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My Grandmother’s Earrings
I ran outside of my house on Christmas Day. Everyone was waiting eagerly for my grandparents to show up. Finally, they pulled up on our driveway in Floresville, Texas. Now my whole family was here and we could start the celebration! I couldn’t wait to show my grandmother the beautiful wooden jewelry box I had made for her as a Christmas present. As I arrived at their car, my grandparents both wrapped me in a hug. “Hi, Cori!” my grandfather exclaimed. “Good to see you!” my grandmother added. All of my cousins came rushing quickly out of my gray, two-story home. “Hello, hello!” my family was chirping. “Let’s come inside so we don’t freeze to death,” my mother told us. We all laughed, shivering. “Some hot chocolate will fix you right up,” my mother said, bringing mugs of delicious, steaming cocoa to my cousins and me. “Mmmm, thanks, Mom,” I told her, taking a big sip of piping hot cocoa. After I was all warmed up inside, I took my cousin Brooke upstairs to show her my room. Not long after that, my mother called us down. “Time to come open presents!” Brooke and I flew down the stairs and into the living room. We both took seats on the ground and grabbed all of our gifts. “Oooh, ahhh!” everyone said as all the kids took turns opening their wonderful presents. I received so many gifts I could not even count them all! After everyone had opened all of their gifts and played with their new toys, everyone went into the kitchen for dinner. I stayed behind in the living room for a few minutes to put my new items away, and then my grandmother came in. I hadn’t given her the jewelry box yet, so I decided to give it to her then. “Grandma, look what I made for you,” I said to her, holding out the jewelry box I had made for her. She stroked it with her fragile hand and said quietly, “Thank you.” I smiled and put it in her hands. “Now, something for you in return,” she said to me. I was very confused. She hadn’t told me that she was going to give me another gift. I took a small white box wrapped in lavender ribbon out of her hands. Then I slowly took off the ribbon and lifted off the lid to the tiny box. I gasped. Inside were beautiful earrings with pearls, diamonds, and flowers. They were the prettiest earrings I had ever seen! “Thank you so much!” I exclaimed, throwing my arms around her. She smiled, but then her face turned serious. “What is it, Grandmother?” I asked her, puzzled. She led me over to the sofa where we both sat down. “Cori, there is something that you must understand,” she told me, looking at the ground. “I told you that I will always love you, and that you will always be in my heart. That is true, but listen to me. I am an old woman, and my days are numbered. I don’t know how much longer I will be around. These earrings,” she said, pointing to the box next to me, “are the earrings I wore in my wedding. I want you to have them before I go.” I hugged her for a very long time, as tears rolled down my cheeks. I tried to get my mind off of things, so I said, “Well, I guess we should go get some food in our stomachs,” wiping away a tear and sniffing. We walked into the busy kitchen and served ourselves, but I had no appetite. How could my grandmother and I eat when death was hovering in the air? I played with my utensils until the meal was over, then I cleared my place. Awhile later, it was time for everyone to go home. “Goodbye! Drive safely!” my parents told everyone as they pulled out of our driveway. I cradled the box containing the earrings in my hands as the last car drove away. I stood staring into space, wondering if I would ever see my grandmother again, or even hear her voice. A single tear fell from my eye as my mother said, “Time to go inside, Cori. It’s getting late.” I nodded, and followed her. A week later, we got a call from the doctor in Dallas, where my grandparents live. He said to come up there right away. I feared for the worst. We climbed into my dad’s Dodge truck and drove to the hospital. When we got to the hospital in Dallas, a nurse in purple scrubs greeted us. She took us to a small hospital room. All the while, I was clenching the earrings tightly in my hands, never letting them go. As we approached my grandmother’s room, I peered inside. Then I felt a rush of excitement. To my surprise, she was slowly walking around the tiny bed. “Cori!” she said, smiling. I ran to her and hugged her for a very long time. “I thought I would never see you again!” I exclaimed, looking at her. “The doctors say I am very healthy,” she announced to my family. Everyone took turns hugging her. When everyone in my family had said their goodbyes, they started toward the truck. I stayed in the room with my grandma for a few minutes. When everyone was out of the room, I held the box with my grandmother’s wedding earrings out to her. “I suppose you want these back now,” I told her. She looked at me, confused. I put the box with the earrings into her hands, expecting her to take them back, but she pulled away. “You take them, granddaughter,” she said to me. I smiled at her softly and said, “I love you, Grandma.” We hugged each other tightly, and then I said quietly, “Goodbye,” and walked out of the room. I smiled in the hallway and thought to myself, “I will always love my grandmother, no matter what.”
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