Ghost Granny

For you, Michael. May all your dreams, wishes
and desires come true.

Cover by
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Have you ever gone to an amusement park and
noticed all the smiling faces waiting there to make your day the
best you have ever had? Ever wished you could pitch a tent and stay
in what seems like Happy- Ville U.S.A.? If you wonder why everyone
is so much more content and well-adjusted than you are, well, my
friend, to you I say, take a seat.

Sit down on that bench and take a good long
look. Did you see it? Did you notice the smirk on the man’s face as
the heavy set woman purchases an ice cream sundae? The quick look
of sadness that passed between husband and wife as the pair of
lovebirds walked by holding their children’s hands? The envy in the
man’s eyes as the Cadillac parked next to his old junky vehicle? We
hide it well, but for how long?

That was my world – and then we took a
walk-about. You never know what you find will if you just take the
next exit. Happy-Ville just might be a possibility, if you just
take the road less traveled.

“Mommy, Brian said that I am between a rock
and a hard place. What should I do about that?” Four year old Cody
asked his mom.

Catherine looked at her son and wished she
could come up with a true answer for his dilemma, whatever that may
be today. She fanned her hand out over the grass where she and her
son were sitting in front of their trailer. Her hand brushed over a
pebble and she picked it up and handed it to him. “You trade the
rock!” Cody started to laugh and soon he had Catherine laughing as
well.
I wish I could solve all of his troubles as
easily.

Catherine and Cody shared a sandwich and
were enjoying being outside until the first raindrop fell. “Momma,
the angels are telling me it’s time to take a bath!” “Well then, we
had better get to it.” Catherine said, gathering the remains of
their picnic lunch.

As his mom was washing Cody’s hair he said
“When are we going to move into the place with the real bathtub
mom?”

“Next weekend, Cody. We will finally have a
bigger place to lay our heads.” Catherine told him.

“That is a good thing, mom, because my head
feels like it’s been growing a lot lately.”

Catherine had a new job as a secretary for
Mr. Dobbs at the real estate office. She had saved every penny she
could and now she and Cody would be able to move out of her uncle’s
trailer and into a one bedroom apartment, nearer to her job. Uncle
John had let her and Cody live there rent free since they were his
only living relatives. It was old and shabby, but the price was
right and even before this new job, Catherine had been able to save
some money from her sales associate job at the hardware store.

An added bonus was Mrs. Roans who had the
trailer next to theirs. She watched Cody while Catherine was at
work in exchange for some light housekeeping and laundry. She
promised Catherine that she would come to their new apartment and
watch Cody while Catherine was at her new job as well. Cody was
happy with that arrangement because he loved Mrs. Roans, but also
because he thought he was there to take care of Mrs. Roans. He
would change the TV channel for her and feed her cat and Mrs. Roans
always made him red jello. It was an agreement that made everyone
happy and feeling useful.

On the day of their move Cody had gotten up
very early and made double sure that all of his possessions were
packed. The furniture in the old trailer was not worth transporting
to the new apartment and Catherine was able to pick up some second
hand furniture pieces at the Salvation Army. They had their beds,
table and chairs and one couch. They shared the dresser that
Catherine’s co-worker at the hardware store had given to her and,
partially due to the lack of furnishings, Cody thought their
apartment was king-sized.

“Do you like our new home, Cody?” Catherine
asked, plugging in the TV set. “I sure do, mom! We traded in the
rock!” Cody said, using the catch phrase he had begun to use to as
a way of saying they had found a solution to whatever was troubling
them. “Yes we did, son, yes we did.” Catherine smiled, hugging
him.

Catherine did well at the real estate office
and Mr. Dobbs had given her extra duties and responsibilities which
Catherine was happy to get and it wasn’t long before Catherine was
able to furnish their apartment with a couple of pieces of newer
furniture. Mrs. Roans continued to watch Cody until he started
school. After that, since the hours were much less, Mrs. Roans
found another child to baby-sit for and Catherine utilized the
Latch Key Program at Cody’s school. With the money she was saving
by not having to pay Mrs. Roans, Catherine was able to add to their
savings account.

Cody grew tall and strong and when he was
ten years old his mom picked him up from school on a Friday and as
soon as they got home she said “Cody – walk- about ten!” Cody
laughed, he was always up for a new catch phrase to share with his
mom. He made a big show of walking back and forth in front of his
mother with a big grin on his face. “Am I doing it right, mom?”

“A walk-about is another way of saying the
word ‘vacation’. I believe people in Australia use that phrase when
they are going somewhere.”

“A vacation? “Cody said, his eyes wide. “We
haven’t ever gone on a vacation! What does the ten mean?” “It means
we are leaving in ten minutes!” Catherine told him. “Your clean
clothes are on your bed, put them into your suitcase and we are
outta here!” “Yea!” Cody said, “You are the best mom, ever!”

Catherine was as happy as her son was. To
finally be giving him something special to remember meant a lot to
her. Cody was a good kid, very polite and loving. She had wished
she could give him a puppy, but the apartments allowed no pets and
with them gone so much of the day at work and school, it wouldn’t
be right to lock a puppy or kitten in the apartment all alone so
many hours every day.

