My Constant Companion

“Hi grandma.” I said with a bright smile as I embraced her.

Grandma lived on the other side of town, about forty five minutes away by car, in a fairly quiet neighborhood. The light blue two story home was where I had been raised. There were day when I missed it still.

My grandma, Camille was her name, didn't look her age, appearing at least a decade or so younger than her seventy three years. She still had a youthfulness about her that couldn't be beat. Her caramel coloured skin looked bright today and her short gray hair was curled. She must have changed out of her church clothes, because she wore casual blue slacks and a white tee, and pink ballet flats.

She was grinning from ear to ear as she pulled me back by the shoulders to get a better look at me. “Hi baby.” she said. “How have you been?”

“Fine.” I answered. “You?”

“Amazing.” Still smiling, her eyes went behind me. “So who's your friend?”

I turned back to Shannon who had extended a hand to her. “I'm Shannon, ma'am.”

“Pleasure to meet you, Shannon.” Grandma said with a smile still on her lovely face as they shook hands. I could already tell she like him.

“Pleasures all mine.”

“So is this your new boyfriend?”

Grandma could be blunt. I blushed and exclaimed softly, “Grandma.”

“Just asking.” Shannon smirked down at me. He was enjoying this so much. “Well come on in. any friend of my Nikka's is a friend of mine.”

“Thank you ma'am.” Shannon said politely.

We followed her in and went back to the kitchen where she was already preparing dinner. It was nearly three now and I suspect that some of my other family would be here by at least five. I hadn't seen any one in a while, so I was looking forward to this visit.

Shannon turned to her and smiled, “You have such a lovely home Mrs. Morgan.”

How had he known her last name was the same as mine? Since my mom hadn't gotten married when she had me, the three of us, grandma, mom and I were all Morgans, which was my late granddad's name. He died when I was eight.

“Thank you ever so much, Shannon.” grandma beamed, I knew she had fallen under his spell.

I washed my hands, as did Shannon. He went over to the vegetables grandma had begun chopping on the center island and without being asked he took over. Grandma looked impressed.

“I didn't see your car.” she said to me, “How did you get over here?”

“Oh... uh.” I stammered.

“On my bike, ma'am.” Shannon informed her.

“You mean that motorcycle that's parked out front.” she said in an even voice.

“That would be the one, yes.” then they both chuckled.

“You take care of my baby on that thing. Or it'll be the last thing you do.” It was a real threat but she said it with a smile.

Grandma asked me about my tattoos for the one hundredth time. “I hope that's the last of them.” she said. She hated them. I assured her there would be no more but I had been thinking of getting another, a feather.

Then grandma being her nosy old self, asked again if Shannon was my boyfriend, and when I told her no, both she and he frowned. “And just why not?” she asked.

“Yeah, Nikka, why not?” Shannon questioned from behind us.

I was by the sink, cutting up the chicken breast. I sighed loudly. Grandma said to him, “Oh. So she's the hold out, huh?”

“Yes ma'am. I've been trying, but she's so stubborn.”

“Am not.” I said.

“She really is,” grandma said as she joined Shannon at the island.

“Whatever.” I muttered.

“What was that, young lady?” she asked sternly.

“Nothing.” I said as quickly and as innocently as possible.

“So how long have you too know each other?”

My back had been to them but I turned around to face them. Shannon was still chopping away while grandma sat at the island smiling at the man she didn't know was actually an angel.

“A few months.” he said. “I've been trying my best to court her, to no avail. She doesn't want to be anything more than friends.” Oh, we were more than friends, we proved that last night, but I wasn't sure how to define our relationship. I was human and he, well, wasn't. Then he gave her sad puppy dog eyes. Geez. “It's a real pity.” he poked out his lower lip. Oh brother.

“Yes. She is so stuck on being independent that she's going to let a good man pass her by.” How does she know if he's a good man? “I get that she doesn't want to be tied down, and she has her own life, and a career, but she has to take the time for love.”

“I agree. She thinks that it's wrong to depend on someone, but I keep telling her that she can have it all and not sacrifice her independence doing
so.”

I huffed, “I'm still right here, you know.” I hated that they knew me so well. I was never to keen on relationships anyway. But I had other reasons besides my career or my independence.

Grandma waved her hand at me dismissively. “You're exactly right.” she told him, ignoring me. “She doesn't think she deserves it either.”

I got uncomfortable at those words.

“She deserves the world.” Shannon said seriously, his eyes intense.

I turned away from him and for some stupid unknown reason I felt tears prickling at my eyes. I resumed my cutting while they kept going on about me. Grandma was trying to give Shannon some advice about me, but somehow she wound up on a topic not discussed much, at least not around people who weren't family.

“She's like her mother in so many way. I remember when she was younger, before the...” then grandma stopped.

My back stiffened and I put the knife down. We didn't really talk about my mom, much. Shannon, thank goodness, didn't say anything.

My grandma sighed audibly and I could hear her chair scrape the checkered tiled floor as she stood up.

“Nikka, is like all women,” she said softly, “they have the same basic needs. To love and be loved in return. All she need is someone she can be herself with. She just likes to over complicate things some.” then like that grandma was back to normal. “Her last boyfriend was a jerk. Broke her heart.”

“Really?” Shannon's voice was dark and husky. He was upset. Why?

“Yes, the bastard cheated on her. The poor thing, she cried for weeks.”

Okay. I was really tired of hearing them talk about me as if I was invisible, and since I knew they weren't going to stop, I washed my hands and went to set the dining room table. Shannon raise a thick eyebrow at me, smiling, but his eyes were worried. I turned away from the two of them and left the room before they could say another word.

