Falling For You in the Wrong Century

CHAPTER 3: GRANDMOTHER’S LOVE

After the long drive, I collapse into the narra rocking chair on the veranda—Lola’s chair, as I’ve always called it. The wood is smooth from decades of use, and it creaks in a familiar rhythm that instantly takes me back to childhood.

Every Christmas and Holy Week, Lola and Lolo would bring me here. Lola would braid my hair with flowers from the backyard while telling me stories under the mango tree. She’d point to the portraits and say, “This house has seen everything—love, loss, fights to keep what’s ours. In 1875, your great-great grandfather’s mistress tried to claim it for herself, but your great-great grandmother fought tooth and nail to hold on. Now it’s yours—you’re the sole heir, so you must take care of it.”

She’d make me promise to visit often, but after they passed, I only came once or twice a year, never staying more than three days. The caretaker, Linda, a warm mid-40s woman who’s looked after the place for fifteen years, greets me with a hug and hot chocolate. We spend the morning cleaning dust from the cabinets and arranging old family photos. By noon, I’m exhausted but calm—more at peace than I’ve been in years. Being here feels like coming home, even though I never really lived here. The familiarity wraps around me like a blanket, and I realize I’ve been searching for this feeling my whole adult life.