My Son Said Lunch Was Canceled, But When I Got There, I Found Them Dining Without Me And

• my son said lunch was cancelled but when I got there I found them eating without me so I did this please stay with me as I tell you my story and please do not forget to support our channel by subscribing liking and sharing with your loved ones your support means the world to us now let’s go straight to our story mornings in Fernhaven always start the same way i wake up just before the sun peaks over the hills when most of my neighbors are still deep in sleep at 74 each new day feels like a quiet gift
• though some mornings are more struggle than serenity on the worst days my knees scream before I even make it to the bathroom my little home on Panh Hill Drive has held on longer than anyone expected the wallpaper in the front room has turned a soft yellow after nearly three decades and the porch caks louder each spring my husband Curtis used to say he’d get around to fixing it but he never did not before his stroke took him eight years ago i still speak to him some mornings standing at the stove with my tea i talk like he’s just stepped out to check the tomatoes and will be back
• through the screen door any second this is the house where Kendrick and Sheila were raised every wall has their echoes sheila’s laughter in the hallway kendrick’s feet pounding down the stairs but now those sounds are long gone sheila stops by every few weeks always busy always with somewhere else to be kendrick he visits when he needs something usually cash or a quick signature and every time he promises to make it right but it’s been 16 years and not a dollar has come back today was Thursday that meant blueberry pie day not for me since my sugar can’t handle
• more than a bite but for Isaiah my grandson the only one who visits just to see me he’s Kendrick’s boy a junior in college now studying finance he comes every Thursday for tea for pie and for quiet talks that make my week worth waiting for when the gate clanks shut I knew it was him isaiah has this gentle but lopsided way of walking like his legs haven’t caught up with the rest of him just like Curtis used to walk after his growth spurt “grandma Bernice,” his voice rang from the porch “you smelling that pie already?” I called laughing as
• I wiped flour from my apron he leaned in for a hug that made me tilt my chin all the way back to see his face “how’s class?” I asked setting a plate in front of him “still wrestling with calculus but I got an A on my last stats quiz,” he said proudly “professor Green asked me to help out with a research project.” I beamed “just like your granddaddy.
• ” “That man could calculate a roof repair with a pencil stub.” Isaiah smiled and looked out the window at the backyard pecan tree he used to help me climb that remember even when dad said I’d break my neck I remembered too curtis just laughed boy’s got to learn how to fall if he wants to climb we talked a while longer school his internship and a girl named Delilah he met at the library but then Isaiah paused midbite grandma did dad tell you what you’re wearing on Saturday i blinked saturday he looked surprised yeah we’re Dad and Tasha’s anniversary lunch 27 years they booked

EPISODE: 2

• the Riverside Grill on the lake you’re coming right i sat down slowly i hadn’t heard a thing about it not from Kendrick maybe he was going to call I said carefully you know how your daddy loves to wait until the last second isaiah nodded but didn’t look convinced we kept chatting but something in me had gone quiet when he left with a promise to swing by again Saturday I watched him walk away and stood by the window for a long while across the street Miss Ununice who’s my age was chasing after her grandkids her daughter brought them every Thursday like clockwork it used to make me smile
• now it just reminded me what was missing the phone rang i checked the screen kendrick hey Ma he said “Too bright.” “Hi baby everything good?” “Yeah listen i wanted to call about Saturday we were planning that lunch for me and Tasha’s anniversary but we’re going to cancel she’s got some kind of bug fever chills.
• ” Doctor says she needs to rest through the weekend oh no I said heart sinking can I drop off some broth ginger tea no need we got it covered he said quickly just wanted to let you know we’ll do it another time all right baby tell Tasha I hope she feels better i will got to run love you click the call ended before I could say another word my stomach tightened something was off later that night I called Sheila i made it sound casual that like I was just checking in hey baby how’s Tasha feeling tasha she’s fine why just thought I heard she was under the weather oh well not that I know of but hey I’m super swamped at the shop got to prep for the
• weekend rush call Kendrick if you’re worried wait aren’t you going to their anniversary lunch another long pause oh that yeah sure anyway love you Ma got to go she hung up i stood there phone still in my hand heart thumping they were hiding something the next morning I walked to the Piggly Mart not to shop just to breathe in the produce aisle I ran into Miss Doy Sheila’s coworker at the flower shop well Bernice Holloway haven’t seen you in a minute we hugged i smiled still putting up with Sheila huh
• lord yes except tomorrow she’s taking the day off said it’s family lunch 27 years married big celebration at the Riverside i nodded slowly my smile stayed but my spirit sagged so Kendrick lied but why back home I sat in my recliner and tried to make sense of it was it some elaborate surprise but why the lie then the phone rang again isaiah Grandma did I leave my blue notebook last time i need it for class tomorrow i’ll check I said walking into the kitchen while I looked he kept talking if you find it can you give it to Dad tomorrow he’s picking you up right i
• stopped cold picking me up yeah for the lunch i can meet y’all after class but I’ll be late my hand trembled on the counter isaiah baby Kendrick told me lunch was cancelled he said Tasha’s sick silence a long silence grandma I’m here i I don’t get it he just called me this morning said we’re all meeting at Riverside at noon sharp he said he’d already called you i sank into my chair i’m fine baby I said quickly just a little confused that’s all probably mix something up don’t worry you want me to call him no need i’ll take care of it after we hung up I sat for a long time

