Grampie

If a monster comes running / and flapping her paws / snapping her tail / sharpening her claws / remember these words that my grampie would say to chase all those monsters away: I’m not afraid that monsters want to eat me for their meal. I’m not afraid of monsters 'cause they're not really real.

My grampie was Royal Navy, Merchant Navy and army.

Like my grampie, he was round and bald, and wore gold-rimmed glasses.

The child’s voice issued from the radio again. “I miss my grampie. Why won’t the bad man let him come home?”

That last one struck Natalie—did she really used to be that little girl with the dorktastic pigtails, feet barely able to touch the floor, waiting for Grampie to fix her a milkshake?