Red White and Black

Chapter Seventeen

Abbie

Sammy bustled through the house as much as a man with a bum knee could bustle, frantically searching for a necktie to match his hastily pressed shirt, one still bearing the wrinkled evidence of its recent home in the clothes dryer, then scouring the bedroom for a belt lacking welding scars, paint splatters, or significant wear, and finally shoe polish to touch up the dress shoes hibernating long enough he had forgotten what color they were. Abbie could tell his nerves were on edge when she was asked to fetch an antacid tablet, followed within a few minutes by a request for a second after he had forgotten whether he had chewed or lost the original. While she did her best to alternately steer clear of his path and jump in to offer aid or advice at his behest, it would be a relief when he walked out the door.

As Abbie watched her father in his preparations, it occurred to her she had never before seen him dressed in anything other than work clothes. She bit back a laugh as he struggled with the necktie as if it were a snake writhing around his neck seeking to strangle him. When the tie was finally wrestled into place, she gave it a last minute straightening and patted him on the shoulder.

"Knock 'em dead Daddy," she said with a reassuring smile.

"Whew! I hope so." He looked in the mirror hanging above the living room sofa for one last inspection, then turned to Abbie, "Look Kiddo. I don't have any idea how long this thing will take but be a good sport and stay with your grandmother. She's feeling a little bit weak today and you always manage to cheer her up."

"Don't worry, we'll be fine."

"Don't forget she likes dinner at five o'clock."

"Daddy. I am not going to let her starve. Trust me, everything's going to be alright."

She hugged him and sent him out the door, waiting until she heard the sound of his pickup truck in the alley behind the house. He would worry, she knew. It was his nature, hardwired into the way he was built.

"Alright, Grandma," she said, closing and locking the door behind her. "It's just the two of us. What are a couple of hot chicks like us gonna do all afternoon? How about cruising for a couple of hot guys?"

"Oh, listen to you! I'm about the furthest from being a hot chick as you can get," replied her grandmother with a smile. "How about something a little more suited for the way I feel today?"

"I've got just the thing," said Abbie. She went to the hall closet and rummaged around for a minute. 

"How about Scrabble? I used to play this with you all the time."

"Wonderful. But now that you're eighteen, no more made up words and no more giving me all the Q's and X's."

Within minutes the game was underway but Abbie could tell her grandmother wasn't feeling up to snuff. During her rare visits from Ohio as a youngster, Abbie had always been amazed how her grandmother could assemble words from even the most obscure letters. Now, she was listless and obviously not enjoying herself. Occasionally her head would nod forward and slump to her chest as she drifted off to sleep.

The jarring ring of the phone jolted her grandmother awake.

"Hello?" said Abbie, picking up the receiver.

She talked for a few minutes then lowered the phone back into the cradle.

"Well? What was that all about?" asked Grandma.