The first time I went to spend the night at my grandfather's house, I remember being so excited!
His house had a little porch with an archway. It was a back porch that was never used, so I made it my playhouse. It was surrounded by bushes. I could watch the cars pass by without being seen.

The front yard was fun, as well. Paw-Paw had a vegetable garden, as well as a flower garden. There were tall old oak trees in the front yard, so it was shaded all the time. The rain didn't even come through that cascade of thick limbs, unless it were raining especially hard.
Inside, it smelled of cigars and cooking. He kept a bowl of candy on the coffee table all the time. He spoke mainly Cajun French, with a spattering of broken English mixed in. There was just enough English, and I had just enough understanding of French, to follow a simple conversation. His house was always dark, and therefore mysterious to a young child.

Finally, the time came when I was invited to spend the night at my grandfather's house. I remember that I was very, very excited about this.

My grandfather had never learned how to drive, but the woman that had lived with him since he and my grandmother had split up did drive. For some reason that is now lost in the bowels of the past, I called her Aunt Vera. In any case, the night that I spent the night, I don't remember my parents dropping me off. I don't remember what we ate for supper (or at any of the meals, for that matter). What I do remember was a trip that we took to the store.

I don't recall why we needed to go to the store. I only remember the three of us piling into Aunt Vera's car and going to the store. IF memory serves, we went to a store by the name of TG&Y. Regardless, I do recall what they bought me, in detail, to this day.

There was a baby doll set at the store, and the moment I saw it, I knew that I had to have it. The doll was just an ordinary baby doll. It was what she came with that grabbed my attention. There was a little brown straw suitcase. The doll had two outfits, a bottle, a pacifier, and a few other accessories. Well, I was beside myself when they bought it for me. I played and played with that set. I don't remember what actually ended up happening to it, but I do remember many hours of delightful play with that doll.