I've Been There Before

My name is Leona.

The name was given by my grandpa. My grandpa, based on my experience as a child, was not a good man.

Take my name as an example. His name sounds nice, but he gave me such a strange name.

Every time I protested to my grandpa, he always said that if my dad had been a girl, the name wouldn’t have fallen on me.

He was the one who gave me such a strange name, but he blamed my dad for not being a girl.

Ah, speaking of which, I forgot to introduce my grandparents.

My grandpa, Caden.

I heard he was very attractive when he was young.

My grandma, Grace.

I sometimes wonder why these two people, who didn’t seem to match at all, were together.

My grandparents were divorced before my dad was born.

After the divorce, neither of them married again.

They should have gone on their separate ways, but my grandpa was shameless and always bothered my grandma.

Ever since I remembered it, my grandpa had been pleasing my grandma all the time.

Grandpa Humbert said my grandpa never lowered his head to anyone. He was so tough that everyone was afraid of him.

But I don’t think Grandpa Humbert was telling the truth.

If my grandpa was so tough, then why was he as obedient as our golden retriever every time grandma stared at him?

Besides, have you ever seen a tough man with perfect culinary skills comparable to a five-star chef?

Ever since I was young, my grandpa’s cooking was the best in the family, even better than the chefs we hired.

Grandpa would wake up early in the morning to walk the dog. When he came back, he always had a pile of food ingredients in his hand.

When grandma woke up, grandpa had been busy in the kitchen all morning. A warm meal was ready on the dining table. It might not be very sumptuous, but quite warm.

Grandma never cooked. Her only housework was watering the flowers in the garden. Grandpa said it’s good for grandma to be like that.

I asked grandpa in secret, “You get up early every day to cook three meals a day, and you have to go to work. Even the employees have weekends and vacations. Aren’t you tired without a single day off?”

Grandpa looked at grandma who was eating the afternoon tea he made for her in the garden. He smiled like a fool and said.

“I’m happy with everything I do as long as your grandma likes it. I’m willing to pamper her. It’s best to pamper her so much that she despises other men. That way, your grandma won’t have time to think of leaving me for the rest of her life.”

There were other details apart from that.

All I know is that grandpa pampered grandma like crazy.

I always considered grandma pretentious. She wouldn’t remarry my good grandpa. I told it to grandpa, and he, who had never been angry at me, gave me a hard slap on the butt. Grandpa said, “Little rascal, if you consider your grandma like that again, I’ll beat you dead.

is the best

be good to your

to me. But if you dare not be good

aggrieved at that time. I was taking

learned about the

out of bed to look for food. When I passed by my grandparents’ room, the

held grandma’s feet and placed them

ran into my parents’ room and asked, “Is grandpa a pervert? I saw him holding grandma’s feet. Does he have

grandma’s feet. Your grandma is not in good health and her hands and feet are always cold. Your grandpa cares about your grandma. Pretend you didn’t see it. Don’t tell your grandpa

“Why?”

punish you by making you practice

do you know

story. Leona, go to sleep. Your mother

of the daily

said something, the people in the family didn’t dare

grandma, but because grandpa was

and when I did, it was the day my

when I

As usual, grandma sat under the big tree in the garden and ate the afternoon tea grandpa made for her. The rocking chair under the tree

blanket and wait until it

was never able to wake

swinging in the wind

She left this world peacefully on this

She left grandpa.

chair for a long time, sobbing and weeping. I’ll never forget grandpa’s hands, which were no longer young, holding grandma’s cold and stiff palms tightly.

away but didn’t step into the garden. At that time, I didn’t

were giving my grandparents

grand, but all the influential people in S City

the

health began to deteriorate for no

couldn’t find out the cause, but his body was

was sick in the

was sick

didn’t dare

grandma’s death, grandpa would hold grandma’s picture and look at it carefully as if grandma was

grandma’s picture as if

came, and

my hands and said, “You look

“Like what?”

“Like your grandma.”

This year, I was already fourteen, and I understood

that grandpa didn’t

thought grandma had no self-respect. If I were her, I would never see my

up and down following

blame grandma for

Gloria said my grandma gave way to their affection

learned to cherish it and didn’t waste their love like many men

his body was possessed

my grandparents, I was silent. I no longer blamed