Jane Jane
01-01-2008, 07:01 PM
"Ma, we're bored, there's nothing to do"
This came from the youngest and most forgetful of the five children sitting in what looked like a single lump with arms and legs on the sofa in the comfortable but dilapitated living room.
The little boy saw the look of horror on his siblings faces and said with a scowl 'what, what did I do?'
Eddie ten and the oldest by two years made the motion of an imaginary knife going across his neck and the others put their fingers to their mouths.
Whispering so loudly the others groaned in frustration little Jonathan said 'why do I got to shut up?'
'Because lame brain, don't ya remember last time Corey over there said that?'
'Nope'.
'Well ma got so mad she grabbed all of us and yelled' if you are bored I'll get you unbored pretty dammed fast.And then we all had to scrub floors and weed the garden, ugh, and Maisey and me had to iron tons of shirts and I burnt my little finger. Remember now pea brain?'
'Oh ya' said Jonathan with a grimace across his jam stained little three year old face.'Sorry'.
In the kitchen the children could hear their mother grumbling and slamming cupboards. She had had little sleep in the last four days from the graveyard shift due to the fact that the Anderson twins next door had been booming their music so they could practice for the street dance competition in another week.'
The mumbling got louder and then a crash and 'oh that's just dandy, bloody great. My last good water tumbler. God can life get any worse. First my husband ups and takes off with my used to be best friend Myrna, and she's ugly and has wobbly thighs; then they jack up the gas and hydro so you need a loan to live each month, next I get switched to graveyard shifts and they know I can't take them at my age and what with five kiddies to take care of and all the housework. I hate life!!!!
There was a dead silence for a couple of minutes and the children sat still, hardly daring to breather. The felt so sorry for their mother, life had been ugly for a year now with no sign of relief.
They felt sorry for themselves too-gone were the good old days when their father was around and paying bills with the truckload of money he made as a cable guy in the day, and restauranteur at night.He rarely came up with child support and their mother was too exhausted to go to court anymore. Spending money was more rare nowadays than free lottery tickets.
Maisey's blue eyes filled with tears.'Poor mommy poor poor tired mommy she said. I'm going to go and give her a hug.'She started out of the room
'Me too' said the rest and filed out behind her.
Inside the kitchen , immaculate and still well furnished, unlike the dining room that was now bare, the gorgeous table, chairs and hutch having to be sold last month to catch up on bills,sat Loretta Turnbull,simply dressed in black pants, gleaming white top, black leather sneakers.
She was still slender after bearing her husband five healthy children and she still took careful care to look clean, well groomed and as healthy as she could considering the fact her household money had dropped seventy per cent since Gerald had left one rainy Friday night.
Maisey put her small hand on her mother's flushed cheek and rubbed it gently. The immediate reaction was open arms and tears from her mother. The rest of the children formed a ring around their mother's slender waist and each cried in his or her own way.
After a bit Loretta smiled and said' now what kind of deal is this?' You know what? I was looking in my piggy bank today and ....
'You don't have a piggy bank mommiy' said Maisey, horrified because the children had been taught never to tell a lie.
'Just kidding little girl. I actually keep any loose change in my old bra, you know the one with...well never mind.Anyway I was cleaning my drawers this morning, it being Saturday and all and I realized I had forgotten about the bra. Guess what?
'What?'the children said together.
'I had a whopping twenty two dollars in change.'I remember when that was tip money at Druezell's but today I felt like a millionaire. And guess what I decided we will do with it?
No one answered, but each hoped.
'I thought we would get into the car and take a trip to the old neighborhood and go to Andrew's Buy it All, our favorite corner store, what do you say?
There was a collective whoop of joy. The corner store was one of the things the children missed the most. The weekly walk from the huge and lovely country home down over the bridge and across a meadow to get to the small market centre. Andrew's was a sort of piece of the past. You could get everything from shovel's to mohair wool to toys from the first world war, all in one large room. There was even a cheese and cracker barrel and one of uncountable lactic acid dill pickles.For a dollar a kid could find five items at Andrew's, all put into a little brown bag with a happy face on it. With a dollar a a kid could feel like a King or a Queen.
For the next ten minutes there was happy shouting, finding spring coats, brushing hair and teeth and finally putting on shoes.
Loretta felt tears start when they passed the bridge but she gave herself a stern mental shake. That was then, this was the reality now and she was determined to savour every moment with her children . The leaving of Gerald had taught her the truth of the saying 'live for today, let tomorrow take care of itself.' She had no idea when she first heard it but it meant a lot to her these days
Inside Andrew's there was a chorus of 'hey girl, we have missed ya.' It felt so nice to be remembered a whole year after having to move out of her beloved house.