Cody grabbed a big garbage bag and started
throwing all of his clothes and his mother’s clothes into it. He
had misunderstood his mom and thought she had told him that they
were going to Australia on vacation. Cody didn’t know where that
was, but he knew it was far away, so he wanted them to be
prepared.

Catherine and Cody set off on their
walk-about. Cody didn’t ask how long it would take to go where they
were going. He was happy and enjoyed singing with his mom to the
radio. They drove for a little over an hour and a half before the
weather changed. The skies got very dark and the rain started to
come down in sheets. It wasn’t long before they heard booms of
thunder and saw long lightening streaks in the sky. Catherine’s car
was running O.K., but it was twelve years old and the wiper blades
had never been changed as far as she remembered. When a big truck
passed them and splashed a large amount of water right onto their
front windshield, Cody screamed.

Catherine was unfamiliar with this area, but
she did not want to risk driving any further with her and Cody
being alone. She pulled off onto the next exit and drove for about
five miles before she saw signs of a little town. Saying a prayer
of thanks, Catherine pulled into a big hotel to spend the night.
It is only for one night, we can’t continue driving in this
mess. I have my credit card with me.

“How would you like to go swimming, Cody?”
Catherine asked.

“In this rain? Besides, it is too cold to go
swimming, mom, it’s October.”

“This hotel has a swimming pool inside, so
it won’t be too cold.” Catherine said. Cody had a big smile on his
face and it made Catherine’s heart swell. They checked into their
room. Catherine winced at the amount per night the hotel charged,
but was glad to see that breakfast was included in the price. They
changed into their swimsuits and went down to the pool. Cody and
his mom tossed a yellow beach ball back and forth to each other
until some other children came and wanted to play. Catherine told
Cody to keep playing and having fun. She sat on the edge of the
pool and had her legs dangling into the water. Cody played with the
other children, a big smile never leaving his face.

After a couple of hours Catherine asked Cody
if he was hungry. “I sure am mom, what did we bring?” “It is a
surprise, let’s go back to the room and change.” They walked back
to their room and took turns taking quick showers and when they
were dressed, Cody looked around the room. “Want me to get the
picnic basket from the car, mom? It stopped raining.” Cody said,
looking out their window.

“I didn’t bring the picnic basket with us,
Cody.”

“That’s O.K. mom.” Cody said. “I am too
tired to eat anyway. That water ball was hard work!” Catherine
smiled at her son and realized that she and Cody had really never
gone to a restaurant to eat a meal, unless you count the
drive-through at McDonalds or Wendy’s. When they would go out, she
would pack sandwiches and fruit in their picnic basket. No wonder
Cody was trying to put on a brave face, he was hungry, but thought
his mother accidently left their food behind.

“Come with me, little man.” Catherine
laughed. The weather outside had cleared up remarkably well for the
short time they had been in the town. They drove to a family
restaurant a few blocks down and went in. Cody asked his mother
“Mom, are we rich now?” “We are always rich, because we have each
other. What would you like to eat? You can pick out anything you
want.” After great deliberation Cody finally decided on fish and
chips and a big piece of chocolate cake for desert.

Catherine felt a cold puff of air rush past
her and she rubbed her arms. “You can tell I am not used to a lot
of air conditioning. I wonder why they would have it on in October.
Are you cold, Cody?” Cody shook his head no, too busy getting the
last bit of chocolate icing into his mouth and washing it down with
his milk.

Catherine noticed a very odd woman, looking
at her and smiling. The lady looked to be in her seventies and had
a long blue dress on and gray hair tied up to the top of her head
in a bun. She was short and plump, but what stood out was the
woman’s big backside. It was almost comically oversized for a woman
her size and age.

Catherine returned the smile and then looked
at her son. “Have you had enough to eat and drink, Cody, or are you
still hungry?”

‘I am stuffed!” He said. When Catherine
looked back up, the lady was gone.

Catherine asked their server for their bill
and the server smiled and said “All taken care of.” Catherine
looked at her and tried to explain. “No, we haven’t received our
bill yet, how much do we owe you?” Their waitress said “I am quite
sure the bill has already been taken care of, but let me check.”
She walked to the cash register and Catherine and Cody followed
behind her.

“Yes, see, here it is – Table ten.” The
server showed Catherine where everything they had ordered was
written down, the cost and that it was already paid. “But I haven’t
paid the bill, there is a mistake.” The young server insisted that
the bill was already paid, no, she did not ring it up herself, but
that she could not take double payment for a meal. Catherine
started to take out two dollars while saying “Let me at least give
you the tip.” “Already taken care of, see?” She showed Catherine
the receipt which had a much bigger tip on it than Catherine was
prepared to offer. Catherine told her that she would check with the
restaurant tomorrow after they have had time to close out their
receipts for the night, just to make sure, and felt rather guilty
walking out to their car.

Cody and Catherine put their pajamas on and
then rented a children’s movie from the hotel’s cable system. They
did not have cable in their apartment. It seemed like an
extravagant expense. They liked to work puzzles and to read and
play card and board games. It gave them time to reconnect after
their day.