By the time I was old enough to remember anything clearly, it was just Grandpa and us. He stepped in after our parents died in a car accident, just him, five kids, and a small house.
It was just Grandpa and us.
Every morning at 5 AM, like clockwork, I’d hear Grandpa in the kitchen. Then the hum of the coffeemaker and the quiet snap of that same old metal lunch box closing.
My siblings couldn’t wait to leave when they got older. Matthew went first, then Jake, Kirk, and finally Jessica. They relocated to different cities, living their individual lives.
None of them looked back.
But I stayed.
My siblings couldn’t wait to leave.
After graduating from college, I moved back in to care for Grandpa. He was much older by then. Slower, but still stubborn.
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