"How are you gonna start this one?"
"I'm… gonna start with the stem," said Lita. "And then I'll paint the petals."
"Great idea," said Grandma Sandy. "What about you, Juanny?"
"I'm painting Optimus Prime, and I'm starting with the body," said the boy.
"Who's that?"
"He's a Transformer."
"He's a what?"
"A Cybertronian, the leader of the Autobot forces."
From Grandma Sandy's face, it was obvious his explanation hadn't helped.
"It's a robot-car," clarified Lizzy.
The grandmother made an 'Oh' with her mouth as she nodded slowly.
All three kids plus grandmother were gathered around the kitchen table and painting with acrylics. The surface had been covered with a plastic, but there were messy brushes all around, scraps of paper and smears of paint everywhere, including on the kids themselves. While Juan and Lizzy sat on a chair each, Grandma Sandy was holding Lita on her lap.
"I'm going to paint Megatron next, his mortal enemy," continued Juan.
"Right…" said Grandma Sandy. "So what about you, Lizzy?"
"Oh, I'm painting my Ukulele. It's lame, I know," she said. "But if it turns out okay, I can frame it and hang it in my room."
"No! I think that's great."
"Grandma I'm done with the stem!" said Lita grabbing her grandmother's attention again. "What color should I use for the petals?"
"Hmm, how about brown?"
The little girl made a disgust face. "Eww! Not brown!"
The grandmother laughed.
"I think I'll use blue," said the girl.
She was about to dip her brush into the blob of paint by Juan's side, when her brother stopped her.
"No! I need this for Optimus Prime, he's blue and red!" complained Juan.
"But I want to paint my flower blue!" said Lita.
"It's alright munchkin," intervened the grandma. "We'll just get more from the bottle."
Sandy took the blue paint bottle and squeezed some of it on the palate Lita was using.
"There," she said.
"Thanks grandma. Can you help me with the outline?" asked Lita.
"Absolutely."
She grabbed Lita's hand and helped her move the brush across the page. In that moment, Pete, who was walking by on his way to another room, took in the sight of the kitchen table and stopped dead in his tracks.
"Mom, what are you doing? Don't coddle Lita like that, it's not good for her," he said.
"Oh, zip it, I'm her grandmother, I've earned that right."
"But Mom—"
"Oh, shush, you're the one who shouldn't coddle your children, not me. I'm free to spoil these kids as much as I want."
"I – ugh. I give up," he sighed, "Just don't forget to clean up after, alright?" he said as he went on his way.
A smile came over Lizzy's face, who had watched the whole interaction in amusement.
"Why doesn't Daddy want you to cuddle me, Grandma Sandy?"
"Oh, don't you worry about him, munchkin. He's just jealous."
Lita giggled.
All of them continued to work on their respective art projects until, after a while, they had a collection of 'paintings' scattered around the kitchen table.
"Alright kids, I think that's enough for today. We need to let these dry and you all have to go get yourselves cleaned up. Lita, honey pie, go upstairs, take off these clothes and jump in the shower, alright? You've got paint everywhere!"
Lita laughed but complied, jumping off her grandma's lap and running upstairs.
"You too, peanut," she turned to Juan.
"But I'm not as bad as her!" complained the boy.
Grandma Sandy took a brush and ran it across his face, getting paint in his hair as well.
"GRANDMA!" Juan screamed.
The grandmother laughed and said, "Well, now you are. Off you go."
Juan stood up slowly, but before he left, he dipped his fingers in paint and smeared it all over his grandmother's face, and then shot running upstairs, laughing.
Sandy was so shocked that it took her a few seconds to process what'd just happened. "Hey!" she finally managed to get out. "Yeah you better run, mister, your butt's in a sling!" she called after him.
And then she looked at Lizzy, and both of them burst out laughing.
"Those kids," said the grandmother, standing up to get a paper towel. "I swear one day I'm going just to eat 'em up."
Lizzy smiled.
"How'd your Ukulele turn out?" asked Sandy as she cleaned her face.
"Good, I think! I'll wait for it to dry first but I really think I could frame this. What do you think?" she asked as she held up the painting.
"Looks damn good, just like a piece of art."
The teenager laughed as she put the painting down.
"So," said Sandy as she sat down next to Lizzy. "You gonna tell me how therapy's going for ya?"
Lizzy looked up in complete shock.
"Oh, don't give me that face. You thought I wouldn't find out you're getting therapy too?"
The teen girl lowered her gaze and shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe? Mom and Dad promised they wouldn't tell anyone…"
"Don't worry kid, they didn't break that promise. In fact, they didn't tell me about any of you. I had to find out through your siblings when they told me they were seeing a doctor every week, a doctor for talking. So I asked your parents what the hell's going on and they told me. And then I put two and two together, and figured you must be in therapy, too."
Lizzy nodded, slowly.
"Frankly, I wish they hadn't tried to hide it from me," continued Sandy. "But I…" she sighed. "I guess I can understand not wanting to say anything yet. So, how's it going?"
