by Jerry Guarino
homemade lemonade
Jack and Alice were high school
sweethearts. They continued their
romance in college and then married soon after graduation. If any couple would be together forever, Jack
and Alice were that couple. They raised
two beautiful children who gave them wonderful grandchildren. It was a life well lived, until they reached
their seventies. That’s when the
problems started.
“Alice, where are my keys?”
“Where did you leave them Jack?”
“I don’t know sweetheart. That’s why I’m asking.”
Jack puttered around the house
looking for his keys.
“Are you going out?”
“Yes dear. We’re going to church.”
“Jack, it’s Thursday.”
“Really?”
“The kids are coming over for dinner
Jack. You need to go to the store and
get burgers, hot dogs and ice cream.
Here, you can use my car keys.”
“Yes dear.”
Jack returned home an hour later
with two grocery bags. Alice emptied
them on the kitchen counter.
“Jack, what is this?”
“Dinner.”
There wasn’t a hot dog or hamburger to be found. The only food was for cats and dogs. There were cleaning supplies and storage
bags, toiletries and even some clothing items.
“Jack, where is the food?”
Jack pointed to the pet food.
“Jack, we don’t have a dog or a cat. Where are the burgers, hot dogs and ice
cream?”
“Why do we need that?”
“The kids and grandkids are coming,
remember?”
“I think my show is on.” Jack walked into the living room. Alice took the groceries back to the store
and got food for dinner. Jack had been getting
forgetful lately, but nothing like this.
It was almost as if his memory had been erased.
“Jack, I’m home.”
No answer.
Alice rushed into the living
room. Jack was asleep, she hoped, in his
chair. She gently shook his shoulder.
“Jack.”
“Oh, hello dear. Guess I drifted off. What time is dinner?”
“When the kids get here, around
six.”
“Why are they coming?”
“Jack, we’re having a barbeque, to
celebrate. It’s the fourth of July,
remember?”
“Oh, all right. Do you want me to go shopping?”
“All taken care of dear.”
“Who’s coming?”
“Our children, Bob and Nancy and
their children, your grandchildren.”
“Great, can’t wait to see them. What are their names?”
“Bob and his wife Jill, and their
girls, Amanda and Heather. Nancy and her
husband Joe, their son Charley and daughter Stacey.”
Jack’s confused expression worried
Alice.
“That’s a big family.”
“Yes dear. We are blessed.”
“Maybe I should go get a cake. Kids love cake.”
“Well, if you like, but make sure
you’re back by five.”
Jack went back to the store. He saw all sorts of holiday cakes on
display. He found one just the right
size. This time he didn’t buy any pet food
or extraneous items.
“I’m back dear.”
Alice took the box from Jack and
opened it. It was a dinosaur birthday cake. Alice looked at her husband, lovingly at
first, then.
“Jack, this is a birthday cake.”
“Yes, I know. It’s America’s birthday.”
“Dinosaurs?”
“Well, the kids like dinosaurs,
don’t they?”
“Yes. Maybe we could put a couple sparklers in
there and take the dinosaurs off.”
“Should I go buy some sparklers?”
Alice wasn’t going to let him buy
fireworks. “No dear. I think we have some from last year.” She removed the plastic dinosaurs from the cake
and washed them off. Little Stacey will
probably play with them. Then she
carefully lifted off the birthday lettering.
If the cake wasn’t green, it wouldn’t have been so bad. Fortunately, she had some July 4th
decorations: a red, white and blue plastic tablecloth, paper plates, napkins,
and balloons. “Here dear. Why don’t you set the picnic table.” How much trouble could he have with that?
Soon, the doorbell rang and the
family gathered around their papa. The
grandchildren loved him. He always read
them stories and gave them treats.
“Papa!” came a chorus from all four,
as they grabbed his legs and hugged, almost knocking him over.
“Kids. How are you.”
“Read us a story.”
Little Charley handed him a
book. They all sat around Jack on the
couch, with Charley and Heather sitting on his lap. Bob and Nancy joined Alice in the kitchen.
“Hi mom. How is he doing?”
Alice showed them the cake.
“What is that?”
“It was supposed to be for today,
but Jack bought a dinosaur birthday cake.”
“Better add more sparklers.”
“Dad set the picnic table. Can you go check.”
“Sure Mom.” Nancy came back.
“Mom. The table isn’t set. But the sprinklers were on and the table is
soaked. I turned them off. Do you have some towels?”
“Oh my. Thanks Nancy.
Here. Can you set the table.”
Fortunately, the dinner was
uneventful. The kids even liked the
cake. Bob and Nancy consoled Alice.
“Let us know if you need anything Mom.”
Jack and Alice sat on the front
porch watching the fireworks.
“Alice, remember when we first met.”
“That was so long ago dear. What are you thinking about?”
“I remember the yellow summer dress
with blue flowers you wore. Your hair
smelled like strawberry. When we kissed,
you would touch my neck. Your hand was
so soft. There was that time when Nancy
fell off her bike and we held her for an hour until she fell asleep. And the night Bob was born, no crying, just
lay there sleeping in your arms.”
“Yes, we worried something might be
wrong.”
“But he was fine. The doctor said
sometimes babies just don’t cry at first.
He never was a cry baby. Always
content. So different from Nancy, our
sentimental girl. Then there was the
time they both had their first sleepovers at friends houses. We stayed up all night worrying that they
would call us to come home; the next morning they found us on the couch
exhausted.”
“I remember. They slept like babies and we worried for
nothing.”
“Then, they began dating in high
school. Bob met that red-haired girl,
Samantha I think. She had freckles and
long hair. He took her to a movie. When he got home, we asked him how it
went. He said it was the best night of
his life. We could see some lipstick on
his neck, but didn’t mention it. He
practically floated off to bed that night.”
“I liked Samantha too Jack. It crushed him when she had that car accident. It was the first time I ever saw him cry.”
“But thankfully, she recovered. Bob learned so much from her. She was so good for our boy, his first love.”
Alice squeezed Jack’s hand and
rested her head on his shoulder.
“You were my first love Alice and
always will be.” He turned and kissed her. Alice put her hand on Jack’s neck.
“Maybe we should make our own
fireworks tonight.”
“All right dear. If you’re not too tired.”
They retired to the bedroom. By the time Alice finished brushing her teeth,
Jack was asleep. She cuddled onto him
and slept, not sure of what to expect tomorrow.
Jack woke up early, as usual. He turned to Alice and kissed her.
“Good morning beautiful. How were our fireworks last night?”
“Honey, it was great.”
About the author
Jerry
Guarino’s short stories have been published by dozens of magazines
in the United States, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. His latest
book, "The Best of Café Stories", is available on Amazon.com and as a
Kindle eBook. Please visit his website at http://cafestories.net
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