Prompt: A difficult conversation

When my grandfather arrived, he was quiet, but content, breathing us in. He peeled off his muddy boots, patting our dog on the head before wrapping me in his arms. He slipped into a corner chair by the fireplace and watched the scene before him unfold — my mother setting down warm cookies on the table and carefully unwrapping the cherry-colored tea towel, steam billowing upwards as she exposed their golden. He laughed as my brother crawled up his lap and pulled on his beard. He winked at me as I opened the gift he got me — a gold bracelet with a small star charm.

When he left, my mother was cried in the mudroom. He told her before leaving that he had cancer.