Grandpa had a way with words. Just words though, he was crude about everything else. “You are still gold” He gave the best advice of his whole life. He only hoped she heard some of it.
She looked at him briefly, more occupied with getting a blueberry bagel out of the package. “Grandpa, what does that even mean?”
“Gold is valuable because you can change it into something needed; something new. Reforge yourself.”
It was Wednesday, and that does not mean anything when you are on call other than you will be working a lot this week. She had began to accept tired as another emotion and dreaded tired becoming the main emotion she felt.
“I do not think we ever told you the real reason we live in Cincinnati. Not the lie about the promotion, but what really happened.”
“Wait, what? So you did not get the promotion?” She acted interested but the truth was she was more worried about burning the bagel. It made no sense to keep such an old toaster.
“Promotion? God no! That was the worst pay-cut we ever took. Your grandmother was so damn fed up with her own father she threatened to leave herself if we did not move. Now hold on for a minute, I do not want you to think she was forcing anything. Rather the opposite.”
Now he had her attention. She was old enough to know that real couples had real problems and they had worked through them. The truth was if she got to hear about real life drama and the outcome, not just gossip she had to listen.
Her blank stare told the old man to continue. “I doubt you remember your grandmother’s father Earl.” The old man allowed gravity to seat him lower in his flower pattern dining room table chair. There was one problem with that. Soon he would have to sit back up to reach his coffee. “Earl tried to be the best dad ever. The issue is that man was the most pushy, nosy, and caring individual you would ever meet. He used to be a pastor before his church closed and he also started working at the mill. You always think caring is a good quality. That man drove your mother to almost run away. We rushed our marriage, and weeks after the marriage we told a bold lie that I was being promoted to the Cincinnati plant. There was no way they could move that far. Of course at the time there was almost no way for us to move this far either. Almost. We bought the tickets on credit.”
Now was the part of the story where he needed to sit up to grab his cup of coffee. Now this is no ordinary mug of coffee. The cup seemed made of isolated steel the handle was big enough that it was lily hollow. The handle did not match the cup at all. It was solid black. The company logo that was on the front thirty years ago had worn off last century. At his old age he was surprised his granddaughter did not have a response. He knew she was listening when she did not give a quick basic response.
“I stuck out this relationship because I knew that there was no woman better in this world than her. I was right she was gold in a world of lead. We had to reforge ourselves though. I know your hours are too much. Move to where you want to, and demand a schedule that fits you.” He paused but he knew that he had to keep going. “It seems like an impossible bad idea. I promise you that is what more people need to do. The worst thing that happens is you move back here.”
“Wow” She muttered not really even hungry. She had been pushing back what she had really been wanting to think about and do. When she was younger she loved Colorado. Really anywhere when you started to get up in the mountains. It was invigorating. Thinking about that put her in a better mood than she had been in all week.
“Again I can never tell you what to do. If I could I would not because I could never tell your grandmother what to do. I could try but that never worked even one time.” Now for the hard part, his mug was about empty. He would probably wait a good twenty minutes before getting back up.
“OK, well I am not going to be late.” She said making sure her hair was at least still in the ponytail.
“Figure out what is next and put it on your schedule. Reforge yourself on your terms to build you.”
She quickly went to the coffee pot. Refilled his drink, and almost ran out the door to have a great day thinking about Colorado. Come lunchtime she was even planning a trip unaware of the smile on her face.