Boyd, Justin

Professor Broadous

PAS 114b

23 February, 2012

Memory

            The sizzle from the skillet in the hot and moist kitchen caused Robert to slowly sweat. He was making pancakes. The sweet smell had wandered throughout the apartment and gently caressed the noses of Tiffany and Mishell. Tiffany ran around the house yelling “Yay daddy is making pancakes! Granny you smell them? I think he’s putting chocolate chips in them!” Mishell smiled and licked her lips. “Yes I do baby. You know how much I love pancakes.” Robert then wiped his face and poked his head out of the kitchen. “Alright Tanny Fanny” his nickname for Tiffany, “You ready for your daddy’s homemade, world’s best pancakes with a dash of chocolate chips?” while smiling at her and Mishell. With a large smile and gasp Tiffany replied “Yes dad!” she looked at Mishell and said “See granny I told you he was using chocolate!” Mishell replied, “Yea baby you were right. Go on and bring your granny a big stack of pancakes, we can share them together.” Tiffany ran into the kitchen and asked Robert for a plate and he said “Here’s a special stack. Just for you and granny, it has a lot of love in it. Kiss the pancakes so they taste as sweet as you are.” She kisses the top pancake. “Mm those are going to be amazing! Can the cook have some sweetness too?” “Yea!” Robert bent over and Tiffany kissed him on the cheek “Mm mm mm! That’s a sweet kiss! Thank you honey! Go give granny a kiss so she gets a lot of sweetness.” “Okay daddy!” Robert stacks the steamy golden-brown chocolate chip pancakes on top of another with the top pancake having a thick slice of slowly melting rich butter. Robert said “Here comes the best part!” He grabs a cup filled with maple molasses, so sweet the scent alone makes everyone’s mouth water, he pours the thick molasses onto the first pancake and it created a waterfall of golden brown sweetness just begging to be tasted. “Alright baby that’s all. Go on into the living room and share with granny. Daddy is going to make himself some and join you guys for a breakfast date.” He said with a smile. He stacked his pancakes in a pile, less alluring than the previous stack, and walked into the living room with the molasses cup. “Hey baby.” Mishell said “Thank you so much for making me my favorite.” “Oh it’s not a problem granny; I’d do anything for you. You raised me and so I am forever grateful.” He said with a smile on his face. “Yay! You guys are like best friends. That’s what my friends from school say it is called.” Robert and Mishell chuckled then Robert said “Yes Tanny Fanny you could say that granny is my best friend and I love her very much.” “Ooh daddy can granny be my best friend too?” “I don’t know sweety, you have to ask her not me.” Robert laughed and smiled. Tiffany looked at granny and hugged her and gave her a kiss on the cheek “Granny will you be my best friend?” Mishell laughed and said “Well sweety of course I will be your best friend.” “Yay Daddy granny is my best friend too! We are going to be best friends forever!” Robert said smiling “Hey you took my best friend. Haha it’s because you’re so cute.” Tiffany looked across the table at him “Can’t we share granny?” “Aw how sweet you don’t want to lose your best friend so you share. Yes sweety, we can share.” By the time he finished talking he realized everyone had finished eating so he collected the plates and walked into the kitchen.

While cleaning the dishes Mishell had walked into the kitchen reminding Robert that Tiffany had school in about thirty minutes. He replied “Thank you” and finished the dishes. Once he finished the dishes he went into the room and told Tiffany that she has to start preparing for school. She smiled and said “Yay I like school, it is so much fun.” Robert smiled and said “Well hurry up so you don’t miss class” then he walked out of the room so she could dress. He went on to his room and changed out of his smoke-soaked clothes and into some regular clothes he deemed worthy to be seen in public with. Robert was always scared people would know his background due to the way he dressed so he would always try and dress as though he has always had a rich background. About twenty minutes passed and then they both were ready to go out. Robert stopped Tiffany at the door and went down their daily school checklist. “Tanny you have your lunch?” “Check daddy.” “Your socks?” “Check!” “Clean undies?” “Check!” “Homework?” “Check” “And a sweet kiss from daddy?” “Che- no daddy I don’t have that!” she smiled and looked up at him. “Okay baby here you go!” he lifted her up and kissed her on the cheek. Mishell watched smiling at the cuteness the two of them exuded while discussing things needed for school. “Alright granny I will be back. I’m going to drop off Tanny at school.” Mishell said “Okay” and Robert left.

