The Roof Above by Gail Dwyer

Author:Gail Dwyer [Dwyer, Gail]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Published: 2024-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

chapter 21

October 2004

Clarksville, Tennessee

My father called as I walked in the door after yoga. He got right to the point. “I’m sorry, Kel. I’ve got to reschedule my visit.”

“Oh, why?” I whined. When I realized how I sounded, I tried to take it back. “I mean, it’s okay. I was looking forward to seeing you—that’s all. No big deal. Sure. We’ll reschedule.”

I’d been counting down the days until his visit. After Matt left mid-August, the summer dragged on until the humidity lifted. Once the leaves turned and fell and formed a rug of crunchy faded colors on the dead grass, I’d circled on the kitchen calendar the date my father was coming. My body went limp when he said he had to cancel.

“I’m sorry, Kelly. I’ll get down. What about Thanksgiving? Or Christmas? Or are you planning to come home?”

“I don’t know, Dad. I don’t know what I’m doing. Why do you have to cancel?” What’s more important than your oldest daughter, who has been alone in Tennessee since August? Not saying that out loud took levels of maturity I didn’t know I had.

“It’s Gram.” His voice cracked.

Oh, no! My heart dropped and my guilt multiplied. “What’s wrong?”

“She’s healthy physically, but she needs more care.”

I stood perfectly still. “Dad? Is she okay?”

He paused before replying, “She’s okay. But it’s hard on Brendan. He and Teresa can’t leave her alone. Someone needs to be with her around the clock, and they’re both working.”

My grandmother was a five-foot dynamo, who had been married to a drunk. My grandfather died of a heart attack when my dad was twenty-one, and according to the McGowans, even when my grandfather was around, he wasn’t around, so Gram raised six kids by herself, instilling the fear of God in them, but with a nurturing heart. My father, his three brothers, and two sisters adored her. We all did.

“She needs to go into a nursing home. The move-in date is the Saturday I’m supposed to fly to Nashville. I’m sorry, Kelly.”

“I understand. That’s so sad. Should I take a long weekend and fly up and see her?”

“That’s nice of you to offer, hon, but I don’t think she’d recognize you. Sometimes she knows me, sometimes she doesn’t.” He spoke with sadness and resignation.

My heart sank thinking about how much I’d looked forward to seeing my father, but I was glad he was going to help with Gram. Since my parents split up, my father visited his mother and brothers in Dorchester on most weekends, and that made me happy. My mother hadn’t been a fan of the McGowan family. When we grew up, we saw them once a year, on Christmas Eve, and my mother never came.

“You know what? Sara talked about visiting sometime. Maybe they’ll be able to come up. It’ll all work out.”

We talked about Cousin Richard, who had recently come out of the closet. His parents, Uncle Gerard and Aunt Rita, who lived on the top floor in the same double-decker as Uncle Brendan and Aunt Teresa, were accepting, according to my father, but not sure what to do.

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