JUST LIKE GRANDMA




“Shhh, be quiet! He’s coming!” Anabelle whispered to Joseph and Elane. They were hiding behind a snow bank which had a tuft of dead grass sticking up out of the top of it.

John was coming. He’d been drinking again. Vodka did this to him every time. He drank two cases of beer too. After that they knew that they had to run and hide.

When John had started drinking he was playing with them. They were having a snowball fight. When Joseph got hit in the face and started to cry John said “that’s enough”. After that he got sad. Then he got mad at them and they ran away. There was nothing else they could do.

“Run, go where he can’t find us until he passes out!” Anabelle hollered.

Today is the fourth day in a row that they had to run away. “No! Joseph, Elane run! Run to Grandma Davies’ house! Daddy, don’t! I didn’t do nothing!” Anabelle screamed as John reached her. “Run Joseph! Run Elane!” Anabelle hollered at them again. She was always the one to protect her younger sister and even younger brother.

John hollered at them “I thought I told you kids to stay in the yard!” as he slapped Anabelle. “You know betterin’ not to lissen ta me!”

There was a time when things were very special around the town of Shiresboro. Everyone knew every person in town. They were all large families. Everyone knew each person’s child by sight and by name.

There came a time though when a town drunk named John became a vicious, vindictive man to everyone. After many years his wife Joanna had passed away. Thus he became a worse drunk and more vicious and vindictive than ever before.

Several of the townspeople were concerned for his children; Joseph, Elane and Anabelle. They heard him hollering, ranting, raving and screaming at them all the time. No one knew for sure if he was abusing them.

There came a day which Anabelle would never forget. The day John was beating and punching Anabelle and she remembered Grandma Davies words “If there ever comes a time when you decide that John’s behavior is too much you are to come to me, no one else but me. You understand?”

Hearing those words in her head as Joseph, Elane and she were hiding; she became aware of just what Grandma meant. This was probably the time.

He slapped Anabelle again and then he rolled up his huge hand into the largest fist Anabelle had ever seen. John then punched Anabelle. He was so drunk that as he tried to punch Anabelle again she ducked. She twirled around, twisting and hurting her arm to get away from him. Anabelle then ran as fast as she could, heading for Grandma’s house. John was screaming and flapping his arms after her. The wind in her ears was so loud that she couldn’t hear what he was screaming.

Anabelle stopped to scream “You are not doing this to us again!”

He screamed back “You little shit! Don’t you speak to me like that! I am your father!”

Anabelle screamed back. “No you’re not! You’re nobody’s daddy, you’re a drunk! He started towards Anabelle as she jumped in her skin, turned around and ran into Grandma’s house, slammed the door and locked it.

Grandma got on the phone. She was saying “Officer he’s punching and slapping them! It’s not the first time! It is going to be his last!” and then she slammed the phone down.

Very quietly Grandma told them to go into her bedroom, close and lock the door. Anabelle shuttled Joseph and Elane to the bedroom door.

Anabelle told her sister and brother to lock the door. I’ll be alright!” she said. “Go!” as she slipped into the living room ducking behind the couch. She watched as Grandma went to the gun cabinet, reached up and took the key down. Her heart almost stopped. Grandma took out a shotgun and two shells. She opened the gun and put the shells into the chamber. SNAP! It was closed and on her shoulder. Everything seemed to go so slow. Anabelle watched as Grandma sat in her rocker with the gun pointed at the door.

Then he was there. BANG! BANG! BANG! “Open up you crazy coot! I know you got my kids!”

“You’re right”, she called. “And here they’ll stay! You’ll not ever hit them again!”

“Those are my kids and I’ll do whatever I want to do with them. They left the yard. They need to be punished.”

“No they don’t!”

“Yes they do!” BANG! BANG! BANG! John was beating on the door again.

“No they don’t and here they stay. I’ve called the police!” Anabelle heard Grandma holler.

“You ol’ coot! They’re not coming out here.”

“They are and you’re going to jail. You’ll never hit them again!”

