RATED G
This story came about because I think that Grandma Fraser gets a bad rap sometimes.
These characters legally belong to Alliance, and I make no claim to them by writing this story. It is written for entertainment purposes only, and no profit will be made.
THE VISITOR
Martha Fraser looked up from the kitchen counter as she heard the front door of the cabin open and close. "I'm in the kitchen, Benton," she called.
Her grandson entered the room and put his schoolbooks on the kitchen table, then took a seat. "How was school today?" Martha asked, turning her attention back to the vegetables she was chopping.
"Fine," Ben answered, opening his math textbook.
Martha looked over at him. After a year and a half of living with Benton, she was getting very good at reading her grandson's moods, even though he tried his best to keep them hidden.
"Did anything special happen?" She thought she saw the start of tears in his eyes before he looked back down at his book.
"No."
But she had heard the unsteadiness in his voice. "Did you get your history test back today?"
"Yes."
So that was it. She and Ben had spent the evening before the test going over the chapters very carefully, and she knew that Benton knew the material very well. But it was just like her grandson to feel depressed and discouraged if he got anything less than a perfect grade. "What happened?"
"I got an A," Ben answered.
"That's wonderful, Benton," Martha answered automatically, even as she looked at her grandson, trying to figure out what could be bothering him. "Did something else happen?"
She saw his posture stiffen slightly, and he wouldn't meet her eyes. "No."
With a quiet sigh, Martha gathered up the vegetables and the cutting board and the knife, and moved over to the table, sitting down in the seat opposite Ben.
Her grandson had many of the Fraser family traits, some very good, and some not so good at all. This definitely fell in the latter category. Not only did Benton avoid discussing his emotions, he wouldn't even admit to them if he could help it. And admitting that he had a problem, that something was bothering him, was an absolutely foreign concept to him.
She knew that he came by these qualities honestly. Her husband was the same way, as was her son, and they had apparently passed it onto the third generation. But she was dammned if she was going to put up with it in an eight year old boy.
"You know Benton," she said quietly as she chopped the vegetables. "It's a funny thing about problems."
Ben looked up at her, but she pretended not to notice, giving her attention to the task at hand. "If you keep a problem to yourself, it seems bigger than it actually is. And the more you worry and stew about it all by yourself, the bigger and more unmanageable it seems.
"But if you share the problem with someone else, they might be able to help you come up with an answer. And even if they can't, just talking about what's bothering you, sharing your problems with someone else, can make you feel better."
She met his gaze then, and saw that he was regarding her with a serious, adult expression. "There is no way to solve this problem," he said.
"Well, why don't you tell me anyway? You might be surprised. I have a little more experience than you, and I might be able to help you figure something out."
That didn't get even the small smile she had been expecting, and her worry deepened. For a minute she thought Ben wasn't going to tell her, but then he drew a shaky breath and began.
"At the end of school today, Miss Travis said that we were going to have a special program in two weeks. She said that since the end of the school year comes so close to Mother's Day, we are going to have a special day where we honor our Mothers.
"All the kids are going to ask their moms to come to school for the last part of the day, and we're going to have lunch, and a program, and they're going to be with us while we do our school work.
"And I don't..." Ben's voice broke and he looked back down at the table to hide his tears.
Martha's heart was breaking for her grandson, and at the same time, she felt a strong wave of anger towards his teacher. What was that woman thinking? She only had eleven students, and she knew all about them. If she wanted to have a special program for the students, and their families, that was fine, but couldn't she have found a way to do that without making one of her pupils feel left out, and different?
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Martha placed her hand on Ben's arm and smiled at him. "You see, Benton? That's just what I meant about sharing your problems. It just so happens that there is a very easy solution to this one."
Ben looked at her, hope and disbelief both showing on his face. "There is?"
"Yes. If you'd like, I could go to school with you that day."
"You could?"
"Certainly. I may not be your mother, but I am your grandmother, and I'm the woman who is raising you. I think that gives me the right to be there, don't you?"
Ben nodded. "You would do that?"
"Of course I would. I'd like to very much."
A huge, happy smile wiped the look of sadness from Ben's face completely. "Thank you, Grandma!" He jumped from his chair and ran over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and burying his face against her shoulder in a hug.
With a smile, Martha returned the embrace.
The next two weeks were full of busy preparations at the school, if Ben's reports were any indication. Not that Martha was privy to many of the details. More then once Ben would be in an excited description of what they were planning and would stop suddenly.
