Perfect To Me
Lay Your Weary Head To Rest
I woke up to someone’s phone blaring like crazy for the third time in a row, I looked beside me at Abby and saw she was still asleep then looked at my bedside table and saw her phone lighting up with her grandmum’s name flashing on the screen. I quickly picked the phone up seeing as it was 4 in the morning and brought the phone to my ear.
“Hello? Abby’s phone this is Harry,” I said with sleep evident in my voice.
“Harry? Can you wake Abby up it’s an emergency,” Her gran’s voice rang through the telly and not asking any questions I did what I was told.
“Abby sweetheart, wake up. It’s your grandmum, she says its an emergency,” I said while I shook Abby awake.
“Wha?” Abby said as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at my clock. “Harry it’s four in the morning!” She yelled and I gave her the phone.
“Hello?” She said into the phone, confused. “Gran slow down! What happened?”
She sat there silent for a few minutes before she spoke again, her voice shaking.
“I’ll be on the next flight home okay? Gran I need you to stay calm, I love you and I’ll see you later on today,” Abby said and hung up the phone. She broke down crying and immediately got out of my bed and pulled her clothing on without telling me a word.
“Love, what happened?” I hesitantly asked her. She turned to face me as she pulled her leggings on, and tears were streaming down her face.
“My gramps had a stroke.” That’s all she said and that was all she needed to say, I quickly hopped out of my bed and brought the brunette into my arms.
“I’ll drive you to the airport,” I said into her hair as she sobbed into my shoulder. “Everything will be okay, Abs.”
I held her for another minute before letting her go and getting dressed myself, in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Abby gathered her things and went outside and climbed into her car while I climbed into mine to follow her to her flat. We arrived to her flat and she immediately took the stairs to her floor instead of the lift and I was hot on her heels. She threw her door open and ran to her bedroom where she pulled a suitcase out and began throwing articles of clothing into it that she would need before running into her bathroom and grabbing her cosmetics. She started yelling and screaming about how she couldn’t find things and she had tears flowing from her eyes. I stopped her in her tracks and enveloped her in a hug.
“Abby, just take a breath,” I told her as I held her head against my chest and she sobbed.
“H-h-harry, I can’t lose him,” she said in between sobs and I held her closer.
“You’re not going to, but you need to relax. Your frazzled and going mad, just relax you are going to get there,” I said as I pulled her away and kept her at arm’s length and started wiping away her tears. “Can you do that for me?” I asked her and she sadly nodded her head. She continued packing at a much more relaxed pace as I made her coffee for her, French vanilla brew, one sugar and lots of French vanilla cream. I brought it to her as she changed into more comfortable clothing and smiled when I saw she was wearing my sweatpants and one of my old Jack Wills hoodie’s.
“Shit!” She yelled and I gave her a look of confusion. “What am I going to do about Sage? I can’t board her at this hour, I am not taking her with me, and in order to board her she needs her boardetella shot!” She exclaimed as her hands flew into her hair and started pulling at it in frustration. I pulled her hands away from her hair and kept them in mine.
“Don’t worry about Sage, I’ll take care of that for you. Let’s just get you to the airport,” I told her and she nodded her head. I grabbed her suitcase and she grabbed her laptop bag and carry-on bag as we walked out of her flat. She locked the door then handed me the key to her flat.
“Here, you’ll need it,” she said as we made our way to the lift. We got to my car and we threw her bags in the backseat and gathered in the car and drove over to the airport. I went inside with her, carrying her bags and she bought the next ticket out of here.
“My flight leaves in an hour and a half, I better get going,” she said as we walked over to check her bag in.
“That’ll be 10 pounds,” the man behind the counter said as he strapped her luggage tag onto her bag. Abby went to pull her wallet out but I had already handed the man the money.
“Harry, that isn’t necessary,” Abby said to me.
“Don’t worry about it love, you’ve just spent enough on a ticket,” I told her as the man handed me my change. I walked her over to the security line and she turned to face me.
“I’ll email you everything you need to know for Sage, and I’ll let you know when I land,” Abby said as I pulled her in for a hug.
“Just be safe, and let me know how everything goes,” I said as I inhaled her mint scented hair.