While the children ran and laughed and looked through the thousands of possibilities to pick out with a whopping four bucks each Loretta opened up and for the first time shared her grief and situation with the store owners, Andrew and Connie Levenson. There were shakes of the head, hugs and then out of nowhere Connie brought coffee, cake and soft drinks for Loretta and the delighted children.
It was hard to believe that two hours had sailed by when the last penny was handed over to Andrew and the last child's smiling package handed to him.
Hugs all around and then a promise from Loretta to consider coming to help run the place. The Levenson's were getting old and the son they had prepped to take over had decided to stay on in Germany where his new wife hailed from.For six years they had watched Loretta take care of the children, house , yard and do volunteer help at the tiny clinic. She knew how to work hard.
On the drive back Loretta basked in the thought she might be able to break from the hated job as presser in an impersonal fast- paced laundry in the heart of the city. To be able to move back and take an apartment in the old neighborhood would be a dream. The apartments were all so well maintained and family oriented and quiet. The kids would die of joy.
She had to think about it though, there were some people who didn't fault Gerald for living his dream and that might be hard to take.
Still, one thing for sure she thought as she pulled into the garage of the rental home they had occupied now for eight months,they weren't going to avoid the people in the old neighborhood again.
The corner store would ring once more with the sound of her and the children's feet, their laughter and some good conversation.
As Loretta got little Jonathan tucked into his bed he opened one tired eye and said'you know what ma?'
'What?'
I saw the whole world today at the corner store.'
'Now how could that be son?'
'Mr. Leven, Lev..
'Levenson'
'Ya he showed me his old atlas. He was alive like a million years ago and he showed me his atlas. He said it was made the same year he bought the corner store. So I saw the whole world ma.'
'That's nice Jonathan, I am glad for you.'
'I like that corner store ma, I liked it ever since I was a baby.'
Loretta smiled at that remark from her three year old.
'And I got six cents left over for next time.'
Loretta kissed her son and walked to the door and turned out the light.
Try to find any other place in the world where for twenty bucks you could laugh and cry and find treasures. Oh ya and see the world.
This came from the youngest and most forgetful of the five children sitting in what looked like a single lump with arms and legs on the sofa in the comfortable but dilapitated living room.
The little boy saw the look of horror on his siblings faces and said with a scowl 'what, what did I do?'
Eddie ten and the oldest by two years made the motion of an imaginary knife going across his neck and the others put their fingers to their mouths.
Whispering so loudly the others groaned in frustration little Jonathan said 'why do I got to shut up?'
'Because lame brain, don't ya remember last time Corey over there said that?'
'Nope'.
'Well ma got so mad she grabbed all of us and yelled' if you are bored I'll get you unbored pretty dammed fast.And then we all had to scrub floors and weed the garden, ugh, and Maisey and me had to iron tons of shirts and I burnt my little finger. Remember now pea brain?'
'Oh ya' said Jonathan with a grimace across his jam stained little three year old face.'Sorry'.
In the kitchen the children could hear their mother grumbling and slamming cupboards. She had had little sleep in the last four days from the graveyard shift due to the fact that the Anderson twins next door had been booming their music so they could practice for the street dance competition in another week.'
The mumbling got louder and then a crash and 'oh that's just dandy, bloody great. My last good water tumbler. God can life get any worse. First my husband ups and takes off with my used to be best friend Myrna, and she's ugly and has wobbly thighs; then they jack up the gas and hydro so you need a loan to live each month, next I get switched to graveyard shifts and they know I can't take them at my age and what with five kiddies to take care of and all the housework. I hate life!!!!
There was a dead silence for a couple of minutes and the children sat still, hardly daring to breather. The felt so sorry for their mother, life had been ugly for a year now with no sign of relief.
They felt sorry for themselves too-gone were the good old days when their father was around and paying bills with the truckload of money he made as a cable guy in the day, and restauranteur at night.He rarely came up with child support and their mother was too exhausted to go to court anymore. Spending money was more rare nowadays than free lottery tickets.
Maisey's blue eyes filled with tears.'Poor mommy poor poor tired mommy she said. I'm going to go and give her a hug.'She started out of the room
'Me too' said the rest and filed out behind her.
