Chapter 23
SPOV
After spending the day with Daddy yesterday I decided to get up this morning and go out to the assisted living community where Grandma Mazur was. Ranger had her moved there after her short stay in the hospital. Even though Grandma is in her 80's she doesn't seem like the type of woman that needs to be in an assisted living community. I guess she's always been so full of life that it seems like nothing could ever take her down.
The place was right outside of Trenton and took about 20 minutes to drive to from Rangeman. I made my way to the reception area and signed in so I could be taken back to where she was staying. This place had high security, and since Ranger picked the place I didn't expect anything less, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't pay them to up the security on the building.
"Grandma?" I said as I entered the room.
"Stephanie?" she said from the living room area, "Come in here and sit down with me, we need to talk".
"Before you read me the riot act I want to apologize to you. I never wanted you to get hurt and I just hope that you can forgive me for everything that has happened." I said, almost afraid of what my Grandma's response would be.
"Stephanie, you did not do this to me. Helen had been drinking heavily for quite some time, your Dad and I knew and turned a blind eye to it thinking she would quit. We didn't know how close to the edge she really was until that night. Your mother feel into a deep depression a while back, and between Valerie's divorce and getting remarried and your divorce she fell further and further into the bottle. Her thinking of you divorcing Joe who was the perfect Burg boy and marrying Ranger who was nothing like any of us was just too much for her. Please do not blame yourself for this, you did not force the woman to drink. Just make one promise to me, remember that we are your family and we love you. Don't cut us out." Grandma said as she held my hand.
"I won't, I was so afraid that you and Daddy would blame me for everything that happened that you would never want to speak to me again. After what I said at the funeral I know that the whole Burg will be talking about it for years to come." I said between tears.
"Listen here Steph, I don't care about the Burg and what they think of any of us. Your Dad is moving out of the Burg and hopefully soon I can move out to that new house with him. Ranger came by yesterday when you were with your Dad and told me about everything. Work on you, work on making yourself happy. You deserve happiness and don't let anyone else tell you that you don't. I love you very much." Grandma hugged me as she finished talking to me.
I spent another hour sitting and talking with Grandma and felt like a weight had been lifted off me once I left and headed home. Now the last of the family I needed to talk to was Valerie, then maybe I can work on moving on and making myself happy.