Mary #2

Mary had only seen the ocean twice in her life, the first time being when she was just a small child. She had looked upon the crashing waves with her bright green eyes misted with tears of happiness. Even as a child she understood the power of the ocean and the beauty it held. Mary could still hear the sea gulls whining from above and the small children laughing as they ran out to meet the waves. The ocean brought so much peace and love for so many people.

                The trip had taken place on the warmest day of the summer with no clouds to be seen and the warm, salty ocean breeze filled the noses of every person walking along the sandy shores. Mary had felt so happy that day, wearing her brand new pink swimming suit and her hair up in pig tails to keep her long, wavy brown hair from her face. In one hand she carried a plastic yellow pail and shovel, the other hand she used to grip tightly onto her grandfather's gnarled hand.

                Squinting in the bright sunlight, Mary looked up at her grandfather, a huge smile on her face. The old man looked down, returning the smile. His eyes mirrored Mary's; misty wet at the beautiful ocean.

                Mary's grandfather had been in the Navy for the majority of his youth. He had been through a war, though at that time Mary didn't know the sacrifices her grandfather had made. He was simply grandpa, and Captain Johnson didn't mind being anything but "grandpa" to his one and only granddaughter.

                "What did I tell you, Mary? Isn't the ocean beautiful? It's bigger than all of us combined, and more powerful, too." Captain Johnson knew the ocean well. He had lived on a ship for many years, even after the war, but the ocean could be unforgiving as well as beautiful. After being aboard a ship for so long, Captain Johnson finally knew it was time to settle down and have a family.

                Every year he had taken his family out to the ocean on a boat he fixed up himself. His family loved the water just as much as he did, but when financial trouble hit the family, Captain Johnson had to sell his beloved boat to a wealthy man that had never had the passion for boating that the Captain did. In hard times, however, one could not be concerned over material things.

                "Grandpa, I don't ever want to leave!"

                Mary could remember her grandpa throwing back his head and laughing at her excitement, a youthful grin spreading across his face. "Come on Mary, I'll teach you how to build a sand castle!"

                The two spent the day in the sand, molding a sand castle with a moat. Mary could remember smashing the sand castle once it was built, giggling at seeing all their hard work turned into a giant lump of wet sand. Her grandpa only rolled around in the sand, laughing so hard tears fell from his eyes.

                Next, Mary spent her time running to catch the waves as it drew back, then running from them as the icy cold water nipped at her legs. Her Grandpa held her hand the entire way, laughing along with her. At times he would pick her up and swing her over the water, sometimes pretending to drop her as the waves climbed higher up his legs. Mary had only giggled, feeling more safe than she had ever felt before.

                As the day drew to a close, her grandpa brought out a small picnic basket and a large checkered blanket for the two to sit on. He carefully wrapped Mary's favorite white daisy towel around her, telling her to let him know if she grew too cold.

                "Let's eat!"

                The meal was one of Mary's favorite parts of the day. They ate peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches with potato chips, fruit snacks, and drank a juice box. As Mary munched on her sandwich, her grandpa shared story after story of his own childhood, of how he spent his days with his brothers and all the trouble they found themselves in. He shared stories about Mary's grandmother and her own mother, and even shared some tall tales that ended with both of them laughing.

                After that day, Mary would constantly ask her grandpa to take her back to the ocean, but he was always busy doing other things to help keep his family afloat. As time went by, Mary stopped asking, feeling it would be selfish to take her grandpa away from the rest of the family; even if it were for only just a day.

                Mary grew older and had to move away, accepting a job that would relieve the financial stress her family was experiencing. She regretted having to move away from her grandpa, whom had always been her best friend. Whenever she had a day of doubts, he would always set her down in front of a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich, potato chips, fruit snacks, and even had a juice box waiting for her, no matter how old she was. When she had hit her teen years, she thought her grandpa was being ridiculous, but he always had the right story to tell and she always felt better about herself.

                Soon Mary had a life of her own, and while she always meant to go back and visit her grandpa, things always came up. They called one another twice a week, but the Captain never let her know how he was doing. Instead, they reminisced about their visit to the ocean, promising one another that they would go back one day. Mary always noticed how her grandpa's memory of the day became more and more faded, but she chose to ignore the signs of her aging grandpa.

                One night the phone rang, and a soft voice said, "Is this Mary Johnson?"

                Groggily, Mary replied, "Yes. May I ask who is speaking?"

                "My name is Allison from the North Florida Medical Center in Newberry. I'm afraid I have some bad news. Your grandpa has taken a turn for the worse."

                Only a few hours later, Mary was on a plane heading toward her grandpa. It was not a trip she wanted to make, and regretted more than ever waiting so long to visit him.

                Once in the hospital, Mary was greeted by a nurse wearing blue scrubs. The woman looked bone weary, her green eyes red from lack of sleep.

                "I'm so sorry, Mary. My name is Allison, I called you last night to give you the news. I have been your grandfather's nurse for the past couple of days."

                Mary only nodded as she leaned over her grandpa, feeling numb to the sympathy the nurse was trying to give her. His liveliness had left his body and he looked older than she ever remembered. The Captain seemed weak and his spirit gone.

                "Come on grandpa, I'm going to get you out of here. We have a promise we need to keep," she whispered to him as his eyes opened and a weak smile appeared on his face. Once again their eyes mirrored one another; misted, but not happy.

                "Mary, I've missed you," Captain Johnson said, trying to keep his voice strong for his one and only granddaughter.

                Against the hospital's recommendations, Mary took her grandpa to her car and they drove to the coast to where Mary had first experienced the ocean. This would be the last time she  would look upon the ocean.

 

               

                Fredrick Johnson jumped out of the car with excitement, his green eyes bright with excitement. It would be the first time he would ever see the ocean, inspiring a life-long love of the sea.

                He ran out toward the sand, wearing his brand new bright blue swimming trunks and holding a bright yellow plastic pail with a shovel. His mother, Mary, came out behind the car, placing a wide-brimmed hat on her head to keep the bright sunshine from her eyes.

                "See son? Isn't the ocean beautiful? It's bigger than all of us combined, and more powerful, too," his mother said with a broad smile on her face. Fred grinned back at his mom, taking a deep breath of the salty ocean air.

                "I never want to leave!" he exclaimed, jumping up and down excitedly, swinging his plastic pail back and forth.

                "Come on, Fred, let me teach you how to build a sand castle!"

                The two spent the day making a sand castle, then taking turns splashing one another in the water. Fred couldn't remember ever being so happy, finally getting to spend time by himself with just his mom.

                That evening, his mother brought out a small picnic basket and they sat in the sand eating a peanut butter and grape jelly sandwich with potato chips and an apple. Each wrinkled their noses as they spat out sand, then laughed at how his mother had forgotten to bring a blanket for them to sit on.

                "Next time, Fred, I won't forget!"

               

                Mary watched as her grandpa's eyes drifted deep into memory. They were sitting on a wooden bench that was stationed within the sand and gave a perfect view of the ocean. He was swinging his legs like a small child, a grin growing across his face.

                "Grandpa, I brought us something to eat," she said with a sad smile. She reached into a small cooler she had along with her and pulled out two wrapped peanut butter and grape jelly sandwiches, two packets of fruit snacks, potato chips, and two small juice boxes. "I had the staff at the hospital make it for us, specially."

                Captain Johnson could only laugh as he plunged into his meal like he had done so many years ago. He no longer was Captain Johnson or Grandpa, but simply Fred, finally rejoining his mother back at the beach, enjoying his favorite meal.

                "Welcome back to the ocean, Fred, welcome back."