"Greybeard's 100th Birthday" - A Freewrite

"Shhhh! It's your turn now," whispered Kelly.

Zonnia quickly pecked on their great grandpa's nose while the old man was sleeping in his wheelchair. Gramps Bluefin, as they fondly called him (because he would always tell them a story about how he caught a 250 kg bluefin tuna whilst sailing in the Pacific Ocean many years ago), flinched his nose unaware of his two great-granddaughters' little stunt, which they would always do when their "Gramps" was either busy reading his morning newspaper, or in this case, snoring and dead to the world.

Roseberry caught her two girls laughing and giggling next to her Grandfather James. She had always called her grandfather Greybeard. Not Grandpa. Not Grandpa James. Not Grandfather. Not even Pops. But just that, Greybeard. Among his grandchildren, Roseberry was the only one that called him by that name. And the old man loved it. They always had this special connection with each other, that when he was in the hospital three months ago, surrounded by his three children and fifteen grandchildren, he chose to live with Roseberry and her family once he was ready to go home. The doctors had given him six to seven months more to live. And so, his wish was to live with and be cared for by his favourite grandchild. Although he consistently denied it, it was still too obvious that it was Roseberry.

Well, back in 2005, when he first suffered from a stroke, James gave Roseberry his most prized possession, the 1985 Harley Davidson FXEF 1340 Fat Bob. Her cousins had always resented her for that. "Why did she get to have it?" was the question that would always come up during a special occasion, such as a family reunion.

Since the stroke, he had been in his wheelchair and never regained his mobility. Up until three months ago, James had been living on his own in his house, only visited by his children who would take turns at cooking meals for him, bathing him, among many other things. Roseberry would come over every day after dropping her daughters off at their school, just to check if her Greybeard was all right. She would brush his hair and his long beard until he would fall off to sleep for his morning nap, and then she would leave as soon as her mother arrived to take over.

That was before. Now, Roseberry had to look after her Greybeard twenty-four seven. Even if the old man had not requested it, Roseberry would still take it upon herself to take care of her grandfather. She was not bothered by what her cousins would think about that or say about her.

Thankfully, the social distancing measures and restrictions were in place which saved her from the awkward glances and stares of her cousins. They would not be able to come to Greybeard's 100th birthday today. This was the new normal now. There could only be ten people at a time in a social gathering, which meant that only five more people could come to celebrate this special occasion she had already organised since last week.

"Kelly, Zonnia, can you please leave your Gramps alone?! You need to be quiet. He needs this rest before the visitors arrive," called Roseberry from the kitchen.

The two girls continued to giggle as they took turns at kissing their grandfather's nose. They loved seeing Gramps Bluefin's reaction and his grimaces every time they did that. "Kelly!!! Zonnia!!!" This time, the girls heard their mother's scream. They immediately hurried to the kitchen and then asked their mother, nervously, "Yes, Mum?"

"I told you both not to try to wake your Gramps up. He needs to rest and the visitors will be coming soon. Why don't you, girls, help me out in the kitchen? Set the table for nine, will you?" said Roseberry.

Zonnia and Kelly went to the display cabinet at once and grabbed the fancy chinaware and utensils. They carefully set the table up and once finished, they went back to the kitchen to see if their mother needed any more help. Roseberry said, "Thank you, girls. That should be it for now. But go play outside at the back so Gramps won't hear your noise."

The girls quickly ran to the back door and went outside the house. The house became quiet instantly. A few minutes later, Roseberry's husband, Hillary, arrived from work, then her parents, followed by her Uncle Emmanuel and Aunt Sidra. They were the only ones who were invited to Greybeard's 100th birthday celebration. They all placed their gifts on the hallway table and went straight into the dining room, and put the food that they brought on the kitchen bench. Everyone greeted each other by touching each other's elbows in a joking manner.

Sidra asked, "Should we get Dad now?"

Emmanuel said, "Yes, I think dinner will be ready soon. I'll help you push the wheelchair."

Roseberry's mother, Sheela, followed her siblings to the living room where their father was sleeping. Sidra and Sheela both nudged their Dad's arm to wake him up. James opened his eyes and smiled as soon as he recognised the faces in front of him. "Happy birthday, Dad! You are 100 years young today," Emmanuel greeted his Dad.

"I'm so happy to see the three of you today," said James in a weak croaky voice.

Emmanuel said, "Dad, I'm sorry I can't bring my kids over. We are not allowed to have big reunions anymore."

Sidra added, "Yes, Dad. My boys can't also come to your birthday but they all send their love. They miss you so much."

"Hmmm... next year then. Where's everybody?" asked James.

Sidra replied, "They're waiting for us in the dining room. Food is ready."

"What are we waiting for then? Let's hit the road!" said James, as he raised his right hand and pointed to the door.

"We are going this way, Dad," said Emmanuel, smilingly, as he pushed the wheelchair towards the dining room into the end of the dining table. Everyone was already gathered around the table. Roseberry placed the huge birthday cake in front of her Greybeard, a "100" candle was lit up in the middle, and then everyone started to sing simultaneously, "Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday, Dear Dad (Gramps Bluefin by the girls and Greybeard by Roseberry), Happy birthday to you. Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray! Hip! Hip! Hooray!"

James blew the candle in front of him and then Roseberry took the cake again and set it aside. Sheela sliced a piece of roast beef and put it on her father's plate and then served him some steamed vegetables. James took a bite of that roast beef and chewed it slowly in his mouth. Everyone was busily chatting away, engrossed in each other's conversations, while James was just looking at their faces, one by one. He was trying to remember which one was which. They looked very familiar to him but just couldn't tell their names. But somehow he knew from his heart that they were his family.

At the other side of the table, he caught a glimpse of a more familiar face - his wife, Cherie, who passed away a year later after he had the stroke. She was smiling back at him, and then she asked him, "Would you like a drink, Greybeard?" James, whilst putting his right hand up, replied inaudibly, "No, I'm all right now. I was waiting for you. I'll be home soon." And he smiled back at her.

Roseberry understood that he did not want to have a drink yet. She stood up and asked loudly, "Who wants some cake?" Kelly and Zonnia both cheered and clapped, "I do!!!" So Roseberry went to the kitchen bench to get the cake and then she placed it on the table. She sliced the cake and put it on James' dessert plate. As she was placing the plate in front of her grandfather, she noticed that he had fallen asleep.

"Greybeard, it's time to eat your cake." He did not reply. She touched his face gently to wake him up, but he did not respond at all. "Greybeard!!!" she said loudly. Everyone stopped and looked at James. The whole room became quiet, and all they could hear was the sound of Roseberry's trembling voice trying to wake her grandfather up. Everyone started crying. Sidra and Sheela arose from their chairs and ran to their father. Still, no response at all. "Dad!!! Dad!!! Dad!!!"

"YES!!! What? Why is everyone crying?" said James weakly.

Everyone stood still and did not speak. They wiped their tears off their faces. Suddenly, each one of them felt a big wave of relief that their Dad, or Gramps Bluefin, or Greybeard, would still live another day.