Do you ever see wild animals?
Christmas Lights
Winter Season
You were that girl?
Chet was having a really hard time with the whole she was the girl that summer story. Was she really? He finally asked, “Esther, tell us something about you.”
“There really isn’t much to tell. I have shared a little with Oscar. You all call her Widow Morrison but she was my great grandmother. Her son Cliff was my grandpa and his son Walter, was my dad. When I was five he committed suicide. So my grandparents took me in and raised me.”
“What about your mom?” Chet asked.
“She died of cancer when I was three. That’s what drove my dad over the edge. He couldn’t handle her being gone.”
“Do you need help taking the truck back?”
She laughed, “my old landlord was in such ah hurry to get rid of me that he told me to keep the truck as long as I wanted. And you know what, I’m gonna hold the jerk to it.”
“I’m just glad someone is living in the house. I did general maintenance. But it’s different when someone is living in a house.”
She waved her fork at him. “So you’re the guy we were payin’.”
“That’s me.” He smiled.
“Thank you so much.”
“You know, if I would have known you were coming, I would have had the house ready to move in to.”
“Thanks,” she looked at Oscar who was picking at his dinner. “I have had some amazing hospitality.”
He finally smiled.
After Chet left and the kitchen was clean, Oscar sat on the couch. Esther handed him a cup of tea as she sat with him. He laid back and opened his arms for her. Almost automatically she slid into him. She didn’t like it that he was laying on his right side. The beat of his heart was muffled.
“About the other night,” he whispered.
“What made you wait so long to want to talk about it?”
“I wanted to give you a little space. You were very upset.”
“Oscar, you know I can’t discuss,” he stopped her.
“I know. I need you to know that you scared me to death. I have never heard another human scream out in anguish the way you did. It broke my heart.”
“Oscar, I can’t guarantee you that will never happen again. If it does, and you are the one that finds me, what you did that night was perfect.” She snuggled a little deeper into the fold of his arm.
He laid his nose in her hair. There were no fruity smells. No overpowering perfumes, just clean wonderful hair.
He woke to the smell and sound of the coffee pot. To his dismay, she was gone. He found a note by his cup. ‘O, Don’t work too hard today. I know they kicked your tail yesterday. There is a bagel in the fridge with your name on it. Come see me when you get home. You know where I’ll be. Esther’
Yelp, he smiled to himself, he was pretty sure he was bitten by the love bug. When he got home, he did exactly what she had asked, he came over.
She jumped when he spoke; then let out a long breath, “you are much too good at being quiet.”
“Sorry.” He blushed. “Why didn’t you wake me this morning?”
“You were sleeping so soundly.”
He noticed that she had changed the flooring in the kitchen. It was a black and white checkered pattern. “Let me show you the bed room.” She had painted it beige; the wall behind the bed was grape purple. The boarder around the ceiling was purple and hunter green with a beige rope and ivy vine intertwined pattern on it. That purple wall had a gold set of ornate hooks holding up a large piece of light green material, framing the headboard of the bed.
He went home to change clothing; they worked scrubbing a while and unloading boxes a while. She was on her knees cleaning out from under the sink and he was painting the ceiling. He heard a rumble. “What was that?”
Star Trek craft
Winter Season
The other night
She pointed to Oscar still sitting in living room floor, still looking blankly into space. “Help me get him up and over to his house, please.” They worked together to move him. “Does he make a habit of not eating?” She knew the answer to that before she even asked.
“The more stress he has in his life, the less he eats. I have seen him down to 100 pounds soaking wet, if he even weighed that much. He reminded me of String Bean”
“Bluegrass singer?” She questioned.
“I’m surprised you know that.”
“I’m full of surprises.”
“I bet you are,” he smirked.
They laid him on the couch and Esther went into the kitchen to heat up some leftover lasagna. Chet sat at the table and watched her.
“How long have you two known each other?” She asked.
“All our lives, we grew up together. He went off to college; I stayed here and got married. He came back and it was like he’d never left.”
“Where were you that summer all of my kin was having a reunion across the street?”
