Chapter Fourteen: The Cold Went Through My Slacks

Dominica, Aunt Doris and Grandma Feldman have been living with Uncle Davis, at his one level house, since February of 2005, because Grandma Feldman's house is two levels, and it became difficult for her to climb the stairs. It is now February 2008. Dom

The ground outside was blanketed with snow, when I peered out my bedroom window this morning. I then walked into the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and took out a bag full of green, seedless, grapes, along with a banana and a gallon of milk. Then, I closed the refrigerator, walked over to the cournter, cut up the banana, put the pieces, and the grapes, into a green plastic bowl, put them into my mouth, and mashed them between my teeth, followed by swallowing them with a cup of chilled milk. I then walked into the living room, sat on the sofa, picked up the remote from the coffee table, clicked the television on, and watched Roseanne reruns. After the show, I turned the television offf, walked into my bedroom, and cracked open a book. Not just any book, but it was Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix. I read six pages of chapter thirteen, put the book away, and attempted to lay down on my bed, when the phone rang. The call was for Uncle Davis. A man called, wishing to speak to him. But when I informed him that Uncle Davis wasn't at home, and, asked him if I could take down a message he'd like to leave for Uncle Davis, all he said was, "No, thank you. I'll call again at another time."

I then walked, from the hallway, back into my bedroom to do a little bit of writing in my journal, and take a nap until Aunt Doris arrived home.

Aunt Doris, Grandma Feldman and I, sat at an eatery at Rankin's Supermarket, drinking our soft drinks, because we got thirsty after walking around the store for about two hours. We also shared a small personal pan pizza which we snacked on, to hold us over until dinner.

Grandma Feldman took a bite of her pizza, and told us what was on her mind. "You know, Doris, Davis came inside yours and my bedroom this morning to tell me some interesting news regarding our church. He said that Frederick Wilcox called him late last night to inform him about his interest in purchasing the property behind our church, so we, as a congregation, can make a parking lot for the church. He says there is a house for sale, along with a lot. He was thinking that if we, as a community, can come up with the money to purchase this property, there will be no need for any of the parishioners to consider getting another church elsewhere. Frederick says the property of interest is going for eighty thousand dollars. Davis asked me if I would be interested in making a donation of some kind towards buying it for our church. Frederick will be talking to the board members about the mentioned property and about his interest in using the property for parking fascilities. He will also be arranging to have a meeting between the board and all our parishioners, to discuss the property behind the church, and his ideas for it.

Aunt Doris took a bite of her piece of pizza, took a sip of her pop, and added, "I think Frederick Wilcox has a good idea. We, as a community, should get together and come up with the funds needed to purchase the property behind the church for the use of parking fascilities."

I then expressed my concerns, when I said, "It is a good idea. I'm even willing to make a donation, myself. The only thing is, when Frederick Wilcox brought up the matter of purchasing this property, to the attention of the board members and the parishioners, the first time it was for sale, there were some people within the community that didn't like the idea. In particular, there was Tallis Shepherd who said that instead of raising the money to buy the property that's behind our church, why not take that money we raise, sell the church we already have, and put the money from our church together with the money we raised that was to go for the property behind our church for parking, and combine the two sets of funds and use the money to get a new church? One that's bigger and better than the one we already have."

"So what. But you also forgot that it was Aunt Marley who spoke up against Tallis Shepherd's suggestion." Aunt Doris interjected.

"Yeah, but by the time the church board finally decided to purchase the property that is behind the church, it was too late, because the people who owned the house, and lot, got a better offer by that time from some other party." I reminded Aunt Doris, and then turned my attention to Grandma Feldman. "Now the property that you are talking about, Grandma, is this property the same piece of property Frederick Wilcox suggested for purchasing three months ago?" I asked while wiping pizza sauce away from my mouth with my napkin.

"Yes, it is. The property is on the market again." Grandma Feldman informed me.

"If this is the case, then I say great. But if we as a community are to going to purchase the property for sure, then we had better move fast." I advised.

From there, the topic switched over to discussing Aunt Doris's day at work. "Janna called Sheryl a b***h today. She's some stupid girl who never wants to do as she is told. Sheryl became a shift manager for Junior Burger today. She asked this Janna if she would please go wipe down the tables in the lobby area. Well, anyway, Janna turns around and says, "Hell no, b***h." Now Sheryl asked her in a nice way, but after being treated with such disrespect, Sheryl says to Janna, "Do you want to see me be a b***h? 'Cause if you do, I can surely do so." You know as well as I do that Sheryl is a nice person, but when someone verbally attacks her, she's not going to stand for it." Aunt Doris said, while gesturing with her hands as she spoke.

