Matilda May

Matilda May

“Hi! My name is Kimberly Kay, and my Gramma’s name is Matilda May.”
It is totally awesome that our names rhyme. Everyone loves Matilda May. Someday, I want to be just like her. I get to stay with her during my summer vacation. When I do, we stick together like bread and honey.

I watch everything she does. The best thing about Gramma is that she always makes people happy, even when she isn’t trying. I hear people say, “You just made my day, Matilda May. I get goose bumps all over.

One scorcher of a summer day, Gramma said, “Kimberly Kay, We have errands to run.”
We mostly walked everywhere because Gramma lived in a very small town. But on this one day, Gramma cheerfully laughed and said we had to take go a ways out of town, so she would drive old Wally. That is what she lovingly called her car. It was old, and it was orange! But it was clean and shiny, and I thought Wally was beautiful.

Our first stop was Aunt Ruby’s house. Aunt Ruby is Gramma’s sister. Her husband died, and she lived all alone. She used a walker to get around.
We walked in the house without knocking. Aunt Ruby was sitting on the couch. She looked sad. Gramma looked at Ruby and said in her delightful voice, “How are you doing today, Ruby?”

“Oh, I am feeling lonely,” she sighed.
“You know what, Ruby? I was just talking to Barbra Jenkins, and she told me that she wants to crochet a baby blanket. She needs help. I’ll just call her.”
Gramma phoned Barbra, and sure as school on Mondays, Barbra said she would come right over.
“That is wonderful!” Ruby beamed. “I own every size of crochet hook we could possibly need. You just made my day, Matilda May!”

Our next stop was the gas station. It was the only one in town. A boy named Bart worked there. He came out to the car and filled the tank for us. He washed all the windows and even polished the hood.
“What a nice job you did, Bart! Keep the extra money for a tip.”
Bart beamed. “Thanks! Now I can go to the show with my friends tonight. You just made my day, Matilda May.”

Gramma wanted to buy some bread at the bakery on Main Street. The lady behind the counter hurriedly wiped her eyes as we walked in.
“Whatever is the matter, Nelly?” Gramma cried.
“Oh just come back and see,” moaned Nelly.
On a big wooden table sat the biggest, whitest, and most beautiful cake I had ever seen. “Why, that is the loveliest cake I have seen in quite some time!” Gramma crooned.
“It’s supposed to have red hear candies all around it. The wedding is red and whit, not just white. The candy company just called to say they won’t get the candy here today, and the wedding is this afternoon!” Nelly wailed.
Gramma thought for a minute. Suddenly, her face lit up. She reached into her big black bag and pulled out a bottle of her red cherries. She preserved red cherries every year. I know that she had brought them for my snack, but I didn’t mind.
“This should do the trick.”
They opened the jar and put the bright red cherries all around the layered cake. The cake looked beautiful. Nelly was smiling from ear to ear. As we walked out the door with our bread, she called, “You just made my day, Matilda May!”

Our next stop was the drive out of town. Gramma had her hair styled once a week by a beautiful lady named Thelma. Thelma had dark black hair that she piled high on her head. She lived just out of town.
Gramma sat in a chair that went up and down. I sat on a huge cushion on the floor and read my book. I listened, too. Thelma’s son had been sent away with the army to a far off country. Thelma was very worried about him.
“He will be blessed for his service to his country, Thelma,” Gramma soothed.
She kept talking to Thelma about her son and said thing I didn’t really understand. She seemed to feel better and better. After a time, they were laughing.
Thelma hugged Gramma as we were leaving and she sighed, “By golly, you’ve sure made my day, Matilda May!”

Our last stop was my favorite. We went to Frank’s Dollar store. I loved his store because he had a whole wall full of toys and candy that kids could buy for a quarter. Gramma gave me four quarters. I could choose four things! As I mulled over the toys and candy, I hear Frank tell Gramma that his wife was sick.

“Well”, Gramma said in a comforting voice, “Kimberly Kay and I will be over first thing tomorrow. We will look after her while you are at the store.”
I paid for my four small toys and we turned to leave.
“You know”, said Frank, “I will be so relieved to have you with my wife tomorrow. You just made my day, Matilda May.”

That night, Gramma tucked me into bed. I gave her a great big bear hug and said, “You are the best Gramma in the whole world. I love you to the moon and back!”

Gramma turned out the light. Just as she was shutting the door she said, “You just made my day, Kimberly Kay!”