Chapter 87

"Boy, these eggs are good, Girls. Did you make them all by yourselves?" Jack said to Laurie and Annette.

"Almost," Laurie answered.

"Maybe we should hire them to make all our meals, Jill. How's a nickel a day sound?"

Annette said "Uh uhhh."

"OK. Two nickels."

Laurie said, "No way."

Myra said she'd do it for three nickels, then Eric and Julie complained that they put all that work in and didn't get any nickels.

I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye and looked over at Billy. He pulled his hand up as if he'd touched a hot stove.

I leaned back a bit and looked next to his high chair. Both dogs were there, looking up at where he'd just had his hand. As I looked, a big gob of drool fell from Bozo's mouth into a puddle of drool already on the floor.

"Billy. You can't feed the dogs all your food. First, they'll get sick. Second, you need to eat so you can grow up to be a big boy."

Myra said, "I'm sorry. Jill. I had no idea he was doing it."

"It's OK, Myra. Bozo knows better. Don't You Bozo? He dropped his head a bit but stayed where he was. "Get back on your rug." He slunk off towards his rug while Posie stayed put, looking first at Bozo, then up and Billy and then at me. "Go on, Posie, You Too!" With one last look at Billy, she got up and went over to the rug. After she got settled on top of my dog's legs, she sighed. I couldn't help it. I laughed at her histrionics.

Myra had Billy in her lap and was talking to him.

"Don't be too hard on him, Myra. I probably started it, tossing Bozo that cheese earlier. Then the girls were feeding them cheese while he was mixing the eggs. He probably thought it was all right. It's my own fault for telling the dogs they were going to get spoiled today."

The rest of the meal passed by without incident. Eric and Julie thanked us for breakfast, then left. As I closed the door after them I noticed the parade on the TV was coming to an end.

"So much for everyone watching the parade. I don't think anyone saw more that five minutes of it."

Jack said, "That's because our house is more fun than any parade, isn't it, Girls?"

Annette and Laurie both nodded their heads vigorously.

"Well, let's go see what needs to be done," I said.

Billy stayed in the living room, playing with his cars. The rest of us went into the kitchen. I had the girls pick up the napkins and any obvious trash, then told them to go into the living room and find something to do. Laurie asked if she could give Annette my doll. I told her that Annette was welcome to play with it today but that it was my doll and I wasn't giving it to her. Annette thanked me and then the two of them raced down the hallway to get both Raggedy Anns.

It didn't take long for the three of us to clean up the kitchen. I started the dishwasher; something I usually didn't do until the evening. We dirtied a lot of dishes with the crowd I had for breakfast. My three cast iron skillets took up a lot of washer space, too.

Jack said he was going to get caught up with Myra. I told them I was going to take Posie and Bozo outside. The girls said they wanted to come down with me. Billy was oblivious to everyone, playing with his trucks.

After everyone got bundled up, Laurie carried Posie down the stairs. Posie had grown some but not enough to negotiate the stairs by herself. I could see that Laurie was struggling a bit with her. I wondered if Posie would be large enough to get up and down the stairs by herself when Laurie couldn't handle her anymore. Maybe I'd have Jack rig up a pulley with a bucket.

We were waiting for the dogs to finish up when Claude came out of Mom's kitchen.

"Claude. Happy Thanksgiving."

"You, too, Jill." He came over to me and gave me a hug.

"You already know Laurie, my sister. This is her friend Annette. Girls, this is Mr. Dandridge."

He got down on one knee and said, "I'm happy to meet you, Annette. Happy Thanksgiving, Girls."

They both mumbled Happy Thanksgiving back to him.

He turned slightly and said, "Happy Thanksgiving, Posie."

She was already on her way towards the three of them but when she heard her name she started wiggling her hind end. Claude picked her up and she licked his face. He put her down and she went over to Laurie.

Laurie said, "Let's play!" and she and Annette ran towards the front lawn. Posie ran after them but wasn't quite fast enough to catch them yet.

"Did you go to church this morning?" I asked him.

"Yes, we did. I want to thank you for that, Jill."

"It wasn't much. Charlie said that's what you usually did on Thanksgiving."

"Still, I was happy to have Mary join us. Too often the children want something new and exciting when they grow up."

"Well, I'm glad it worked out. You're still coming over for dinner, aren't you?"

"I'm looking forward to it. I think the kids will have something to be thankful for, too."

"Really. What's that?"

"I did a lot of thinking and I talked with June. I'm going to let Charles remain here as long as he's welcome."

"Wow. That's something I'm sure he wasn't expecting. Have you told them yet?"

"Yes, I just finished before I came out. When I saw the way the two of them were with each other at church, I knew he had grown up. He's found his future in her and it would be foolish for me to try to break them up."

"I'm glad. I know they'll be very happy. It will also give Charlie and me more of a chance to spend time together. He was talking to me earlier in the week about how we're going to miss our time together driving to school and back. How's your new job?"

"My new job is wonderful. I wish I'd found it years ago. I'm making almost twice what I was making at my old job and I feel so much more valuable than I did. I go home at night proud of what I've created. I felt almost guilty making the garbage we were putting out at the old place."

"That's fantastic. I'm glad I could help. I don't want to be nosy, but..."

"What is it, Jill?"

"You said you were having some financial problems. Is that taken care of or do you need some help until you're caught up?"

"Thank you Jill. You don't know how much I appreciate you asking me that. I'm fine, thank you. Things will be a bit tight for the next month or so but I've talked to all the places I owe money and they all say they're willing to work with me."

"OK. Just don't be shy if I can help."

"I won't."

"Have you heard anything about Ethel?"

He sighed. "There hasn't been much change. I would have liked to go down there and visit her for three days but they told me it would be better if I held off on that for a while. I'll check late next week and see if I can see her over the weekend."

"Is her treatment down there working?"

"Jill, you have to understand something. The doctors here practically destroyed the woman I love with their drugs. It was only after she stopped taking them that she got enough life in her to realize what she had turned into. Was it healthy that she tried to take her own life? Of course not. But it was healthier to actually do something than to sit in some neverland like she had been when she was drugged. There are times the old Ethel is almost back. And there are times when there's only a hateful woman there, trying to place blame on someone or something for the mixed up world she's now in. Right now, having me there all the time is too much for her mind to confront. So, yes. The treatment is working. Not as fast and as thoroughly or effectively as we'd like, but I can see the differences. But I'll tell you something. Even if she's that bitter, ferocious woman for the rest of her life, I rather have that that the zombie that just sat in the chair all day long."

I had no answer for the man as much as I wanted one. I did the only thing I knew; I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. His arms slowly came up and tightened around me and I stood there, feeling the pain that was coursing though him, trying to give him what strength I could.

After a couple of minutes his hold on me loosened and then he eased me away from him. He sniffed, and I saw him wipe a tear from one eye. "Thank you for being here, Jill. I let it build up in me and never let it out and I forget how painful that can be. You have no idea what a comfort you are."

"Any time you need me, I'm here, Claude. Any time."

He told me he had to go and make a pumpkin pie for dessert so I told him I'd see him in a few hours. I called out to the girls and told them it was time to go inside.