Welcome to another edition of Six Sentence Story Thursday Link Up. This week’s word is “play.” My contribution is an excerpt from Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me. Sixteen-year-old Natalie and her mother and sister are visiting her grandmother, who suffers from dementia and lives in a nursing home. They’re discussing Halloween plans. Natalie’s mother and father are involved in a community theatrical production, and that is what Natalie’s mother is referring to as the scene opens.
***
“Daryl and I have play rehearsal that night,” Mom said. “But the girls will come.”
My heart sank. I was hoping the director of that play would give my folks the night off. Taking my little sister trick–or–treating was the last thing I wanted to do, especially when I’d been invited to the Halloween party of my best friend, Katrina.
Unable to stop myself, I said, “Grandma doesn’t know who I am even when it isn’t Halloween.”
***
So, does Natalie get to go to her friend’s Halloween party, or does she have to take her little sister trick-or-treating? Why doesn’t her grandmother know her? Read the book and find out. See below for details.
Thanks to Girlie on the Edge for inspiring me to post the above excerpt. You can click here to participate in this week’s hop and read other bloggers’ six-sentence creations.
Photo Courtesy of Tess Anderson Photography
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New! Why Grandma Doesn’t Know Me
Copyright 2021 by Abbie Johnson Taylor.
Independently published with the help of DLD Books.
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Sixteen-year-old Natalie’s grandmother, suffering from dementia and confined to a wheelchair, lives in a nursing home and rarely recognizes Natalie. But one Halloween night, she tells her a shocking secret that only she and Natalie’s mother know. Natalie is the product of a one-night stand between her mother, who is a college English teacher, and another professor.
After some research, Natalie learns that people with dementia often have vivid memories of past events. Still not wanting to believe what her grandmother has told her, she finds her biological father online. The resemblance between them is undeniable. Not knowing what else to do, she shows his photo and website to her parents.
Natalie realizes she has some growing up to do. Scared and confused, she reaches out to her biological father, and they start corresponding.
Her younger sister, Sarah, senses their parents’ marital difficulties. At Thanksgiving, when she has an opportunity to see Santa Claus, she asks him to bring them together again. Can the jolly old elf grant her request?
***
My Corner 
great six
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Thank you.
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Nice last sentence pointing out the problems of dementia.
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Thank you.
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Thank you, Patty, for sharing this.
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Adults often take for granted or perhaps miss the signs of stress on a teenager who’s caught between responsibilities and wanting to just be a teenager and even more so when they also are dealing with a grandmother with dementia. That in itself is sufficiently daunting for an adult to handle let alone a teenager.
Thanks again, Abbie for this week’s prompt word.
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You’re welcome, and thank you for your comment.
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It’s hard to be a teen and be expected to take care of the younger ones on all occasions.
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Yes, and on top of that, you’re dealing with a grandmother who doesn’t recognize you. Thank you for commenting.
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