he tried to share the wonder of
the steam coming out from the top of the coffeemaker with his granddaughterstried
to share its ephemeral silverwhite curlicues the plaits the weaving its slender threads
the sudden gouts and belchesWe have a coffeemaker too I think its nicer than yoursyours is just
whiteits stained Grampa
The steam girls see the steamhow
intricate how lovelyhow very fleeting it isLook
he waved his hand beside its crown the steam was obliterated
the girls looked at each otherthe
eldest took the lead as she did when she mentioned they had a coffeemakeras she
always did Its nice When are you going
to get a nicer coffeemaker Grampa
A prettier coffeemaker Stainless
steel To match the microwave
Yes
she
might have thought in her seven year old head he was coming around
I dont have a microwave
she
blinked first Why
dont you have a microwaveeveryone has a microwave
Ohhoney Your argument fails If everyone had a microwave Id have a microwave wouldnt I
I
meanI meant everyone else has a
microwave
Baby If I dont
Im confident there are other people who also dont
I can see that she said begrudgingly she didnt like to lose arguments patently she didnt like to lose at
anything she was going to be a dandy
when she got older no one would pull the wool over her eyes
he loved her tenacity
Yes My pointI was being facetious You understand the meaning of the word facetious
her head bobbed up and downnodding
Excellent What does facetious mean
Facetious
Yes Excellent pronunciation by the way sweetheart
the four year old edging toward
the doorway into the livingroom where her mother was said Excuse me
Yes lil one
Im
going to see mommy Okay
Okay
I think Ill go see mommy too
In a moment he knelt on the linoleum floor so they were eyeball
to eyeball You can go when we conclude
our conversation Where were we I dont rememberhe remembered
I dont either she said as she began edging towards the doorfilling the void her sister left beside her
OH I remember
Facetious
Oh yes
Yes You were going to define
facetious for me
Facetious Facetious
he nodded
Facetious You said you were being facetious
I
did Facetious
You remember what we were talking about
We were
talking
We
were talking about the new coffeemaker you think I should have
We
were she
brightened up
Yes What about it
You were going to get a new one
Yes And why was I going to get a new coffeemaker
You were
going to get a new
coffeemaker . .
.
. To match
To match
Yes Remember
What was my new coffeemaker going to match
I dont know
Actually you do
No I dontI dont know
Actually You do
I dont
You do honey Think for a moment
I aman I dont remember
Take a moment I believe you do remember Were talking
Nothing more Me Talking to you Okay
Okay
So Ill ask you a question that I
know you know the answer to it An itll be the answer to what you say you dont remember Okay
Okay
Excellent Excellent like your pronunciation of
facetious
Thank you
Youre welcome baby he was the only one who got
away with calling her baby her sister was
the baby of the family not she Now listen very carefully okay
Okay
What does your handsome
coffeemaker at home match Look around the
kitchen in your head
What does it match The coffeemaker What does the coffeemaker match
Look over by the refrigeratorjust
past it
The refrigerator Just past the
refrigerator
You
have to look up For some reason people fail
to look up Look up just past the refrigerator
Grampa I dont knowI cant see
You can see Youre not blind What does your coffeemaker match
Match our coffeemaker
Look
Matches our coffeemaker just past
the refrigerator Look up OH
Oh
I know
I know you know What
Our coffeemaker matches our
microwave
It
does
So as Ive said I dont have a microwave
You dont
Your not blind You see one here
she looked No
Excellent So if I said Id get a prettier coffeemaker
Stainless steel To match the microwave
And I dont have a microwave What
does that say about the word facetious
Define
facetious
she screwed up her face thinking
it over So I think it means you were joking with me
So to be facetious is to joke or
tease To be flippant or ironic Im kidding you Im talking tongue-in-cheek All those help define facetious So when I said Id get a prettier coffeemaker
to match my microwavean I dont have a microwave I was being facetiousI was teasing you
I understand
I know you do Your very smart baby But to answer your question I love the steam coming out of the crown of
this coffeemaker and I wont get another coffeemaker until this a one fails Dies Im
one for function or utility over looks
If it works dont fix it Thats a saying an adage a statement of truth
Thank you for explaining to me
about facetiousthats a funny word And an
adage
Youre welcome baby You wanted to see your mother
she reached over and put her hands
on his shoulders No Not now
You gonna give me a kiss or what
A kiss and a big hug
Im all for that
when they broke their embrace she
said I love you Grampa
I love you too baby
1148, Saturday,
29 7. 17
