The chips angel

When Grandma woke up the next time, the REAL time, there was no rolling over and pulling up the covers. She LEAPED (well, as you know, Grandma can't really LEAP) out of bed, ran (well, there, again,) to the closet, JUMPED (???) into her clothes, talking to herself the whole time. "it's perfect....mumble, mumble, mumble......it's got to work......memble......good for everyone......memble........responsibility..... ......I've got to convince .........memble, memble......." She dashed down the stairs quickly drank a cup of tea that was too hot and burned her tounge, and started pulling things from her cup boards. "mumble, mumble mumble......blueerries.....mumble..... sugar, flour, oh dart! Were?..........mumble, mumble, there!" As she yanked a mixing bowl off the shelf it went flying out of her hand and crashed onto the floor. Grandma stood there, amid the pieces of shattered bowl and looked at it like she didn't understand what it was doing there, broken, on the floor. She cleaned it up and sat down. "I've got to slow down," she said to herself. She took a deep breath and started over. First she had breakfast. Then, slowly and carefully, she mixed up her good blueberry-rhubarb coffee cake. By the time the dishes were washed and away, the stove buzzer was dinging, and the cake was done. After drizzling on a bit of frosting, she wrapped it carefully in her blue Tupperware cake carrier, dug around in the drawer for that fancy Russian coffee that someone had given her last Christmas, threw her shawl over her shoulders, and set out.

As she approached Mrs. Gymson's house she realized she had not thought through what she would say. "Oh, well," she thought. "I'll just do my best." She boldly knocked on Mrs. Gymson's door. Nothing. She knocked again. Still nothing. "I hope she's not asleep." thought Grandma. She was just turning to go home when the door opened a crack. "Hi!" said Grandma, "I hope I didn't wake you." "Oh, no," Mrs Gymson replied, opening the door a little wider, "I was on the phone with my daughter. She's out in California." "Oh," said Grandma. Then after an awkward silence, "I've brought you a coffee cake, and an idea! Oh ! And this coffee. I don't drink the stuff and someone gave it to me. Do you have a minute?" "Sure,
said Mrs. Gymson, opening the door all of the way this time, "I have all the time in the world. Days are, I've nothing BUT time. Come on in and sit a spell."

While Mrs. Gymson prepared the coffee, and heated water for Grandma's tea (Grandma always carried a tea bag of two in her jeans pocket,) Grandma looked around the kitchen. Mrs. Gymson was grumbling about this and that and Grandma wasn't really paying much attention when she heard Mrs. Gymson say, "so she wants me to sell this house and go sit in an old people's home! Can you imagine!?" "Why?" Grandma asked, startled. "She's way out there in Californ-i-a and can't be bothered with a trip home now and then. She thinks I 'way too old' to live here, here, in my very own home. Bother!" "Sounds like she's concerned about you." "Fiddlesticks! " barked Mrs. Gymson, " 'what if you fall?" " she mimicked in a sing-song voice, " 'what if you get sick?' She says I have no one to look after me." Looking down at the floor she went on, "I quit church when Herman died. Don't have any family around. And, well, as you know, I'm not the neighborly type." "Looks like that coffee's ready, here, sit down, have a piece of cake. I won second place with this coffee cake at the fair a few years back." "Well good for you, honey," she said, sliding out a chair and sitting across from Grandma. "what's this big idea you have?"

Grandma and Mrs. Gymson talked and talked. Mrs. Gymson had more coffee, and talked. Grandma dug another tea bag out of her pocket, and talked. One of them cut them each more cake, and talked and talked. Finally they both sat back, smiling. "I think this will be really good," said Grandma. "And I KNOW you will make two little girls very, very happy!" "I'm getting a bit excited about it myself," said Mrs. Gymson, "Haven't had animals around for awyile and II wouldn't mind at all getting to know some young'un again, expecially that Patty of yours. She seems like a real live wire!." "Uh-oh! Please! You musn't call her Patty!" "But isn't that her name?" "Yes, well it was. It is. It's just that -- and Grandma proceeded to tell Mrs, Gymson all about how Rosebush came to be called Rosebush, but you already know that. After a good laugh, and Grandma could tell that Mrs, Gymson hadn't HAD a good laugh for some time, Mrs. Gymson said, "maybe, if my daughter knows the girls are stopping by every day, she will let me be. When will you tell them?" "Right after school, I think. We've a lot of work to do to get that old chicken house ready for April," said Grandma, but don't you worry about a thing! Steve will do all of the construction. Is there electricity out there?" "Yep, " said Mrs. Gymson, "had to put it in for the incubators." And, again, they were off and talking.

