The Yellow Cookie Jar: A Grandson Finds His Grandfather in a Nursing Home and Asked Him to Help Him with His School Project, Learning About a Secret He Has Kept from Everyone About His Family.

By Mary Ellen Campbell

Following the death of his mother, sixteen-year-old Thomas is more ambitious than ever to attend a good college and have a bright future. He dreams of going to Ole Miss, and although he’s a smart kid, a little extra credit never hurts. For class, Thomas has to learn more about his family’s genealogy, so he asks for help from his grandfather and only remaining relative Duncan.

Thomas visits Duncan at his nursing home, and so the relationship begins as Duncan discusses life in decades past and slowly starts revealing some strange, sad family secrets—especially the one involving the yellow cookie jar. Duncan’s mother was manic depressive and suffered several episodes before eventually taking her own life. She was haunted by her yellow cookie jar, and her son has been haunted by this secret ever since.

Thomas is now the keeper of his family’s secrets but also of the mysterious cookie jar heirloom. What began as a school project becomes an eye-opening look into not only his family’s history but into world history, too, seen through the eyes of a wizened old man whose heart was broken but begins to heal with his grandson’s help.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Oct 9, 2018
• ISBN: 9781546248231

Mary Ellen Campbell

Mary Ellen Campbell was born in Rio de Janeiro to a Brazilian mother and an American father but moved to Alabama as a child. She is the married mother of seven, challenged by multiple sclerosis but never conquered. Having written twenty books on Wattpad, she has won several awards and garnered many famous fans through the popular site.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

The Past Thomas Needed

37234.png

H i there, Thomas said to his grandfather.

There was a certain accord between them right from the beginning that day. It was as if they had known each other for quite a while and had just reunited. Thomas thought his grandfather looked good for a man of ninety. David Barrett Mitchell thought his grandson might be an interesting companion, though Thomas was merely sixteen.

Thomas had called the nursing home to see if his grandfather would help him with a school project. The elderly man was the only family member he could consult. When the nurses told Thomas his grandfather was expecting him, the boy was overcome with excitement.

Thomas needed help with a genealogy project for a course that seniors took for extra credit. Completing the course might give him a greater chance for a college scholarship. He had his heart set on going to Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi. That was where most of his friends were going, and it was the university his whole family had attended.

After his mother’s recent demise, Thomas was left working two jobs, going to school in the daytime, and taking this extra course every Wednesday night. The class was a bit difficult, and it could make or break him. Still, it seemed like Thomas’s best chance to get into the university. The course would make his résumé more impressive, and he might be the first student admitted to the freshman class at Ole Miss.

Thomas initially called his grandfather Grandpa David, but the old man would have none of that and told his grandson not to address him by that name. The boy was startled and feared he had made his grandfather angry.

I know it’s what you think you should call me, boy, but it makes me feel older than I already am! And I am already older than I want to be, so do me a favor, and just call me Duncan, his grandfather said.

Why Duncan? Thomas asked.

That is a name your mother used to call me. There wasn’t a Duncan in the family, and we had a lot of fun making it up! We loved making fools of ourselves, and we did it quite frequently, the old man said gruffly. But never you mind about the stupid stuff your mother and I did. Duncan was the name of a man in a book I had, and the book became a so-so movie. Sit yourself down right here, since you came all this way from Jackson Hinds, Mississippi, and tell me again what kind of help you need on this project of yours. Hey, boy, do you want one of those grape drinks? I think they call it Grapico.

Thomas was as respectful as he could be to his grandfather. No, sir, he said. Thank you for the offer, though. Then he took a seat and said, Well, it’s like this, Duncan … Grandpa … David? What am I supposed to call you?

Oh hell, kid, just call me whatever you want, but I do like to be called Duncan, okay? his grandfather said.

Okay! I will call you by that name, Thomas said. As I was saying, I am supposed to talk to my oldest relative and ask what life was like when that person was my age. You are the oldest relative I know. I am supposed to write a ten-page report on how much the world has changed since you were young. But my teacher, Mr. Kendall, hates generalities, so I’m supposed to concentrate on one or two specific areas. That means—

Yeah, yeah. Wait a minute, son. I know what specifics are, his grandfather interrupted. Just go on with your story. Which specific thing do you want me to talk to you about?

While Thomas thought about this question, Duncan sized up his grandson. He looked like a healthy child, with a long mop of brown hair brushed straight back on his forehead. Thomas had clear skin and brilliant blue eyes. He looked like Duncan had at one point in his life. Duncan thought just how much this boy reminded him of himself. When he turned around and looked into the mirror behind them, he could see a strong resemblance.

There was a seventy-four-year difference between the two of them, and David Barrett Mitchell thought he could be a huge ocean of information for his grandson, who was a small lake—or maybe no more than a tiny pond—next to the old man.

Okay, okay, son. Slow down, and you’ll get it across to me in no time, kiddo! Duncan said. The brevity of our swim from one side of the sea to the other will surprise you. It certainly has surprised me.

Thomas Barrett Mitchell got his first name from Duncan’s brother, Jack Thomas, and Barrett was a familiar name on his mother’s side. Duncan wasn’t sure his grandson, the youngest of the ancestral line, was even a thought when Duncan was his age. He could sense his grandson knew he would be sharing stories about his life and was more than a fossil from a bygone age. Duncan could tell Thomas knew his grandfather would be speaking to him as the patriarch of the family.

Speak up, Thomas, my boy; I don’t have all day! Duncan said. Well, you may think we do, since you have all the time in the world to talk to me about these things.

Duncan had forgotten about some of the events in his life. He would snap at people, realizing they couldn’t understand what he was trying to say. But at his age, he didn’t