I didn't care about grandma tell him about the last guy I had anything serious with, I was over that. It wasn't that it was all the other stuff they had said that made my eyes swim with tears, and the mention of my mother. I wiped them away and got down to business.

The dining room was a decent size with a huge cherry wood table that sat ten and a glass and wood china cabinet. I set the plates, glasses, and silver wear deliberately slow, before going back to the kitchen.

Granny and Shannon we still chatting away, but this time about baseball. You might not know it but my grandma was a huge sports fan and her favourite was baseball. I hadn't a clue Shannon knew so much about it. But then again there was a lot I didn't know about him. Once they got off the topic of America's favourite pastime, I had resumed my job of dicing up the chicken and now I was preparing it for cooking.

“So who's all coming grandma?” I asked. Shannon had placed the veggies in the pot to boil. It surprised me that he didn't even have to ask what we were cooking, he just knew.

“Oh, just a few people.” she told me. “You know how everyone is nowadays. Too busy to visit their old withering granny.” she was trying for the whole woe is me factor.

“You're neither old nor withering away. You're amazing. And I still visit.”

“Yes. And you bring eye candy with you.”

“Granny.” I exclaimed and I saw Shannon try to stifle his laughter. He excused himself to make a phone call.

“He's cute.” grandma whispered once he was out of earshot. “But I think he might be a little too old for you.” She didn't know the half of it. “But maybe that's what you need,” she continued. “those young boys do nothing for you. Someone with a little experience might suffice.”

Would she approve if she knew what he was? “Grandma, Shannon's great, but were just friends.”

Yeah, Nikka, keep telling yourself that.

“Mm-hmm, I see the way he looks at you. And the way you look at him.” That was my granny, ever observant. Then she turned serious again.
“You don't want to windup alone.”

“I'm only twenty four.” I huffed out. Here we go again. It was a familiar conversation between us as of late.

“And when I was twenty four I was already married and had kids.” Yes, she had seven of them in the end to be exact. My mom was the second youngest.

“Yes, but the world was a lot different then. And I still have time. I don't want to rush these things.”

“Yeah, well, just don't look back on these days with regret.”

“I won't.” I said, albeit a little unsure.

“Mm-hmm.” she said as she got up to check on the pasta.

When Shannon returned he had one of my family members with him, chatting away like they were old friends. My cousin Andrew was twenty six and a law student, but he looked like the stereotypical bad boy. He had on a leather jacket, skinny jeans and combat boots. I smiled at him.

“Hey little Nikki.” he said affectionately as he came over to give me a bear hug.

God I hated that nickname and he knew it.

“Hi Andy.” I said to my big cousin. And he hated that nickname.

We hadn't seen each other since last Christmas. He was looking good. Shannon smiled and took over for me as me and Andy talked.

And as predicted by five more family came. It was a small group. My cousins Lisa and Dominic, with his ten year old daughter Alicia. My aunt Debbie, her husband Dave, and my other aunt Brenda. We all embarrassed and soon it was time to eat.

The lovely, delicious smelling chicken florentine, with sides that the three of us had made was dished out and nearly devoured by all of us while we sat at the dining room table, there was still some left over since we made enough to feed a small army. We all caught up on the goings on in each others lives and it was a great meal. The desert, a triple chocolate, double layer cake made by granny was amazing. Needless to say she was an excellent cook.

Sitting here, with family and good food, reminded me of the Sunday dinners we had when I was a child, at this very table. It felt good.

Shannon kindly offered to do the dishes and then joined me out in the backyard. The sun was setting but the clouds moving in looked like rain. Wasn't it just last Sunday when it rained like cats and dogs and Shannon reveled his true self to me? It felt so long ago, not seven day.

My little cousin Alicia was in the tire swing that hung from a tree branch while Lisa pushed her, both were giggling.

“I didn't realize how much I missed it here.” I muttered as Shannon put his arms around me from behind. If grandma was watching she'd be pleased with our closeness.

“You were happy here.” he said in my ear as if he knew that for a fact.

I could hear the rest of my family in the kitchen, laughing and being merry. I smiled. “Yes. I was.”

“I know. I remember.”

I turned to see his face. “Huh?”

He looked me dead in the eye. “I'm old Nikka, remembered that.”

“You've been here before.” I said as it dawned on me.

“Mm-hmm.”

“When?” I pulled away from him and then we were face to face.

“Long ago.”

“When?” I repeated. He was being Mr. Vague again.

“Do you remember when you almost broke your arm trying to climb that tree?”

I gave him a weird look. “Yes, but how do you?”

“Do you remember how you broke your fall?”

Where was he going with this? “I somehow slowed down before I reached the ground. Like someone was carrying me.” my voice got smaller, my words slower as it dawned on me. “No.”

“Yes.”

“You caught me?”

“Yes, doll.”

“I was nine then, Shan.”

He sighed. “I know.”

“And you just happen to be hanging around that day?”

“Something like that.” Mr. Vague again.

“How long have you been around me Shannon?”

“Since you were a kid.”

“Why? Are you actually my guardian angel?”

He laughed. “Of course not.”

“Well then why were you watching me all these years like a pedophile?”

A hint of sadness touched his hazel eyes. “You were lonely.”

I took a deep breath. “A lot of kids are lonely. That's no excuse.” I felt myself getting angrier.

“But not a lot of kids could see things that others couldn't.”

What? “And what does that mean exactly? I couldn't see you until a month or so ago.”

“Because I didn't want you to. You've seen things you weren't supposed to, angels, demons, even when they were supposed to be hidden. I felt like
I had to protect you... just in case.”

A chill slivered down my spine. “Just in case, what?”

I didn't get my answer because grandma and the others came out the back door. Shannon gave my arm a squeeze and turned to smile in their direction. But I frowned. I felt like I had been slapped in the face.