Deal With It by Monica McKayhan

Author:Monica McKayhan
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: Young Adult, Kimani Tru, Indigo Court, Romance, African American, Teens
ISBN: 9780373831418
Publisher: Kimani
Published: 2009-01-01T08:00:00+00:00

eighteen

Tameka

Grandpa Drew’s heart wasn’t as strong as I thought it was, because somewhere between my late-night conversation with Vance and the wee hours of the morning, it stopped pumping. When Mommy crept into my room and gently touched my hair, I knew something was wrong. She sat on the side of my bed; the tears on her face glistened in the moonlight.

“Wake up, baby,” she whispered.

“Grandpa Drew?” I asked. I already knew.

“He had a second heart attack, but he couldn’t survive this one. He passed away,” she said. “But he didn’t suffer long.”

Tears began to fill my eyes. I thought about Grandpa Drew and how funny he was, and realized that I would never see him again. I would never hear him tell his corny jokes again, or hear his laughter. He’d always laughed at his own jokes. He would wrap his arms around me and tell me not to worry so much.

“You worry too much, ladybug,” he would always say. “Don’t be so serious all the time. You’re just a kid.”

“I’m not just a kid, Grandpa. I’ll be sixteen on my next birthday,” I’d told him when I was fifteen, grinning from ear to ear.

I was fifteen when I’d last seen him. I suddenly wished I had gone with my parents to see him when he had his first heart attack. At least then I could’ve talked with him again. I could’ve heard one more of his silly jokes. I could’ve said goodbye. But now all I had were memories.

“How’s Daddy?” I asked Mommy. “Is he okay?”

“I had to call him at the studio. He’s on his way home.” Mommy wiped tears from my eyes with her fingertips, but they kept flowing.

“I can’t believe that he’s gone. It just doesn’t seem real,” I cried. “I just called him two weeks ago to tell him about my grades. He was so proud of me.”

“He loved you so much,” Mommy said, “and even though he’s gone, he still lives right here in your heart.” She touched the center of my chest.

“It’s so weird, because when you and Daddy came home a few weeks ago, he was doing so much better,” I whispered in between tears.

It was true. After my parents had come back home from checking on Grandpa Drew, he had been doing better. The doctors had been so positive, telling us that he would recover as long as he changed his diet, but they obviously didn’t know Grandpa Drew like I knew Grandpa Drew. He loved to cook, and he loved to eat. And he loved to eat stuff that wasn’t good for him—like lots of butter and fried foods. He could eat a loaf of bread in a couple of days’ time. And he didn’t know a thing about exercise. He would walk outside to get the newspaper or the mail, but that was about it.

Tears began to flow like a river. My face was soaked from just thinking about Grandpa Drew.

“We’re going to North Carolina for a few days,” Mommy said.

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