The Four "o" Clock Encounter

I awoke, startled by the noise coming from downstairs. Quietly, I sat up, and didn’t even dare to breathe. I was living alone at the time. I, in fact, was extremely proud of myself. It was only my 3rd year in college and I had already bought a house. It wasn’t the nicest, but at least I had something. The only reason I had bought a fixer-upper was because I thought I could fix it up a bit; maybe get new flooring, paint the walls, get new carpeting in the upstairs part of the house. Whatever; as long as it looked like an "after" picture that you see in those house restoring shows on TV.

So, as I said, I lived alone, and I was terrified that someone might have broken into the house. I mean, I was new at this whole thing: living alone, having to pay the electricity, the mortgage, and not to mention my 401K! I didn’t know anything about taking care of so many things at once! I have always been scared to admit that, but at this second, I wanted my mommy to be here, holding me in her arms, telling me that everything would be all right and that she would handle it. But, as much as I wished it, I knew it wasn’t going to happen like that.

I had to act like a grown woman and check out what was going on. I lifted the covers off of my head, swung my legs easily over the bed, and put on my pink fuzzy slippers (again, I'm not a fan of being so grown up). As I tip-toed my way to the wooded door, I thought I heard my refrigerator door opening.

"That's weird,", I thought. Why would a burglar come into my house…to eat?!? Surely, I was wrong, but there's always a possibility. I turned the knob and as I opened the old door, it made the tinniest squeak. This was enough to startle me though. I took a few deep breaths to calm myself down. Once I was done with that, I made my way down the long hallway with pictures of my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and all of the family; dead and alive. They looked pretty creepy looking down at me with their beady little eyes; as if their eyes would follow every move I made. At least they seemed that way. But, maybe it was just because of the lighting. I threw the thought out of my head and headed for the soft carpeted stairs.

Half way down the stairs, I heard some more rumbling in the kitchen. By now, I was in the dining room, which by the way, is right next to the kitchen. While I was standing there, listening to any other movements from the strange person, I grabbed a glass vase. You know, just in case I needed it for self defense.

I turned the corner and was now standing in the same room as him. But to my surprise, it wasn’t a him; it was a her! And not only was it someone that I knew very well, it was my grandmother! You see, she has this problem where she forgets things very easily. Sometimes, she forgets where she left her car keys, and other times, it's a bit more severe. She forgets where she lives or what time of day it is.

“Are you crazy? It’s four o’clock in the morning!”, I said to my grandmother, named Gertrude.

"Oh dear, I didn’t realize it, honey. I'm sorry if I disrupted your attempt to sleep.", she said with the slightest hint of liveliness in her voice. "I just thought I'd get a bite to eat before I took my afternoon nap. But I guess its not really 12 "o" clock, is it?"

"Well, no Grandma, it isn't. And your also on the wrong side of town for this to be your house. Now, I'll walk you to your car, so you can get back home and sleep.", I said, half yawning.

"Alright, deary. Just, promise you wont tell your mother about this little incident. She's been checking out a lot of old people homes lately and I'm worried that if she finds out that my condition had gotten worse, she's going to send me to one of those horrid places. And, I certainly am not ready for that! For goodness sakes, I'm only 68 years old!" By now she was getting a little bit too excited. So, before she started one of her 3 hour-long conversations, I placed my hands on her shoulders and walked her to her old beat up Buick.

I was concerned for my grandmother as her condition had gotten worse over the past few months. But, who was I to spoil all of her fun and tell mom about tonight's encounter. I swore to myself that I would, under no circumstance, tell mom. Then, my grandma slowly disappeared into the darkness of the night.