“I will,” she mumbled before pulling away and pressing her lips to mine. “I’ll miss you,” she mumbled into the kiss and I smiled.
“I’ll miss you too.”
We pulled apart and hugged one more time before she walked to stand in queue for security, I waited until she went through before leaving.
After an eight hour flight and chewing through half a pack of gum I finally landed Cincinnati, once the flight attendant gave us permission to use our cell phones I pulled mine out and sent Harry a text saying I landed and that I’d give him a call later. I walked off the plane and pushed my way through the crowds as I made my way to baggage claim. I hopped into a cab and told them the name of the hospital, after a 30 minute car ride we pulled up outside, I handed the driver the money and climbed out with my bags in tow and went to see my grandfather.
“How can I help you?” The nurse at the front desk of the hospital asked.
“What room is Benjamin Grimes in?” I asked.
“Room 412, it’s on the fourth floor,” the lady kindly said and I took off to find the elevator. Once the elevator reached the fourth floor I walked out and searched for my gramps room, once I found it I took a deep breath before pushing the door open, preparing me for what lies in front of me. Once I opened the door I opened my eyes to see my grandfather sitting so lifeless in the hospital bed with tubes down his throat and all these wires attached to him. The steady beat coming from the machine beside him let me know he was alive. I spotted my Gran sitting in the chair next to his bed holding his hand while she slept, I quietly set my bags down and walked over to my Gran, I gently rubbed her back until she stirred awake.
“Hey Gran,” I whispered as she opened her eyes.
“Jet, my baby,” she said as she stood up and brought me into a warm hug. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her back, and we just held each other for a few moments, each of us letting a few tears fall. “I’ve missed you darling,” Gran said into my hair and I couldn’t help but let a few more tears out.
“How’s he doing?” I asked as I pulled away from the hug and dragged a chair over by hers.
“The doctor said they won’t know for a few more hours,” Gran sadly said and I took her hand in mine and took my Gramps hand in my free one.
“How long have you been here?” I asked my Gran as she yawned.
“When I called you I had been here for about 2 hours, so 7 hours,” my Gran told me as she let another yawn out.
“Gran, go home and get some rest, I’ll stay here,” I told her as I gave her hand a little squeeze.
“I can’t do that.”
“Gran, you know if anything happens I’ll call you right away, you need some rest. Being up and sleeping in a chair isn’t good for you,” I told her and she let out a sigh of frustration.
“I hate it when you get all parental over me,” my Gran said as she stood up and collected her purse and my bags. “Just give me a call if even the littlest thing happens,” she said as she kissed the top of my head. As she walked out of the room she shut the door and that’s when all my tears started to escape. Here I sat in Cincinnati at a hospital staring at my lifeless grandfather who has been like a father to me since I was born. I couldn’t lose him, no way, he’s the one that gave me the nickname Jet, always picked me up when I was down and was my biggest supporter my entire life. Losing him would just make my world come crashing down. He never missed one of my birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday while I’ve been alive. He’s the reason I live life so freely, he always told me to do what makes me happy, live with no regrets and never stop when the going gets rough. The outlook I have on life was inspired by him, I treasure everything about myself because he once told me your worst enemy is yourself. My grandfather is the reason I have such an old soul for such a young girl, growing up he always played a bunch of oldies especially The Beatles, we would sing and dance to all the songs until my gran made us stop and come eat dinner. I was my grandpa’s best friend and he was mine, hell he still is. He was the first one that assured me I wasn’t making a mistake by dropping out of college if it meant I would go after what really made me happy. Remembering all these memories I had with him since I was young made the tears flow faster as I thought of these memories possibly ending. I walked over to my purse and pulled my phone, I dialed a familiar number and the person on the other end picked up after two rings.
“Abby?” Harry breathed into the phone.
“Harry?” I sobbed into the phone. I felt guilty for calling him while I was like this but I just needed someone to talk to.
“Love, what’s the matter?”
“He’s so lifeless, and we won’t know anything for a few more hours, I’m just scared,” I honestly told him.
“He had a stroke babe, of course he isn’t going to be 100% but he’s going to be okay. You just need to be there for him, talk to him, let him know your there and you aren’t going anywhere. How’s your Gran holding up?” Harry asked me, trying to calm me down.
