[ WP ] Your grandparents always playfully bickered in their native language . To surprised them , you took lessons , but now you understand what they 're really saying ...

Ever since I was little Oma and Opa would speak in the old tongue. They emigrated long before Mom was born and insisted she learn the local language. Grandpa was in the war, never spoke much of it. I asked about it, but he always dismissed it as nothing a child should know. I could never pry much more than his evasions. I knew that time of his life held a lot of pain, I never pushed him for answers. Time had taken its toll, he had parkinsons that made the simplest tasks a trial of his patience. From time to time he would become frustrated with his loss of control and growl in his native tongue a few coarse words. He would often sit in his chair and stare through the wall, I worried what had happened left an indelible mark on his mind for the worse, so I never pressed it. Grandma had always been Grandma, making food and taking care of the home. Grandpa was over two decades older than Grandma. He always joked that she would have to find a corpse to dig up to fill in for him. 
 
 They were very traditional old world geriatrics. Sometimes I would hear them babble in their native tongue off in another room and always wanted to know what they were saying. Sometimes I would think I caught the meaning of a word through context, but never could be certain. Mom never learned the language and whenever I asked my grandparents to teach me, they would laugh off the request. I sometimes would try to remember a word or phrase so I could look it up, but never could get it straight enough to decipher. 
 
 When I got out on my own, I got the idea to learn it. I took a few classes in school and eventually got pretty good. I liked to listen to the news in my new language. I read books with surprising proficiency. My translation dictionary grew thick with flags and notes stuffed in between pages, then it gathered dust as its utility had wained as my proficiency grew. 
 
 As my summer break grew closer, my excitement grew. When I got home I would visit Grandma and Grandpa and surprise them with my new old language of theirs. I counted the days until I could speak with them in a way never before possible. I would talk to myself, imagining how it would go. I practiced my `` lines'' the whole drive home. My fingers tingled with excitement. I could barely contain myself. 
 
 I called Grandma to arrange my visit. She was delighted to have me over after I got into town. When I got off the phone my cheeks were sore from smiling. I was over the moon with my plan years in the making coming to fruition. 
 
 Grandma and Grandpa were waiting on their porch when I pulled up. With aching joints they rose from their rocking chairs to give me a warm welcome and a hug. Grandma was so excited she barely breathed greeting me and asking question after question. Grandpa was all smiles seeing his grandchild again. His weary eyes had a light in them I rarely saw. He was a fairly reserved man, did n't say much but his joy was evident in the pep in his step and smirk. They hurried me in to the living room to hear all about my time at school. For well over and hour Grandma grilled me about my studies, my friends, if I was seeing anybody, and how I liked school. I kept my surprise a secret, I needed the right time. 
 
 Grandma offered some tea, to which I gladly accepted. She hurried off with an exuberant shuffle to put the kettle on. Grandpa followed to offer a hand to his wife of so many years. I buzzed with excitement in anticipation of the coming revealing of my new knowledge. I heard their once foreign babble, now clear as crystal illuminated in new light. 
 
 `` So good how well life has been at school.'' Grandma chirped `` I am so proud, you worry that your grandkids will be corrupted by the world but I have n't a concern now.'' 
 
 Grandpa's rough voice replied `` I knew you were worried over nothing. You let your mind wander and concern yourself with unfounded fears. Ever since we met you worried excessively.'' 
 
 `` I was right to worry enough for the both of us and come to this country. You wanted to stay! I just worry because the state of the world. Just look how things have changed... The world is a vast departure from what we had in mind in our youth.'' Grandma said. 
 
 Grandpa sighed and said `` I know Eva, but we fought for as long as we could for a pure fatherland. We can only hope that our descendants learn how special they are. I know they will one day carry the flame we sparked so long ago and fuel it with the same desire for the triumph of our race. They lied and spun our great work into an atrocity the world could never forgive. Now we sit meekly, too feeble and weak, to lead our race to our rightful place.'' 
 
 `` I know, but still I worry.'' Grandma said as she looked out the window at the birds she grew fat with the plentiful seed from feeders she stocked every morning. 
 
 Grandma called to me in English `` I cant remember, do you like one spoon or two?' 
 
 My head spun as I stared a hole in the wall. 
 
 `` Hello? One scoop or two?'' she repeated in English. 
 
 I tried to find the words. I eeked out `` Zwei bitte Oma.'' without realizing. 
 
 The tea cup Oma held fell from her gasp and shattered on the floor. There was no putting back together what pieces remained of what had been. 
 
 Edit: A few autocorrect errors. I still ca n't find the `` ( w/c/s ) ould of'' referenced in the bot post, if someone would be so kind as to quote it, I would be grateful. I really should n't drink and write... But meh. 
 
 Edit 2: I finally caught the spelling error that undermines a pretty important point... It is fixed now. Really should not drink and write, or proofread...
