Fluff was curled up at the foot of Lolly's bed. His body heat warmed her feet. The rumble of his purr was a comfort to her. From her clock radio the song, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” played. Softly, Lolly sang, “...to the place I belong...” The music soothed her. The evening had been a rough one. Mitzi did not like being thwarted and they all had paid. Well, Max, Lolly and Grandma Toady had paid. Aunt Jessie had the good luck of getting to go work. All evening Mitzi had wavered from angry sulk to silent tears. By the time, Lolly went to bed Mitzi had settled into unresigned despair. Without the radio on, Lolly would still be able to hear her snuffling.
Affter 11:00 p.m. there was a knock at her bedroom door. Instantly Fluff was alert and staring into the dark. Lolly knew it wasn’t Mitzi because she never knocked. It wasn’t Grandma Toady either. Was it Max? She called, “Come in.”
The door opened. It was Max. He had his pillow and his blanket. When he didn’t say anything, Lolly asked, “Mitzi still at it?”
“Yes, she has reached the stage of tragic hiccups. Grandma Toady took her to bed with her, but I can still hear her. Can I sleep in here tonight?”
A few weeks ago, this question would have been the very last thing she expected to come out of Max’s mouth. “Sure.” Fluff jumped on the floor and began to wind himself around Max’s legs. Max threw his pillow and blanket on the floor and picked up Fluff. He hugged the cat to him. Lolly told him, “I have a sleeping bag in my closet. It will be softer and warmer than just the floor.”
“Okay, thanks.” Max did a rare thing. He kissed Fluff on the head before he put him down. What was up with Max? He went to the closet, slid it open the door and pulled the sleeping bag off the top shelf. Once he had it unrolled, he climbed inside. Fluff burrowed into the sleeping bag with him.When he was settled he stared up at the ceiling and said, “Mom and Dad got into a really bad fight on the phone when ya’ll got back from Hancock Fabrics. I hate hearing them fight. It was rich of Mom to accuse him of being too soft, when she didn’t even stick around long enough to endure the full consequences of pulling Mitzi out of the Munch's show.”
Lolly hated to hear that Aunt Jessie and Uncle Luke still fought. Had they ever gotten along? She asked, “Do you think the punishment fit the crime?”
“Not really. Mitzi is sharp, and she is good with color. I don’t think she wanted that sequin fabric to be difficult, I think she wanted it because it looked like magic to her. I do think she got confused and tried a tactic on Mom that only works on Dad."
This was incredibly insightful of Max. Lolly didn’t know he was capable insight. She asked, “What do you think your mom should have done?”
“She could have counted to 10 first and picked some other punishment. Mitzi has been living for that Munch's show. Mom could have tried to explain why she could not have the fabric. If Mitzi understood the problem, I think she would have minded. Mitzi may be a royal pain in the ass, but she is not stupid. My dad thinks my mom should let Mitzi be in the show. That only makes Mom dig in deeper. How could they live together so long and still not know how to work their way to a place of not pissing each other off? Gees with them its always too much or not enough. I get so sick of it.” He punched his pillow.
Lolly had been younger than Mitzi when her parents split up. Not that her mother had been around much. She had been in community theater and auditioned for every community theater role within a hundred mile radius. Then, when Pa went to Vietnam, she and her mom had moved in with Grandma Toady. One morning Lolly had woken up and her mother was gone. She had left a note and an apology, Grandma Toady claimed, but Lolly had no memory of it. Quietly, she said to Max, “They may not love each other any more, but they do still love you and Mitzi, and they are both there for you.”
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Max responded with a grunt. Several silent seconds fell between them before he said, “True, but you don’t have to listen to your parents fight.”
Honestly, Lolly replied, “I wish my mom cared enough to about me to fight. I’m not trying to make my life seem worse than yours, I’m just trying to get you to see what you have.”
“I’m doing the same. You don’t know how it rips at you when the people that made you hate each other.”