“I’m not sure, she looked like she’d been crying when I arrived. I sent her home to get some rest,” I told him as I continued to cry.
“You’re still crying,” Harry said.
“I can’t help it Har, my best friend is lying in a hospital bed right now,” I sobbed into the phone.
“Go talk to him,” He told me and I shook my head even though he couldn’t see it.
“He isn’t awake.”
“So? Still talk to him, I read somewhere that when someone’s in a coma it helps to talk to them. Maybe it is the same way for when someone has a stroke?” Harry offered and I contemplated it for a minute.
“I don’t know what to say,” I mumbled and I heard him laugh on the other end of the phone.
“Okay, tell you what, go sit by him, hold his hand and tell me stories about him,” Harry said and I moved over to the chair I left to call Harry and grabbed my gramps hand.
“Okay are you ready?” I asked Harry as I got comfortable in the chair.
“Yes, now go.”
I had just started my senior year as sixteen year old, taking extra classes so I could graduate a year early. My parents were pressuring me to pursue a career in law, so you could imagine that I applied to NYU, Harvard, Stanford and Yale some of the top law schools in the country. Not only did I apply to study law I applied to study art, something I’ve always been passionate about, mainly through photos I would capture feelings. My gramps convinced me to go apply to other colleges for art and that I shouldn’t study law if it wasn’t what I wanted to do. He knew how my parents were and that they have had my life mapped out for me since before I was even conceived. I would attend the best private schools in San Diego, I would go to college to become a lawyer, I would marry a fellow law student and I would be one of the best lawyers in America, it was the American dream as one might say. It wasn’t my dream and my grandpa knew that, he spent every summer vacation with me running around Ohio and surrounding states helping me capture the best photos. Anyways my parents made me apply for early decision to Stanford’s law program, which meant if I was accepted I had to attend, I kept the information from my grandparents because I knew it would upset them, but on the more private side my parents had already warned me that they wouldn’t pay for my education if I didn’t go to school to be a lawyer. November rolled around and I was starting to receive all my acceptance letters to every single college I applied to, then arrived the thick envelope from Stanford and inside it told me I had been accepted into the law program. That was that, in August I would pack up and go to school to be a boring old lawyer. When I told my gramps he was LIVID that I did early decision, he did not approve of me becoming a lawyer or doing anything serious because growing up I was always a fun loving kid who didn’t take anything serious. He was so mad at me he hung up the phone and ignored me for a whole month, I would call him every day trying to get him to speak with me but he wasn’t budging. It took me calling him and leaving a message of me hysterically crying and apologizing for not telling him that my parents won’t pay for my college unless I become a lawyer for him to forgive me. He called me back saying he wasn’t mad at me he was mad at my parents for doing such a thing and that he raised his son better than that. That’s when he told me a piece of advice that I still live by today, he told me “Don’t let anything hold you back from your happiness.” This meant if you aren’t happy then you need to get out and never turn back to what made you so unhappy in the first place. When August rolled around he was still upset that I was going to Stanford for law but he coped with it, but when I called him three weeks later complaining about how unhappy I was and that I was going to the admissions office the next day to pick up my drop out forms I never heard him scream so loud before, he was so happy for me that he hung up, packed his bags and drove him and my gran out to come pick me up because he knew my parents would disown me. He’s always been a big supporter of my future and has always been looking out for my happiness since the day I was born.
“He ignored you for a whole month?” Harry asked as I finished up my story.
“Yeah, but my gran told me every single day at least 10 times a day he would pick up the phone and dial my number then hang up, or that he’d type up an email to send me but never send it, and that he would write me letters that never got sent. He wanted to talk to me but he claimed he was ‘punishing’ me for not doing what made me happy,” I told him as I laughed and looked at my gramps lying in the hospital bed.
“Tell me a good memory about him, one where you two didn’t fight,” Harry asked and I tried to think of a time that stuck out the most.
“Every second spent with him is a good memory,” I told Harry with a smile on my face. “BUT, growing up whenever I would be staying with my grandparents while on break from school he and I would dance to music all evening long until my gran announced dinner was ready. It didn’t matter what kind of music was playing he would pull me into the middle of their living room and tell me to make up dances and he would copy them. My favorite one was when we would sing and dance to the song ‘Bennie & The Jets’ his name is Benjamin but all his friends called him Bennie and my nickname was Jet, boy did we have a ball with that song. If we were driving somewhere he would put the radio on to our favorite station, the oldies, and we would dance in the car, he just made me dance everywhere we went.”
