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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Family & Friends
- Subject: Family
- Published: 06/27/2023
Great Aunt Mavis
Born 1980, F, from Eagan, MN, United StatesAuthor's note: When I started this one, I wanted Mavis to be a bit weird and possibly crazy. That would have been fun, especially from a young teen's point of view! But Mavis refused to be that character, so the story is very different from what I thought it would be. :) Enjoy.
I had only heard a few stories about Great Aunt Mavis. I knew that she’d lost her husband shortly after they were married. I knew that she had an odd interest in insects. And I knew that she spent the past few decades helping people in poor villages in India.
She had decided to come back to the U.S. for the summer months. She and my parents had agreed that she would stay with us for ten days. After that, she’d go to stay with a cousin for a few weeks, and from there, she’d continue her visit with other family members.
When I answered the doorbell, I saw a tiny woman, probably not even five feet tall. She was dressed in a long skirt and a white T-shirt. She stepped inside and gave each of us a tight hug.
“Who wants cookies? I brought cookies!” she grinned as if this were the best thing we’d hear that day. We sat down at the table, and she presented a huge tin of assorted cookies.
“And how have you been, Mavis?” my father asked.
“No! We are not going to talk about me! I want to know all about all of you! Nora, you start,” she said, looking at me expectantly.
“Well, umm, I just finished eighth grade,” I began.
“Wonderful! Tell me about your school year. What’s your favorite subject? What other things do you like? What do you do after school?” Her questions were fired one after another, and she leaned forward, eager for me to answer.
I began slowly, trying to answer in a way that would satisfy her. She would have been annoying if she weren’t so genuine. She asked many more questions, but she didn’t come across as nosy.
When she couldn’t think of more questions for me, she turned to my parents and did the same.
“But you, Mavis, tell us about what you’ve been doing,” said my father.
“Oh, I’m not so very interesting. I’ve stayed busy trying to help wherever I am, but it’s the same that anyone would do. Some days were spent teaching; some days were spent working in fields; some days were spent cleaning. I’m glad that I was there, and I met some lovely people and many wonderful kids. But I am here now, and I want to enjoy the present, learning about you.”
……………
The following ten days flew by. Every evening, Mavis asked one of us what we’d love to do the following day. That was literally what she said. "What would you love to do tomorrow?" We tried to ask her what she wanted to do, but she always insisted that one of us should get to choose. And then she threw herself whole-heartedly into whatever activity it was. One of the times it was my turn, I suggested laser tag. My parents started to object, but Great Aunt Mavis proclaimed, “But this is something I’ve never done! This will be amazing!” And it was. She was! It turns out that tiny Great Aunt Mavis was quite agile and quick. She was the best player there that day.
We went to a mirror maze, a train museum, an archery range, and even a water park. One evening we stayed in and watched a movie. It was an absurd, hilarious movie about trolls. All of us enjoyed it immensely. It's quite difficult not to laugh when the person next to you gets the giggles. We went to a cafe and watched people get up and share poems that they had written. It was boring until my dad (my dad!) got up and presented a poem of his own. I had no idea he had ever written a poem.
The days went by far too quickly. On the last day, she woke me up early and said, “Want to help me make a superb breakfast?” If anyone else had asked, I would have gone back to sleep. But this was Great Aunt Mavis, and I knew the morning could be fun.
She had already gone to the store. A container of strawberries and a pineapple waited on the counter. She’d bought some pretty paper plates. “Less clean up,” Great Aunt Mavis said as she pointed to the plates. “If you will wash and cut the strawberries, I’ll cut the pineapple. If I cook the sausage and make gravy, can you make the biscuits?” She laughed at my surprised expression. “Don’t worry. Look in the fridge. I bought pre-made biscuits. All you have to do is put them on a cookie sheet and bake them.”
“Okay,” I answered, relieved that I wouldn’t have to look up a biscuit recipe.