“True. I don’t.” Pa and Mama got along at a distance. And, though it hurt to admit it, they both got along with her from a distance. Having Pa home only once a month for seven days, sucked.
Max yawned and rolled over.
In the hallway, Lolly heard feet running to the bathroom and Mitzi gagging. There was the sound of puking on carpet. Max groaned. Lolly got up. Grandma Toady should not have to clean up puke tonight. Max said, “I was worried she was going to make her self sick. Poor Grandma Toady.”
Poor Grandma Toady indeed. Her children had a tendency to cast their burdens on her. Not that Grandma Toady complained, but maybe she should. As far as Lolly was concerned cleaning up grandkid barf went beyond the call of duty. Over the years Grandma Toady had cleaned up Lolly's barf many a time. Why were Pa and Aunt Jessie so ready to abandon their parental responsibilities? Neither of them even tried to get jobs that might accommodate having children.
Lolly got up and opened her door. The rich smell of vomit greeted her. The bathroom door was open and pooled light into the hall. All Mitzi’s cookies were a mush on the floor. Lolly went to the kitchen, got carpet cleaner, a sponge and paper towels. When she came back poor little Mitzi was still heaving. Between heaves she sobbed, “But I gotta be in the show Grandma Toady. I just gotta. Please,”heave, “please talk to Mama.” Lolly stooped down to clean up the mess. Before Aunt Jessie left for work she had told Grandma Toady, “Don’t give in to her.” Grandma Toady had nodded but had not verbally agreed. If Aunt Jessie hadn’t been in such a rush to get to work, she would have realized that Grandma Toady had just created a loop hole.
Softly Grandma Toady asked, “Sweetie, you and me, we gotta work together. You have to work hard not to pitch fits when you don’t get your way. Your mama can be stubborn just like you. Maybe if you show her you can mind, and you do it often enough, maybe she will change her mind.”
“But Daddy thinks I should get to be in the show. If I lived with him he would let me.”
Lolly heard a slow sigh come from Grandma Toady. “You don’t live with him though.”
“I wish I did.”
Grandma Toady made a funny noise in her throat. “We all have things we wish for but we can’t have. Maybe if you talk less sass and have less fusses, you might get what you really want and not just what you think you want at that moment. Do you think you can try that for the next few days. I am not promising anything, but I do think it is worth a try.”
“Okay Granma, I’ll try.”
Grandma Toady carried Mitzi into the hall. She glanced down at the floor and said to Lolly, “Thank you my Angel.”
“You’re welcome.” Lolly reached out a hand and touch Mitzi’s face. “How you doin’ little one?”
“Terrible. Granma says I’m not dying so maybe I’m not.” Mitzi lay her head on Grandma Toady’s shoulder.
Grandma Toady leaned over and gave Lolly a kiss on the forehead. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”
“Me either,” said Lolly.
Weakly, Mitzi said, “Me neither. I think Puccini is crying for me. Do you hear him?"
Grandma Toady winked at Lolly and said, “I sure do. We better go take care of him.”
Lolly watched them disappear into Grandma Toady’s bedroom. She then took the carpet cleaner, sponge and paper towels to the kitchen. The puke paper towels had to go in the outside metal trash can. She stepped into the night. It was cold. A soft wind blew. It felt good on her bare head. She picked up the metal lid and stuffed the gross paper towels inside. Up above Venus shown. It was her favorite heavenly body after the moon. She took in a breath of the clean night air in hopes of getting the smell of vomit out of her nostrils. Several breaths later, she could only smell the sweet sent of autumn leaves and dew. She turned and went back inside.
In her room, Max was sitting up in the sleeping bag holding Fluff. He asked, “Is she okay?”
“She will be. We just gotta figure out how to get her back in the show.”
“Good luck with that. Grandma Toady was not wrong when she said, Mom is stubborn.”
Lolly, nodded, "Yes, she is, but we both know who the most stubborn person in the family is.”
Max laughed and said, “Grandma Toady.”
“Yup.”