“Ahah! So he’s the reason you dance like a fool all the time!” Harry exclaimed into the phone and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yep! He taught me how to get my groove on,” I said as a smile replaced my frown from earlier. Harry could instantly make me feel better, no matter what the problem may be. He was just so good at making me laugh and putting me back into a good mood and all he did was ask questions.
“What are you thinking about?” Harry asked, as if he were standing right in front of me seeing me stare off into space.
“You.”
“What about me?” He asked and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“How you are so good at making me feel better and relax when times are stressful,” I openly told him.
“Am I?” He asked, “My mum always told me I was good at making bad days turn into good days.”
“I can see why she says that,” I told him and I heard him laugh on the other end of the phone.
“Your dog says hello,” Harry said into the phone.
“Hi Sage! Did she get her shot?” I asked him, focusing my attention on my dog.
“Yeah, we actually just walked through the door when you called. She squealed like a little pig when she got it,” Harry amusingly said.
“She always does that, she’s a big baby when it comes to going to the vet,” I told him.
“Yeah. She goes to the boarding place tomorrow morning,” Harry told me and I grew confused.
“Why so early?” I asked him.
“I leave for the American leg of the tour tomorrow afternoon,” Harry said rather quickly.
“Wait, I thought you didn’t leave for a like 3 more days?” I asked him, sitting up in my chair.
“Plans changed, we’ve got some press to do before our first show.”
“Oh, okay. That makes some sense,” I told him as I got comfortable in the chair again.
“Look Abby, I’ve got to start packing, keep talking to your granddad.”
“Okay Harry, I miss you,” I told him.
“I miss you too, love,” Harry said and then we both hung up. I placed my phone in the pocket of my hoodie and put my feet up on the chair my gran occupied while she waited with my gramps. I shut my eyes and tried to get some sleep.
Little did Abby know Harry had spoken with her grandmum and was really planning a surprise for the young girl. Press my butt.
“Hello? Abby’s phone this is Harry,” I said with sleep evident in my voice.
“Harry? Can you wake Abby up it’s an emergency,” Her gran’s voice rang through the telly and not asking any questions I did what I was told.
“Abby sweetheart, wake up. It’s your grandmum, she says its an emergency,” I said while I shook Abby awake.
“Wha?” Abby said as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and looked at my clock. “Harry it’s four in the morning!” She yelled and I gave her the phone.
“Hello?” She said into the phone, confused. “Gran slow down! What happened?”
She sat there silent for a few minutes before she spoke again, her voice shaking.
“I’ll be on the next flight home okay? Gran I need you to stay calm, I love you and I’ll see you later on today,” Abby said and hung up the phone. She broke down crying and immediately got out of my bed and pulled her clothing on without telling me a word.
“Love, what happened?” I hesitantly asked her. She turned to face me as she pulled her leggings on, and tears were streaming down her face.
“My gramps had a stroke.” That’s all she said and that was all she needed to say, I quickly hopped out of my bed and brought the brunette into my arms.
“I’ll drive you to the airport,” I said into her hair as she sobbed into my shoulder. “Everything will be okay, Abs.”
I held her for another minute before letting her go and getting dressed myself, in a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie. Abby gathered her things and went outside and climbed into her car while I climbed into mine to follow her to her flat. We arrived to her flat and she immediately took the stairs to her floor instead of the lift and I was hot on her heels. She threw her door open and ran to her bedroom where she pulled a suitcase out and began throwing articles of clothing into it that she would need before running into her bathroom and grabbing her cosmetics. She started yelling and screaming about how she couldn’t find things and she had tears flowing from her eyes. I stopped her in her tracks and enveloped her in a hug.
“Abby, just take a breath,” I told her as I held her head against my chest and she sobbed.
“H-h-harry, I can’t lose him,” she said in between sobs and I held her closer.