“Preheat the oven, but don’t put the biscuits in until I tell you. Not trying to sound bossy - we just want to time everything right.” she said.
I nodded and we got to work. Before long, the breakfast was ready. We placed the glass bowl filled with fruit on the table. The biscuits were in a basket that we’d lined with a cloth napkin. The gravy was steaming, and the scrambled eggs looked picture worthy.
All of us sat down at the table. Great Aunt Mavis said, “I just want to tell you that I appreciate being able to stay here with you, and I want you to know that I had the time of my life! Thank you for giving me a wonderful week and a half.”
“But Mavis, you were the one who made it wonderful for us,” said my mom.
“Well, if all of us had fun, we can all be happy!” said Great Aunt Mavis.
We finished our breakfast, taking our time. We were trying to enjoy the morning as much as possible, because it was nearing the time for Great Aunt Mavis to go.
She left the same way she’d come, giving each of us a tight hug.
About a year later, we received the sad news that Great Aunt Mavis had died in her sleep.
Soon after that, a package came in the mail. Inside was a note.
I worked closely with Mavis. She was an incredible woman. I am sending some things that I believe will interest you. I suspect that she didn’t tell you about some of the wonderful things she did, because she rarely talked about herself. If you have any questions, please contact me. I am happy to share with you anything you’d like to know. I have many wonderful stories to tell about your Mavis.
Sincerely,
Jan
The package contained many newspaper clippings that featured Mavis and her work. It also had photos that someone, perhaps Jan, had taken. Under each photo Jan had written things that Mavis had done for that person. A few examples were the following:
“Helped deliver a baby.”
“Taught how to read.”
“Tended garden.”
“Sewed dresses.”
“Built a chair for me.”
“Cheered me when I was sad.”
“Listened to me and cared.”
There were so many! My parents and I were in tears as we read about the things that Great Aunt Mavis had done. I decided right then that I wanted to make the same kind of impact. That was three years ago. My plane leaves tomorrow. Jan is going to meet me, and I can’t wait to start.
Great Aunt Mavis(Marla)
Author's note: When I started this one, I wanted Mavis to be a bit weird and possibly crazy. That would have been fun, especially from a young teen's point of view! But Mavis refused to be that character, so the story is very different from what I thought it would be. :) Enjoy.
I had only heard a few stories about Great Aunt Mavis. I knew that she’d lost her husband shortly after they were married. I knew that she had an odd interest in insects. And I knew that she spent the past few decades helping people in poor villages in India.
She had decided to come back to the U.S. for the summer months. She and my parents had agreed that she would stay with us for ten days. After that, she’d go to stay with a cousin for a few weeks, and from there, she’d continue her visit with other family members.
When I answered the doorbell, I saw a tiny woman, probably not even five feet tall. She was dressed in a long skirt and a white T-shirt. She stepped inside and gave each of us a tight hug.
“Who wants cookies? I brought cookies!” she grinned as if this were the best thing we’d hear that day. We sat down at the table, and she presented a huge tin of assorted cookies.
“And how have you been, Mavis?” my father asked.
“No! We are not going to talk about me! I want to know all about all of you! Nora, you start,” she said, looking at me expectantly.
“Well, umm, I just finished eighth grade,” I began.
“Wonderful! Tell me about your school year. What’s your favorite subject? What other things do you like? What do you do after school?” Her questions were fired one after another, and she leaned forward, eager for me to answer.
I began slowly, trying to answer in a way that would satisfy her. She would have been annoying if she weren’t so genuine. She asked many more questions, but she didn’t come across as nosy.
When she couldn’t think of more questions for me, she turned to my parents and did the same.
“But you, Mavis, tell us about what you’ve been doing,” said my father.
“Oh, I’m not so very interesting. I’ve stayed busy trying to help wherever I am, but it’s the same that anyone would do. Some days were spent teaching; some days were spent working in fields; some days were spent cleaning. I’m glad that I was there, and I met some lovely people and many wonderful kids. But I am here now, and I want to enjoy the present, learning about you.”