About thirty minutes passed and Robert returned. He asked Mishell if she wanted to do something and she said “No sweety I just want to sit here and watch some television. You know I am still a bit fascinated by it.” “okay granny” he replied. Before she tried to get up and turn the television on he grabbed her cold hand and sat down next to her. He began “Granny I want to know some things about my parents. You remember them don’t you?” Mishell looked at him and rubbed her other hand against his cheek and replied “Of course I do.” Mishell smiled and paused. “Well sweety what do you want to know? I can only tell you what you want to know.” “Tell me about my father first.” she smiled and looked him in the eyes. “Alright, well your father was a great man. He worked in the lumber yard. He had a strong muscular build that I believe you got from him. He was a very serious man he was always concerned about you because you were his only child, and lucky for him you were a boy so you would carry on his name. He would constantly bug your mother about how you were and I would sit and listen and chuckle about the conversation they would have. She would always get annoyed when he began to ask about you. It was almost like they had switched places when he wanted to know things about you. He loved you very much but he never showed it. He always thought showing emotions was a sign of weakness and so he never did try to show any sort of caring for damn near anything. But…” she said with a smile and grasped his hand tighter. “One night I caught him holding you in his room and singing a sweet lullaby to you. Boy he had the deepest smoothest voice I have ever heard since the temptations. That man was truly a blessing and you should be happy to have had him in your life. He would always take care of me as well, even though I was not his mother. I loved your father. He treated me better than my mother treated me.” Mishell looked away and said “Alright baby what else would you want to know?” She smiled and looked back. “Robert what ever happened to your girlfriend…you know…Tiffany’s mother?” Robert’s smile turned quickly to a frown. “Granny well it was something like with how my father was just in this case it was a girl instead of a boy. I love Tiffany and so I would work overtime and when I did come home I paid more attention to the baby. Miranda did not want that. She was not ready to have a child and I made the mistake of thinking she was. I still love her with all my heart but it was something I had to do so I left her.” As he told Mishell his faced began to contort just to stop the tear from falling from his eye. He felt as though he had ruined a bit of Tiffany’s childhood by removing her mother. “Sometimes I really think that I made a mistake sometimes but” Mishell interrupted “No baby you have done nothing wrong do not regret anything.” Robert looked at her. Mishell continued “What have I taught you” “A Johnson never quits.” “That’s right sweety a Johnson never quits and that’s what you did not do!” As she spoke her grasp on Robert’s hand tightened “Don’t you quit on that child you raise her how you want and you are doing a damn good job.” Robert smiled and said “Thank you granny I love you.” he kissed Mishell on the cheek.

He stood up and said well granny all this emotion is a bit much for me so I am going to go outside and take a break and get some fresh air. She said “Okay do what you need to do.” she smiled and walked into the kitchen to get some water. While Robert was outside he looked at a picture of his father in his wallet. He wanted to know more. He walked back into the house and asked Mishell to know more about his father and his mother. She replied “Not now honey I want to watch some television. Don’t worry I will tell you more later. As long as I have my memory, you have your connection to your parents and my memory isn’t going anywhere.” She smiled and patted him on the back. “Ok granny. You know I love you.” “I love you too.” Mishell replied with a big smile. “You know Robert you are too hard on yourself sometimes. It’s like you make everybody’s problems your own. You need to stop that.” “I know granny I don’t know why I do that. Thanks, you really know what to say when I need to hear it.” Robert looked at her and smiled. Mishell replied “No baby, you are just still growing up and learning how to deal with things.” Mishell looked at Robert and held his hand “Boy, boy, boy you sure do know how to get this old lady talking. I still haven’t watched the television”