“You’re not going to, but you need to relax. Your frazzled and going mad, just relax you are going to get there,” I said as I pulled her away and kept her at arm’s length and started wiping away her tears. “Can you do that for me?” I asked her and she sadly nodded her head. She continued packing at a much more relaxed pace as I made her coffee for her, French vanilla brew, one sugar and lots of French vanilla cream. I brought it to her as she changed into more comfortable clothing and smiled when I saw she was wearing my sweatpants and one of my old Jack Wills hoodie’s.
“Shit!” She yelled and I gave her a look of confusion. “What am I going to do about Sage? I can’t board her at this hour, I am not taking her with me, and in order to board her she needs her boardetella shot!” She exclaimed as her hands flew into her hair and started pulling at it in frustration. I pulled her hands away from her hair and kept them in mine.
“Don’t worry about Sage, I’ll take care of that for you. Let’s just get you to the airport,” I told her and she nodded her head. I grabbed her suitcase and she grabbed her laptop bag and carry-on bag as we walked out of her flat. She locked the door then handed me the key to her flat.
“Here, you’ll need it,” she said as we made our way to the lift. We got to my car and we threw her bags in the backseat and gathered in the car and drove over to the airport. I went inside with her, carrying her bags and she bought the next ticket out of here.
“My flight leaves in an hour and a half, I better get going,” she said as we walked over to check her bag in.
“That’ll be 10 pounds,” the man behind the counter said as he strapped her luggage tag onto her bag. Abby went to pull her wallet out but I had already handed the man the money.
“Harry, that isn’t necessary,” Abby said to me.
“Don’t worry about it love, you’ve just spent enough on a ticket,” I told her as the man handed me my change. I walked her over to the security line and she turned to face me.
“I’ll email you everything you need to know for Sage, and I’ll let you know when I land,” Abby said as I pulled her in for a hug.
“Just be safe, and let me know how everything goes,” I said as I inhaled her mint scented hair.
“I will,” she mumbled before pulling away and pressing her lips to mine. “I’ll miss you,” she mumbled into the kiss and I smiled.
“I’ll miss you too.”
We pulled apart and hugged one more time before she walked to stand in queue for security, I waited until she went through before leaving.
After an eight hour flight and chewing through half a pack of gum I finally landed Cincinnati, once the flight attendant gave us permission to use our cell phones I pulled mine out and sent Harry a text saying I landed and that I’d give him a call later. I walked off the plane and pushed my way through the crowds as I made my way to baggage claim. I hopped into a cab and told them the name of the hospital, after a 30 minute car ride we pulled up outside, I handed the driver the money and climbed out with my bags in tow and went to see my grandfather.
“How can I help you?” The nurse at the front desk of the hospital asked.
“What room is Benjamin Grimes in?” I asked.
“Room 412, it’s on the fourth floor,” the lady kindly said and I took off to find the elevator. Once the elevator reached the fourth floor I walked out and searched for my gramps room, once I found it I took a deep breath before pushing the door open, preparing me for what lies in front of me. Once I opened the door I opened my eyes to see my grandfather sitting so lifeless in the hospital bed with tubes down his throat and all these wires attached to him. The steady beat coming from the machine beside him let me know he was alive. I spotted my Gran sitting in the chair next to his bed holding his hand while she slept, I quietly set my bags down and walked over to my Gran, I gently rubbed her back until she stirred awake.
“Hey Gran,” I whispered as she opened her eyes.
“Jet, my baby,” she said as she stood up and brought me into a warm hug. I wrapped my arms around her, hugging her back, and we just held each other for a few moments, each of us letting a few tears fall. “I’ve missed you darling,” Gran said into my hair and I couldn’t help but let a few more tears out.
“How’s he doing?” I asked as I pulled away from the hug and dragged a chair over by hers.
“The doctor said they won’t know for a few more hours,” Gran sadly said and I took her hand in mine and took my Gramps hand in my free one.
“How long have you been here?” I asked my Gran as she yawned.
“When I called you I had been here for about 2 hours, so 7 hours,” my Gran told me as she let another yawn out.
“Gran, go home and get some rest, I’ll stay here,” I told her as I gave her hand a little squeeze.
“I can’t do that.”
“Gran, you know if anything happens I’ll call you right away, you need some rest. Being up and sleeping in a chair isn’t good for you,” I told her and she let out a sigh of frustration.
