“YOU ARE PART OF MY FUTURE”
“You shouldn’t be spending this much money on me,” Grandpa whispered.
I smiled.
“You’re not spending it. I am.”
He shook his head.
“You have a future to think about.”
I sat beside him.
“You are part of my future.”
He looked down at the tickets again.
For several seconds, he didn’t say anything.
Then he folded the tickets carefully and placed them inside his shirt pocket.
“You know,” he said, “your grandmother always wanted to see a match from that close.”
I knew what he meant.
June had watched hundreds of matches beside him.
She had cheered when Grandpa cheered.
Complained when he complained.
And pretended not to hear him when he blamed the referee for absolutely everything.
“She’ll be there,” I told him.
Grandpa smiled.
“Then we’d better make sure we get there early.”
On match day, he wore his faded blue scarf.
Before we left, he slipped June’s photograph into his wallet.
He tapped the pocket gently.
“She’s coming too.”
And somehow, that made the day feel even more important.