The teen girl gave her a small smile. "Good, actually. I thought it would be different, but… I don't know. It's okay so far."
Grandma Sandy gave her a smile as she squeezed the teenager's arm.
"Yeah?" she asked.
"Yeah," said Lizzy. "Some of my friends from foster care have done counselling in the past and they said it was pretty bad. But the programme I'm on doesn't have any of the bullshit I'd heard about. It's pretty chill. I like it. And Juan and Lita do, too. They both like their therapists, although I think Lita mostly plays with hers," she let out a laugh.
Sandy joined her, but turned serious after a few seconds.
"I heard about little Juanny's past."
"Oh… yeah."
"When they told me I just… I went up to him next chance I got and hugged him so hard I think I crushed him. I can't imagine what it must have been like for you."
Lizzy sighed. "A part of me just… keeps blaming myself."
"Oh kid, come here."
The grandmother took the granddaughter into her arms and hugged her for a long time.
"Don't blame yourself, kid, or you'll be taking blame away from the disgusting assbag that did this to Juan. Heck, if I ever see him, I won't hesitate to give him a taste of his own medicine, see how he likes that."
Lizzy chuckled and looked up at her. "Thanks, grandma."
"How do you feel about… pressing charges against that sack of shit? Do you want them to?"
"I don't know. I mean, I do, but I know that would involve a lot of court hearings for Juan, and I don't want that for him. They've already had their share of court dates, I mean we all have. I wouldn't want him to have more," she sighed. "I know our ex-case-workers know about the situation and they are trying to track him down, with the help of our birth mom."
"Oh, so she knows? Petey didn't say."
"Yeah… after I came to terms with it, Mom and Dad were talking about telling Karen and Sharon so they could notify our birth mother, but I wanted to be the one to tell her."
"I see."
"I arranged a meeting and told her myself, but Mom and Dad were nearby and they came to talk to her after that to see if she would help us find him and maybe build a case against him."
"How'd she take it?"
"She started crying. She said she wanted to help, but… she just cried the whole time. It was pretty bad."
"Aw honey."
Sandy hugged Lizzy closer, who melted into the hug.
"And how'd you take that?"
"I mean, I cried, too, but…" she shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, it's confusing. I think Mario used to hit her too, when I wasn't around. She didn't say. I just overheard my parents talking. So… I don't know. I love her, and I know she suffered too, you know? But I'm also angry at her for allowing that to happen. I want to remember the good stuff with her, but it's hard with something like this. And, I don't know. As much as I blame myself, Juan is right. It wasn't just my job to protect him."
"Honey, it wasn't your job at all."
"That's what my therapist keeps saying."
"Lizzy, in case I forget to tell you later: I want you to know you're the bravest kid I know. I couldn't be prouder of you even if I tried."
Lizzy smiled. "Thanks, Grandma Sandy."
"But for the love of god, never shut me out like this again. If anything happens in your life, I want to know, that clear? If you win a soccer match, I want to know. If you ace another test, I want to know. If you fart, I want to know. You understand me?"
Lizzy laughed out loud.
"Yes, ma'am."
"So now, tell me about your boy situation."
Lizzy blushed immediately. "Grandma!"
"Oh, c'mon kid. It's just me. I want all the juicy stuff you don't tell your parents."
"Grandmaaa!" exclaimed Lizzy again. She covered her face with her hands while she tried to hide her embarrassment.
"Well, you gonna leave me hangin' or what?"
"Fine, uhm…so there's this boy…"
"Yeah…" said Sandy. "Charlie, is it? The cute red-headed one?"
"How do you know!?"
"You think I'm blind? I saw how you were looking at him at your adoption court date."
"Oh my god…"
"Don't worry, I doubt any of the others noticed. So, you two an item yet?"
Lizzy smiled as she blushed again. "No…"
"But you're hoping soon?"
Lizzy let out a small laugh. "I have a date with him tomorrow. Like, an official first date."
"What? Oh my god!" she squealed.
The grandmother took Lizzy into her arms again and squeezed her into her chest before releasing her again.
"Tell me, what are you gonna do? Where you goin'? You need money?"
"No, grandma! It's okay!" Lizzy laughed. "We're just going to watch a movie at the theater. Maybe get some food after."
"Let me get my purse," said Sandy as she made to get up.
"Grandma! Stop!" Lizzy put a hand over her. "It's fine, Mom already gave me some money, plus I have pocket money too."
"Well I don't care. My Lizzy's going on her first date, there's no way I'm letting you have anything but the best."
Sandy stood up to grab her purse. "Plus, even if you already have enough, you can use some of it for next time," she winked.
She took out a $100 bill from her purse and handed it to Lizzy.
"Grandma, you're crazy!"
"How about a little thanks here?"
Lizzy laughed but reached over to give her grandmother a hug.
"Thanks Grandma Sandy."
"Just don't tell your dad, okay? He'll accuse me of coddling you, too."
Lizzy gave her a big smile. "Deal."
