Chapter 18
"Hi! You must be William!?" said a middle-aged woman opening the front door of Beverly's house. "Come on in!" she added.
"Uh, who are you and where is my grandma?" William asked.
"Oh I'm sorry, I'm your grandma's nurse, Nancy." she said. "Come on in, your grandma's in the living room." Nancy said.
William stepped in and went straight to the living room, finding her grandmother sitting on her chair with a wool blanket on her lap, watching some TV. Beverly saw her grandson and gave him a smile.
"Oh my god William! What a nice surprise!" Beverly exclaimed. "Come here and give your old grandma a kiss." said Beverly while raising her arms, welcoming William.
William hugged Beverly and kissed her cheek. "Are you doing okay grandma?" William asked while holding her hand.
Beverly touched William's face. "I'm doing fine dear. You don't have to worry about me." she said. "By the way, I saw your graduation speech the other day. It was so beautiful what you did for your mother." She said.
"Well, mom is pretty great. I was thinking after all the things she went through to raise me and Sarah, I figured that she deserves more recognition than just being our mother and dad's wife." Said William.
"And that last part about me and your grandpa?" Beverly asked, smiling at him.
"You saw that huh?" William sheepishly said.
"I knew you were up to something when you were five." Beverly said while lightly pinching William's cheek. "But I'm glad you did dear. Your grandpa may be gone now but at least we got to forgive each other." She added. William hugged Beverly once more. "Ugh that's my boy." Beverly said.
"Do you need anything grandma? Tea? Ginger ale maybe?" he asked.
"Green tea would be nice." Beverly said.
William stood up. "Okay, I'll get us some green tea." he said as he walked towards the kitchen.
William was back in no time, bringing two cups of green tea for him and Beverly.
Nancy excused herself from Beverly and William. "I'm gonna give you guys some privacy. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything okay?" Nancy said to Beverly and William.
"Thank you dear." Beverly said as William gave her the cup. "So, how's your stay at Princeton?" she asked.
"Me and my advisor already started on my dissertation but I still have a long way to go." he said.
"I'm sure you'll be able to figure it out." she said. "By the way, I was talking to Sarah a couple of weeks ago and she told me how sad Penny was when you told her that you're gonna move here to New Jersey." She added.
"Well you know mom, always protective of her little boy." William said.
"Sarah also told me that Howard's daughter is your girlfriend?" Beverly asked.
"Oh, that girl just won't stop blabbing about other people's business huh?" William said, referring to his sister.
"Is it true?" Beverly asked.
William sighed. "Yes grandma."
"So, I'm guessing it didn't go well when they found out huh?" said Beverly.
William hung his head. "No." he said.
"Well, did you break up with her?" she asked.
"No grandma. We decided to wait since she's still a minor." said William.
"And Howard and Bernadette are okay with that?" asked Beverly.
"I guess, I mean I kissed Halley in front of them before I left so I guess it's okay for uncle Howard and aunt Bernie." he said making Beverly laugh.
"You kissed her in front of her parents?" she asked.
"Yeah, but I gave her a gold necklace first. You know, something to remind her of me." he said.
"That is so nice!" Beverly exclaimed. "Sarah also told me about Erin. Who is this Erin?" asked Beverly.
William clenched his fist and curled his lips. "Oh, that girl is gonna get it when I see her!" said William, referring to his sister. "Why does she have to blab about everything!?" he said.
"Who's this Erin anyway?" Beverly asked.
William sighed. "She and her roommate Kim live across the hall from me. She invited me over to dinner at her place when I moved in." he said.
"Sarah must have thought that you were cheating on Halley huh?" Beverly said.
"Sarah's imagination sometimes gets out of hand grandma. She thinks that because I'm just being friendly with my neighbors that I'm already sleeping around or something." said William making Beverly laugh a little.
"Well your sister has too much of your mother in her so I guess her reaction could be expected." said Beverly,
William looked at Beverly. "Grandma are you sure you're okay? You look like you could use some sun or something." he said.
"I'm an old woman dear. I just never expected to reach this age." she said, smiling at him.
"Have you had a doctor take a look at you?" he said.
"Yes, but the doctors can't do anything anymore." Said Beverly. "I guess it's just a matter of time now until I join your grandpa huh?" she added.