EPISODE: 3

• staring at the old photo of me Curtis Kendrick and Sheila back when the four of us fit into a tiny photo booth at the state fair when did they stop seeing me as family when did I become someone to lie to but I wasn’t about to cry i was going to make a decision let them think they’d quietly erased me let’s see how quiet Saturday lunch turns out i didn’t sleep Friday night not because of my knees though they had their usual complaints and not because of the old insomnia that flares up from time to time no this time it was my thoughts that kept me awake every time I closed
• my eyes I saw them at that long table by the water laughing clinking glasses raising toasts to 27 years of love while I sat alone in this house unwanted unmentioned and deliberately excluded saturday morning dawned gray and sluggish as if the clouds themselves shared my mood i made a cup of tea let it sit untouched and stared out the window it felt like something inside me had locked up like my own children had quietly closed a door on me i asked myself for the hundth time “What did I do to deserve this?” My eyes drifted to the old photo of Curtis on the mantle he was smiling
• leaning on the porch rail in his favorite flannel eyes crinkled at the corners “what would you do Curtis?” I whispered i could almost hear him “don’t let nobody throw dirt on your dignity Bernice not even your own kids.” I walked to the front window across the street Miss Ununice waved as she walked her old basset hound at least someone was still glad to see me the phone rang kendrick again hey Ma good morning he said his voice suspiciously cheerful morning I answered voice calm how you feeling need anything i’m fine how’s Tasha still under the weather he said
• after a slight pause same stuff fever headache doctor said she needs rest all weekend that’s rough I said with exaggerated sympathy i was thinking of dropping off some soup no need he said quickly we got it all covered just checking if you needed anything maybe some prescriptions filled or groceries oh so that’s what this is I thought checking to see if I was leaving the house making sure I wouldn’t show up where I wasn’t supposed to be i’m good Kendrick actually I plan to stay in today might reread one of my mystery
• novels been itching to revisit Agatha Christie he sighed relieved sounds good ma get some rest we’ll talk soon yeah of course baby he hung up i looked at the clock 9:35 a.m plenty of time i sat quietly thinking back when did my children start treating me like a suitcase too heavy to carry maybe it began after Curtis passed in those early months they both came around regularly helping with the funeral managing the bills but slowly the visits thinned first once a week then every other then once a month if that and always with a

EPISODE: 4

• reason ma the kids schedules are crazy ma I’m swamped at the store ma the roof’s leaking and we’re tight on cash this month kendrick’s visits especially came with requests ma Tasha’s birthday is next week i want to get her something nice ma the car needs breaks i’ll pay you back next month ma I’ve got a can’t miss investment just a temporary loan not once did I see a return on those loans i started writing them down in a notebook a long list of empty promises totaling more than I care to admit sheila on the other hand never asked directly but every visit to her flower shop ended the same way me buying the
• priciest arrangement ma you don’t want folks thinking your daughter sends you with grocery store daisies right i bought them every time 6 months ago my doctor prescribed new blood pressure meds expensive but effective when I told Kendrick he threw a fit ma are you serious $400 a month that’s a robbery they work the others make me sick there’s got to be something cheaper he insisted sheila chimed in ma be practical we all have bills from the same people who vacation in Bermuda and drove brand new SUVs a knock interrupted
• my thoughts i opened the door to see Ila Isaiah’s girlfriend standing shily on my porch a lovely young woman light freckles across her cheeks and long braids tucked neatly into a bun hi Mrs holloway i think Isaiah left his blue notebook here come in sugar let me check while I searched under couch cushions she looked around at the old photos lining my shelves that one’s Isaiah at 4 i smiled with a fishing rod Grandpa Curtis gave him caught a fish the size of a spoon but you’d have thought he wrangled a shark ila laughed he talks about you a lot about your pies your stories he really loves being here tears
• welled up but I held them back he’s a good boy I said softly he reminds me of his grandfather we found the notebook tucked under the recliner as Ila headed to the door she turned back oh I’ll see you at the lunch right isaiah said you’d be there i froze i forced a smile i’m not sure yet sweetheart i’ve got a little headache today oh okay hope you feel better she gave a wave and left as I watched her drive off something in me snapped into place i looked at the clock 10:10 a.m plenty of time i pulled out
• the navy dress I wore to Curtis’s funeral still fit though it hung a little looser now i added my pearl necklace the one Curtis gave me for our 25th anniversary slipped on low heels packed my purse with tissues my wallet and a resolve sharp enough to cut glass at 11 I called for a cab when it arrived the driver raised an eyebrow “riversside Grill?” he asked “kind of pricey for lunch.

