they come to clear the house next week. See you soon.”

Slipping the phone into her pocket, she sighed before smiling brightly.

“Where was I? Oh, yes, Gran and the picture. Ugly thing, but it came from the old country with Gran’s mother, so she wouldn’t part with it.”

“I hope she doesn’t take it to the retirement place,” said Rosa. “The other residents will be having nightmares too.”

“I should arrange for it be lost in transit,” Julie said, laughing, “Now, she said to look in her wardrobe for her photo album and there are some trinkets in her bedroom. I'm curious to see the album. She's not sentimental at all about things like that.”

They went upstairs, Julie carrying an empty travel bag. Rosa sneezed as Julie opened the wardrobe and the scent of mothballs wafted out.

“Bless you,” said Julie. “Here. You like vintage clothes.”

Rosa shrieked as Julie tossed a furry item at her.

“It’s got eyes. Why did she have a dead animal in there?”

“Her fox stole. She loved that thing and wore it every occasion she could. Good thing that was in the pre-PETA era. Let’s see…the album…here it is.”

“Can we have a peek?” Rosa said, sitting down on the bed. “Where’s your gran?”

Julie plumped down beside her, and they carefully turned the pages.

“She was a looker,” said Rosa. “Prom 1950. That’s a handsome fellow and look at the fins on that car. Was that your grandfather?”

Julie frowned.

“I don’t think so…”

Her phone rang again and she scrabbled to get it out of her pocket.

“Hi. What time will we be done? We’re packing up the stuff now. What? Going out afterwards with Rosa? No, we hadn’t made any plans. She came to keep me company, that’s all. Yes, I’ll call you when I’m on the way.”

Rosa stared, eyebrows raised as Julie put the phone away.

“What?” Julie said. “It’s just Mark.”

“I gathered. I remember meeting him. He’s a good looking guy,” Rosa said. “Does he always keep tabs on you like that?”

“He is my fiancé, after all,” Julie said, standing up and shoving the photo album and the fox fur into the bag. “He cares about me. Let’s get the bits and bobs she wanted out of her dresser and get going.”

She marched over to the dressing table and began rummaging.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to overstep,” Rosa said. “Please forgive me.”

Julie turned and hugged her.

“It’s okay. You meant well. It does get tiresome when he checks on me so often and he’s so particular about who I’m with, but he does it out of love.”

Rosa took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

“Are you sure...never mind. Let’s get going. I’m looking forward to meeting your gran.”

Julie stopped in her tracks as they went through the kitchen.

“Wait. One more thing. Her recipe book. Here it is. I hope she lets me have it. She was a great cook."

"Mark will appreciate that," Rosa said demurely. Julie glanced at her suspiciously but said nothing.

The journey to St. Margaret’s Retirement House took over an hour. Julie bit her nails as Rosa threaded through the evening rush hour traffic.

“It’s weird thinking of Gran not being in her own home. I hope she’s not pining away.”

“Quite a nice place to pine in,” Rosa said as she parked, glancing up at a handsome mansion.

“You’d never know it from looking at her house, but Gran had managed to sock away a lot of money,” Julie said, as they entered a tastefully decorated lobby. They went down a carpeted hallway. Discreet signs pointed to the dining room, library and gym. Turning the corner, Julie rapped on the second door they came to. It opened and a stooped little lady peered out, sharp brown eyes glittering in her wrinkled face as she beamed at them.

“Gran, this is my friend Rosa,” Julie said, gently extricating herself from her grandmother’s fierce hug. “Rosa, Grandma Sophie.”

“Come on in,” her grandmother said. “I’ll make some coffee.”

They had barely sat down with dainty porcelain mugs of coffee when Julie’s phone rang.

“I’ll step outside for a moment,” she said.

“That fiancé of hers, I’ll bet,” muttered Sophie as the door closed. “I can’t stand him.”

Rosa choked on her coffee.

“Are you alright, dear? Can I get you a glass of water? I am afraid I am getting more direct in my old age.”

“It’s fine,” said Rosa, composing herself. “I put my foot in my mouth earlier for the same reason.”

“I knew you were an intelligent young lady,” Sophie said approvingly. “My granddaughter is too, but she thinks she’s in love, and there’s no reasoning with people in that state. I remember it well, ancient though I may be.”

Julie returned, frowning and distracted. Sophie’s eyes narrowed. Rosa broke the awkward silence.

“I hope you don’t mind, but Julie let me look at your photo album. You were hot stuff.”

Sophie laughed.

“I was, though I say it myself.”

“Was Granddad your prom date in this picture?”.

“Oh, no,” Sophie said. “That was Will Jenkins, otherwise known as Hot Rod. I got tired of playing second fiddle to that car of his. He’d have paid more attention to me if I had four wheels and an engine. Jealous too. Tried controlling where I went and what I did.”

“Are you trying to make a point, Gran?” Julie said, bursting into tears. “I know you don’t like Mark.”

“Correction. I don't like the way he treats you,” said Sophie, passing her a box of tissues. “In my day we were programmed to get a man at all costs. Frilly aprons and white picket fences and all that. My friends thought I was crazy to break up with the most popular, coolest guy in the class. But I got a job in the bank and went to college at night where I met your grandfather. He didn’t know the first thing about cars, and he wasn’t cool at all, but he wasn’t threatened by an intelligent woman. How do you think I learned to make money? He encouraged me to get into finance. I was devastated when he was killed in Vietnam but thanks to him, I could take care of myself and your mom. She was only three.”

“How awful,” said Rosa.

Sophie shrugged.

“I had a child to raise. Couldn’t sit around feeling sorry for myself. Anyway, my point is that a man is not a plan. If he doesn’t treat you right, kick him to the curb. Now, let’s see. What else did you bring? Oh, that old fox stole. Looks kind of pitiful now. It can go to the thrift store.”

“Could Rosa have it?” Julie said, sniffling. “She likes vintage clothes.”

“Of course,” said Sophie. “My goodness, my old recipe book. You can have that, Julie.”

She yawned.

“You’ll have to excuse me, ladies. I’m not as high energy as I used to be. There’s a nice restaurant here. Come for dinner on Saturday and then we’ll go through the album together. I’ll bore you with stories about the old days, and we can have something stronger than coffee to drink.”

Julie and Rosa bid their farewells and headed back to the car.

“Your gran’s a hoot,” said Rosa. “I have a feeling there are a lot more stories in that photo album.”

Before Julie could respond, her phone rang. She glanced down at it and tapped the screen decisively before sticking it back in her pocket. Rosa looked at her enquiringly.

“Mark,” Julie said. “Blocked.”