No one wants to grow old, but we do. It’s one of the tricky side effects of being born into an unforgiving world. One second you are in high school hanging out under the bleachers with your boyfriend; then you’re in your 30s marrying a different man; then your 60s take over and you both are looking at retirement communities. Finally, you are sitting at home and the next thing you know your partner in crime is suddenly no longer with you. This is the worst news you can find out alone, but at least you can let your emotions out without a soul noticing or caring.

In a land not too far away was a passionate woman named Ruth who was like most Americans; she loved her partner with everything she had and never planned on living a life without them. They were married for over 40 years and these were some of the best memories she could have made. They traveled to France and saw the Eiffel Tower. They helped protest against the war in Vietnam and were subsequently thrown in jail together. They even saw the ancient Egyptians’ famed treasures, the Great Pyramids of Giza. Ruth was happy with how her life turned out and she was starting to realize her end was coming soon.

One of the downfalls of being married is you will get into fights with the person you love. But, you work through it because you are more than infatuated with each other. You want to be with each other no matter what happens, which is why you still go to bed with a smile on your face and kissing them goodnight. Ruth’s marriage wasn’t perfect, but she doesn’t have to abide by these norms anymore. “Til death do us part” was now a promise she would follow. But, Ruth still had interests and desires she wanted to live out before her time came.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a lot she could do alone and needed someone to accompany her. It didn’t matter if it was someone of a similar age, she just needed to know someone was there to help were something to happen. Calling one of her friends was a possibility she could entertain, but so many of them are gone or are in far-off destinations. It’s one of the drawbacks of getting older; you lose a lot of your longtime friends and have trouble making new ones. Fortunately, her family lived nearby so she wasn’t too lonely.

She called her daughter but was immediately told she was too busy helping the little ones out. Her son-in-law never really liked being around her so she avoided that whole confrontation. Jude, her 20-year-old grandson, was always an option, but she was afraid he didn’t want to be around someone as unhip as her. Ruth was hesitant at first but decided to call him since she was feeling an enormous amount of sadness.

Jude was in the middle of his own little “personal” time but noticed his grandma was calling him. He was placed in a moral dilemma of either finishing up or picking up the phone. He finished.

As they talked on the phone it became quite clear his grandma wanted to spend time with him. He knew she didn’t have a lot of time left so he figured he’d take her out to have one of the best days possible. Despite this, he didn’t have a lot of money to spend since he had bills coming up. So, he decided to ask Ruth what she wanted to do that she hadn’t done before. 

She said she wanted to get a tattoo but didn’t know what. “How about a smiling rose?” said Jude. Ruth honestly didn’t care what she received because it was all about the experience, not the actual prize. Jude knew just the place to go to since he, himself, had many tattoos. When they got there they talked with his artist and settled on the style and piece she was getting. The tattoo itself was small; small enough to be hidden on her foot without people noticing right away. It was also made in a minimalistic cartoony fashion to highlight Ruth’s cuteness, small frame, and eccentricity.

Once their tattoos were finished they decided to hit up a Russian restaurant since they’d never been to one nor knew they existed in the Midwest. Sitting there, Ruth started to feel more and more gleeful. She was having a great day with her grandson and couldn’t have asked for anything better. At least, until she saw the menu. She didn’t know what the fuck she was looking at. It was a mosh-pit of soups, unique meats, and interesting vegetables. She decided to go with the chicken kiev since it looked somewhat similar to the food at the retirement home.

They both started to eat their meal and were pleasantly surprised by how scrumptious it actually was. Ruth was so entranced with her meal and the conversation she was having with Jude. She almost forgot about the dreadful news she had to share with him. She knew she needed to tell him, but didn’t know when or how. Ruth knew it couldn’t be in front of everyone, which is why she decided to wait until they were back at her retirement home to break the news. They continued their meal with Jude being completely oblivious to the news he was about to be told. 

On the drive home they listened to “classic rock” as Jude would call it, but Ruth only knew it as rock n’ roll. They would jam out to popular songs of the decades and make the people driving around them nervous because they just didn’t seem to care. When they finally got back to the retirement home, Ruth knew what had to be done. Sitting Jude down gently, she blankly told him “Your grandfather died in his sleep this morning.”

Jude didn’t know how to feel about this revelation considering they just spent the day together acting as if everything was fine and thinking his grandfather was still around to see him grow. “Why would you keep this from me for so long,” Jude sternly questioned Ruth. Ruth didn’t know how to respond right away and started to stare into her lap where her hands sat shakily.

“I wanted to get my mind off of this tragic disaster and spend it with someone who I knew would make me feel better. To have the person you wake up to every day suddenly not exist anymore is heart-wrenching.” Ruth couldn’t speak the next couple of sentences without stopping to breathe between sobs. “All I wanted to do today was talk to my husband about this news, but I couldn’t. I just wanted to feel something other than the numbing sadness this has left me in and you were the first person I thought of who could put a smile on my face. I should have told you sooner, but you just kept making the day more and more enjoyable.”

Jude couldn’t hold back the tears anymore and held his grandma as tight as possible. “I’ll be back tomorrow and we can dye your hair green like you’ve always wanted.” Their laughter was all they needed as they embraced each other with what seemed like forever. Despite this, Jude had to go home but it didn’t stop him from thinking about all the fun he had today. Knowing his grandma wanted to spend this time with him was all he needed to get through the next coming weeks. All these plans and activities started to pop up in his mind as he drove home and a tooth-grinning smile slowly seeped across his face.

As Jude walked up to the steps of his grandma’s house he started to gleefully smile about what they were going to do since their last hangout about a week ago. He imagined taking her to the new restaurant where they serve everything in a toilet bowl. But, when he knocked on the door there was no answer. Maybe the doorbell will be better he thought, but still no answer was given. He decided to just use his spare key to go inside. 

As he poked his head inside he called out “grandma?” Again, there was no callback. His heart started to sink as he walked up to her room. His feet felt like lead was inserted into the soles of his shoes, causing him to drag them across the carpet. He slowly opened the door dreading what could very well be his worst nightmare come to life.

Ruth was fucking the pool boys.