Mishell slowly walked over to the chair she always sat in while she watched television. This chair was old and faded, it smelled of her medicine bottles and a small bit of saliva due to her falling asleep and drooling so frequently, she loved the chair and wouldn’t trade it for any other chair. “Alright granny you go and watch your television shows. I am going in the back to lie down until it’s time to go get Tanny.” “Alright sweety I will probably be here sleep or watching my shows.” By the time she said that Robert had already went into the room but she had no clue because her eyes stayed glued to the television. She slowly became lost in the television, it was if she was being hypnotized. After a while she stood up to break the trance she was stuck in and walked into the kitchen. When she walked into the kitchen she realized that she developed a slight hunger so she walked over to the refrigerator and opened it up she didn’t see much that she wanted. While she stood there with her stomach making low rumbles she opened the freezer. She didn’t see anything in there either. Out of  anger she slammed the freezer door which caused a bottle of liquor that was sitting on top of the refrigerator to wobble and then fall which landed on Mishell’s head and broke.  When the pieces of glass hit the floor Robert jumped out of his sleep and ran to the kitchen. He knew that the alcohol had fallen because it is the only glass thing that was in the kitchen. He got to the door of the kitchen and saw Mishell dizzily walking back out. He grabbed her and said “Granny are you ok?” he walked her over to her chair. “Yes sweety I am fine just a little bump on the head.” She chuckled “Your dear old granny has faced worse than this. I’m as tough as nails” she smiled and looked at Robert. “Alright granny I can’t have anything happen to your beautiful face. I don’t know what I would do if I couldn’t look upon your beauty everyday.” they both laughed and hugged each other. Robert looked at his watch and said “Wow it’s almost time to go get Tanny Fanny. Granny are you coming this time?” “Yes I will go this time. Can you take me to the store? I would like to go and get something to eat.” “O yes granny I will take you. Come on let’s leave now so we can be there when Tanny comes out of the school gates.” they both got into the car and left.

When they arrived at the store all three of them got out and walked to the store. Mishell was rubbing her head a bit due to the bump she now had on her head. Robert and Tiffany walked over to get bread, milk and other essentials. Mishell went over to get frozen chicken to bake later when she began to make dinner for everyone. Meanwhile, Robert was asking Tiffany a few questions regarding her numbers “Hey Tanny Fanny. How old are you?” “I am seven.” “Show me with your hands.” She then slowly counted seven fingers. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, see dad I am this many years old.” “Very good you little genius.” Robert then rubbed the top of her head. “Okay so let’s add.” “Aw I don’t like math a lot.” “It’s okay Tanny this won’t be difficult. If daddy was sixteen when he had you, how old is he now?” Tiffany looked at her hands then at Robert then back down at her hands and began counting silently. “seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, daddy you are twenty three?” Robert looked down in amazement. “Yes sweety I am twenty-three great job!” By the time they were done they had reached the front of the store. “Hey Tanny go get granny and tell her to come on so we can ring up her stuff and go get some ice cream.” “okay dad.” She ran down the isles to go find Mishell. She then came back two minutes later and asked “Daddy what is a stranger?” Robert looked down and said “It is a person that you do not know and should not listen to or go with. Strangers are dangerous.” “Well am I dangerous?” “No, no you are not.” “Well granny just called me a stranger and she wouldn’t come with me.” Robert then walked rapidly down the isles to find Mishell and get her. He became scared that she may be forgetting things. He found her on the drinks isle looking at prices of water. When Robert walked up she said “Hey sweety you all ready to go?” Robert breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes granny I am ready to go.” “What’s wrong deary? You seemed worried.” “Nothing granny I thought you were losing your memory.” Mishell laughed. “You crazy boy I told you that my memory isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.” Robert hugged Mishell and walked with his arm wrapped around her to the register. Once the items were bagged and paid for they all walked out to the car. Robert went to the trunk and began to put the groceries in the trunk. While doing that he noticed a figure standing very still on the side of the passenger side of the car. A slight cold chill went through his body because he was nervous as to who the person may be. He looked over to the side and saw that it was Mishell. He breathed a sigh of relief and said “Granny you scared me.” With a big smile on his face he opened up the car door “Get on in so I can leave when I am done with the groceries.”  Mishell then looked up at Robert very puzzled. She replied “Who are you?” Robert stepped back “Granny what did you say?” “Why do you keep calling me granny? Who are you young man?” Robert hugged Mishell very tightly. “Granny I love you, please do not do this to me.” As he said those words his voice became more shaky and hoarse and tears began to run down his cheeks. “Come on miss it is time for you to go home.” “Okay sweety.” Mishell got in the car and Robert slowly walked with his head down to put the rest of the groceries in the car. He finished and sat in the car, “Daddy I’m good at counting aren’t I?”  “Not now sweety, daddy is tired.” Robert slowly raised his hands to the wheel and drove home.