Inside the kitchen , immaculate and still well furnished, unlike the dining room that was now bare, the gorgeous table, chairs and hutch having to be sold last month to catch up on bills,sat Loretta Turnbull,simply dressed in black pants, gleaming white top, black leather sneakers.
She was still slender after bearing her husband five healthy children and she still took careful care to look clean, well groomed and as healthy as she could considering the fact her household money had dropped seventy per cent since Gerald had left one rainy Friday night.
Maisey put her small hand on her mother's flushed cheek and rubbed it gently. The immediate reaction was open arms and tears from her mother. The rest of the children formed a ring around their mother's slender waist and each cried in his or her own way.
After a bit Loretta smiled and said' now what kind of deal is this?' You know what? I was looking in my piggy bank today and ....
'You don't have a piggy bank mommiy' said Maisey, horrified because the children had been taught never to tell a lie.
'Just kidding little girl. I actually keep any loose change in my old bra, you know the one with...well never mind.Anyway I was cleaning my drawers this morning, it being Saturday and all and I realized I had forgotten about the bra. Guess what?
'What?'the children said together.
'I had a whopping twenty two dollars in change.'I remember when that was tip money at Druezell's but today I felt like a millionaire. And guess what I decided we will do with it?
No one answered, but each hoped.
'I thought we would get into the car and take a trip to the old neighborhood and go to Andrew's Buy it All, our favorite corner store, what do you say?
There was a collective whoop of joy. The corner store was one of the things the children missed the most. The weekly walk from the huge and lovely country home down over the bridge and across a meadow to get to the small market centre. Andrew's was a sort of piece of the past. You could get everything from shovel's to mohair wool to toys from the first world war, all in one large room. There was even a cheese and cracker barrel and one of uncountable lactic acid dill pickles.For a dollar a kid could find five items at Andrew's, all put into a little brown bag with a happy face on it. With a dollar a a kid could feel like a King or a Queen.
For the next ten minutes there was happy shouting, finding spring coats, brushing hair and teeth and finally putting on shoes.
Loretta felt tears start when they passed the bridge but she gave herself a stern mental shake. That was then, this was the reality now and she was determined to savour every moment with her children . The leaving of Gerald had taught her the truth of the saying 'live for today, let tomorrow take care of itself.' She had no idea when she first heard it but it meant a lot to her these days
Inside Andrew's there was a chorus of 'hey girl, we have missed ya.' It felt so nice to be remembered a whole year after having to move out of her beloved house.
While the children ran and laughed and looked through the thousands of possibilities to pick out with a whopping four bucks each Loretta opened up and for the first time shared her grief and situation with the store owners, Andrew and Connie Levenson. There were shakes of the head, hugs and then out of nowhere Connie brought coffee, cake and soft drinks for Loretta and the delighted children.
It was hard to believe that two hours had sailed by when the last penny was handed over to Andrew and the last child's smiling package handed to him.
Hugs all around and then a promise from Loretta to consider coming to help run the place. The Levenson's were getting old and the son they had prepped to take over had decided to stay on in Germany where his new wife hailed from.For six years they had watched Loretta take care of the children, house , yard and do volunteer help at the tiny clinic. She knew how to work hard.
On the drive back Loretta basked in the thought she might be able to break from the hated job as presser in an impersonal fast- paced laundry in the heart of the city. To be able to move back and take an apartment in the old neighborhood would be a dream. The apartments were all so well maintained and family oriented and quiet. The kids would die of joy.
She had to think about it though, there were some people who didn't fault Gerald for living his dream and that might be hard to take.
Still, one thing for sure she thought as she pulled into the garage of the rental home they had occupied now for eight months,they weren't going to avoid the people in the old neighborhood again.
The corner store would ring once more with the sound of her and the children's feet, their laughter and some good conversation.
As Loretta got little Jonathan tucked into his bed he opened one tired eye and said'you know what ma?'
'What?'
I saw the whole world today at the corner store.'
'Now how could that be son?'
'Mr. Leven, Lev..
'Levenson'
'Ya he showed me his old atlas. He was alive like a million years ago and he showed me his atlas. He said it was made the same year he bought the corner store. So I saw the whole world ma.'
'That's nice Jonathan, I am glad for you.'
'I like that corner store ma, I liked it ever since I was a baby.'
Loretta smiled at that remark from her three year old.
'And I got six cents left over for next time.'
Loretta kissed her son and walked to the door and turned out the light.
Try to find any other place in the world where for twenty bucks you could laugh and cry and find treasures. Oh ya and see the world.