DISCLAIMER is on the Introduction page
Italics denotes thoughts
Christmas 1998
Sarah Sherwood closed the old photo album with a sigh. "Grandma, tell me again how you and grandpa met and fell in love."
Betty looked up from her reading. "Sarah Rebecca, you've heard that story hundreds of times."
Sarah moved to sit at her grandma's feet. "I know, Grandma, but I never get tired of hearing it and you're such a wonderful storyteller. Besides," she teased, "I've always had the feeling that there are some very exciting parts you're not telling."
Sarah grew quiet when she saw a change come over her grandma's face. She often wondered, when her grandma got that faraway look in her eye, what she was seeing, what she was remembering.
Sarah said softly, "Grandma, are you ok?"
Betty's attention returned to her granddaughter and she chuckled. "Of course, dear. And if you think I'm a good storyteller, you should have heard the tales your grandpa used to come up with."
Betty tenderly cupped her hand under Sarah's chin and looked into the big, sparkling, chocolate-brown eyes. They reminded her so much of Scott's that they made her heart ache with loneliness. "I wish you could have known my Scott. He would have adored you."
Sarah laid her head on her grandma's knees. Tears sprung to her eyes when she thought about what her mom had told her this morning. She said that Grandma had been to the doctor a week ago and...
Betty caressed Sarah's silky, black hair and knew the time had come.
"Sarah, dear, I have a Christmas present for you."
"But, Grandma, you already gave me..."
"Hush. This isn't something that I bought in the store. It's something of your grandpa's. I think he'd want you to have it." Sarah nodded, fighting back the tears. "Now, go over and open my trunk. There's a box on the very bottom I want you to get for me."
Sarah loved looking in her grandma's trunk. It held so many sacred treasures. She opened the heavy lid. She carefully set aside several bundles of letters tied with ribbon. She knew they were love letters from when Grandpa was in the service and Grandma was pregnant with Aunt Catherine. Next she carefully took out two dog-eared and yellowed pieces of sheet music - "I'll Be Seeing You" and "Forever". Her dad had told her that Grandma loved to sing while Grandpa accompanied her on the piano. By the looks of them, these two songs must have been favorites. She came to a myriad of keepsakes from all over the world. Sarah knew that Grandma and Grandpa had traveled a lot before Grandpa got sick. Their adventures were legendary in the Sherwood family. She set aside a bundle of yellowed screenplays that Grandma wrote for early television. There was even a very old script from Grandma's radio days. Ships That Pass In The Night – funny title. She picked up something she had never seen before. It looked like a half-burned ticket of some sort in a zip lock bag. She smiled and thought to herself, I bet there's a good story behind this one. She finally reached the bottom of the trunk. Sarah carefully lifted out a faded, but still beautiful, padded box with light blue forget-me-nots scattered across the lid.
She turned to Betty. "Is this what you want, Grandma?"
Betty nodded and patted the sofa next to her. "Come, sit by me."
With great interest, Sarah watched her grandma open the box and take out something that had been carefully wrapped in tissue paper. Betty handed her a white silk handkerchief.
Sarah looked at the monogram. "S.R.S. Hey, it has my initials on it - Sarah Rebecca Sherwood." Something suddenly dawned on her. "Oh, they're Grandpa's initials too, aren't they?"
Betty smiled and nodded as she took Sarah in her arms and held her. Sarah laid her head on her grandma's shoulder. "Sarah, I'm going to tell you again how your grandpa and I met and fell in love, but this time I'm going to include all those missing parts you've been pestering me about." Betty grew quiet. "I've never written any of this down, so hope you'll listen carefully and never forget what I'm going to tell you." Sarah nodded.
"Well, our story actually began back in 1936 before I had even met your grandpa. He was in Hong Kong and I was just finishing my sophomore year of college..."
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Sarah zipped up her coat and peeked out the window when she heard the beep of a car horn. "Scotty's here to pick me up, Grandma." She smiled mischievously. "He hates it when I call him Scotty."
Betty felt tired, but she managed a smile. "Give your brother a hug for me."
Sarah laughed. "I can try, Grandma, but you know Scotty." She carefully tucked the padded box under her arm, then waved out the window to let her big brother know she had heard him.
She looked back at the grandma she loved so dearly. Her eyes were closed and her breathing regular. She looked so fragile in her sleep. Sarah walked over and covered her legs with an afghan, kissed her cheek and whispered, "I'll be seeing you, Grandma." She was going to miss her so much when...
Sarah walked over to the front door and looked back one more time as she slipped on her gloves. She thought about all the things her grandma had shared with her today. She held the padded box a little tighter. It meant so much that she had been trusted with such special memories. She understood, now, the faraway look Grandma would often get and she found herself missing a grandpa she never really knew until today.
Sarah wiped away a tear and whispered, "Don't worry, Grandma, I'll keep your memories alive. I'll always remember when." She left, gently shutting the door behind her.
_____________________________________________________________________________
I'LL BE SEEING YOU
(Irving Kahal / Sammy Fain)
I'll be seeing you in all the old familiar places
That this heart of mine embraces all day through
In that small café, the park across the way
The children's carousel, the chestnut trees, the wishing well
I'll be seeing you in every lovely summer's day
In everything that's light and gay
I'll always think of you that way
I'll find you in the morning sun
And when the night is new
I'll be looking at the moon
But I'll be seeing you
(Bing Crosby recorded "I'll Be Seeing You" February 17, 1944. It entered the charts two months later, where it stayed for 24 weeks, topping the charts for 4 weeks.)
The End
Betty's Journey of Discovery Series
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