When they got home Robert unloaded the groceries and went to his room. He held the picture of his father in his hand and began to cry. “Father what have I done to deserve this? I just want to know about you so I can have some guidance to raise my little girl.” Tears began to run consistently down his cheeks. He feared he would know nothing about his parents ever. He wiped his eyes, laid down and took a nap. When he awoke he smelled baked chicken in the air. He didn’t know where it was coming from so he rushed into the kitchen and saw Mishell cooking. He smiled and hugged her, “O granny I thought you had lost your memory.” “No sweety. I told you that my memory wasn’t going anywhere. How many pieces of chicken do you want?” “Four will be fine for me.” Robert went into the living room and sat down. He began rub his slowly balding blonde hair and saw Tiffany drawing pictures. “Hey Tanny. What happened while I was sleep?” “Well dad granny had asked where she was and who we all were so I told her. When I told her that we were best friends she remembered.” Robert looked at her. “Are you sure that is what happened?” “Yes daddy.” Robert went to his room and called the doctor.  The doctor suggested that she come down and get checked out just in case there was any internal damage done when she was hit in the head. He scheduled an appointment for Friday, the next day, after he drops off Tiffany. For the rest of the night he had Mishell rest and tell him all that she could remember about his parents. “Granny how did my father die? Well, what caused his death?” “I am not entirely sure but I remember that night. It was a beautiful night. The moon was full and there was a sweet scent in the air, I believe it was perfume that your mother had on. Your father was caring for you while your mother cooked. It was almost magical how everything went so well. He was singing and dancing with you in his arms. Then something went wrong. Somehow he had accidentally hit your head into a wall while he was dancing. You began to cry and your mother had gotten angry. Your father wasn’t one to be sad so he just got angry back and yelled at her. He then set you down and walked around the block. When he left I picked you up and rocked you to sleep. Whenever your father gets mad he goes and walks around the block. He goes to the end of the block and walks back. Well this time there were some gang members on the corner. We heard grunts and moans and then we ran outside. We saw them beating up your father and we began to yell. We ran to the corner and your father, Micheal, was on the ground breathing heavily. He was stabbed in the chest. We could not do anything. He laid there and died but before he died he kissed your mother and I and told us both he loves us and you.” Mishell began to cry upon remembering the moment.  “We left him there and went back to the house to call an ambulance. That is how your father died.” Robert sat speechless in the chair. He went over to Mishell and hugged her. Mishell hugged him back “Thank you sweety, I am done with the stories for right now I will tell you more later but I am no longer in the mood.” Mishell went to her room for the night. Robert went as well after he cleaned up and sent Tiffany to bed.

After dropping Tiffany off at school Robert took Mishell to the doctor’s office and had her checked out. The doctor told him that she is developing the Alzheimer’s disease. “Robert.” the doctor said, “That bump on the head had injured her memory quite a bit. It seemed to have been a catalyst to the memory loss symptom of the disease. She still is at a point where she can remember things, she will just need something that will help bring back her memory when she loses it. Luckily there was no internal damage or bleeding. There is nothing you can do to stop this. No medicine will cure this disease. I am sorry.” Robert shook the doctor’s hand and left with Mishell. Mishell had asked what the doctor had told him and he would only reply “Nothing granny.” with a smile. He then took her home and had her discuss all of her past to him so he would figure out the things that would bring back her memory. Robert realized that he only had a small amount of time to retrieve his parents memories but he decided to know his granny just so her memory can forever live in his heart and he will always know his granny whether or not she has forgotten her past and pleasures.

The End