"I can't tell you that, Grandma, it's a surprise," he would say with a serious look on his face and a mischievous twinkle in his eye.
On the appointed day Martha arrived at the school at precisely 11:30, as instructed. She entered the classroom and sat down next to the other mothers in a row of chairs along the side wall, where they watched their children complete an assignment.
As she looked over the other women, she felt a little out of place. All the mothers there were a great deal younger than she was; none of them appeared to be over 30. She hoped Ben wouldn't feel uncomfortable about that. Ben glanced over and saw her, and his face lit up with a smile and he waved at her.
She waved back, then pointed solemnly at his desk. Ben nodded and turned back to his work. As Martha watched her grandson work at his desk, a very maternal feeling of love and pride swept over her.
About every twenty seconds, Ben would glance at her, then his eyes would return quickly to his school work. Martha tried hard to keep the stern expression on her face.
About ten minutes after the last of the guests had arrived, the teacher clapped her hands together. "I want to welcome our very special guests to the school today," she smiled. "And at this point, you are welcome to take your chairs and join your child at his or her desk."
Martha took her chair over to Ben's desk and sat next to him. "Hi Grandma!" He said happily.
"Hello, Benton. What are you working on?"
"A history report. We had to pick an important person in Canadian history and write a report on them. I chose Prime Minister Diefenbaker."
"Really?"
"Uh-huh. He did lots of good and important things for Canada. Did you know that?"
"Yes, I did," Martha answered with a smile.
Ben smiled back and put his books and notebook into his desk.
Once everyone was seated, Miss Travis moved to the front of the classroom. "Since the moms are going to be with us for the rest of the day, I think we should get to know a little more about them. I've asked each student to bring their mom to the front of the room and tell us a little bit about her."
Martha looked at Ben, her eyes wide and Ben looked at her for a minute, then looked back at his desk, giggling quietly.
One by one the students led their mothers to the front of the room and had them sit in a chair while they told their classmates about her. When it was their turn, Ben jumped from his seat and grabbed his grandmother's hand, nearly dragging her to the front of the classroom. Martha had a hard time keeping the amused grin from her face.
She took her seat at the head of the class and looked out at all the faces of the mothers and students and suddenly felt nervous.
"This is my grandmother, Martha Fraser," Ben said. "She takes care of me, because my mom died..." He faltered a little, then continued. "And my dad is gone on patrol a lot.
"He's a Mountie," Ben continued, raising his head further and sounding very proud. "And he has to be out on patrol for most of the year, so I stay with my grandparents."
"They run the library, and my Grandma knows everything!"
"Ben," Martha admonished.
"She used to be a teacher, too," Ben said, turning to look at Miss Travis.
"Really?"
"Yes, she taught the Inuit. Then when she married my grandpa, they opened up a traveling library. So if she doesn't know something, she can tell you exactly which book it's in, and where to find it."
"And she takes very good care of me, and my grandpa, and my dad when he's home."
Martha was both amused and touched by the recitation, but she kept her gaze and expression steady as she looked out over the room.
"We're glad to have you here today, Martha," Ben's teacher smiled.
Once the introductions were over, the children and adults ate lunch at their desks, then the mothers observed while the children had their math and English lessons.
About ten minutes before dismissal time, Miss Travis called everyone to order and stepped to the front of the room. "Before we go there is one last thing the children want to share with their mothers.
"We had a special art class yesterday. We had a florist come in and teach us all about flower arranging, and each child made a bouquet for their mother, all by themselves."
She nodded at the class, and the children jumped from their seats and hurried to the coat closet and returned with a bouquet of flowers.
Ben returned to his desk looking both nervous and proud. "Here you go, Grandma," he said, handing her the bouquet.
"Thank you, Benton. They're lovely." Martha admired the bouquet, turning it over in her hands and smelling the flowers.
"I want to thank all the mothers for coming today," Miss Travis said. "I'm glad you got to know more about our class, and we all got to know more about you.
"Today was such a success that I'm considering making this a yearly event."
A chorus of thanks was returned, and then the class was dismissed.
Ben and Martha walked out of town and down the road, headed for the Fraser cabin. "Did you have a good time today, Grandma?" Fraser asked anxiously.
"I did, Ben. I'm glad I got the opportunity to do that."
"Me too," Ben agreed happily.
They walked for a while in silence. "You know what, Benton?" Martha asked suddenly.
"What?"
"My bouquet of flowers was by far the nicest one there."
Martha took Ben's hand into hers and squeezed it as they continued the walk home.
THE END
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