New Meetings

Carly's head slumped against the window. She tuned out the oldies music on the radio and the small talk her father and grandfather were making. She was still in shock to find out that there was another member of the family. Moreover, she was a member of the family who had been around for a hundred and thirteen years.

The car finally came to a halt. She had not realized that they had parked. They walked through the parking lot and came to a small tan building, with dozens of flowers and trees. Carly paid no attention to the name of the building as she walked through the automatic doors. Her father received warm greetings as he walked up to the information desk.

"Why, hello Mr. Ryan. It sure has been a while; we've missed you around here." Exclaimed a woman with glowing cheeks and curly blonde hair.

"Why thank you Missy. I am glad to see you are still working here. It has been far too long."

Carly took a seat in the lobby, alongside her grandfather. He gave her a small smile and a kiss on her forehead.

"Do you remember when you were younger and your father and I would always say we were going on fishing trips, but mysteriously never caught anything?"

"Yes."

"We came here instead, to see your great-grandmother. We wanted to take you to see her, but we were afraid that she would give a blank reaction, and we did not want to frighten you at such a young age. My mother was such a kind-hearted woman. She was a sneaky one, when I tried to make mischief as a boy, it always seemed as if she were three steps ahead of me. Every time I would try to sneak a sweet from the kitchen, she would catch me." He said, as his eyes glistened.

Carly could not help but smile at his reminiscing. She could not help but wonder what it would be like when she came face to face with her great-grandmother. Would she be greeted with a smile, a scowl, or a sleeping elder? Her father shook her from her brainstorms.

"Missy said we can go in now."

Carly followed her father and grandfather through a few hallways until they came to a room, located in the back of the house. They opened the door, and quietly stepped inside. Carly took in her surroundings. The small coffee table and dark suede couch, the old-faded photographs of her grandfather, the cracked but clean tiles, the small kitchen nook, and a white door, opened just a smidge. She followed through the door and into a small, neat bedroom. Her eyes lay upon the aging woman in the bed. Her skin was wrinkled, her hair thin and white, her sullen face being wrapped with a air tube, her small pale hands, one of which carrying an IV needle, a blank look on her face, and her sad brown eyes cast out the window.

Carly's grandfather and father stepped foreword to greet her.

"Hi mom, its Shawn and I, remember? We wanted to see how you were feeling?"

"You don't look a day over eighty." Joked my dad, in a failed attempt to get some kind of reaction out of her. "Grandma, this is Carly, your great-grand-daughter. She was hoping to be acquainted with you, and maybe her some of your stories. She's been looking foreword to seeing you."

Carly could not help but laugh at her father's small fib. How could she have been looking foreword to meeting her great-grandmother, when she did not learn about her existence until today? Carly was gently nudged towards the bed. She could not help but just stare at her great-grandmother. She heard the rustling of her father and grandfather in the background.

"Sweetie, your grandpa and I have some errands to run. We will just leave you two alone and we will come get you in about an hour. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call Missy."

As Carly heard the door click behind her, she sighed to herself. She wondered if Missy could bring a miracle.