“I hate it when you get all parental over me,” my Gran said as she stood up and collected her purse and my bags. “Just give me a call if even the littlest thing happens,” she said as she kissed the top of my head. As she walked out of the room she shut the door and that’s when all my tears started to escape. Here I sat in Cincinnati at a hospital staring at my lifeless grandfather who has been like a father to me since I was born. I couldn’t lose him, no way, he’s the one that gave me the nickname Jet, always picked me up when I was down and was my biggest supporter my entire life. Losing him would just make my world come crashing down. He never missed one of my birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday while I’ve been alive. He’s the reason I live life so freely, he always told me to do what makes me happy, live with no regrets and never stop when the going gets rough. The outlook I have on life was inspired by him, I treasure everything about myself because he once told me your worst enemy is yourself. My grandfather is the reason I have such an old soul for such a young girl, growing up he always played a bunch of oldies especially The Beatles, we would sing and dance to all the songs until my gran made us stop and come eat dinner. I was my grandpa’s best friend and he was mine, hell he still is. He was the first one that assured me I wasn’t making a mistake by dropping out of college if it meant I would go after what really made me happy. Remembering all these memories I had with him since I was young made the tears flow faster as I thought of these memories possibly ending. I walked over to my purse and pulled my phone, I dialed a familiar number and the person on the other end picked up after two rings.
“Abby?” Harry breathed into the phone.
“Harry?” I sobbed into the phone. I felt guilty for calling him while I was like this but I just needed someone to talk to.
“Love, what’s the matter?”
“He’s so lifeless, and we won’t know anything for a few more hours, I’m just scared,” I honestly told him.
“He had a stroke babe, of course he isn’t going to be 100% but he’s going to be okay. You just need to be there for him, talk to him, let him know your there and you aren’t going anywhere. How’s your Gran holding up?” Harry asked me, trying to calm me down.
“I’m not sure, she looked like she’d been crying when I arrived. I sent her home to get some rest,” I told him as I continued to cry.
“You’re still crying,” Harry said.
“I can’t help it Har, my best friend is lying in a hospital bed right now,” I sobbed into the phone.
“Go talk to him,” He told me and I shook my head even though he couldn’t see it.
“He isn’t awake.”
“So? Still talk to him, I read somewhere that when someone’s in a coma it helps to talk to them. Maybe it is the same way for when someone has a stroke?” Harry offered and I contemplated it for a minute.
“I don’t know what to say,” I mumbled and I heard him laugh on the other end of the phone.
“Okay, tell you what, go sit by him, hold his hand and tell me stories about him,” Harry said and I moved over to the chair I left to call Harry and grabbed my gramps hand.
“Okay are you ready?” I asked Harry as I got comfortable in the chair.
“Yes, now go.”
I had just started my senior year as sixteen year old, taking extra classes so I could graduate a year early. My parents were pressuring me to pursue a career in law, so you could imagine that I applied to NYU, Harvard, Stanford and Yale some of the top law schools in the country. Not only did I apply to study law I applied to study art, something I’ve always been passionate about, mainly through photos I would capture feelings. My gramps convinced me to go apply to other colleges for art and that I shouldn’t study law if it wasn’t what I wanted to do. He knew how my parents were and that they have had my life mapped out for me since before I was even conceived. I would attend the best private schools in San Diego, I would go to college to become a lawyer, I would marry a fellow law student and I would be one of the best lawyers in America, it was the American dream as one might say. It wasn’t my dream and my grandpa knew that, he spent every summer vacation with me running around Ohio and surrounding states helping me capture the best photos. Anyways my parents made me apply for early decision to Stanford’s law program, which meant if I was accepted I had to attend, I kept the information from my grandparents because I knew it would upset them, but on the more private side my parents had already warned me that they wouldn’t pay for my education if I didn’t go to school to be a lawyer. November rolled around and I was starting to receive all my acceptance letters to every single college I applied to, then arrived the thick envelope from Stanford and inside it told me I had been accepted into the law program. That was that, in August I would pack up and go to school to be a boring old lawyer. When I told my gramps he was LIVID that I did early decision, he did not approve of me becoming a lawyer or doing anything serious because growing up I was always a fun loving kid who didn’t take anything serious. He was so mad at me he hung up the phone and ignored me for a whole month, I would call him every day trying to get him to speak with me but he wasn’t budging. It took me calling him and leaving a message of me hysterically crying and apologizing for not telling him that my parents won’t pay for my college unless I become a lawyer for him to forgive me. He called me back saying he wasn’t mad at me he was mad at my parents for doing such a thing and that he raised his son better than that. That’s when he told me a piece of advice that I still live by today, he told me “Don’t let anything hold you back from your happiness.” This meant if you aren’t happy then you need to get out and never turn back to what made you so unhappy in the first place. When August rolled around he was still upset that I was going to Stanford for law but he coped with it, but when I called him three weeks later complaining about how unhappy I was and that I was going to the admissions office the next day to pick up my drop out forms I never heard him scream so loud before, he was so happy for me that he hung up, packed his bags and drove him and my gran out to come pick me up because he knew my parents would disown me. He’s always been a big supporter of my future and has always been looking out for my happiness since the day I was born.
