"…Leah and Connor." I felt a big smile automatically form on my lips and I high- fived with Connor while the others clapped their hands and Mr. Schue pulled out a card from Breadstix out of his pocket and reached it to me. "And today at five you will have a Friday- night- dinner for two to look forward to."
Mr. Schue started explaining on why he had decided on ours- that he loved what we wanted to say with how we needed all kinds of love to know what love was. And then he turned to Jonah. "And from next week we will start preparing for sectionals, and I need someone to doodle ideas with and with everything's that's been going on lately. I was thinking…" He glanced over the group. "Jonah? Do you want to help me?"
Jonah nodded, I knew that he loved helping out. But I had a good idea about why it really was that Mr. Schue wanted to give Jonah a chance for this and I could tell from the look in Jonah's eyes that he had too. Jonah stayed after the rehearsal to ask Mr. Schue if it actually was about the fact that Mr. Schue wanted to give Jonah as much as possible as he might or might not even be here by the time it was time for regionals- if we got through sectionals that was.
"Leah." Amy caught up with me when I stood by my locker. "I know it's you and Connor who are supposed to go to Breadstix, but if you can help me to get Connor to go there with someone else. Then I swear I will take you to Breadstix myself and pay for anything you want."
Connor POV
"Connor" Leah caught up in the hallway just as I was walking homewards. "I had forgotten something about later today. We were going to my grandma and grandpa's and I really can't go to Breadstix. I asked a few of your friends in the glee club if they could go with you instead of me and one said yes, gotta go now. Bye."
I tried getting the time to where I could ask her who but didn't get the chance. I sent her a text- message and I knew for a fact that Leah was usually fast with replying but she didn't answer me during the whole evening. And at last I found myself standing outside Breadstix alone while the clock was slowly getting closer and closer to five.
"Connor?" I suddenly heard a voice while I stood looking down on my phone to check if Leah had answered me, I looked up and felt the usual extra beat of my heart when my grey eyes met his brown and we both smiled. "Leah asked me if I could go hear with you instead of her today so… well here I am!"
"Ehrm…" I tried to think of something to say. "Well… she never told me who I was going with just that she wasn't coming so… well, shall we go in because as I can see the clock just reached five?" Rafaél nodded and jumped in front of me and opened the door. "Thanks"
"So." I felt my heart beating loud of nervousity when we left through the same door again. "I had a really great time tonight." I put my hands in my pocket and nervously fingered on the coins that I always had in the jeans pockets.
"Yeah me too." Rafaél answered. "Ehrm… would you maybe… maybe like to do it again some time? Not specifically this but maybe just… meet up?" I knew that Rafaél had come out as homosexual not too long ago, so maybe… just maybe I could have a tiny little chance. If I could just get to know him better.
Sean POV
I happily hummed along to the radio going home from the stables on Monday afternoon. I had come directly to the stables to come there and meet the owner who told me he'd take care of Teddy for the day as a birthday present for me and even though I loved my Teddy- it was nice with an afternoon off.
When I started getting down my block and towards my house I saw mum's car standing on the parking lot along with one I didn't recognize. If it wasn't for the fact that Curtis and Gordon were out of town I would have worried that Curtis had got a new car- again.
But as I walked down the driveway and slightly glanced through the kitchen window I saw who it was- the grey- haired man sat with his head turned and smiled at me already before I jumped slightly and then jogged inside, not even taking my shoes off before I headed to the kitchen.
"Grandpa." I greeted him and embraced the old man. "Oh it's so nice to see you. Hey, how was that around- the- world- trip?" A couple of years ago, grandpa had won like three and a half million dollars and since a year back he had been on a trip around the world- not bad for a man over seventy! And so now he was here!
"It was great!" Grandpa answered and sat down on the kitchen sofa and scooted inwards for me to get a place too. "I have given food to starving children in Africa, almost adopted a little girl there as well- God that thing was adorable and she wouldn't let go of my shirt as long as I was at that orphanage. I walked on the great wall and then I was in Norway and saw the midnight sun. But… I have to say this is the best stop so far." He ruffled my hair. "Happy birthday Seanie."
"Thanks grandpa." I pushed a lock of hair out of my eyes. "So, after this you're going home to New York?" He nodded. "When are you going there"?
"Later tonight. I just had to make a quick stop here first. And… since I know about a few things that are going on in your life." Grandpa pulled out a thick envelope of his pocket and handed it to me. "I figured you could need an extra bit of money." I opened the envelope and pulled out not one, not two but seven checks on ten thousand dollars each.
"Wow! I…" I didn't know what to say really. "Wow, this really was a lot of money I…" I sighed, but grandpa stopped me and then started saying something else just as I noticed there was something written on each of them, and then one more check I hadn't noticed that was on thirty thousand dollars making it a total of a hundred.
"I was thinking that they're each for something." Grandpa pointed to what he'd written on them. "I know that your beautiful mother is expecting twins so there are one for each of those. Then there's one to use on whatever for Gordon. One to use on whatever for your mother, one for Teddy, one for petrol for the car and then one for yourself and what you want- want- not need. And then there's a last on thirty that you can use for whatever you want or need or whatever."
I was still speechless when grandpa continued. "And I know that to pay for petrol you have to have a working car, and I know that yours is something that we bought for your dad when he started driving and God knows how many owners before that. So… did you notice that new Toyota which stood out at the parking lot?" My chin dropped if possible more when grandpa pulled up the keys to it and laid them in my hand. "It's yours."
