The Familiar Stranger
“I don’t know Martin, this whole thing feels weird. I feel like we are cheating on Mamaw and Papaw,” I said.
“How can you say something like that? They said they wanted us to come. You make my head hurt sometimes. Now be quiet while I read this letter!”
I sighed one of those whatever-you-say-big-brother signs and looked around the Metro Station. We have just arrived off the bus from Little Washington, Pennsylvania. Martin and I have lived there our entire lives with our mother, Mamaw and Papaw. This bus station is huge and it makes me feel uneasy. I’m not used to being around so many strangers because our town is small and everyone knows Papaw. I wish Martin would hurry up and figure out what we need to do next. He has read that letter at least a hundred times. He should have it memorized by now!
“Come on, Martin! What do we need to do now?”
“Hold on! I’m looking for the address. OK, here it is. Now we need to find a taxicab and then we will be on our way.”
As we grabbed our bags and headed toward the taxi sign hanging from the far corner of the building, I noticed that Martin’s hand was shaking just the slightest bit. Maybe he was just as nervous as I am about meeting our “real” grandmother. We got into the taxi and gave the driver the address. All I could do was stare out the window and try not to cry. Martin hates it when I cry. He says I’m too big to be such a baby.
I find myself crying a lot since our mother died a year ago. I cry over the slightest thing and I cry for all the things that mom is going to miss in my life. You know, there is quite a bit of information that a twelve-year-old girl needs from her mother! I really wish she were still here, especially now.
“Martin, what do you think she will be like? What if she doesn’t like us?”
“Stop being stupid. Of course she will like us; she has to, she’s our grandmother!”
As I watch the city of Charleston pass before my eyes, the people start to blur into one big mass. My mind drifts back to the conversation my mother had with Martin and me toward the end of her illness. She revealed to us that her life was not as it seemed. She explained that Mamaw and Papaw were not our real grandparents. Apparently, when she was younger she used to do bad things and hang out with bad people. Her parents had tried to help her by sending her to therapists and doctors, but she would not listen to them. Her parents ended up sending her to a girls’ home in the northern part of the state, which is where she met Mamaw and Papaw, who were counselors at the home.
“Through time and ‘tough love’, Mamaw and Papaw were able to help turn me around,” mom proclaimed. But she felt that she could never go back to her parents because of the horrible things she put them through; she didn’t believe they would forgive her. Facing death caused mom to reconsider her choices, so she decided to contact her mother. “It is important for you to live your lives without any deceit or barriers, so I want you to meet the rest of your family in West Virginia,” mom told us. Now she knew it was wrong of her to keep us from knowing our “real” grandmother and that Mamaw and Papaw had always thought so.
Mom was too sick to travel and our grandmother was too frail to come see us. After mom died, Martin continued to correspond with our newfound grandmother. It was decided that we would come for a visit during spring break. I was never asked if I wanted to go, just expected to comply.
“I like my life just fine. I don’t need another grandparent!” I exclaimed to Mamaw when the plans were being made. Mamaw just said, “Relax and let God take control. There is always room for one more person to love you and to be loved by you.”
The taxi is turning into the drive of a little white house. I close my eyes and take a deep breath. As we get out of the car, a gray-haired lady comes to the door. She has a huge smile on her face and looks as if she is about to bust with joy. She looks just like my mother! Martin took my hand as we walked toward the house. I gave his hand a squeeze and thought, “OK, mom, maybe things will be okay after all.”
