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My mom had drug issues, and nobody knew where she was, doing whatever she could to get her next fix. I’d never gotten along with her—not that I wanted to really. She’d never been a proper mother figure to me, missing for the most part of my childhood. My grandmother had been the one who took me in and treated me like I was her own daughter, and I was eternally grateful to her for that.
My dad, on the other hand, was never in the picture. He’d left my mother and me when I was two, and he never looked back. I only knew his name. I’d never even seen his picture, and I had no clue about his whereabouts. I preferred it that way, though. I couldn’t bring myself to think about him or care.
“What about you? Why are you still awake?”
“I said to myself I was going to read one more chapter and go to bed, but that one chapter turned into ten, and before I knew it, they were having their happily ever after.”
I turned to look at her, cracking a huge smile. My grandmother’s weakness was her historical romance novels.
“I guess that the bad guy received an eternal punishment for his wrongdoings in the end?”
She nodded, her face showing her satisfaction with the story’s conclusion. “Dead and buried.”
I erupted into laughter, wishing I could get lost in those fictional worlds too. I could be able to escape the everyday stresses that way, but unlike my grandmother, I wasn’t that easily distracted.
“If only the real life was so magical.”
She brushed her hand across my cheek, pouring all her love into this gentle touch. Her eyes held mine with warmth and care. “It will be one day. I’m sure that everything will come into its place soon.”
I surely hoped so. I wanted to make a life for myself and do what I loved. I was smart, and I wanted to be able to go to college and be a teacher one day, like I’d always wanted, but money was still an issue. I liked working with children, and I had a passion for teaching. It would fulfill me.
“How can you be so sure? I mean, I get it. I have to stay positive and strong, but it’s so difficult when we’re struggling so much. I’ve been without a job for so long, and our savings are almost completely depleted.”
“You’re smart, Bree. You’ll find the answer. I remember waiting for a job for more than five years! Imagine that. Those were different times, and if there wasn’t your grandfather, Thomas, we wouldn’t be able to survive at all, but I believed things would be okay in the end, and they were.”
Her eyes clouded for a moment at the mention of my grandfather. He’d died from cancer before I even met him, so all I knew about him came from what my grandmother had told me. According to her, he was a kind man who liked to help everyone, and people liked him. He was a sailor, often away from home, but their marriage was always strong—their love never dying, just like in the romance stories my grandmother constantly read.
Maybe that’s why she read so much, trying to remind her of her own great love story.
“Do you miss him, Granny?”
She sat on the sofa next to me. “Every day, but I know he is in a better place, so I don’t feel sad. I have so many fond memories of him, and they are enough.”
I took her hand. “If only people nowadays could have the kind of love you and he had. I feel like love isn’t what it was before.”
She squeezed my hand. “Love is the same, honey. You just haven’t found the right person for you. You’re such a beautiful girl, and I have no doubt that some prince in a shining armor will come soon and sweep you off your feet.”
I returned her smile. “You think? All I’d been seeing lately are some immature jerks who don’t even know what they want in their life.”
“There are those kinds of people too, yes, but don’t dismiss all men as unworthy.”
So far my experiences with men weren’t positive at all. My first boyfriend cheated on me, and my second boyfriend was an alcoholic. Then I had a series of short relationships that didn’t lead anywhere because I wasn’t able to build any deeper connection with them. All they cared about was themselves. Their career. Their families. Their lives.
It was never about me, or us. So much for men putting women first. Not in my experience, not yet anyway.
“I wish I could meet someone as sweet and thoughtful as your Thomas. Someone as romantic and caring as him.” Maybe this mystery man would even help me with a solution to my epic financial problems.
Ha. As if.
“Oh, you will. I already imagine you with six children, two dogs, and a gorgeous looking husband in a huge house next to the sea.”
“Granny, your imagination knows no boundaries.” I shook my head. “That happens only in movies.”
“Now that’s where you’re wrong. It happens to those who believe, so you should believe in it.”
“If you say so.”
She was right, though. Lately I was feeling down and slightly pessimistic, which wasn’t usual for me, maybe I should listen to her more. She always gave me good advice and only wanted the best for me.
