Elsie merely want for her grandson Josh to find a potential life partner. She believes she has struck gold when a young, inexperienced instructor starts teaching at her kindergarten. However, Elsie finds out that Josh and Allison already click when they meet.
I’m a grandma who meddles. Not in a negative sense; I simply want Josh, my grandson, to move on with his life. He is 27 years old and works or plays video games most of the time.
He works on projects around the house or plays video games while spending the weekends at home.
Josh, you should go out more, I told him. “I wish for you to fully experience life! Are you against meeting someone?
He would pause his game and remark, “I get it, Gran.” However, at this time, I’m just not interested in it. My entire time and energy are being consumed by work, and I don’t think that’s a bad thing.
“You’re not growing any younger,” I remarked as I gave him some chips to munch on.
He laughed and said, “It’s because you’re surrounded by kids all day, so you just want great-grandchildren.”
Josh was not in error. I had a great time teaching kindergarten, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, I had had enough of raising kids away from their homes. Now that I was seventy, I wanted a soft existence, as Josh described it, one of baking and knitting in peace.
At the conclusion of the year, I will no longer be employed by the school. Perhaps it’s simply my mother instinct, but I wanted to make sure Josh would be alright and wouldn’t be so alone.
Allison, a new kindergarten teacher, joined us a few months ago.
I really like having her around during the day, even though she was a few years younger than Josh. Naturally, I considered introducing her to him.
However, I was aware that Josh, my grandson, would never consent to a planned date. Most likely, he wouldn’t even appear.
Josh would have to meet Allison at dinner, but that was still better than nothing.
I addressed her as “Alli” one day at school. “Is it okay if we come over for dinner?”
Indeed! Naturally, Mrs. Barnard, I would,” she replied. “I’ve missed family dinners a lot since living here. This is going to be fantastic.
One Friday night, I made plans for Allison to join me for supper. She would not stop talking about how she would come early to help with the cooking or bring stuff over.
“Mrs. Barnard, please just let me help,” she begged as she assisted me one afternoon in putting away the toys.
I said, “You can bring dessert.” “Call me Elsie, please.”
I cherished her.
I also knew she would be a great compliment to Josh.
However, nothing in the world could have readyed me for Josh and Allison’s connection.
Josh entered the room as I was laying the table that evening.
He nodded at the table and asked, “What’s this about?”
“Are you okay with us having a new teacher over for dinner?” As I arranged the silverware, I spoke.
Yes, would you like my assistance? He inquired.
With a cake in tow, Allison showed there, her presence a breath of fresh air.
Josh was still in his bedroom when she welcomed me with an embrace at the door.
The whole evening was then completely upside down.
“Allison?” Josh’s voice, a mixture of shock and an unexplained sense of recognition, came from the doorway.
Josh? With widened eyes, Allison responded. Is this, Mrs. Barnard, your grandson? Josh?
The room was shrouded in confusion like a dense fog.
“You two know each other, right?” With my heart pounding from the thought of their potential connection, I inquired.
Josh sat down and said, “Yeah, Gran.”
“How”? I continued. We’d moved past the little talk and I was hungry for more.
“It is my sister, Allison,” he uttered, his words bearing the weight of a thousand untold tales.
The space became quiet.
“Please explain,” I said to Josh.
My biological grandson is not Josh. In actuality, I had battled with interpersonal interactions for years despite wanting a child. So I decided to go to an orphanage when I was 48 years old.
Josh and I met there. He was five years old and had survived his parents’ deaths in an accident.
Mandy, the social worker, said, “Elsie.” “What a wonderful young man! He is still charming, inquisitive, and courteous. All he needs is a chance to escape and survive.
He was a scared little child when I first met him, having lost the people who mattered most to him.
“How about his family as a whole?” I enquired. “Don’t they think to look for them?”
“Nobody else exists,” Mandy declared. “We looked around. For this reason, he also had to be kept apart from his sister. Three weeks ago, she was adopted.
“And Josh wasn’t wanted by the family?” I enquired.
“Unfortunately, no,” Mandy said. “All they wanted was the youngest child we had, to capture as much of her early years as they could.”
Ultimately, even though I inquired further about Josh’s sister, it was simply not possible to divulge such private information.
Since I was already growing gray and I didn’t want Josh to have to answer the question of why his mother was so elderly, I took him in as his grandmother.
After a while, on his fifteenth birthday, I told him the truth about the adoption; nevertheless, I withheld the information regarding his sister.
Josh has therefore been aware of the truth, or as much of it as is feasible.
“Explain to me,” I persisted.
“Gran, I felt at ease after you revealed to me that I was adopted. After all, you had selected me. But you know, I simply had the impression that there was more to the tale.
I gave a nod. I was reluctant to stop him. But this boy would always be my first choice.
When I returned to the orphanage a few months ago, I was informed about Allison, a sibling. Additionally, since we were biological siblings, they were allowed to provide me with information.
Allison added, “And then Josh found me on Facebook.” We’ve been conversing for some time. But initially, he didn’t tell me the whole truth.
Josh shot out, “Well, I didn’t know if you knew the truth or not.” “I couldn’t just claim to have discovered your information in an orphanage’s old file.”
Allison remarked, “I didn’t think that our first meeting would happen here, in your home.”
As I got up to get the food, I remarked, “I think we need some dinner.”
I watched in silence as Josh and Allison reconnected at the table. I could never have imagined that they were even related, much less that they knew one another.
Josh chewed his food in silence, working over his ideas. Allison had a glassy look in her eyes, making me question what she was thinking and if she was alright.
“Gran, what made you ask Allison to come over?” Josh enquired while adding more wine.
Sincerely, I replied, “Because I wanted to play matchmaker.”
Allison began to giggle, and soon laughter reverberated across the room.
The overwhelming feeling of embarrassment that had initially overtaken me gave way to a deep joy. I had wanted to show Josh love, but I had no idea that it would take the shape of a sisterly tie that had been broken by fate.
Yet their respective roles in one other’s life were reestablished.
Josh and I stood outside later when Allison decided to do the dishes on her own.
Josh turned to face me and murmured, “I can’t believe this.” His voice cracked with passion.
Looking up into the night sky, I remarked, “I’m as surprised as you are.”
He remarked, “You’ve given me so much.” And you’ve unintentionally brought Allison back now. Although we’ve been communicating, none of us has the guts to get together in person.
Stories of lost and found childhood memories, heartbreaks and hope, and the enduring power of family filled the remainder of the evening.
That night, as the home was silent again and I lay in bed, I couldn’t shake the feeling that their encounter had been prearranged by some other force.
Allison will, at least for the time being, be involved in Josh’s life in some way.