Grandma Healy

21-year-old Leah Healy sat at the table of her favorite local coffee shop, mindlessly sipping her latte. She knew this paper wasn't going to write itself, and yet she thought if she just sat here maybe she'd get lucky. Leah was a senior at the University of Chicago, but she lived off-campus half an hour away with her best friend Kayleigh. Today, however, she was even further away from campus; it was the weekend and she was home visiting her mother and extended family in Lanford, one hour away from school.

She was staying with Mom in her apartment, which was just minutes away from her maternal grandparents, as well as her aunt Darlene, and Darlene's children, Harris and Mark. Harris and Mark were Leah's double cousins – Darlene was her mother Becky's sister, and Harris and Mark's father was David, the younger brother of Leah's late father, Mark (the naming inspiration for her cousin). Darlene and David were now divorced, but David had recently reunited with his ex-wife, daughter, and met his son for the first time. Leah's uncle DJ, (Mom's younger brother), and Cousin Mary also lived nearby.

Leah was grateful she got to spend so much time with her Mom's side of the family, the Conners. As dysfunctional as they could be, they were the only extended family she, Harris, and Mark had ever known. However, she had a lot of questions about the family whose last name she carried. She had tried asking her mother, and even her father when he was still alive (during the first seven years of her life), about the mysterious Healys. She could remember being about six years old and sitting on her father's lap (her favorite place to be). She had mentioned that her friend had two grandmas, but she only had one, and was curious as to where this elusive second grandma could be (not her word choice as a six-year-old, of course).

"I know Granny Rose is Mommy's mommy, but where is your mommy, Daddy?" she had asked.

Mark had taken a deep breath and told his daughter that he didn't know, but he was glad that Leah hadn't met her, because she was not a nice person: not to him, Uncle David, their two little sisters, Leah's mommy, or Aunt Darlene. This was, of course, incredibly hard for Leah to wrap her mind around. A grandma who wasn't nice? Every time she visited Granny Rose and Grandpa Dan, Granny Rose always gave her cookies, read her stories, and if she was spending the night without her parents, Granny Rose let her stay up way later than Mommy or Daddy ever would. Were there really grandmas who weren't like that?

Today, Leah was 15 years older, and while it was easier for her to understand that not all a person's family members were necessarily nice or good people, she still wondered about the Healy side of the family. That was 50% of her genes, of Harris' genes, of Mark's genes, that they didn't know anything about, other than what they knew of their fathers.

Suddenly, an older woman at a table near Leah's stood up and walked over to the counter.

"May I help you?" the barista asked.

"Yes," the woman said irritably. "I clearly asked for whole milk in my drink and you stupidly put in skim."

"I'm so sorry, ma'am. I can make you a new drink at no charge. What is your name again?"

"Barbara," the woman said haughtily.

Leah's head snapped up. Barbara. All she knew about her paternal grandmother was that her name was Barbara. Granted, Barbara was a relatively common name, at least among this woman's generation, but it still got Leah's mind racing.

Barbara came back over to her table and sat down. She noticed Leah looking at her.

"This place can never get my damn order right," she complained to Leah.

Before Leah could stop herself, she blurted out, "do you have a son named Mark?"

The woman seemed taken aback, as anyone would be if they had complained about customer service and in turn been randomly asked about children they did or didn't have, but she quickly regained composure.

"I had four children," she replied quickly. "Mark was my eldest, my first mistake."

Leah tried to remain calm as the woman insulted her father and kept listening.

"At 19, Mark ruined his life and eloped with some high school slut, but I have no idea what became of either of them," Barbara shrugged nonchalantly.

"They had a baby," Leah chimed in, again before she could stop herself.

Barbara just stared back at Leah.

"Hi, Grandma," Leah continued emotionlessly, although inside her she was overcome with all kinds of emotions.

"You're Mark's daughter," Barbara said, more as a statement than a question. "I thought you looked familiar.

"Yes," Leah answered. "50% your mistake, 50% some high school slut, in the flesh. Your flesh," she added.

"What's he doing these days?" Barbara asked. Leah couldn't quite read her grandmother's emotions. For the most part, she sounded like she truly didn't care. But there was also perhaps a hint of genuine curiosity.

"He's been buried in the Lanford Cemetery for the past 14 years," Leah replied.

"Oh," Barbara said flatly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

Are you? Leah wondered. But instead, she replied, "thanks."

"Do you know anything about your uncle?" Barbara inquired quietly.

"You have two other grandchildren by David – another granddaughter, Harris, and a grandson, named after my dad," Leah said. "Uncle David left when Harris was five and volunteered overseas for almost a decade. He and Darlene are divorced, but he recently reunited with his children. He lives in Lanford now."

"Oh," Barbara said again.

It was silent for a few moments. Leah couldn't think of anything else to say. I mean, she could think of a lot of very colorful things to say to this woman, but she didn't know where to start.

"Barbara," the barista said.

Leah internally sighed with relief. "I gotta go. Uh…I hope they got your drink right this time."

Barbara stood up. "Thanks," she headed for the counter. Leah quickly gathered up her things and left.

Leah burst through the front door of her grandparents' house. Harris was sitting on the couch, playing on her phone.

"Harris, you're not gonna believe this!" Leah set her backpack on the floor and sat down next to her cousin.

"Is it really important? I'm almost to the next level of Candy Crush."

Leah rolled her eyes. "Yes, it's important. I met Grandma!"

Harris looked up from her phone. "Uh, I've met her too. Plenty of times. I live in the same house as her."

"No. Not Grandma Conner. Grandma Healy."

"Dad's mom? Where? How? Is she as much of a bitch as Mom said she is?"

"She was at the coffee shop. There was a lady named Barbara and, on a hunch, I asked her if she had a son named Mark and she did. And a son named David, plus two other kids. And she was totally bitching out the cashier before we talked. I could totally see her doing and saying everything Mom and Aunt Darlene said she did."

"Wow. Did you tell her you're her granddaughter?" Harris asked.

"I did. She didn't seem to really care all that much about that, or that her son was dead, but we actually had a conversation for a while. I can't believe it," Leah took a sip from her latte.

"Me neither," Harris agreed. "I can't believe you've never run into her before considering how small this trash town is."

"Honestly, I hope I never run into her again. I can't believe we're related. She's awful. I mean, I don't know what I was expecting, but I'm still disappointed."

"I can understand why. With the way she treated Dad and Uncle Mark – plus Mom and Aunt Becky – it's for the better she's not in our lives."

"I know," Leah admitted. Granny Rose entered the room.

"Harris, dinner is –" she started, before noticing Leah. "Well, hi, Leah, when did you get –" but before her grandmother could finish, Leah stood up and wrapped her grandmother up in the tightest hug she had ever given her.

Granny Rose returned the embrace. "What's this for?" she asked, smiling.

"I just love you so much," Leah couldn't help but tear up. She had realized that day that one grandma was all she needed in her life.