Solo

Excerpt:

I looked past Gramps and saw my grandmother with her arms firmly crossed. She wasn't your typical grandma. You know, the kind with fresh baked pies sitting on the windowsill. My grandmother was... Well, she was more like a warden.

I slowly approached her.

"Hello, Eliana." She awkwardly gave me a half-pat-on-the-back kind of hug.

"Hi, Grandma; thanks for taking us in." I tried to chisel through the ice.

"You're welcome," she replied stiffly.

My mom walked up beside me. "Hi, Mom."

"Hello, dear. I have your rooms ready. I put Eliana in your old bedroom. You're in the room across from hers, just in case."

I looked away and rolled my eyes. What did "just in case" mean? Was it "just in case" I got scared in the middle of the night like I was seven years old, or "just in case" I tried to sneak out like I was an unruly teenager? This was going to be a long year.

We each grabbed a bag and entered the house. I opened the door to my "so-called" bedroom and sucked in the aroma of rose potpourri and moth balls. My eyes rounded at the princess palace with its frilly pink walls bordered by purple castles and a dozen--that's right--twelve porcelain dolls staring at me from a wooden shelf. If anything could scare me, those beady eyes could. I stood there flabbergasted and Mom walked in.

"Honey, we'll fix it later. Just start unloading your car."

"You're sure lucky I love you," I whispered.