A slumber party to remember

Pop-pop's funeral was today. My parents originally planned to drive up from Maryland and back in the same day-- my dad wanted to make sure that my mom was able to get some sleep, and my grandma tends to talk all night long (I thought he was exaggerating, but I can report that this is an accurate statement!); so he thought sharing a hotel room with her the night before the funeral wouldn't be such a great idea.

I heard myself offer to stay with Gramarie if he wanted to get adjoining rooms.

So last night, I packed a duffel bag and headed to North Jersey on the bus. If I'd had any doubt in my mind that it would be an interesting trip, the first two minutes proved that wrong. When I got to the hotel, I could see my parents' car waiting at the front door. My mom and dad were inside, so I walked to the passenger side and opened the car door where Gramarie was sitting.

"Oh, Anne! Where did you come from!"
I just got here-- I took the bus from New York!
"Oh, New York!" and she pointed at my mom who was walking towards the car. "Do you know that woman?"
Um.... do you mean my mother?
"Oh I don't know; I'm so confused. We just drove and drove, like a wild goose chase! And now everyone ended up here! I don't know how it happened!"

Fair enough. I shouldn't have surprised her by walking up to the car out of nowhere.

We headed inside. It was great to have adjoining rooms, and soon even Gramarie was enjoying herself. Until...

"Where's Bill? I can't believe we just left him home by himself. He'll be so worried about us!" So we explained again why we were in a hotel room in New Jersey. "Oh, poor Pop-Pop. I miss him so much." Oh, so do we....

Soon it was time to get ready for bed--
Gramarie, you want to brush your teeth?
"Nah, I'll brush them in the morning. I'm so tired tonight."
No, you need to brush them tonight-- I'll get your toothbrush.
"No, it's okay. I'll brush them in the morning."
Well, I'm gonna brush my teeth too, so let's just brush them together.

And Gramarie and I stood in the bathroom and brushed our teeth together-- I couldn't help but smile; it was a legitimate slumber party now!

"Which bed is mine?"
Your choice.
"I'll take that one!"
Sounds good-- I'll take the other one.

Gramarie climbed into her bed, and I started to climb into the other one.
"You mean no one's sleeping in this bed with me?"
Um.
"There's so much room here! You're not going to sleep here?"
Well, I was going to sleep in this other bed.
She looked at me with a sad face.
Um.... would you sleep a lot better if you didn't have to sleep by yourself?
She smiled and nodded.
Ok-- for you, Gramarie.

So I climbed into her bed, and she squeezed my hand.
"Good night, Anne. How are we going to wake up in the morning?"
Dad's going to wake me up, and I'll wake you up.
"Ok... don't forget to wake me up when you wake up!"
Just like a little kid that doesn't want to miss out on the action.
I won't, I promise.
.... couple minutes of silence....
"You'll wake me up when you wake up?"
Yes, I promise I will.
.... couple more minutes....
"I sure hope I don't oversleep. How will we know when it's time to get up?"
Gramarie, do you trust me?
"Of course I do."
Do you trust me to wake you up?
She laughed. "I do. But if you don't remember, that's okay too."
.... couple more minutes, and then she squeezed my hand....
"I remember when you were born. I was so excited that you were a little girl. I was just so happy."
And you just gave me an amazing gift.
"Goodnight, Anne. I love you."
I love you too, Gramarie. Goodnight.

"Anne?"
Yeah?
"Will you wake me up when you wake up in the morning?"