Granny Grunday: Born on a Blissful Monday
Evelyn Samantha Grunday, christened as Mary Aurora Grunday was not entirely a monster. With news flying around, all she wanted to do was climb into her bed and sulk all day. As she sat on her porch in an old rackety rocker, she watched the village children run towards her garden.
“Get away from ma garden, you little minions!!” She yelled at them.
If only I had the sorcery I am accused of, I would have turned them into pumpkins for my pie, she thought. But well it does good for an old lady to dream. Peter and his friends, more like Peter Pan and the fairies in the lost island, began singing the rhyme they used in taunting old Evelyn in the village.
Evelyn Grundy,
Born on Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday,
That was the end,
Of….
Just as they could settle Evelyn’s case on the last line of the nursery rhyme, Lily came right out the back, with a vengeance in her eyes and a broom to scare the children off.
“Do you have no shame than to taunt an old lady? For your information, it’s Grundy with an ‘a’”.
She turned to her Mama and said; ”Ma, why do you indulge those children?”
”Like you said they are children,” Ma replied.
“Yet their parents feed them with such awful stories of you, the entire village is talking,” Lily responded bitterly.
“I do not care what they say about me as long as my children are happy,” Ma replied with a smile.
“Why do you keep lying to yourself ma?”
Before, Evelyn’s life paralleled that of Solomon Grundy in some ramifications, she was a high spirited girl with hopes for the future.
Born to Arthur Sinclair and Martha Daisy Grunday, life could not be any jollier. The day was July 9th, 1930. It was a blissful Monday evening. Martha and Arthur were playing chess when her water broke. The whole agonizing trip from their ranch to the nearest hospital and the turmoil in the labor room was forgotten as the couple stared into their baby’s eyes.
The couple had met in Paris, Arthur a transfer student and Martha, a student at the La Rouge. They claimed it was love at first sight.
Evelyn was to be christened on the following Monday, but Father Paul was heavy with fever and so could not carry out the christening. News on his sickness got to Martha late and it was a little too late to ask Father Benedict to do it instead.
Christened on Tuesday, the date was 17th July 1930. With Father Benedict doing the honors, Evelyn was baptized and dedicated to the lord. Evelyn’s cackling filled an entire room. Mary Aurora was not only enchanting but a source of joy.
If one never believed in the glory of a woman’s prime, then such a one ought to see Evelyn. Evelyn was a sight to behold. Her hair was long and charcoal black. Her lips round and full, they were rosy indeed. She was tall and slender with magnificent curves. If there was anything she didn’t lack, that was grace and poise. Her discipline was not farfetched, we can see that in Arthur for sure, but what else can rattle one’s discipline and throw them over the edge, if not love. With her parents having wondrous tales of their love, Evelyn needed just a little nudge to believe in fairytales.
That little nudge was Luke. Surely in the busiest towns, where traffic was war and curses flew across the streets, a rainy day could be bad for everyone. Evelyn was out to get some lilies from a newly opened flower shop when it started to rain in Bombay. She had to meet up with the investors or everything would go south. As she stepped out of the shop, the smell of flowers and spices invaded her nostrils. The rain must have been the culprit. Just as she hailed a taxi and was about entering it, a young man dashed into it. She couldn’t believe what had just happened, where had all the decent men traveled to?
She stood there for about three minutes when the taxi drove back. The doors opened and the insane young man barked out, ”get in, I am late already!!!”
With no other choice, she obediently entered the taxi. He offered her his handkerchief but she adamantly refused it. Then all hell broke loose.
“I do not mean to be rude but you are surely the most annoying, self-centered person I have ever met. I thought you must have realized how rude you were for entering the taxi I hailed when you returned, but it is either you are clueless or downright rude. I demand you apologize this instant!!!”
He just sat there mute and his frown slowly turned into a smile, then a giggle and an outburst of laughter.
“You think this is funny? Then clearly you are insane.”
“What I find funny is how beautiful you look when you are wet and angry at the same time”
Evelyn just ignored the blockhead for the rest of the ride.
“21st Raja’s.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
21st Raja’s seemed like a long trip for Evelyn sitting in close proximity with this nuisance. Luckily, the popular flower company came into view and she couldn’t be more grateful. She hastily hopped out of the still moving taxi and moved swiftly into Rajas’. Her personal assistant was on the ground floor with a change of clothing, thank God. She went into the ladies’ and was out in a minute. That was when she saw, aargh, the incorrigible blockhead.
“Are you stalking me?”
“I believe I am.”
“Chloe, please can you get the security to walk this insane man out!”
“There would be no need for that, I just came to return your flowers, you left them in the taxi.” And then he turned on his heels and walked out on jaw dropped Evelyn.
The meeting with the investors was delayed for about 30 minutes, something about the CEO, needed some time to prepare due to some unforeseen circumstances. Evelyn and Chloe had been sitting in the boardroom forever. Then some men in an entourage of black suits entered the room. Just then Evelyn saw the insane man from the taxi walk directly to the seat reserved for the CEO and she knew she had lost the investments already.
“Can everyone please leave, except you.” He pointed directly at Evelyn and all that went through her head was psssssheeeeew! Mayday mayday!!!
As they exited the room, he walked towards her and said, “Remind me again how much of a self-centered person I am, and what was it again… ah, downright rude, clueless I presume, or would you rather have your apology now?”
