What a Surprise!
Joseph Anderson Donetti opened his eyes. He looked around the bedroom. He wondered what had made him wake up so suddenly. At home he usually woke up to the noise of traffic and bus brakes squealing at the bus stop outside his apartment. Well, Joseph decided he didn’t miss the traffic noises much. But there was something he did miss about waking up at home— besides Mom, that is. He missed the smell of pizza!
Even early in the morning the whole neighborhood at home smelled of pizza. That’s when old Mr. Antoneli started cooking his special pizza sauce. Joseph lay quietly, picturing the neighborhood in his mind. Eleven o’clock every morning. That’s when the walk-up pizza window on the corner opened. And there was always a line of customers waiting.
Just as he was beginning to think about getting out of bed and looking for something to eat, Joseph heard the stairs creak. He counted G.M.’s steps . . . eighteen, nineteen, twenty. G.M. tapped on the bedroom door and opened it. “Good morning, sleepyhead,” she said.
G.M. held her arms out straight and twirled across the floor. She sat down on the edge of the bed and grinned at Joseph. “I have a secret!” she announced.
Joseph laughed up at her. “So do I,” he said. “If you tell me your secret, I’ll tell you mine.”
G.M. looked thoughtful. “You tell me your secret, and I’ll think about telling you mine,” she offered.
Joseph shook his head. “No way!”
“Well,” G.M. said, “my secret is actually a big surprise. So tell me this—if you were going to have a big surprise, would you rather have it be a surprise, or would you rather have a hint?”
Joseph bounced up to a sitting position. “Tell me! I want to know what it is!”
“Tell me your secret first,” G.M. said.
Joseph looked at G.M. “You probably already know what it is,” he said. “But I’1l tell you anyway. I’m really glad I came to Oregon this summer. I’m really glad I got to come and got to know you, because I really like you.”
G.M. leaned over and smothered Joseph with a gigantic hug. “I really like you too!” she said. “You’re my favorite grandchild.”
“I’m your only grandchild!” Joseph reminded her.
“That doesn’t matter. If I had two or three or ten, you would all be my favorites,” G.M said. She ruffled his hair.
“OK,” Joseph reminded her, “it’s your turn. Tell me the surprise.”
Joseph watched G.M. wipe a little tear from the corner of her eye. He waited patiently. He knew from experience that sometimes mothers could be happy and cry at the same time. It must be that way with grandmothers too.
“OK,” G.M. began. She looked at Joseph. Joseph noticed that she was practically glowing. “What do you think would make me really, really, really happy? And make you really, really happy too?”
Joseph thought for a minute. And then he knew exactly what it was. “Mom’s coming!” he shouted.
G.M. just nodded and smiled and wiped away a couple more tears.
Joseph grabbed G.M. in a big hug. “When?” he asked. “When is she coming?”
“Well, I just finished talking to her on the phone. I would have called you, but I thought you were still asleep,” G.M. said. “She’ll be here in about ten days, when her college classes are over. And there’s more! ” G.M. exclaimed. “There’s a better-than-that part and a best-of-all part!”
“Quit teasing me!” Joseph protested. “Just tell me!”
G.M. reached for a tissue from the box on the bookcase. She blew her nose and then peered at Joseph over the top of the tissue. “Your mother is thinking about maybe moving to Oregon,” she said, “at least for a while. She could take nursing classes at the university here. I told her that this house has plenty of room for the two of you if she were interested. Of course, I mentioned that there was already somebody sleeping in her old bedroom.”
“Wow!” Joseph said. He flopped back onto his pillow and then bounced up again. “Which part was that?” he asked. “The better-than-that part or the best-of-all part?”
G.M. smiled. Joseph had never seen her look so happy. “Your mom told me that she has decided to stop running away from the Lord. She has decided that she would like to be baptized, too, when you are! That’s the best-of-all part. I couldn’t possibly think of anything that would make me happier.”
Joseph felt a tingle of joy sweep over him. He realized that he had been worried about something now for quite a while. Even though he had never actually put it into words. He had been afraid. He knew that Jesus was going to take him to live forever in heaven. He knew that Jesus was going to take G.M. to live forever in heaven. But he hadn’t known if his mother wanted to go. He didn’t think she had accepted the invitation to Jesus’ “Welcome Home” party.
Joseph let out a big breath. He felt so light. He thought for a minute that he might float right on up to the ceiling like a helium balloon.
“I’ve been praying for you and your mom for so long,” G.M. said softly. “Praise the Lord for never stopping His work on your hearts.”
G.M. looked at Joseph. “I’m starving,” she said. “All this joy has really given me an appetite. What shall we have for breakfast?”
“Pizza!” Joseph said.
“Pizza?” G.M. asked, her eyebrows raised. “Pizza?”
“Pizza!” Joseph answered.
“Why not?” G.M. said.