"Grandpa I…." It was a miracle I hadn't started crying or something yet. "I can't take this. It's way too much." I had almost lost my breath. "It's too much I… thank you but I can't!" I tried to give the keys back to him but he pushed the hand with the keys back to me and for a moment seemed emotional as he started talking.
"Sean Michael, I have lost… almost everything I could say. Most of my friends are either dead or in some home not remembering who they are. I lost my wife and both of my sons. I have lived a whole life and my health is getting worse. I've been on a trip around the world and lived out my dreams and I still have more of half of the money left. You are my only grandchild, there is nothing else left for me to spend my money on. And still, when I die you're going to get what's left of what I won anyway. I want you to have it."
I pressed my lips hard together not knowing what to say. I still felt like I should give it back but… "Sean, I want you to have it I really do!" I looked up at grandpa and nodded. "And if you want to give it back then I'll refuse to take it."
I clenched my hand around the car keys and looked outside on the brand new car that stood out there. "Wow…. Thank you so much grandpa. I… I really couldn't thank you enough." I reached out my arm and hugged him as tight as possible.
"And do you know something else?" Grandpa asked and I was almost afraid he'd come with something else as well. "I'm only going to New York to pack and turn back. I decided that for what I've got left it's more important to me to be closer to my only grandchild than what it would be living in the world's biggest city." He smiled. "So what do you say, do you want to take your old grandpa on a ride around town and show me some places?" I nodded and stood up just as I saw Curtis and Gordon come up the driveway.
"Happy birthday Sean." Gordon shouted and came running in handing me a box wrapped badly in Scooby- Doo- paper. I sat down on the floor to reach his level and then pulled the paper off and opened the box. First thing I noticed and pulled up was a travel coffee mug with a picture of Scooby Doo's face.
"Oh this is great. Now I'll never have to stress with drinking coffee in the morning again. Oh you're the best." I pulled out a bag of some neon green shower gel. "Zombie shower gel, oh are you sure this won't make me a living dead if I use it?" Gordon laughed at my joke. "And… I pulled up a box. Oh snickers almond bars I love these. Thanks bro you're the best." I high- fived him.
"Who are you?" Gordon tilted his head backwards to look up at my grandpa.
"Gordon, that is my grandpa." I laid the things aside on the table and lifted Gordon up to sit on my hip. "Gordon, this is Paul. Paul, this is Gordon whom you have heard about." Gordon- who was a very polite young man reached his hand forward to shake my grandfather's hand.
"Are you my grandpa too?" Gordon asked and showed a big toothless smile. And I explained to him that this was the father of my father. Gordon looked a bit sad- he had never met any of his grandparents and I knew that his friends were telling him stories about their grandparents all the time.
"Tell you what Gordon?" Grandpa said. "Since I am the grandpa of Sean who is your brother I am almost your grandpa too. So if you want to- then you can call me grandpa Paul. Is that okay?" Gordon was smiling again and nodded happily. "Good thing." I let Gordon down on the floor again and Curtis handed me the present from him.
"A hundred important things to think about when you move away from home." I read the title out loud from the book I unwrapped. "Thanks Curtis." My voice had gone cold and callous when I thanked him. I already knew he wanted me to move away- he didn't have to pressure me so much and I looked meaning to mum.
"Well… Grandpa..." I had gone into my room to leave the other presents and now stood with a snickers bar in my hand. "Shall we take a ride then?" Grandpa nodded and stood up- even though he wasn't young anymore- I had never met any other person at seventy eight who was as moving and full of energy as him.
"Here's my school." I pointed when we passed William McKinley High. "And there is Mr. Schue who is the director of the glee club." I blew the horn and waved when Mr. Schue jumped and saw us. "And grandpa." I stopped the car in the school parking lot. "Grandpa there is something that you should know." I took a deep breath and couldn't ignore the feeling I had that grandpa would take back all of the presents and then not talk to me again.
"Since a little while… I have been feeling that there is something with me that maybe shouldn't be there." I scratched my knee to have something to do. "And I have been booking times at the school psychologist's to check it… but I've been chickened out every time and… well I guess I just don't want to hear if there is something wrong with the way I am."
"Sean Michael." Grandpa took my hand. "There is nothing wrong with the way you are. No matter if there would be something you could put a name on you are you and that is just perfect." I smiled. "And you know what?" I shook my head. "I'm telling you this, it's the exact same thing that your grandmother told your father when he realized he was different from the other kids."
"Do you think I'm perfect even though I've taken almost every grade twice because I can't reach the goals and fail the classes." Grandpa shook his head slightly.
"So you have? And I don't care about that you've had to because I don't believe in today's school system. Have you seen this picture with a man who sits in front of an elephant, a goldfish, a monkey, a seal, a bird, a dog and a penguin and tells them that for it to be fair everyone needs to climb that tree?" I nodded- our education it read below the picture. "Well that is what todays' education is like. And I know that if you had gotten the chance to count out how you would climb that tree and gotten the right help you would have taught how to do it!"
I nodded and smiled. "And your father wasn't exactly like everyone else either. He had more energy, wasn't very good in school and got in fights a lot. A bit like you. And look where it got him. He's a hero to so many he saved that day and their families because without him they wouldn't have gotten out of that tower." I nodded. "In those times things like that weren't checked up but they are today. And no matter what both I, your uncle, your grandmother and your parents will be right behind you shouting…" he didn't finish that sentence.
"Shouting what?"
"GO SEANIE. GO SEANIE. GO, GO, GO SEANIE!"
