Chapter 109

Monday, Aug. 6

Grandma had another of her big roast beef sandwiches ready for me in the kitchen and gave me just enough time to consume it and a couple of glasses of tea before herding us all toward the garage.

Kirsten called shotgun as we went through the laundry room.

“Mooommmmmmaaaa,” Kinsey whined in protest.

“Why don’t you girls sit in back with your grandmother,” Aunt Patty said. “I’ll be less of a distraction to Gary.”

Our first stop was a furniture place where Grandma and Aunt Patty set about selecting pieces for damn near every room in the new house. Grandma had a diagram of the floor plan and Aunt Patty had a list of possible items for each room.

While my aunt still had a houseful of furniture in her hometown, it had been added almost haphazardly over the years. She wanted to make a fresh start and have a unified theme in her new home that would flow from room to room. The salesperson who came to assist us understood the scope of things and immediately called for one of their in-house decorators to provide input.

The trick was finding the right combination of modern for Aunt Patty and traditional for Grandma. I could tell this was a project that wouldn’t be completed in one visit. Or even one week. They’d be doing well just to get the basics delivered this week so Kinsey and Kirsten wouldn’t still be camping out in our family room when school started.

My cousins thought it was great fun to test the mattresses when we got to looking at bedroom sets. They both fell in love with a double-size canopy bed, though Kirsten seemed a little reluctant to make the same selection as her sister.

“What’s the matter, chipmunk?” I asked when she went to look at a different set. “I thought you liked that one.”

“Kinsey’ll just complain that I’m copying her again,” my little cousin moped. “She does that every time I like the same thing she does.”

“Well, as long as you have your own reason for liking it, you’re not really copying her, are you?” I posited. “I mean, I can understand the two of you having similar tastes. You have been living together your whole lives, after all. But I wouldn’t be surprised if you preferred different color schemes or something like that.

“And you will have your own rooms, so it’s not like you’ll be mirror images. You’ll probably want to arrange your furniture differently than she will just because the rooms are laid out differently.”

Kirsten thought about what I said, then turned to her mother and indicated she wanted the canopy set. Kinsey didn’t bat an eye.

Both girls had a laugh when Grandma had me lay down on a sofa, making me take off my shoes and put my feet up.

“You’re about the same height as your grandfather,” she said. “I just want to make sure we get one that’s long enough.”

After nearly two hours of furniture shopping, we headed to the mall and started looking for school clothes for my cousins. They each selected a variety of tops, shorts, dressy pants and jeans. Kinsey picked out some cute dresses that provided better coverage for her growing frame, while Kirsten was told to wait for the coming growth spurt her mother felt was just around the corner.

My younger cousin was pretty much the same height she had been at this time last year. With her 12th birthday looming in the fall, Aunt Patty was sure she would begin sprouting sooner or later.

Speaking of sprouting, I was under strict orders from both girls to not even think of looking as they headed down the underwear aisle. Rather than risk the wrath of my grandmother, I did as I was told and patiently waited in an area well away from said aisle. I wasn’t the least bit interested in finding out just how lacy their lacy unmentionables might be. It wasn’t like my cousins were old enough to shop at Victoria’s Secret or anything.

Grandma insisted on getting me a few more pairs of khakis and a stack of polos in colors I wasn’t sure I wanted to wear. Maybe I could use them under an Oxford cloth when the weather cooled off enough to make layering a good idea. At least I’d have a few more things to keep at the apartment.

I was encouraged to run the numerous bags out to the X5 rather than lug them around as we continued our expedition. Aunt Patty went with me to open the tailgate while Grandma took the girls to the food court for a snack. I was still plenty full from the roast beef sandwich Grandma had fed me.

“I wanted to thank you for helping with the girls,” Aunt Patty said. “A move like this can be tough on kids at their age, especially girls. Kirsten’s trying to establish her own identity instead of just being ‘Kinsey’s little sister’ and Kinsey is having a hard time dealing with what she sees as challenges to her superiority.”

“Maybe being around Kacie and her friends will help,” I said. “You’ve got a mix of big sisters, little sisters, middle kids and only children who went through all that kind of stuff themselves within the last few years. Maybe they can help the girls understand that what seems like the end of the world now will be no big deal in a couple of years.

“I’ve heard Mom tell Kacie more than once that if the biggest thing in her life happened in junior high or high school, the next 60 or 70 years are going to be a long downhill slide.”

“Just be careful around them,” Aunt Patty said. “They’ve both got their hearts set on being your girlfriend. I’ve told them that’s not going to happen, but I guess getting your heart broken by your first love is part of growing up.”

We returned to meet up with the others and headed toward the electronics store where I’d looked at laptops last week. Kinsey and Kirsten would need tablets for some of their schoolwork and Grandma was in a mood to spoil them.

The sales associate I’d dealt with previously came over and asked if I was ready to buy. I told him I was still weighing my options, but that my cousins were in the market for tablets. Aunt Patty produced letters from the girls’ respective schools that listed requirements and was shown a range of models that should meet them.

Kinsey went for the latest iPad. Kirsten decided the iPad mini, which looked to me like an oversized iPhone, was more her size. They both asked about games and were quickly reminded by their mother that the devices were for schoolwork, not games. I think I saw Grandma mouth “birthday” when Aunt Patty turned to ask the sales associate a question.

Grandma then turned to me to see what I was looking for. I explained my idea of finding something I could link with my home computer so I could access homework files when I stayed at the apartment. After looking things over, my grandmother decided I needed a Cadillac instead of a Chevy and talked me into getting one with a 17-inch screen.

“You might just find you enjoy having all the bells and whistles,” she said.

Of course, we had to have carrying cases for the gizmos. Kinsey selected what looked like a daybook that zipped up and had several pockets that would be perfect for carrying homework assignments and other papers. Kirsten chose one that looked more like a purse with a little wrist strap. I opted for a padded backpack that could double as a bookbag.

Grandma handed the sales associate her credit card, which I thought should be smoking from overuse by now, and told him to ring it all up.

My cousins would not permit me to transport, let alone touch, their new tablets and couldn’t wait to get to the house so they could begin trying them out. It was a good thing the family room had several electrical outlets. They’d be able to sit on opposite sides of the room if they wanted to as their devices charged up.

We made it back to the house about 5 p.m. and my cousins immediately went into conclave with my sister in the family room to set up their new tablets. Kacie helped them get hooked up to the house’s wifi and they were off.

I spent a good half hour transporting bags inside under the direction of my grandmother and my aunt. After sorting through all the purchases, I then spent even more time hauling bags back outside to Aunt Patty’s Suburban for transport to the new house.

Mom and Aunt Karen cruised up with the top down on my Beemer, acting like a couple of college coeds who’d been out for a spin.

“You have got to let me drive this thing sometime,” Aunt Karen said as they headed inside. “You’ll be cruising around in a big, ol’ SUV pretty soon, anyway.”