Chet looked confused, “Oscar told you about that?”
“What did he tell you?”
“He talked for days about this little blonde girl that played with him. How they played hide-n-seek for hours. How they got lost and ended up at the lake. That’s when he found out he couldn’t swim. She had saved him from drowning. He was so proud that his mom and dad let him spend that week with his aunt and uncle. They let him spend a couple nights with all the Morrison children. My family and I went somewhere I don’t even remember where. He and I were dreading it so bad. But come to find out he was having a ball.” Chet laughed. “He talked about that little girl all summer long. You know, I don’t even think he asked her her name.” Chet thought for a minute, “I think that was the first and last time, as a child, he got to stay with them.”
“Have you eaten?”
“No,” Chet patted his belly. “But I can go a day or two without a meal.”
“No, I don’t think so. I don’t want a hungry sheriff protecting me.”
He laughed. “Why did you ask me about that summer?”
“You want to hear something wild?”
“Sure.” Chet said cautiously.
“I was that little girl.” She went in the living room to get Oscar. He was still staring into space. “Dinners ready and you have to eat something. Oh, and Chet is here. So you really have to eat.”
Oscar got a sheepish grin on his face and sang, “sticks and stones may break my bones but hand cuffs and beat sticks excite me.”
She laughed, “you little booger. Get to that table.”
They sat down to the smell of delightful lasagna.
Oscar smiled a sleepy smile, “Chet did you hear?”
“I did.”
He giggled, “she called me a little booger.”
Fur 🐾 real?
What are your feelings about eating meat?
The Offer
Jessica sat on a deserted park bench in shock. She stared helplessly into space; desperately trying to figure out the days events.
“Lovely isn’t it?” A male voice interrupted her tragedy.
“What?” She replied blankly.
“The church you’re staring at.”
She broke her gaze to look at the church. “If you say so.”
“You don’t agree?”
“It is aesthetically pleasing with its 19th century architecture. Someone spent a lot of blood, sweat, and tears building it.”
“That is all you see?”
“Yes,” she hissed. “That’s all I see. A building. A building where hypocrites can ask for divine forgiveness on Sunday but sin their brains out the other six days of the week. Oh; but if they have been really sinful, they can get an extra cleansing on Wednesday.
There was no response. Just the rush of air and the sound of fabric as someone sat down beside her. “Wow,” came a feeble reply.
She turned to face this bothersome stranger. To her embarrassment it was a priest. The damage was done now. There was no need to apologize.
“You don’t see a building built with love, filled with love and hope for all humanity?”
“No. I see a building, stone and mortar, built from money given to the largest organization in the world. I would imagine to honor another human saint.”
“What has jaded you so?” His big brown eyes searched her face for some kind of response.
“Father, I.”
He cut her off, “Joe. There is no need to be formal with me.”
“Jessica,” she sighed. Knowing in 15 minutes they would forget each others names.
“I have never seen you in town before.”
“No, and if it hadn’t have been for a much needed bathroom break. I wouldn’t be here now.”
“There are no bathrooms here.”
“Cute fath..,” she caught herself. “Joe, there don’t seem to be any hotels in Amityville either.”
He snickered, “oooo, that was harsh.”
“The town where I was raised (I thought) is the only town in the U.S. that doesn’t have a hotel. It’s just not right for there to be two.”
“You’re not the lady whose car got destroyed?”
“Yeah,” she scoffed. “I am.”
“I am so sorry. You are welcome to stay at my place.”
“Thank you. I’m not sleeping in a church.” She pointed at the building.
“No,” he smiled. “I live in a house behind the church with 3 nuns who attend to the churches needs.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what to say. The shock from the days events were starting to settle back in.
“Well?” He asked.
Her head started to swim. Her vision was blurry. She wobbled her head toward him. “Are you safe? There has been a lot of bad stuff about you guys on the news.”
“Safe as a kitten.”
“Bad example,” she stammered.
“Why?”
“I hate cats.”
“Come.” He got up and extended his hand to her. “You’ve had a very bad day.” She wouldn’t accept his hand.
