“Okay, Daddy. We’ll have ourselves a party.” Then to his mother, he asks, “Would you like a lemonade, Mama?”
“I don’t care,” she tells him. “Whatever you have is fine.”
Lexi and Beau join us for hors d'oeuvres in the living room and Gran seems genuinely delighted to talk to them. Beau tells her, “Gran, Lexi bought our old family house. I can’t wait for you to see it at Emmie’s wedding.”
“I’m not sure which house you’re talking about, but that sounds nice,” she tells him.
Zach and Faye come for dinner after Beau and Lexi leave. The idea is not to overwhelm their grandmother with too many visitors at once.
Faye’s highchair is between her mother’s and Gran’s. The baby picks up her food with her hands and takes small bites while contemplating the old lady next to her with great interest. When she takes a bite of mashed potatoes, she puckers up her lips and waits a moment before blowing the contents out onto the table.
Emmie hurries to clean up the mess while Gran tells her, “Honey, that’s called a motorboat. And while I applaud your technique, you really need to get a little more oomph behind your execution. Here, let me show you.” Gran takes a bite off her own plate, swishes it around her mouth for a bit before filling her cheeks with air and blowing the whole thing over Lee’s beautifully set table.
Everyone is in shock except for the baby. Faye bursts out in uncontrollable giggles and starts clapping her hands before yelling, “Again!”
Gran accommodates her. I look over at Lee to see how she’s reacting to the mess, only to find her taking her own bite and joining in. Before you know it, the whole table is engaged in this endeavor like the potatoes were only there for blowing and not for eating.
When Amelia, Huck, and Maggie show up, their looks of confusion say it all. “Was there an accident?” Amelia wants to know.
Lee, who’s covered in food, tells her, “No, ma’am. We were just having ourselves a little fun.”
Emmie stands up and tells her grandmother, “We’ll scoot out of the way now, but I’ll be by to see you at the home tomorrow. Okay, Gran?”
“Whatever you say, honey.” Gran still doesn’t seem to know who she is, but she appears to be having a good time nonetheless.
Amelia moves the highchair out of the way while Lee cleans up and brings out the dessert. “I made a hummingbird cake,” she announces.
“I hope it’s my recipe and not the one you got out of that magazine,” Gran says.
“It’s yours,” Lee tells her, as she realizes her mother-in-law might be making an appearance as herself. She tells Jedd, “Go call Jesse and Gracie and get them over here now. Then call Davis.”
Shoot, my Davis-free time with his family seems to be at an end. I shouldn’t complain though. I had a nice run, and he really should have the chance to spend time with his grandmother.
Amelia hands her grandmother a small box, “I made this for you, Gran.”
“What is it?”
“I beaded you a necklace,” Amelia tells her.
Gran opens the box and inside is a beautiful starburst pendant made with seed beads in purples and greens. “Why, it’s extraordinary, honey. Thank you.”
Amelia seems pleased by her grandmother’s reaction. “It reminds me of one that you used to wear when I was little.”
“I don’t remember it,” her grandmother tells her, “but if it was anything like this one, I’m sure I loved it.”
Jesse and Gracie show up within minutes of being called. Davis does not. Gran enjoys her cake so much; she asks for a second piece. While she doesn’t call anyone by their names, or particularly act like she knows them, she still engages in conversation.
She tells Jesse, “John says to tell you that you need to ask your lady to marry you already. He says it’s getting unseemly.”
Gracie’s eyes bug out in embarrassment. She asks, “Is John here now?”
“He is,” Gran says. “He’s been here the whole time.”
Jesse takes the opportunity to drop to his knee in front of Gracie. “My daddy says that you have to quit saying no and agree to marry me already.”
Gracie’s face turns bright red as she stammers, “Stand up, Jesse. For heaven’s sake this isn’t the time or the place.”
“My daddy says it’s both the time and the place,” he tells her. “What do you say, Gracie Frothingham? Will you be my wife and make an honest man out of me?”
“You better do it,