“He ignored you for a whole month?” Harry asked as I finished up my story.
“Yeah, but my gran told me every single day at least 10 times a day he would pick up the phone and dial my number then hang up, or that he’d type up an email to send me but never send it, and that he would write me letters that never got sent. He wanted to talk to me but he claimed he was ‘punishing’ me for not doing what made me happy,” I told him as I laughed and looked at my gramps lying in the hospital bed.
“Tell me a good memory about him, one where you two didn’t fight,” Harry asked and I tried to think of a time that stuck out the most.
“Every second spent with him is a good memory,” I told Harry with a smile on my face. “BUT, growing up whenever I would be staying with my grandparents while on break from school he and I would dance to music all evening long until my gran announced dinner was ready. It didn’t matter what kind of music was playing he would pull me into the middle of their living room and tell me to make up dances and he would copy them. My favorite one was when we would sing and dance to the song ‘Bennie & The Jets’ his name is Benjamin but all his friends called him Bennie and my nickname was Jet, boy did we have a ball with that song. If we were driving somewhere he would put the radio on to our favorite station, the oldies, and we would dance in the car, he just made me dance everywhere we went.”
“Ahah! So he’s the reason you dance like a fool all the time!” Harry exclaimed into the phone and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“Yep! He taught me how to get my groove on,” I said as a smile replaced my frown from earlier. Harry could instantly make me feel better, no matter what the problem may be. He was just so good at making me laugh and putting me back into a good mood and all he did was ask questions.
“What are you thinking about?” Harry asked, as if he were standing right in front of me seeing me stare off into space.
“You.”
“What about me?” He asked and I could hear the smile in his voice.
“How you are so good at making me feel better and relax when times are stressful,” I openly told him.
“Am I?” He asked, “My mum always told me I was good at making bad days turn into good days.”
“I can see why she says that,” I told him and I heard him laugh on the other end of the phone.
“Your dog says hello,” Harry said into the phone.
“Hi Sage! Did she get her shot?” I asked him, focusing my attention on my dog.
“Yeah, we actually just walked through the door when you called. She squealed like a little pig when she got it,” Harry amusingly said.
“She always does that, she’s a big baby when it comes to going to the vet,” I told him.
“Yeah. She goes to the boarding place tomorrow morning,” Harry told me and I grew confused.
“Why so early?” I asked him.
“I leave for the American leg of the tour tomorrow afternoon,” Harry said rather quickly.
“Wait, I thought you didn’t leave for a like 3 more days?” I asked him, sitting up in my chair.
“Plans changed, we’ve got some press to do before our first show.”
“Oh, okay. That makes some sense,” I told him as I got comfortable in the chair again.
“Look Abby, I’ve got to start packing, keep talking to your granddad.”
“Okay Harry, I miss you,” I told him.
“I miss you too, love,” Harry said and then we both hung up. I placed my phone in the pocket of my hoodie and put my feet up on the chair my gran occupied while she waited with my gramps. I shut my eyes and tried to get some sleep.
Little did Abby know Harry had spoken with her grandmum and was really planning a surprise for the young girl. Press my butt.
teressa conroy said the quote
3/2/15