THE OLD COWBOY Part Twenty Nine
(continued)

"Mom grabbed a tissue and ran to the bathroom crying. I finished my ice tea in a gulp. Thinking about what she had said for a moment, I felt the sadness mom felt. Then I knew the sadness Grandpa felt and I hid my face in my hands. I didn't want to be weepy eyed, I just couldn't help myself. The more I thought about it the more I wanted to cry. My mind kept flashing through the pictures of Grandma that I'd seen not so long ago.

I heard dad coming in for supper and decided I should be in my room right about now. Dad was a kind and good man. He took it all in stride. When supper wasn't ready, he knew mom had her reasons.

The next day mom had little to say at breakfast, and all the way over to see Grandpa my mind was racing with thoughts of what I might say to him. Would he be as upset as mom? Would he want to see me again? What could I say to make it better? Then I realized I was just feeling sorry for myself.

As I rode up to the porch where Grandpa set. I could see he had a peaceful look on his face. I could tell he wasn't upset at all, and I felt a little peace come over me.

Grandpa stood up and grinned that ear to ear grin of his and gave me a big hug. "Grandboy, takin' me back to that day..., well it just cut me to the bone, but I can't do a thing to change the way things are today."

"It's O.K. Grandpa. I kind'a understand. See I talked to mom a bit last night."

"You did! And she got upset I'll bet?"

"Yes sir, she got too upset to fix supper, but dad and I had milk and sandwiches. I didn't mean anything by it, I just wanted to know about Grandma."

"Well like I said, yer Grandma was the finest woman I've ever known. Yer mama always figured..."

To Be Continued. . .