“There is no such thing as ‘the kindness of strangers’.”
“Let us prove you wrong.”
The End
Would you accept his offer?
Jeans & t-shirt
We have a simulator prompt in June. I’m a jeans and a t-shirt kinda girl. Tennis shoes in the winter, flip flops in the summer.
What are your two favorite things to wear?
Winter Season
The card
Esther’s second week in this new place was quickly approaching. She still hadn’t spent her first real night in her house. But she was taking her time and doing everything right the first time. Getting sick from the Covid booster didn’t help.
Oscar didn’t seem to mind. In fact, he seemed to be loving the company. But she knew that.
Oscar had a horrible day at work. He sat in his SUV a long time before ever moving.
What? Did he have a sign on his forehead that said, “me, me – pick me?” Everyone wanted a piece of him today: angry parents, upset students, other teachers, the list went on and on. The only person that wasn’t chewing him a new one was the principal. She was his champion today.
When he finally mustered up enough strength to get out of his SUV, he found a plain brown envelope taped to the front door. His first thought was a hate letter. The card inside had a picture of Chucky’s head on it. His heart sank. It was a hate letter. On the inside was a picture of the sun that said, “I don’t care if you lick windows, eat bugs or occasionally pee on yourself. You hang in there sunshine, you’re special.” Signed, Esther.
Oscar didn’t know if he should laugh or cry. In a roundabout way this card was really cute. When he stepped into the house and knew that he was alone, he cried.
This was the first night since she had been here that they didn’t have dinner together. He clicked his spoon in an empty bowl missing her like crazy.
Esther lay in her bed with a huge smile on her face despite her lack of dinner. She was dead dog tired but it was worth it. The bedroom was just the way she wanted it. Oscar had been really kind to her. But she had to get acquainted with her house. No bed feels like your bed. She had almost forgotten just how good her bed felt.
When she closed her eyes, the sound of her big box fan flooded her ears. She had a really hard time sleeping in complete silence.
That wide smile didn’t fade as she thought for a moment about what happened to her to get her here. But only for a moment, she would not allow herself to linger on that.
The old timey ring of her cell phone drowned out the fan for a moment. Oscar was calling.
“Hi,” her mood was light.
“Are you busy?”
“No.”
“May I come in?”
She laughed, “are you on the porch?”
She could hear him blush, “yeah.”
With no regard to the fact that he was still on the phone, she turned it off before jumping from the bed. She opened the door to find him holding a daisy. She gave him a really big hug.
“Get in here before you freeze your grits off.”
“For you.” He handed her the daisy.
“What’s the occasion?”
They sat in the floor in the living room. He didn’t look at her; only stared at her floor. “You’ve been here two weeks now, the card, just ‘cause.”
“Thank you.” She watched him for a moment. He seemed lost in another world. It made her smile to think he noticed that she had been here two weeks. You need to say something, she told herself. Speak to him. “Am I going to get a daisy every week?” She teased.
“Would you like one?”
“Have you had any dinner?”
“Changin’ the subject Miss Morrison?”
“Maybe Mr. Patterson.”
“No,” came a direct reply. “I’ve spent the day throwing up.”
“Come,” she quickly climbed out of the floor. “We must get you something to eat? I have sandwich makin’s and chips.” He just sat in the floor. “Oscar?”
He held out his hand to her, guiding her back into the floor. “Can we talk about the other night?”
“I will make you a deal.” She put her hands on his shoulders, “if you eat dinner, we can talk about it.” He stared at her blankly for a moment. She wasn’t sure he even saw her, “please.”
There was a knock at her door. It was Chet. “Howdy.”
“Come in. You are just in time to help me.”
“Oh.”
Waste not. Want not: pans
I think I mentioned in an earlier stanza that the company I work for buys us birthday lunch.
Sometimes lunch is brunch.
I have been given permission to bring the leftover grease pans home to my dog.
I get the benefit of eating the content before. Chico after. Then sharing on my blog.
Some of these pans get cleaned and stored.
Reuse, repurposed, deliciousness galore.
Poetry & More 