The Whale, Chapter 6

a novel in verse

Photo by Akshar Dave🌻 on Unsplash

“I love you too,” said Helga with a smile.
“So what’s going on? It’s been a while
And I’ve been wondering how it’s going
With my lovely Hannah in Montana.”
“It’s been going okay,” said Hannah.
“I had to drop my Sustainability class.”
“It wasn’t sustainable?” Helga gently joked.

“Good one, Grandma. Anyway I
Didn’t like it, and my advisor, Sky,
Said it would be fine to just dump it.”
“Put it in the recycle bin
Of bad classes and move on to bigger
And better things,” said Helga. “I love
That your advisor’s name is Sky …

… Anyway, it sounds like the right thing
To do if it helps the clouds sing
And the sky above you brighten up.
You were tackling an awful lot this term.
And I thought you needed to lighten your load,
So I’m glad to hear now that you did.
How are your other classes going?”

The conversation proceeded like this,
With Hannah’s voice delivering a kiss
To Helga’s hearing aids across
The miles through the magic of
Technology — these infernal devices
That also bring so much joy
And connection with the ones we love.

“Anyway, Grandma, the snow we had
Last week all melted, and it isn’t bad.
Since I’m caught up in all my classes
And my only class on Monday got canceled,
I was thinking I’d drive down to see you
For your birthday tomorrow and we could, like,
Party down and have a good time!”

“I’d love that,” Helga said. “As long
As you’re not just making up a song,
And you promise me you’ll stay on top
Of your schoolwork while also having
A good old time with your good old grandma.
I could use your help putting the garden to bed,
And then we could bake some healthy cookies.”

To this, Hannah said: “That sounds great.
I’ll leave tonight and arrive pretty late.
Don’t wait up, though, I’ll let myself in,
And in the morning I’ll take you to breakfast
At that crepe place down the street.”
With that, they concluded the conversation
And Helga searched her mind for thoughts.

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