Tush

Elise and her Grandma were comfortably snuggled on the couch, an old plaid blanket covering their legs.  Grandma said that it would help lighten her mood, and Elise was happy to be with her.  Her mother had been on the phone all day, calling relatives and making arrangements, so Elise had quietly tiptoed into the attic to retrieve the box of old photographs.  She brought it to Grandma, sneezing from the dust, and climbed up next to her.   There they sat, looking at long ago faces, sepia windows on a time past. Elise loved to listen to her Grandma tell stories about the faces in the photos, but today Grandma just silently rummaged through the old box until she found a picture of a handsome, dark-haired man in a military uniform.

"Grandma, how did you meet Grandpa?"  Elise asked.  Grandma didn't speak at first, just continued to stare at the photograph in her hand.

"It was at the end of the war," she finally began quietly. "Your Grandpa was just back from Europe.  All the men were.  It was a crazy time, we were all so happy that the war was over.  My friend Carol and I went to the docks to greet the soldiers as they came off the boat, but everyone else had that idea, too.  We couldn't get anywhere near the docks!  So we went to the deli on 35th to wait for the crowd to thin out.  Your Grandpa was at the counter, ordering his first pastrami on rye in three years.  He smiled at me as we passed him on our way to a table.  I didn't think anything of that, lots of men smile."

Elise looked up to find a slight, whimsical smile on her Grandma's weathered face.

"Then what happened, Grandma?" Elise was feeling warm and sleepy, but she really wanted to hear the rest of the story.

"Well, Carol and I were just settling in when your Grandpa just walked right up to our table and sat down!"  Grandma chuckled.  "That just wasn't done in those days, and we were scandalized.  We told him so.  Your Grandpa didn't even blink.  He told us that he wasn't leaving until he had my name and a phone number."   

"He looked me right in the eye, and told me that he intended to call on me once he was settled up with the Army. Well, what could I do?  I gave him my name and number, and then Carol and I were practically giddy as he marched off."

"Your Grandpa had the cutest tush," Grandma giggled, making Elise smile.  "That's when I knew that I was in love."

"Are you going to miss Grandpa?" Elise missed Grandpa already.  The room felt empty without his booming voice echoing through it. Her Grandma hugged her tightly, her voice a shaky whisper.

"Oh yes, I will miss him, sweetie," she said.  "He's waiting for me, but I still have things to do.  Like love you."





The prompt is the third definition of the word TUSH.  I apologize for any errors.  This was written with a six year old trying his very best to distract me.