Priscilla heard the sounds of Marc Broussard's My God playing on the stereo as soon as she turned into the driveway. Gram must be playing the Rock for Life CD again she thought. Gram loves that song; she could listen to it all day. In fact, some days she does listen to it over and over again.
Gram's memory was getting a little worse each day. She probably didn't even realize she'd just played it. As Priscilla started unloading the grocery bags from the trunk, she prayed silently that Gram would retain some shred of memory long enough to talk to Gary when he got back from Iraq. He'd been gone for nine months and his mother had been doing well when he left, but started going down hill in the last few months. If only Gary could be home for Thanksgiving! If only he could have one more Thanksgiving with Gram before she faded into the cruel darkness of Alzheimer's.
Priscilla yelled into the house for one of the kids to come out and help her. Selective deafness had apparently set in because no one came. Gram saw her as she pushed the door open with her foot and ran over to grab a bag just as it was about to fall. Priscilla couldn't help being thankful that at least Gram's reflexes were still good.
Priscilla put the groceries away with Gram helping as much as she could. She remembered back to when she and Gary first got married. They didn't have much money and struggled to make ends meet. Gram was the only one of Gary's relatives to welcome her into the family. Gram loved her from the very beginning. Interracial marriages were still frowned on by a lot of people back then and having Gram on their side helped them get through the early years. It cemented their relationship and when Gram started showing signs of early Alzheimer's, Priscilla had insisted on having her live with them.
Her family wasn't any happier at first with Gary's white face than Gary's family was with her dark skin. When Rosa Jane was born they named her after both mothers. It brought the families together. That was twenty-one years ago and Rosa was married now and living in Atlanta. She wished her family didn't live so far away, but she'd see them at Christmas; a phone call would have to do for now. Priscilla and Gary had moved to Jacksonville from New Orleans when the kids were little. They moved Gary's mother in with them six months ago.
Priscilla put the frozen turkey in the refrigerator, hoping it would thaw enough that she wouldn't have to soak it. She suggested that Gram change the CD and listen to S.O.S instead. As Gram went off to do that Priscilla thought about how much she liked Marc Broussard's music too. Gram remembered Broussard's father from growing up in Louisiana. The Boogie Kings had such a sweet Cajun sound and she loved the Bayou Soul sound in Marc's music. It reminded her of home, and these days, she tried hard to hold on to old memories.
Priscilla never minded hearing the songs over and over. She liked them too. They reminded her of her own heritage and she especially liked how Broussard interpreted the songs of Black artists, like the incomparable Fats Domino. She too, could listen to the songs over and over and still enjoy them.
Priscilla started cooking supper and, true to form, her selectively deaf offspring proved, once again, that there was nothing wrong with their sense of smell. As she set the meatloaf on the table, she didn't even need to call them. Caleb came from the back yard with his friend Jacob in tow and Alicia came out of her room all made up and looking like she had a big date. It was no secret that Jacob had a huge crush on fifteen year old Alicia and Alicia was somewhat enamored with her older brother's friend too. While Priscilla wouldn't allow her daughter to date until she was sixteen, she liked Jacob and always set an extra plate for him. If his mother wasn't her best friend, she would swear Jacob didn't have a home to go to because he was there so much.
Gram gave the blessing for the food and everyone dug in. Dishes and glasses passed like a whirr and, in no time, everything was gone; including her dear children who disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, leaving her and Gram to clean up and do the dishes.
Priscilla and Gram really didn't mind doing the dishes alone. It always gave them a chance to talk about things and they cherished that time because they both knew it was fading away. Tonight they talked about Thanksgiving. Priscilla told Gram how much she prayed that by some miracle Gary would be able to be with Gram for one more holiday. Gram had a funny kind of far away look in her eyes and Priscilla was afraid she was losing her. When she responded, Gram only told her that had been her prayer too. They hugged each other and hung on longer than usual as Gram wiped a tear from her eyes.
Gram knew she was getting more forgetful and was aware that the day would come when she wouldn't know her loved ones. She hoped they would remember her as she had been and she wanted to see Gary again to say good bye while she could.
Priscilla got up early on Thanksgiving Day to start cooking the turkey and found Gram busy in the kitchen. Some days Gram was able to be her old self and this apparently was one of them. She had been up all night making a special dessert and Priscilla wasn't to peak at it. Curious, but willing to be surprised, Priscilla went about the massive task of peeling, cooking, mashing, baking and timing everything just right for a two o'clock dinner.
Alicia and Caleb actually helped by putting the leaf in the dining table, getting out the fancy dishes, polishing the silverware and setting the table. As usual, they left a place for Jacob, and they also put a setting at the end of the table where their father usually sat. Priscilla noticed it and wondered how she could make it through dinner without breaking down at the sight of the empty seat.
Jacob arrived at noon to no ones' great surprise and he and Caleb disappeared to watch any pre-game football they could find on television. Alicia helped her mother and grandmother in the kitchen. At two o'clock sharp, everything was set out and ready for the celebration feast to begin.
Gram looked around the table, memorizing each face and knowing that this would probably be the last Thanksgiving she would have before sinking into mental darkness. How she hoped they would hold this memory of her and not what was inevitably coming. She started the prayer of thanks, when the door suddenly opened and Gary was standing there. Rosa and her husband Ben came in right behind him.
For the next hour, all you could hear was shouts of joy. Tears of happiness flowed down faces, ruining Alicia's mascara and making her the brunt of playful teasing. Gary had been able to get a last minute leave to be with his family for this important Thanksgiving, and just grabbed the first flights that would get him here. Something told Rosa she should get home for Thanksgiving, so she and her husband grabbed the same flight from Atlanta that Gary was on. A kind stranger Gary sat beside on the plane had given them all a ride home from the airport.
When the family finally sat back down to eat, they each joined in the prayer of thanks. Rosa and Ben surprised the family even more when they gave thanks to God for the baby they just found out they were expecting. Even Jacob, though not officially part of the family, shared in their joy and thanks to God.
When it was time for dessert, Gram snuck off into the kitchen. She came back a few minutes later with a big chocolate cake lighted with birthday candles and singing Happy Birthday to each of them, one at a time. At first Priscilla thought Gram forgot what day it was, and then she looked at the cake. It read "For all the future birthdays. I love you all."
Gram looked lovingly at each of them as she thanked them for this beautiful Thanksgiving and asked that this be their memory of her. She turned to Priscilla and Gary and gave thanks to God for the love that kept this great family together and that would sustain them as they cared for her when they became strangers to her. She asked Rosa and Ben to tell their baby about her and how much she loved them. She told Jacob that he had been like a grandson to her, and that whatever the future held for him, she hoped that he and Alicia and Caleb would remain friends and remember Gram Jane and that she loved them.
Gary hugged his mother a long time. When Priscilla's eyes dried enough, she grabbed the camera so she could save this wonderful goodbye tribute for all of them. They would have many more Thanksgivings, but this would be the last one with the Gram they knew and loved.