EPISODE: 5

• ” I know exactly where I’m going I said climbing in the ride from Pan Hill to the lakefront took 20 minutes as we pulled up to the entrance I asked him to stop just before the main driveway wait here for me I told him handing over the fair i won’t be long riverside Grill was the kind of restaurant reserved for milestones anniversaries engagements retirement parties it stood proudly beside the lake sunlight glinting off its tall glass windows and flower draped balconies i didn’t head to the front instead I walked to the side path that curved around the building toward the parking lot that’s where I saw them
• kendrick’s silver SUV Sheila’s red crossover Isaiah’s beat up Honda all here every last one of them except me i walked along the back edge of the restaurant careful not to be seen through a gap in the drapes I saw them laughing around a long table a balloon bouquet bobbing gently behind them kendrick at the head raising a glass of champagne tasha in a bright orange blouse healthy and glowing no sign of fever or illness sheila smiling isaiah seated next to Ila and a handful of people I didn’t recognize they were clapping now servers brought out trays
• of roast chicken sauteed greens grilled shrimp plates I’d seen on the online menu the kind that cost more than a week’s worth of groceries tasha clinkedked glasses with someone across the table kendrick leaned in to kiss her cheek and there I was on the outside looking in not even worth a phone call i wiped the corner of my eye not out of sorrow but because I was done playing along they wanted lunch without me fine but I decide how the story ended i didn’t storm in i didn’t scream or cry or make a scene like I knew they feared
• I would no I walked up to the front entrance of Riverside Grill with my back straight and my chin high like the woman I used to be before years of being overlooked wore me down a young man in a crisp gray suit stood at the door “good afternoon ma’am,” he said politely “do you have a reservation?” “I’m here for the hallway party,” I said calmly they’re celebrating a wedding anniversary in the main hall he scanned his clipboard yes Holloway private party back patio and you are Bernice Holloway i said my voice cool and even kendrick
• Holloway’s mother something changed in his posture oh my apologies Mrs holloway of course please come in let me escort you i nodded thank you as I followed him through the dining area past white linen covered tables and golden floral centerpieces I felt people’s eyes trail after us maybe it was my dress navy blue and modest maybe it was the pearls or maybe it was the look in my eyes the look of someone who had decided she was done being erased he led me to the back patio doors right through here ma’am thank you i stepped through the open
• double doors and into the patio into their perfect little party it took a moment for anyone to notice me they were too caught up in Kendrick’s toast and that’s why I thank God every day for 27 years with the love of my life he was saying champagne glass raised high tasha beamed sheila dabbed at her eyes someone shouted “Aw.
• ” Then Isaiah saw me his fork dropped with a clatter ila turned gasped sheila froze midchew and finally Kendrick turned his face drained of color so fast I thought he might faint ma he choked out there was a beat of stunned silence i was in the neighborhood I said dryly figured I’d stop by no one moved no one spoke just the wind rustling the lake behind them and the clink of someone nervously setting down a fork a hostess stepped forward clearly unsure what to do shall I i’ll take it from here I said brushing gently past her i walked straight to the table eyes sweeping over the scene champagne shrimp platters white
• chocolate mousse on gold rimmed plates lovely setup I said not bad for folks who told me lunch was cancelled tasha tried to smile bernice I wasn’t feeling well but I’m better now that’s funny I said tilting my head you look just fine yesterday when Die said she saw you at the florest and pretty healthy right now from where I’m standing kendrick stepped forward his voice a strained whisper ma let’s not do this here why not here i asked voice level y’all seem to be having such a good time no point in spoiling it right sheila opened her