Helped me through my first breakup.
Clapped louder than anybody when I got into nursing school.
Every birthday came with another card.
She taught me to drive.
Another receipt.
Another thousand dollars.
Then Grandma got sick.
I put nursing school on hold.
I worked extra shifts and spent the rest of my time with her.
Grandma got sick.
One afternoon, after another bill arrived, I called Mom from the hospital hallway.
“I need some help.”
“What kind?”
“Grandma’s expenses are piling up. Even if you could cover groceries for a while, or come stay with her so I could work another shift…”
“I need some help.”
Mom sighed.
“Margot, things are tight here too.”
“I know. I’m not asking you to pay everything.”
“I have my own family to think about.”
Publicidad
I stopped looking at the bill.
Her own family.
“I have my own family to think about.”
“Okay.”
“Don’t be like that.”
“Like what?”
“You know what I mean.”
I did.
That was the problem.
***
Grandma died four months later.
After the funeral, I found her last birthday card in my desk.
Grandma died four months later.
The deposit receipt was still tucked inside.
I’d kept every one.
I was supposed to be returning to nursing school, and for the first time, the promise I’d made to Grandma allowed me to touch the money.
I’d kept every one.
So I went to the bank.
The teller pulled up the account.
Then she frowned.
She typed something.
Checked again.
“I’m sorry, ma’am.”
“What?”
The teller pulled up the account.
“The balance was withdrawn several months ago.”
I thought I’d misunderstood her.
“All of it?”
“Yes.”
“There must be a mistake. Please check again.”
She did.
I thought I’d misunderstood her.
