The Summer of Guinevere by John V. Madormo

Author:John V. Madormo [Madormo, John V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: high school, road trip, abuse, brothers, coming of age, family conflict, first love, first person point of view, fresh start, gay, hero as protector,
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press, Inc.
Published: 2019-02-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

When we got to my grandparents’ house, we found everyone upstairs in Grandma’s bedroom—my dad, Aunt Gloria, Grandpa, and the doctor, who was listening to Grandma’s heart.

“It’s very weak,” he said. He repositioned the instrument. “And I can hear a lot of fluid buildup in her lungs.” He turned to face the group. “Very soon her organs will start shutting down. And then it’s just a matter of hours.” He reached into his bag, pulled out a bottle of pills, and handed them to my aunt. “If she regains consciousness, you can use these for the pain. But that’s unlikely.”

“How much time do you think we have?” my dad asked.

“It’s impossible to say,” the doctor replied. “Two to three days—tops.” He stroked the top of her head. “She appears to be resting comfortably. Let’s hope it’s painless.” He leaned in to Grandma. “You’re a tough old gal, Sophia. You don’t have to fight anymore. It’s okay to let go.” He straightened up, picked up his bag, and closed it. He looked at my aunt. “You won’t need to call me again. There’s nothing more I can do.” He stood up and shook Uncle Buddy’s hand, and then my dad’s. He walked over to my grandfather and hugged him. “Hang in there, Paul.” Grandpa was too choked up to reply. The doctor grabbed his fedora off the end of the bed and was just about to leave the room when he looked at my arms and stopped.

“Son, what is that?”

“Poison ivy, I think.”

He dug into his bag and pulled out a tube of ointment. “Rub this on the affected areas three times a day. It’ll help with the itching.”

“Thank you,” I said. I glanced at Uncle Buddy, who smiled and winked at me. Then I made the mistake of looking at my dad. He had this disgusted look on his face. He was probably thinking how dumb I was for having walked into a poison ivy bush in the first place. The doctor patted me on the shoulder and left.

“Looks like your trip to Leroy will be ending soon, Peter,” Aunt Gloria said.

“I had a feeling it would be short,” he said.

“I’m going to take Pop downstairs,” Uncle Buddy said.

My dad turned to me. “Why don’t you go with your grandfather.”

I didn’t say a word. I just followed orders. The last thing I wanted to do was set off my dad. Thanks to Uncle Buddy I had gotten a reprieve. I couldn’t risk another grounding.

Uncle Buddy helped Grandpa down the stairs and set him up at the kitchen table.

“How about some coffee with anisette, Pop?”

“No,” he said. “I think I want to go out to the back porch and sit on the swing. Mama and I used to sit there a lot.”

“I can sit with him,” I said.

My grandfather smiled, reached over, and grabbed the back of my neck. “That’s good. That’s good. Let me spend some time with my grandson. Once Mama’s gone, I have a feeling you’ll be headed back to Chicago.

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