ANDRE BEGIN

A couple of years after embarking on my career, I realized that I no longer needed to hitch a ride with my dad for the six-hour journey to see my extended family.

Even though I didn’t own a car yet, I was starting to enjoy the liberating experience of car rentals for the occasional weekend away or to run errands that would have been challenging by public transit. Also, with my new work responsibilities, I had my own schedule to consider, rather than the time of year that suited Dad the best.

Ever a fan of the fall colours, I decided to call my grandmother to see if an October visit would work for her. To our mutual delight, we secured a date. I didn’t know who was more excited, my grandmother who was getting a visit from her long-distance grandson or me for taking the initiative on traveling on my terms like a grown-up!

On arrival, I was greeted with open arms by my extended family – metaphorically and literally – especially by my grandmother who held on to me so tightly I thought I’d snap like a twig. It brought back great memories of childhood and our annual visits when she’d hug me, squeeze me and have me wriggling like a happy puppy. I guess that’s what distance can do!

That first morning, at the breakfast table, it occurred to me that this was probably the first time (possibly ever) that I sat across the table from my grandmother and that it was just the two of us.

By that point, we were already well past the usual updates about family, home and weather. As she handed me a piping hot cup of coffee, I knew that this was a golden opportunity to ask her about family life long before I was around.

My dad shared anecdotes from time to time, but he was not an over-sharer by any stretch of the imagination which I chalked up to his introverted nature. With my grandmother, I might be able to dig a little deeper and capture some stories that he might have missed.

As we started our walk down memory lane, my grandmother interrupted her first story to ask (… ever the attentive hostess), “Is your coffee OK?”

Given the plumes of steam still rising from the cup that was almost too hot to touch, I replied, “Yes, it’s fine. Just waiting for it to cool off.”

In reality, given the busy operational environment in which I worked, it was rare that I ever ended up drinking my coffee while it was still hot. I had grown accustomed to varying degrees of warm to lukewarm and managed my expectations accordingly. Just the same I wondered where she got a machine that could produce coffee so hot that it could almost melt steel.

I couldn’t have been more delighted as my grandmother was able to string along story after story and filling in some gaps in my mind when it came to family lore.

Between stories, she paused and asked again, “Are you sure your coffee is OK?”

I replied, “Yes, yes. Still a little hot for me, but we’re almost there.”

As she regaled me with another story, this time about my dad and my aunts in the 1950s, I didn’t want to break her flow but at the same time, I felt a growing sense of urgency as I crossed my legs. I needed to start finding a natural break in the storytelling to take care of things.

As soon as she delivered the punchline, I politely excused myself from the table to visit the loo.

As I washed my hands, I heard “beep, beep, beep” coming from the kitchen. I just assumed that she was starting to prepare breakfast and was dealing with the butter that was likely hard as a rock on this cool fall morning.

When I returned to the kitchen, my grandmother opened the microwave oven door with a flourish and handed me back my cup of coffee with fresh new plumes of steam rising.

She had reheated my coffee.

I smiled and accepted the cup with the same love and intention with which the coffee was reheated. In my heart, I knew that my grandmother just wanted me to enjoy my coffee while it was still hot.

That being the case, the cooling off process for my coffee started over, but I was totally fine with it. We had plenty of time for the coffee to cool and for the wonderful pleasure of enjoying quality time together, face-to-face, sharing stories over breakfast in a moment that I will remember forever.

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Sincere thanks for reading!
Have a great day,
André