My mother often told me, “Don’t sit on Grandpa’s lap.” I never understood why. One day, I didn’t listen to her and sat down anyway. Grandpa smiled, leaned close to my ear, and whispered, “Can you come sleep beside me tonight?”

Instead, he led us to the small enclosed porch at the back of the house.

Two mattresses had been placed on the floor.

One was large.

The other was small.

Near the window stood an old  teescope.

I stared at him in confusion.

“What is this?” What happened next read in the comments

Grandpa smiled.

“This is what I meant when I asked you to  sleep beside me.”

Mom turned away, as though she didn’t want me to see the tears in her eyes.

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