BANG! BANG! BANG! Then there was nothing. Anabelle though that John had left. It seemed like a whole day passed by and grandma didn’t move. If she didn’t move, Anabelle wasn’t going to either.

BANG! Oh God! He’s back! Anabelle thought.

“Ol’ lady let me in!”

“No, go away!”

“I’m coming in to get my kids!” BANG! BANG! BANG! Then the banging stopped. He had broken the door!

Anabelle heard click…BOOM! Grandma’s chair rocked back. Anabelle couldn’t scream. She was too scared. The door shattered.

Grandma just sat there. John’s foot came kicking through the broken door. Smash, smash were the sounds as the rest of the door flew into the living room. I heard click…BOOM! Click…BOOM! John rocked back and fell down. Grandma snapped open the shotgun and put in two more shells. John had something red all over him. It’s all over the door. It’s all over the wall…everywhere!

Grandma didn’t speak and didn’t move. She didn’t scream. She just sat there.

“This is the police” Anabelle heard. “Put the gun down!” Grandma didn’t answer.

“Lady” he said, “I said put the gun down!” The policeman jumped over John with this gun pointed at grandma.

Grandma still didn’t move.

I saw the policeman lower his gun and slowly stand up. He hollered “Jack, get an ambulance!”

Jack came in, walked over John and picked up the phone. He wiped the red stuff off and called for an ambulance. John didn’t move.

There are blue and red lights flashing everywhere. There’s red, blood, all over the living room. On the walls and on the floor; Grandma’s just sleeping in her chair.

Many years passed and none of the townspeople ever saw Anabelle again. There were rumors that she was in an institution because she couldn’t handle what she saw that night.

Sixty years later Anabelle spoke to the nurses for the first time.

“Why isn’t grandma here? Where’s grandma? I need her. Is she still sleeping? The policeman couldn’t wake grandma up. Where is grandma?” The nurses walk away.

“That’s so sad. That’s the first time Anabelle has ever spoken a word and she only remembered that day. Go get Dr. Grant.”

Elane arrived the next morning to visit and she noticed something was wrong. “Nurse, something’s wrong!” she hollered.

The nurses rush in and stated “Oh my God!” Nurse Rose whispered to Elane…”I’m sorry, she must have died in her sleep. I’ll be damned. After all these years she finally spoke. We called in Dr. Grant. Elane, last night she told us what happened that day. She told us the whole story. When your father beat you, Anabelle and Joseph the last time, well before you know what happened:

Nurse Rose recited Anabelle’s ramblings of the night before.

She said: “Grandma called the cops and said this was going to be John’s last time beating us! She told us to go into her bedroom and lock the door.

I sent my sister and brother in there. I slipped into the living room and ducked behind the couch. Grandma went to the gun cabinet, and took out a shotgun and two shells. Grandma sat in her rocker with the gun pointed at the door.

Then he was there. He was banging on the door over and over again. Hollering at Grandma and calling her names. He knew we were inside.

Grandma told him she called the police. It seemed like a whole day passed by and grandma didn’t move. If she didn’t move, I wasn’t going to either.

Then he was back. The banging stopped. He had broken the door! I heard click…BOOM! And I saw Grandma’s chair rock back. I couldn’t scream. I was so scared.

Grandma was just sitting there. John’s foot came through the door. I heard click…BOOM! Click…BOOM! John fell down. There’s blood everywhere.

Grandma didn’t speak. She didn’t move. She didn’t scream. She just sat there. Then there were red and blue lights flashing everywhere. The police came in and found her and John. They got an ambulance but I don’t know for whom.”

Elane said “Over the years none of the townspeople had ever seen Anabelle again. They spread rumors that she was in an institution because she couldn’t handle what she saw that night - Grandma Davies death and how she had to shoot her own son. But they didn’t know for sure.

Nurse Rose said “Elane, if she could have told us years ago, he’d be in a jail hospital instead of a bed here. Thankfully she never knew that he was here. If only we had known what had happened…I’m sorry. At this point in time I am required to call Joseph.”

“Please”, Elane said, “Don’t call Joseph…let me. I want to tell him. I’ll tell him Anabelle went to sleep…just like Grandma.