Outside in the parking lot the air was crisp and penetrating to the bone. The cold went through my slacks. Upon getting into Aunt Doris's car, I put one of the blankets on my lap that Aunt Doris had on the top of the backseat, while she warmed the car up. I felt so much better once I felt the heat from the vents.

Later that evening, I lay on the sofa in the living room of Uncle Davis's house, partly gazing at the television, and partly focusing my mind on the events that transpired during the early part of December 2007. In fact, I was mentally distracted that I didn't understand what was going on with the show I was watching. Instead, I focused my attention on Great-Uncle Joe's death. He was my paternal Great-Uncle on my father's mother's side of the family. His wake and funeral were held the early part of December 2007. But before I go into details about these to events, I'd like to talk to you about his health leading up to his death. The last Sunday of November of 2007 was the last time I saw him alive. It was on the day of Jake's memorial service for in honor of his passing nineteen years earlier. The sermon was beautiful. Nothing out of the ordinary.

I followed the other parishioners downstairs to the basement of our church for coffee hour that was sponsored by Grandma Feldman, Aunt Doris, Uncle Davis and myself. Grandma Feldman and Aunt Doris were already seated. It was then that my grandmother told me that she and Aunt Doris speaking with my Great-Uncle Joe, who approached their table to thank my grandmother for the beautiful Christmas card he received, from her and all of us, in the mail.

That same week, he was scheduled to go into the hospital for heart surgery. There were so many complications. At first, the operation was a success, then his kidneys failed him; thus, leaving him very weak. He had to be put on dialysis. About a day or two later, his kidneys started working again. During the third week of the month of December 2007, he died from complications, in that he got infection that accumulated as a result of the surgery.

On the night of Great-Uncle Joe's wake, I entered the funeral home in a state of anxiousness; yet, at the same time, my heart was at peace. I thought about how tragic it was for my cousins Vivian, Laura, Adel, and Ryder to have lost not only their mother to death seven years earlier, but now they had to bury their father. I felt for them, because they only had each other and their spouses and children, left.

I approached Adel first, when I walked into the sanctuary. Her sadness blanketed her face like the waters of the ocean blanket the the earth. I offered her some form of consolation after hugging her and kissing her on the cheek. "Adel, I'm so sorry to hear about your father. It was so shocking to me, in that when I saw him last, at my brother's memorial service last month, he seemed to be alright. Not only that, but he was in good spirits. I was never under the impression that he was in poor health."

"It was a shock to us all. But...he had sugar diabetes. Neither he nor anyone else knew he had sugar diabetes until it was too late." She said in a shaky voice, as she grasped my hands, while trembling, and her eyes filled with tears, and then said in a barely audible voice, "Thank you so much for coming, Dominica." When then embraced again.

I mingled with the rest of the relatives and guests, as did Adel. Then, the service began for the wake,
followed by a special eulogy that was presented by Chuck Olestra, a long time friend of Great-Uncle Joe's. He talked about how he met Great-Uncle Joe and Great-Aunt Valerie, and about how their wedding day was one of the happiest moments of their lives. He then talked about Great-Uncle Joe's life in the restaurant business in Kalamazoo, and how Great-Uncle Joe always liked to keep busy with his restaurant, and about how hard he worked to earn every dollar he had. The friendship between Great-Uncle Joe and Chuck were also mentioned. How they became friends after Great-Uncle Joe sold his own restaurant to Chuck, so he could retire. Chuck talked about Great-Uncle Joe being an inspiration to him through his hard work, dedication to his job and how he taught him about it being important to take pride in one's work. Chuck Olestra learned the restaurant business from him, as well.

When we buried Great-Uncle Joe the following morning, it was a mixture of feelings. Although this was a day of sadness for the remaining family members and friends, it was also a time for celebration of his life, and about the fact that he was reunited with his wife of whom he missed very much so, when she preceded him in death.

I was taken out of my daydream by the sound of the television. By this time, the eleven o'clock news was on. Rather than staying up to watch it, I decided that it was passed my bed time, and, I went to bed.

Author's Note

What do you think of the dialogue?