Love for Family and Friends

Joey and his brother sat close together on the plane. They were really nervous. Part of Joey was so excited for them to land, and part of him was hoping the flight would never end. He and his brother were headed to Pennsylvania to see his grandparents. They had never met before, because his grandpa was a busy businessman and grandma helped at his work. Why did they have to meet now?

Joey knew, of course. His mom was having surgery, and his dad needed to be able to look after her for awhile without worrying about them. He was sorry he wasn’t old enough to help his dad, but he understood. Kind of.

As the plane touched down, Joey’s brother held tight to his arm.

“Joey, I’m scared. We don’t know them,” he whispered. Joey nodded and squeezed his brother’s hand where it held his arm. Joey was scared, too, but he couldn’t show it. Their grandma and grandpa couldn’t be that bad, could they? Joey thought of all the nice grandparents he had read about in stories. They always gave kids cookies, and candy, and played with them all day. But then he remembered all of the evil old ladies in stories who ate children, or locked them up and made them clean all day. What if his grandparents were like that?

He couldn’t be scared, though. He needed to be tough for his little brother. When everyone started getting off the plane, a lady in a uniform helped Joey and his brother out with their little bags. She walked them down a long area full of lots of chairs and so many people. And there, they must be his grandparents: two older people dressed in very nice outfits, waving at him and his brother. The lady wished him good luck and let go of his hand, but Joey held fast to his  brother’s. Squeezing it, he walked resolutely up to his  grandparents.

“I’m Joey. I know you’re our grandparents, but please don’t eat us. I have to take care of my brother while my mom gets better.” Joey said this and stared his grandpa right in the eyes. But then something funny happened. His grandpa and grandma both started to laugh. They bent down and hugged Joey, then his brother.

“We promise we won’t eat you,” his grandma said. “But we hope you’ll help us eat all the ice cream we bought for your visit!”

Joey smiled and looked slyly at his little brother. Ice cream, huh? Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.