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Tommy sat quietly on the front porch steps, a
far away look in his eyes. A newspaper, opened to the obituary section was crumpled
in his hands.
Tommy's next door neighbor, Amanda Grey skidded her bike to
a stop on the sidewalk in front of Tommy's house.
"Hey Tommy", she called to him. "C'mon, hurry up, you're going
to be late for baseball practice."
Tommy just sat there, his mind on other things.
"Tommy?", Amanda called again. "Tommy?"
There was no reply.
Frowning slightly, Amanda wheeled her bike in reverse and
then took off back to her own home. She slammed on the brakes and jumped off,
dumping her treasured bike unceremoniously on its side on the grass. She went
pounding up the steps.
"Grandma", she shouted. "Where are you?".
"I'm in the den, Amanda", a vaguely distorted voice called
back.
Amanda jogged down the hall and into the den. Her grandmother
was on her knees with a mouth full of straight pins, a pencil behind her ear,
and a tape measure around her neck, preparing to hem a pair of drapes.
"Grandma, I think there might be something the matter with
Tommy next door", she said worriedly. Her grandmother pulled the pins from her
mouth and jabbed them into a nearby pincussion as she quickly rose to her feet.
"What's wrong?", she asked Amanda. "Is he hurt?, Is he bleeding?
Amanda shook her head. "He's not bleeding or anything, Grandma.
But something's the matter. He's just sitting there and he won't talk to me".
Amanda's Grandma shook her head. "I was afraid of this", she
said to herself. She extracted the pencil from her hair and with a flick, pulled
the tape measure from around her neck, laying them both on the big mahogany
desk next to her. "Where is he?", she asked.
"On his front porch", replied Amanda. "Just sitting there,
staring off into space".
"Let's go", said her Grandmother, and with Amanda hurrying
behind her, the two of them went out the back screen door, down the steps, and
through the big sunny garden. They walked quickly towards the vine covered wrought-iron
gate in the weathered old stone wall that separated the two properties.
Amanda and her Grandma walked around the yard towards the
front of Tommy's house until they were able to see Tommy still sitting quietly,
exactly as he had been when Amanda was there earlier. They paused, just out
of his sight. "See?", whispered Amanda. Her Grandma paused for a moment, assessing
the situation, and then turned to Amanda. "Amanda, honey", she said quietly,
"Why don't you go on to baseball practice. I'll see to Tommy, and then you and
I will talk later, OK?"
Amanda was about to protest when she looked into her Grandma's
eyes and saw something she couldn't quite place. "Uh...OK, Grandma", she said,
then she turned and scooted off across the yard, rushing so that she wouldn't
arrive too late to play.
Amanda's Grandma walked quietly up to Tommy and sat down on
the steps next to him. They shared a companionable silence for a few minutes
before she spoke. "I saw the paper this morning", she said quietly, nodding
towards the crumpled section in Tommy's hands. "That hurt, didn't it?", she
asked.
Tommy nodded, and his lower lip trembled ever so slightly.
"My great grandfather was pretty famous", he said evenly.
"They gave him a very nice write-up. Only somebody accidentally gave the paper
the wrong information", he said. "There weren't five grandchildren and eight
great grandchildren". Timothy's mouth compressed into a determined line. "My
Dad is grandchild number six and I'm the ninth great grandchild", he said firmly.
Amanda's Grandma sighed. "You're exactly right", she said.
"So how come we're not good enough to be counted as
family?", Tommy asked bitterly. "I know who gave them that information. It was
my great grandmother. How could she DO such a mean thing? Do you have any idea
how awful this article is going to make my Dad feel when he sees it?", he demanded.
"My Dad never did a single solitary thing to hurt anybody. All he ever did was
get born. Heck, all I ever did was get born too. Neither of us ever did anything
to hurt HER!. Why does she want to hurt US?". Tommy's eyes were filled with
pain and incomprehension.