"Grandma please don't say that!" he said, trying hard not to cry.
Beverly touched William's cheek and smiled at him. "Don't be sad dear. I already have everything I need. I've already done everything in my life. I'm ready." she said.
"Grandma please." said William, wiping the tear from his eye.
"'William, all my children are successful in their lives, I have wonderful grandchildren, what more could I ask for?" she said. "I'm glad to have wonderful grandchildren like you and your sister." Beverly added.
They continued to catch up as William told her about his time at Princeton while Beverly told her about the time when his aunts, uncles and cousins visited her about a month ago.
"You should stay for dinner William." said Nancy. "I'm gonna make something special." she added.
"Okay, thanks." William said as he continued to talk with his grandmother.
"So how's Sarah and her boyfriend?" asked Beverly.
"You know how she is grandma, always hiding something from mom and dad." he said.
"Do you think she's doing something stupid with Jason?" Beverly asked.
"You know her grandma, she always does something stupid." said William making Beverly laugh a little.
"Well, she is Penny's daughter after all." she said, amused by her grandson's story.
"How is your father coping with it?" she asked.
"You know dad, I think it shortened his lifespan by five years." joked William making Beverly laugh.
"I can already picture Leonard pulling out the hairs on his head when Sarah started seeing her boyfriend." Beverly said.
"You can say that again grandma." he said. "He's always a little anxious, sometimes drinking mom's bourbon when she's not around, probably just to calm his nerves a little bit." he said.
"I hope he doesn't overdo it." she said. "You know, with his recent heart attack and all." Beverly added.
"I'm quiet sure dad knows that." said William.
Nancy was done making dinner so William helped his grandma up towards the kitchen, holding her arm to keep her from tripping. They started to eat while making small talk.
"Are you staying here with my grandma Ms. Nancy?" William asked as they ate dinner.
"Oh no, I go home around nine, nine thirty." said Nancy.
"Are you okay being alone grandma?" asked William. "I mean, what if something happens?" he said.
"Oh I wouldn't worry about that. Nancy just lives down the road, a few blocks from here." said Beverly. "And I always have her on speed dial just in case." she added.
"What if I stay here with you? I would sleep better with me looking out for you." said William.
"You're so sweet dear but I'm fine right here. You don't have to worry." said Beverly. "And besides, you're here to focus on your research. I don't want you to get distracted or anything." she said.
"Grandma you're not a distraction." said William.
Beverly smiled, touched by her grandson's concern. "Trust me dear, I'll be fine." she said, reassuring William.
"Okay how about this, I'll sleep over here every weekend just so you have someone looking out for you." he offered.
"William, you're a young man, I don't want you to miss out on your social life." said Beverly.
"Please grandma, let me do this." he said touching her arm.
Beverly looked at her grandson and nodded. "Okay. It seems you won't take no for an answer anyway?" she said laughing a little.
"Don't worry grandma, you're not keeping me from anything. I promise." he said as they continued to eat.
They finished eating as William helped Beverly back to the living room while Nancy cleaned up in the kitchen. He returned to the kitchen to help out Nancy in cleaning up the dishes.
"Ms. Nancy, is my grandma going to be alright?" he asked.
Nancy sighed. "I'm not gonna lie to you William but your grandma is very old." she said. "I make sure she doesn't forget her medicines but you know how it is, the medicines can only do as much." said Nancy. "I'm sure you understand right?" she added.
William nodded, saddened by the truth in Nancy's words.
Nancy touched William's arm. "Don't worry William, if you can only hear how much your grandma talks about you and your sister and how proud she is of how the two of you have turned out." said Nancy.
William was speechless by what he heard. "I don't know what to say." he said.
"William, your grandma is happy." she said reassuring the young man.
After cleaning up, William said his goodbye to his grandmother, promising to visit as much as he can.
"Bye grandma. I promise I'll visit as often as I can." he said hugging his grandma.
"I'll be here." said Beverly kissing William on the cheek.
William hugged Nancy. "That dinner was delicious." he said.
"Thank you. And don't worry about Beverly, I'm gonna look after her." said Nancy as William released his hug.
William left Beverly's house and went straight to his car to drive back to his apartment.