I Feel Our Memories Fade With Time.

Thanksgiving Memoriam.

I woke up to the smell of something good cooking. Then I remembered I was Thanksgiving. I went to the bathroom and went downstairs. Grandma Donna and grandpa Don were already over.

“Tyler! There you are!” grandma shouted, pulling me into a hug.

“Hi, grandma,” I said, hugging her back.

“How are you, sport?” grandpa asked, ruffling my hair.

“Good.”

“We gonna watch some football today?” he asked.

“Sure.” I smiled. “Morning, dad,” I said as he walked into the kitchen.

“Morning, Tyler.”

“Mikey, are you having everyone over here today?” grandma asked.

I sat at the table with a bowl of cereal and listened to my dad and grandma talk. The same talk every year.

“Yeah. They’re all coming over around two.”

“Did you prepare for saying the blessing?”

“Pretty much. Almost like every year.”

“No tears this time, okay, Mikey?”

“No promises there, mom. You know it’s hard.”

“Okay, you can cry all you want to. I don’t care, she’s your wife, and you miss her. I shouldn’t be telling you not to cry.”

“Mom, it’s ok.”

I finished my cereal and went to help grandpa Don set up the table for us kids to sit at. I’d sit there with my cousins and watch them throw peas at each other and I. It wasn’t that enjoyable, because when I’d throw a pea, I’d get yelled at. I gave up with that last year. From the living room, I heard them talking again.

“Mikey? Do you ever talk to her parents?”

“I saw them once a couple years ago. I haven’t talked to them since the funeral. Frank hasn’t either, and he wants to keep it that way. He blames them for everything.”

“Don’t you think Tyler should see his other grandparents?”

“He’s asked, but I haven’t told him the complete truth. I mean, he knows that we all don’t really like them, but I just haven’t told him what they did to make us not like them. I was gonna explain when he got a little older. Along with a full explanation of the whole incident.”

“Oh? You haven’t fully explained that?”

“He’s not really old enough to comprehend it. I mean, you can’t really explain incest to a ten year old.”

I ignored them and went back upstairs. I took a bath and got dressed. Later on, everyone showed up and we all sat down for dinner.

“Well…” my dad started. “We all know the drill.”

They all grabbed hands, and bowed their heads. I also bowed my head and listened to my dad talk.

“Dear God, we thank you for blessing all of us with another year of life. We hope that you are taking care of Lisa up there. We know she watches over us at your side. And while we don’t know fully why you decided she should leave us, we do know that if she’s happy now, we’re happy. We thank you for wonderful families, and we thank you for this wonderful dinner. We thank you for bringing us one more life soon. We thank you for taking care of Lisa and watching over us. Amen.” His voice cracked a little while saying that last sentence.

“Amen,” everyone said quietly.

Grandpa patted him on the back. “Well said, son.”

“Thanks, dad.”

There was a low hum of chatter mixed in with the sounds of metal clinking against plates. Of course, halfway through dinner, the pea-fight started. I ignored the peas flying at my face.

“Aiden. Knock it off,” Ana said walking over to our table.

“Natalie, you too,” Emily said. “You’re five years old, you should know better.”

“Sorry mom,” Natalie said.

“Yeah, sorry,” Aiden said.

I looked over at Madeline and she grinned. I grinned also listening to our younger cousins get in trouble.

After dinner and dessert, I played with my cousins while the adults sat with their coffee or tea, and talked. They stayed for another hour while grandma packed and divided the leftovers. It was another night I went to bed early, after helping dad and grandma clean up.