Slightest Push

"There are two reasons why I am here," I said into my mobile phone. "To see Alfred, and to give my dying grandfather one more chance to see me before he dies." He had refused to stop work until he had caught up with all his bills. This led to a heart attack which put him on a ventilator for the past few months.

But I was not fully confident of things working out that way. With one of these, I should be right about the time of my visit.

"Please let me know if I can do anything to make your trip a lot easier," said Yves. "I am here and I am ready for this." He said it like he really meant it, for the very first time since I met him.

"Yes, you can," I said. "Since you are my cousin, can you handle the house? My grandfather has too many things on his mind because of my mother and his son. I do not want to leave him to himself in such a state."

"But why not get someone to help you out?" He asked.

"I do not have the time to look for someone else who would do the job. And he needs someone to help him. I cannot just leave him there," I said.

"I do not speak German, neither does my wife," he said.

"But you can translate for him while he is talking to me. He'll be able to talk to me," I said.

"Fine. But what shall I do if anything happens to him?" Yves asked.

"There is no need to worry. He is still strong and sound to take care of himself," I said, closing the topic.

"It's just that I am worried about him on account of me not being here. It sounds selfish," he said.

"Please forget about it," I said.

"Okay. I shall speak to you before you leave and leave the key with me," he said.

"Thanks. I just want you to take care of him," I said.

"You seem quite close for your grandfather," he said.

"Not by choice," I said.

"I would have liked to be called that way for my grandfather."

"I thought that you hated your grandfather and wanted to get out of there as soon as possible," I said.

"Yes, I did. But he is a good old man. There are just issues which neither he nor I can resolve with respect of each other's opinions," sighed Yves.

"Well, I just want to give him one more chance," I said. "It will be good for the family if we talk to each other." I did not know why I wanted to do it.

"Who are you? For whom did you come?" asked Alfred.

"I am in Europe to work as a missionary and to see some friends," I said to him. I had to lie. I wanted to know why he was hesitant in the beginning.

"Is that your sister who died when she was a baby?" he asked, pointing his chin towards the phone.

"Yes, that is her," I said.

"How old is she now?" he asked.

I did not know how to answer that. How would I explain how I came back to life?

"My mother said that she died when she was a baby," I said.

"Oh, she did, did she? Well, things have changed now. I am ready to accept you as my step-granddaughter," he said.

"You have always been," I said.

"So, you said, she is dead? You did not know that you are her look-alike?" he said.

"I do now," I said.

"Things changed here. Too much has happened here. I always knew that my daughter would not come back. But I always told your mother that she was my daughter. She used to reject that every time by saying that she accepted me as her grandfather," he said.

"I know," I said.

"She must have persuaded you. Am I right? She could do that. I always thought that your parents never got along. I always tried to patch things up, but they always thought that I was trying to interfere in their personal lives," he said.

"I know..." I said.

We had always been at odds ever since I had made it big as a supermodel. Of course, it was because of my positive influence. My mother never wanted to believe that.

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