" Grandma replied as she did the dishes.
"But the sun is being lazy today and isn't awake yet so we should go for a walk now so that way you won't melt into a pool of granny goop!" I replied with my biggest smile.
Grandma looked over at Grandpa trying to get him to help her, but he didn't say a word. I always had him wrapped around my finger.
I was two years old when I met him. Though my memory isn't sharp enough now to remember the specific time, the commonly retold story replays in my mind. It was my third birthday party and the " first meeting" that my mom had set up for my grandma since my grandpa passed away five years prior. He arrived, and my mom greeted him at the door. Her warm smile and inviting demeanor calmed his nerves as he too just lost his wife not too long ago; mom was her hospice nurse. He walked in with a gift in tow and mom introduced them.
"Mom, I'd like you to meet Clarence Hamman. Clarence, this is my mom, Lola." They shook hands and struck up a conversation that would lead you to think that they had known each other for a long time, and were just getting reacquainted after so many years. Their connection was undeniable, and mom couldn't help but feel confident in her match making skills so she observed from afar while catering to the rest of the guests. Chad and I were playing one of my most favorite games with Dad, Airplane. Dad was teaching Chad how to lift me as high as his little legs would allow as my stomach rested on the bottom of his feet. With Chad being six years older than me, he was always my protector and play partner. And dad always loved to join in. .
"Cake time, everyone!" She said boldly as she got the camera ready. Clarence was sitting at the end of the table while grandma was gushing to Aunt Lisa about Clarence as they gathered the cake plates and utensils together.
I waltzed over to the man with the wavy hair and wide brimmed bifocals who sat there patiently.