"Girls, " said Grandma while handing each one a plate of ants on a log and some chips. "You know that old chicken house in the back of Mrs. Gysmon's yard?" Both girls nodded their heads, mouths full. "Wouldn't that make a nice little barn for, a horse? Say, for April?" Rosebush starred at Grandma, her eyes big. "Who's April?" Grace asked, chewing. Rosebush answered, slowly, at first, "a.....horse........she's a..............horse........that horse.........The horse I told you about! The-horse-that-those-people-on-the-way-to-the-apples-have-to-give-away-oh!OH!OH!GRANDAM!!!!! DO YOU MEAN IT!?"
"Yep," said Grandma, "We......." but there was no more talking at the moment. Rosebush had jumped from her chair, flapping her arms like a bird, sending the plate of chips flying. Grace, who had just popped another celery log into her mouth, looked startled as Rosebush grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her! She laughed and talked jumped and tried to dance Grace around the room, crunching the spilled chips under their feet. When the girls finally collapsed onto the floor (yes, right into the mess of crunched chips,) they continued to laugh, although I don't think Grace yet understood what all comotion was about!. Rosebush lay there, laughing and kicking her legs and arms like she was making a snow angel (well, in this case it would be a chip angel,) sometimes just screaming a scream of joy then laughing some more, peddling her legs in the air.

Grandma got them each a glass of milk, and helped them back to the table. "It's like this," she said. "Becky's family needs to get rid of April. They just don't have the money to feed another animal! Mrs. Gymson is really old. She needs someone to look in on here every now and then, every day, to see if she's ok. You know, if she got really sick, no one would know it, no one would help." "Mom would help her," Rosebush interrupted. "I know she would, sweetie," said Grandma, "but how would she KNOW?" So. If Steve can turn that rotten old chicken house into a snug little barn, we could adopt April and......." Rosebush jumped up again, starting another spin around the kitchen when Grandma stopped her. "Now sit down, Rosebush, you have to hear the rest of this. It involves YOU." Rosebush sat back down, but couldn't sit exactely STILL. "that would mean that two girls I know," she winked at Grace and Rosebush, " would have to go EVERY MORNING before school and EVERY AFTERNOON, to take care of April, it....." "Can we ride her?" Rosebush interrupted again, " We don't have a SADDLE! Where will be get a saddle? What will she eat? Will she be lonely without other animals in the chichen house, I mean the barn? What if we're at camp? Who will feed her then? Are there horse baby sitters?" "Hold on!!! " laughed Grandma, "one thing at a time! FIrst of all, she is still too young to ride, so we'll worry about a saddle later. Second of all, I don't KNOW what horses eat, or how much or how often. We have a LOT to learn, fast! And as for horse-sitters, I'm pretty sure Lily and Danny will pitch in, and, Grace, would your brothers and sisters be interested in this venture? And there's the cousins, and" "YES!" shouted Grace, ALL of them, except probaably not Tiffany.......she too busy with her stupid MAKE UP...." "Good!" said Grandma, "see, we've got lots of help." "And I'll bet Susie would help sometimes, too. Does she go to our school?" "Don't know," said Grandma, "you can asked her when we ride out to pick up April."

Just then, the door opened and Ellen walked in. Her big smile turned to a question when she saw Grandma sitting at the table, smiling over a cup of tea, Grace, sitting at the table munching, and Rsosbush not at the table anymore but flying towards her, and CHIPS ALL OVER THE FLOOR!