"You know, I got to meet them a couple of times", he continued.
"And my great grandfather was really nice. I liked him. But afterwards, my great
grandmother sat down and wrote this awful letter to my Dad and she said so many
mean things in it that even though he was a grown-up, it made my Dad cry".
Tommy balled up his fist and slammed it into his knee. "I hate
her!, I hate that she hurt my Dad. I hate that she made him cry. I hate that
she thinks we're not even worth counting as family in the very last thing
ever written about my great grandfather."
Tommy put his head in his hands. "It was such a MEAN thing
to do", he sobbed. "It's not fair. My Dad's worth something. I'm
worth something!".
Amanda's Grandma gathered the wounded boy into her arms and
sighed again, shaking her head over the petty, hateful act that made this young
boy cry, and which would wound yet another later on today.
She reached into her pocket for a tissue and pressed it into
Tommy's hands. He hiccuped, then wiped his eyes and blew his nose as he nestled
into Amanda's Grandma's comforting shoulder. She rocked him gently, stroking
his hair.
"You are worth something Tommy", she said, "You're
worth a lot. And don't you ever forget it".
"Honey, your Dad had a tough time of it when he was a kid,
because his parents split up when he was still a tiny baby. He was all grown
up by the time his own father finally managed to find him again. But your Dad's
father, your Grandpa, sure was glad to find him again. And finding you too,
turned out to be an extra special treat. You do know that your Grandpa loves,
you, right?", she asked.
Tommy nodded. "Yeah, but he's probably the only one in his
whole family who does", he said sadly.
"But isn't he the only one that really matters Tommy?",
she asked.
Tommy accepted a second tissue and sat up. He looked uncertain.
"So what does your Grandpa have to say about these
things?", she asked.
"Well", he said. "One time when he flew up to visit us, he
took my Dad and me over to spend the afternoon with my great grandfather".
"Umm-hmmmm", Amanda's Grandma nodded. "And what happened with
your great-grandmother?"
Timothy giggled through his tears. "Boy, I'll tell you, she
was some kind of cranky with Grandpa for just springing Dad and me on her".
Amanda's Grandma had a twinkle in her eye. "And what did your
Grandpa say to her?", she asked.
Tommy laughed. "He told her phhbbbbbbttttt!!!, and said
he was going to make sure we got to visit my great grandfather whether she liked
it or not."
Amanda's Grandma burst out laughing. "Well", she said. "Good
for him!. It looks like your Grandpa was willing to go to battle with the dragon
for his son and grandson, wasn't he?"
"Yeah", said Tommy. "He really was, wasn't he?".
"Tommy, your Grandpa did that so you'd at least have the opportunity
to meet and remember your great-grandfather", she said. "You've inherited his
brilliant mind, you know. And I know for a fact that your great grandfather
deeply appreciated the opportunity to meet and know you too".
"My great grandmother wasn't very glad about it", he said
glumly. "I guess that's why she did that mean thing with the newspaper today".
"Your Grandpa didn't know about that, Tommy", she said softly.
"He'd have tried to stop it had he known".
Amanda's Grandma leaned forward, elbows on her knees, and
rested her chin in her hands. She looked off into the distance, as if remembering
something a long time ago.
"I'll let you in on a secret, Tommy", she said. "When my
grandfather died, nobody called to let me know. I had to read about it in the
newspaper, because my grandmother, like your great grandmother, was somebody
who decided spite was more important than love. The story in the paper said
there were two grandchildren". She turned and faced Tommy. "But my grandmother
knew, and I knew, that I was number three".
Tommy and Amanda's Grandmother's eyes met.
"But.... but you're worth something", he said.
"And so are you, Tommy, she replied, with a smile.
Tommy smiled back. "Yeah, I am", he said. "I'm worth
something".
She reached over and wiped a tear from the corner of his eye,
then gave him a playful tap on the chin.
"Whaddya say, sport", she said.
"C'mon. Let's go play ball".
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