My counselor
tells the man “We’ll think about it,” as she pushes me out the door. He nods
and closes the door behind us. She hurries down the hallway clutching her purse
to her chest. More screaming comes from behind closed doors and something crashes
against a door at the end of the hall.
The hair on her head
is a fuzzy blond mess; her oversized round glasses have slid halfway down her
nose. She is routing through her pocket book, pulling things out and laying
them on the seat of the car. She looks like a frustrated owl searching for car
keys. “If we don’t find you a place, I am going to be in a lot of trouble,” she
mumbles suddenly confiding in me.
She finds her
keys, starts the car and drives across the grass to get to the road.
We don’t speak as
she drives back to the group home. I open my door as she stops the car in our
driveway. “”Don’t worry something will happen” she says and then sighs. I’m not
sure if she is talking to me or herself. The bell tinkles as I walk into the
house.
I feel as if I
have failed and nobody wants me again. I climb the stairs and standing at the
top is Jonathan. He has a big smile on his face and a tie around his neck. He
has been working on tying a tie all day. It’s still a little lopsided and
longer in the back but I say “Wow, you look great!” His eyes light up and a
giggle escapes from his lips. He claps his hands together and shuffles back
into the bedroom to practice some more.
I poke my head
into the bedroom and Crawford immediately starts making noise. I walk over to
the cage, open it and take her out. She climbs to my shoulder and starts to
clean herself. Crawford stands up and
places her hands on the top of my head. I slide down into the overstuffed easy
chair, she shifts to my knee. I close my eyes and Crawford snuggles up to me.
The weekend comes
fast and I have prepared Macaroni and Cheese for Liz for dinner. It’s literally
the only thing that I know how to make. I empty a can of peas to boil into a
pot on the stove. The apartment is spotless. Jonathan has worked really hard to
clean. He has also taken a shower, shaved and is working on tying his tie
again.
Liz should be
here any minute. I can hear Jonathan getting frustrated in the other room. He is now either talking to himself or to
Crawford. There’s a knock at the door. Jonathan comes out of the bedroom. “Did
you hear that?” he keeps repeating “Did you hear that?” I tell him I heard it
as walk down the steps to the door. I pull back the curtain and see Liz
standing there. She gives me a wave and the bell jangles as I open the door.
Liz is dressed
for a night on the town she looks amazing. She hugs me and climbs the stairs. “Nice
place,” she says. I can tell that she is just being nice as she looks around,
her hands on her hips. Jonathan is standing there about to bust out of his
skin.
“Liz this is
Jonathan.” Liz reaches out her hand and Jonathan covers his mouth with one hand
to stifle a little giggle. His eyes are wide as saucers. It’s clear that he has
never been this close to a girl before. He is a giggling nervous wreck.
I motion to the
table and Jonathan runs around to pull the chair out for Liz. She smiles,
thanks him and slides into the chair. A smile crosses his face and he runs
around to pull out my chair. “Thank you,” I say. Liz keeps the smile on her
face.
Jonathan slides
into his chair. He is very happy and can barely control his glee. I have a
bottle of wine for the occasion and I pour 3 glasses. I propose a toast, we
raise our glasses and Jonathan suddenly asks me if the zit he shaved off his
face an hour ago, is still bleeding?
To be continued……..
Geoffrey Doig-Marx holds all written and electronic rights to his writing "A Day in the Life". It can not be reprinted in part or whole without his written consent.
Geoffrey Doig-Marx holds all written and electronic rights to his writing "A Day in the Life". It can not be reprinted in part or whole without his written consent.