……………
The following ten days flew by. Every evening, Mavis asked one of us what we’d love to do the following day. That was literally what she said. "What would you love to do tomorrow?" We tried to ask her what she wanted to do, but she always insisted that one of us should get to choose. And then she threw herself whole-heartedly into whatever activity it was. One of the times it was my turn, I suggested laser tag. My parents started to object, but Great Aunt Mavis proclaimed, “But this is something I’ve never done! This will be amazing!” And it was. She was! It turns out that tiny Great Aunt Mavis was quite agile and quick. She was the best player there that day.
We went to a mirror maze, a train museum, an archery range, and even a water park. One evening we stayed in and watched a movie. It was an absurd, hilarious movie about trolls. All of us enjoyed it immensely. It's quite difficult not to laugh when the person next to you gets the giggles. We went to a cafe and watched people get up and share poems that they had written. It was boring until my dad (my dad!) got up and presented a poem of his own. I had no idea he had ever written a poem.
The days went by far too quickly. On the last day, she woke me up early and said, “Want to help me make a superb breakfast?” If anyone else had asked, I would have gone back to sleep. But this was Great Aunt Mavis, and I knew the morning could be fun.
She had already gone to the store. A container of strawberries and a pineapple waited on the counter. She’d bought some pretty paper plates. “Less clean up,” Great Aunt Mavis said as she pointed to the plates. “If you will wash and cut the strawberries, I’ll cut the pineapple. If I cook the sausage and make gravy, can you make the biscuits?” She laughed at my surprised expression. “Don’t worry. Look in the fridge. I bought pre-made biscuits. All you have to do is put them on a cookie sheet and bake them.”
“Okay,” I answered, relieved that I wouldn’t have to look up a biscuit recipe.
“Preheat the oven, but don’t put the biscuits in until I tell you. Not trying to sound bossy - we just want to time everything right.” she said.
I nodded and we got to work. Before long, the breakfast was ready. We placed the glass bowl filled with fruit on the table. The biscuits were in a basket that we’d lined with a cloth napkin. The gravy was steaming, and the scrambled eggs looked picture worthy.
All of us sat down at the table. Great Aunt Mavis said, “I just want to tell you that I appreciate being able to stay here with you, and I want you to know that I had the time of my life! Thank you for giving me a wonderful week and a half.”
“But Mavis, you were the one who made it wonderful for us,” said my mom.
“Well, if all of us had fun, we can all be happy!” said Great Aunt Mavis.
We finished our breakfast, taking our time. We were trying to enjoy the morning as much as possible, because it was nearing the time for Great Aunt Mavis to go.
She left the same way she’d come, giving each of us a tight hug.
About a year later, we received the sad news that Great Aunt Mavis had died in her sleep.
Soon after that, a package came in the mail. Inside was a note.
I worked closely with Mavis. She was an incredible woman. I am sending some things that I believe will interest you. I suspect that she didn’t tell you about some of the wonderful things she did, because she rarely talked about herself. If you have any questions, please contact me. I am happy to share with you anything you’d like to know. I have many wonderful stories to tell about your Mavis.
Sincerely,
Jan
The package contained many newspaper clippings that featured Mavis and her work. It also had photos that someone, perhaps Jan, had taken. Under each photo Jan had written things that Mavis had done for that person. A few examples were the following:
“Helped deliver a baby.”
“Taught how to read.”
“Tended garden.”
“Sewed dresses.”
“Built a chair for me.”
“Cheered me when I was sad.”
“Listened to me and cared.”
There were so many! My parents and I were in tears as we read about the things that Great Aunt Mavis had done. I decided right then that I wanted to make the same kind of impact. That was three years ago. My plane leaves tomorrow. Jan is going to meet me, and I can’t wait to start.
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