Married on a Wednesday, the date was 24th March 1954. With no fever this time, rather old age as his enemy, Father Paul did the honors of conducting Evelyn’s wedding ceremony. Of course, with Luke turning out to be Luke Rohan Raja, CEO of Raja’s, the rainy day in Bombay could only metamorphose into a sunny day. After all, every incorrigible blockhead needed a sane woman beside him.
With a blend of their love for flowers, Luke and Evelyn had no other sign that they had to hit it off. The board meeting had been followed by successive board meetings to finalize the contract. Evelyn had approached Raja’s with a plan of growing several flower gardens across certain defined locations, which will supply the company flowers directly and in turn, she gets to do what she loves the most- plant them. Luke had asked her out to dinner and she agreed, this time there was no rain nor cluelessness, for he knew what he wanted and she was not jaw dropped with shame.
He had proposed and she accepted without hesitation. If Arthur and Martha’s love had been one of first sight, then Luke and Evelyn’s must have been at a glance. Now with God and man bearing witness to their love, he could finally call her his own, as he was hers, forever.
Being an only child of her parents, Luke honored his wife by allowing her to keep her father’s name. It was the least he could do for the woman he loved. Raja’s became Raja’s Eve. When they were not running the company, they were in their garden falling in love over and over again.
The beauty of love is its ability to grow. It grows bigger than before. Ro and Evie as they like to call themselves had their love grow into Lily, Rose, Daisy, Flora, Danica, Trevor, Moss, Jared and when they got tired, of course, William. Five girls and four boys named after flowers were all they needed for the buds of their love to grow.
Each child inherited their parents’ love for flowers, but you know destiny can be tricky. Lily being the first child was strong, bold and looked after her younger ones like a hen. With four strong willed boys, trouble never seized from their household. It was either they were playing rough or teasing the life out of their sisters.
The day was Thursday, 15th September 2000. It marked the day Evelyn Grundy took ill, but this was not just any kind of illness. It was one from a broken heart. On this day, Luke died. They had always believed in the afterlife but hoped to go there together. It was the custom of Luke’s village that a wife must be burnt alongside her husbands’ in order to grant him safe passage to the hora- the great afterlife. But it was Luke’s dying wish that his wife is spared of such cruel fate and allowed to live on. This made the villagers despise Evelyn. Evelyn Grundy took ill on a harsh Thursday.
When one’s spouse dies, one could only live for their children. It was the only reason Evelyn did not follow Luke to his grave. She began to sit on a rickety chair outside her house and when the weather was favorable, she planted in the garden, her and Luke had planted on over the years. Many nights she would cry herself to sleep, and other times she would take shelter with her children.
The villagers did not make it any easier on Evelyn. Being the only woman who did not follow her husband to the afterlife, she was cursed and accused of sorcery. She was accused of killing her husband and having offended the universe, was unclean to go to the afterlife.
Her children pleaded with to stay with either of them but she claims she would be damned if she leaves her Luke alone. Her life was in this house and in the garden situated in the backyard. Although she visited often, moving from house to house, she never failed to return home. Home was where Luke Rohan Raja laid.
Evelyn grew worse on Friday, 27th January, 2003. She began to talk to herself. The loneliness finally drove her into soliloquizing. Daisy was worried to death. She finally bullied her mother into staying with her. Stephanie, Daisy’s daughter asked her grandmother one day;
“Granny Grunday, why do you always talk to yourself?”
“Well my cherry blossom, your grandfather is always talking to me.”
Indeed, he was talking to her, for every flower she came across carried his message to her. Well it was all mostly in her head. When Evelyn had enough of Daisy’s bullying she finally returned HOME. The villagers were not welcoming at all. MONSTER was what they called a woman who kills her husband and let darkness hover around her family. The demons are demanding for her soul, they claim that was why she constantly talked to herself.
Yet, this monster bloomed the most beautiful flowers in the village and she adorned her beloved’s grave with them. Each petal of each flower carried her love message to him in the afterlife. She died on Saturday, February 14th 2003. This day, she went to his graveside as was her accustomed but she said nothing to him. She cried her heart out and that was when she broke. She stopped fighting and stopped hoping and her heart finally gave up.
What the villagers said meant nothing anymore, the hope of the afterlife of bliss was futile. She could only wish for death to claim her. So, when Lily asked her why she was lying to herself as she sat on her old rickety rocker, and the village taunted her, she wished she could tell words do not harm the dead.
On the cool Saturday evening of July 9, 2003, Evelyn had her children and grandchildren all around her. She blessed them and gave them words of encouragement. Lying on her sickbed, she saw her beloved arrive to take her with him to the afterlife. Evelyn Samantha Grunday christened Mary Aurora Grunday gave up the ghost that day.
Buried on Sunday, 16th July 2003, Evelyn laid beside her love with all the beautiful flowers they had created, their children. The afterlife did come in Spring.
Evelyn Samantha Grunday was born on Monday, christened on Tuesday, married on Wednesday, took ill on Thursday, grew worse on Friday, died on Saturday, was buried on Sunday but that was not the end of granny Grunday for she was a Grunday with an ‘a’.
All images were gotten from pixabay.com, free for commercial use and no attribution required
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