Steps
written by: Lois Perch Villemaire
Her father owns a grocery store on Main Street
one block from their stucco and stone row house.
The front door is at the top of an accordion
of cement steps leading down to the sidewalk
where she sat beside Grandma Jennie
when she came to live with them
after Grandpa Nathan died of a heart attack.
She will live in this house until she marries.
On that day in 1947, in top hat and tails,
her father will lead her down these steps
as she holds up the hem of her wedding gown
before she again takes his arm
as he walks her down the aisle.
In 1973, her mother will live alone
after her father dies of a heart condition
that had prevented his service in World War I.
When doctors will say,
“Your mother’s heart does not pump blood as it should,”
she and her husband will move
into her childhood home as caregivers.
After her mother passes away
geraniums will be planted beside the steps
leading to a new mahogany front door.
They will welcome their children and grandchildren
for holiday dinners and parties until 1999
when a For Sale sign will be placed on the lawn.
Family will help them downsize and pack up.
She and her husband will continue their lives
in an apartment without steps.
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